food and quilting

[brandwynn]

have you ever noticed the good food that seems to go along with our homebased quilting activities? food is something from the heart, just like quilting! sometimes, i'll cheat, and throw something in a crockpot because i know i'm going to be buried in my sewing room all day long and don't want to be bothered. other days, i make myself a special something to go with my coffee or cocoa to bring into my sewing room and nibble on as i piece or whatever i'm doing at the moment. what are our favorite comfort foods? what are our favorite nibbles for that quilting day? anyone want to share recipes? cuz the one thing i've noticed, is that quilters, by and large, are good cooks. here's one of my favorite pork casserole dishes, for a hot meal despite all the sewing!
pork chops and rice:
6-8chops, browned in a shallow pan with a mix of oil(i use olive oil)/butter
2cups rice, precooked in a mix of chicken broth and water
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper (both can be more or less depending on your wishes)
1can stewed tomatoes
1onion, diced
1one green pepper, also diced
preheat your oven to 350, bake for about an hour, till the chops are done. it's great!!
so tell us what you love best! comfort foods, nibbles, drinks, the whole shebang! and tell us about those quilts you've made, too.

[QIAD-Linda]

Hey brandwynn, that sounds really good, I will have to try it!
I agree, quilting and cooking are "comfort" activities. I never thought, as a young girl that I could ever learn to make a quilt. My mom did not sew, my only living grandma lived 2,500 miles away on a farm. I know she crocheted and did beautiful embroidery but I don't think she ever quilted. I became acquainted with quilting on my 40th birthday when a friend gave me El's book "Make a Quilt in a Day - Log Cabin Pattern". I have been quilting every since. I give most of my quilts away but have a few at home.

[QuiltLady57]

Don't ever feel guilty for using the good ol' crock pot! I use mine on days when I do or don't get into the sewing room. It just frees us up to do things we want to do.

[CindyB]

I've just found a recipe for runza's - they are a Nebraska tradition over by Omaha, and are simple and easy - once you get everything cut up! I made a pan on Friday night, and we still have some left (it's very filling), so I plan on having it for dinner tonight!

[brandwynn]

ooh, what are runzas? and how do i make it? this i gotta try. i'm an oldfashioned southern cook, but i will make anything at least once, and if i like it, it stays in my repertoire. one of my most favorite peasant food meals is a simple beans and rice with smoked hamhocks and cornbread. yummmm. once you pick through the dried beans and washed them, just add em to the crockpot with the hamhocks throw all into the crockpot with plenty of water. nothing else! you don't need another thing. also, you kentuckians, i had a great aunt that dried her kentucky wonder green beans in the sun covered in tobacco leaves. you'd think that'd taste awful, but i have to tell you it isn't! prepare just like you would the dried brown beans or navy beans and you have a yummy vegetable. it just isn't the old green bean! and her husband, bless his heart, used the dried leaves for his pipe, haha. no waste.

[brandwynn]

o gracious, the pork chop recipe! i left out a clove of minced garlic! don't forget that! love, brandwynn

[cindyg]

Oops, you have run into a quilter that does NOT like to cook and that would be me. Crock pots are absolutely NOT cheating!!! I love those Banquet or Betty Crocker meals in a box - darn near gourmet. If anything takes me more than 30 minutes to cook then I don't wanna. Cooking is such a waste of time - you spend hours on your feet cooking something wonderful and it takes all of 10 minutes to eat it and it's over. No, thank you. Boxed meals and crock pots are my good friends. DH doesn't mind because I told him that if he wants better meals he can cook for us. He's an excellent cook but he doesn't want to be bothered either. Here's a fast one:

2 lg. potatoes - microwaved (served w/sour cream, cheese, bacon bits, etc.
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms saute'd in butter, a beef bullion cube and some chopped up onion
2 steaks cooked on the grill by DH
Salad in a bag (I have to have my greenery)

You're done in 20 minutes. Eat for 10 - 15 minutes. Almost no clean up.

[CindyB]

cindyg - if you like seafood, I found some frozen dinners in the seafood section - they only take 10 minutes to cook on the stovetop!!! Yummie, too, DH always wants to go back for more. It's things like shrip alfredo, etc. I'll see if I can get the name.

[CindyB]

Brandwynn - Message me with your email, and I will send the recipe to you (or anyone else). I've also submitted it for the QIAD Cookbook (see that thread!)

[zfatcat]

My girlfriend just left. She came over to quilt. Well I made a flourless chocolate cake with whip cream topping. Yummy. We sat drank coffee, ate cake, and talked. Didn't get much quilting done though. Oh well there's always next time. lol