Probably one of the most popular comfort foods of all time has to be Macaroni Cheese. It's a real nursery dish, carbs, cheese what more could you want. This month I made my pimped up, gluten free version, with vegetarian chorizo for a spicy kick and with a crispy, cheesy, garlic, breadcrumb topping.
I'm a huge pasta fan and I ate quite a bit of it last month. As well as having it as an accompaniment to both a vegetable chilli and a curry I also rustled up a super quick pasta bake. I'm a huge fan of making my own pasta sauces but buy something decent and you can rustle up a lovey warming meal in less than 30 minutes. Here I've just mixed some cooked macaroni with some cooked veggie sausages, and some bought tomato and chilli pasta sauce, then I've sprinkled it with cheese and popped it in the oven for about 20 minutes.
Another pasta dish also appeared on the menu last month and it was surprise, surprise my broccoli and Stilton pasta. I think I've ate this in pretty much every month of 2014, and since we're sure to have a big chunk of Stilton in the fridge over Christmas, I can pretty much guarantee that I'll eating it in December as well.
As comforting as piles of cheese and pasta are though they aren't that diet friendly, thankfully over the last 11 months or so, I've discovered two dishes that are a bit kinder on the waistline and that for me have that real comfort food feel. Both of them are Slimming World inspired and sound odd to say the least but I love trying new things and in both cases I'm glad I did.
My Mushy Pea Quorn Curry, is one of the weirdest sounding and probably one of the least authentic curry recipes ever but it's became a real favourite in my house. It's filling, warming, full of protein and you can pretty much make it with whatever vegetables you have.
Another weird Slimming World inspired recipe and something that I've become strangely addicted to is Chickpea Dahl or Curry Loaf. A combination of cooked rice, some form of curried beans, and eggs, I really don't know who I lived without this recipe. It's great served hot or cold, and you can either make it as a big loaf or cake, or in bun or muffin tins for lunchboxes.
There is nothing more comforting than a sugar rush, and the return of the coffee shop festive drinks have hit the spot perfectly. This year in Starbucks I've discovered a new love, and no it isn't one of their new introductions, it's actually something that's being around for a while - the Eggnog Latte!
I was never sure about this one but I took the plunge last month and I've ordered nothing else in Starbucks since. It's creamy, it's spicy and it just tastes of Christmas. It doesn't need whipped cream but if you want a real treat pay the extra and have a little squirt on the top - sweet and creamy heaven in one sip!
Talking of sweet and creamy heaven, Costa have brought back their White Hot Chocolate for this festive season and I'm in love. I wasn't sure about this one at first but over the years it's grown on me - I have it without the cherry drizzle and with just a squirt of whipped cream and a sprinkling of edible gold stars. I really want to try a couple more of their festive drinks I just need to be brave and order something different for a change.
The final thing I'm going to show you is something that I haven't eaten yet but given how nice it made the house smell, I can't wait!
Yes, the Christmas cake, this is our gluten free version of Delia Smith's Creole Christmas Cake and it is amazing! We've gone for a round cake this year, and I have a pretty good idea about how I'm going to decorate it, providing my bits come from ebay in time.
It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and foodie wise I'm ready. I'm sure December's foodie review of the month will be a lot fuller than this one and do you know what? I can't wait! I'm not even sure what I'm looking forward to most though, the mince pies? the cheese board? the chocolate? or even this gluten free nut roast that I'm going to be having for my Christmas lunch. Something I do know though is that I'm going to enjoy every mouthful, and I hope you do too x Happy Eating x
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