Comfort Food

I love to bake and cook, something I inherited from my mom, who inherited it from her mom, my Nannie. I actually have a few recipes and cookbook or two that have Nannie's handwriting. It is something that I have of hers that keeps her close to my heart. I like to picture her in her kitchen, in the little house in Norwalk. Sitting at the table, writing down her recipes with the pen held in her petite hand, gold rings and bracelets on and nails polished with a metallic dark mauve color (painted with polish she kept on the door of the refrigerator because she thought that gave them a longer shelf life:).

Recipes come with memories. I hope my own brood looks back with fond memories, not just the food I made them, out of love, but also the memories of us sitting down, sharing the "best & most frustrating part" of our day at dinner time.

The other night I tried 2 new recipes, both simple, delicious and fairly healthy considering they both might fall into the "comfort food" category. 

        Quinoa chicken chili (made in the crockpot) 

                           

*I used organic chicken and believe it or not, found organic canned items it calls for at Fresh & Easy.

I also substituted the can of corn for frozen roasted corn from Trader Joe's. The chili recipe made a ton! Enough for our family of 5, plus a toddler (who didn't really eat it, though she does like quinoa by itself) to get 2 meals out of it.

                          Cornbread muffins