What do you enjoy cooking in the winter months?

@dragon54u (31636)
United States
September 30, 2009 12:38pm CST
I'm making a pot of beef stew right now--well, beef, chicken and other leftovers like bits of sausage, etc. This is my monthly pot of leftover soup where I take all the bits and pieces of leftovers that I've put in a container in the freezer and make soup out of it. It's always very tasty! I'll be making chili on Saturday so I can share with my stepmother. There's something about chili during the cold weather that's all warm and comforting. Do you have a favorite food or foods for the winter? It's only 48 degrees here right now, quite chili, and unusually cold for the month of September! I'm looking forward to chili, stew, bean soup and split pea with ham soup during the coming months, how about you?
4 people like this
24 responses
@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I'm going to make beef stew for supper. i also like homemade soup in the winter & make it quite often. I have a neighbor that loves my soup so alot of times i will share it w/him & his wife, I also love chili, spagheti,lasagna & alot of things that i haven't made in awhile & am getting ready for them altho it's not gotten that chilly here yet.
2 people like this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
2 Oct 09
How cold does it get in your state? I've been there a couple of times and it's so beautiful, but I've only been there in the summer.
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@ANTIQUELADY (36440)
• United States
2 Oct 09
Thank you, i love Tennessee but i was born here so i guess i am predujice, lol. It can get pretty cold in the winter but nothing like a bunch of places. It gets down in the low teens sometimes. Right now it is just beautiful here w/around 70 degrees in the daytine & 40's at night. i love this time of year. Thanks for asking.Have a great weekend.
2 Oct 09
Hi Dragon, Your cooking sounds delicious! During winter, i love to cook roasts, chicken roast beef roast, pork roast, with all the trimmings, stuffing, yorkshire puds etc. I do make stews with the leftovers, and also like to do puddings, with hot custard for afters
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@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
2 Oct 09
That sounds delicious! Since I live alone I don't make too many roasts but it was always great when I was little to have Mom's beef roast with all the trimmings on a cold, snowy day!
@bunnybon7 (50975)
• Holiday, Florida
4 Oct 09
well that stew sounds like a winner when the kids were growing up in ohio, like you i took all left overs and made a big pot of stew. it was great in winter and everyone loved it cause hard telling what all would be in it we called it refrigerator stew
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
4 Oct 09
Yeah, I know, I was stuck there for nearly 30 years! It's definitely not my cup of tea and I'm very happy to be back home in Ohio!
@bunnybon7 (50975)
• Holiday, Florida
4 Oct 09
btw, here in AZ its usually not cold for long so we end up, figureing how many things we can make outside on the grill
1 person likes this
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
2 Oct 09
I love to make a big pot of homemade soup, or a pot of beef stew and last but not least spicy chili. Hmmmm good. That is the only thing I love about the winter months the good hot food we make. I also love to bake in the winter months. In fact I love to bake cakes, pies, banana bread and cookies more then cook.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
2 Oct 09
That's the only thing you like about winter? What about the beautiful snow? The glow of the full moon on snow and ice covered trees? The fun of making a snowman or sledding down a hill? I love winter!! Sounds like you have a warm and cozy kitchen! I hope you find this winter a real joy.
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
2 Oct 09
I like the first snow fall but in New Mexico we don't get to much snow here. After 50 years of snow in New York I have had my fill of snow. However its been nice seeing my granddaughter playing in the little snow that we have had here. I do love the snow outlining the branches of the trees. I love snow where no one has touched. Once people have stepped on it, it becomes ugly.
1 person likes this
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I love to spend the winter months baking. I bake all kinds of desserts over Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are times I feel like I never get out of the kitchen in the winter season.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Winter is great for baking! I don't do much now that my sons are grown and live in another state, though. I might do some this Christmas, I have some great old family recipes that I'd like to share with my neighbors. And I really crave date nut bread when it gets cold!
@sender621 (14894)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Nothing makes the kitchen smell better than something baked hot out of the oven.
• China
1 Oct 09
In winter ,I like to cook noodles ,it is simple and taste good. Eating dumplings is the custom in our country. the dumpling is easy to cook.you only need to know what is required raw materials,and how to package it.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I see you're from China so my picture of your dumplings is nothing like those I make--yours are much tastier! One of the most successful diets I've ever been on is eating Chinese food--not the stuff Americans like but the food the people eat. It worked great and I felt very healthy! Welcome to myLot! I hope you have fun here and make lots of friends from all over the world!
• China
8 Oct 09
thank you, my friend ,thank you very much,can I add you? I want to be your friend .language exchang is not a problem .I hope you can make friends all of the world. blessings
@Lindalinda (4111)
• Canada
1 Oct 09
I got a small slow cooker for my birthday earlier in the year. I just tried it out the other day. I made navy beans in tomato sauce. It cooked away slowly all day and it was delicious. I am looking forward to use it this coming winter to make my favourite winter foods: Lentil soup Bean soup Baked beans Chili Beef stew Chicken stew and dumplings. I guess for this I need to be home to add the dumplings for the last 20 min. or so.
1 person likes this
• Canada
2 Oct 09
Oh, thanks for the tip on the dumplings. Like I said I just got the cooker this year so I am still a newbie.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I never had much success making dumplings in the slow cooker. I had to transfer the contents to a pot on the stove and then do the dumplings. Still, it's a great way to cook and not much trouble to do the dumplings that way. Navy beans and ham is also a great winter dish, you cook the navy beans with a ham hock and when it is done you harvest the meat off the bone and throw away the fat. In fact, I cook the ham hock separately, get the meat, then refrigerate the whole thing so that I can skim off the fat. Then I add the beans to the meat and broth and it's delicious and low fat.
@max1950 (2306)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Since our winter is only 3 months long "temperature wise" we do up lots of pot roast, pea soup, and hearty stews
1 person likes this
@max1950 (2306)
• United States
1 Oct 09
your right certain times of the year their really skimpy, if i cant find them in the market i'll pay an x-tra 50 cents and get the smoked ones at the butcher, it's all according how much i really want the split pea but usually once i get it in my head it's all over and just have to have it, and always better the 2nd day, ok NOW i have to go to the store, see what i mean, lol
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I love pea soup! Last year the ham hocks I use in pea and navy bean soup were so skimpy with so little meat on them but this year they seem to be really good!
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
3 Oct 09
dragon54u hi hatley here I enjoy eating beef stew that they make for us here in Gold Crest retirement center, we also have chili on occasion and a lot of soups also.I am a soup nut,I love split pea soup, bean soup, corn soup, good old tomato soup, and their cream of broccoli soup they make here. my favorite foods for winter,which is a joke here in Garden Grove Ca are chili and beef stew love both of them , and they really do make a good beef stew here, mine is better but theirs is really pretty delicious.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
3 Oct 09
It sounds like they serve great food there! Split pea is one of my favorites--I used to love the Campbell's but the calories were so high! I found that if I made it myself it was much better for my weight and my health. I used to make a soup long ago, a corn chowder. That gradually evolved into corn/potato/pea/meatball stew. I lost the original recipe. I'm making chili tomorrow so I can share it with my stepmother. It will only be 58 degrees tomorrow so it'll be a good day for chili!! It's strange, I never pictured you in a retirement center. I always visualize you in a cottage of your own with a beautiful garden.
@Archie0 (5636)
1 Oct 09
Hello dragon.In winters well i do like to cook a lot of meat with spices, because as meat is warm inside your body, it gives lot of energy to spend in winters and then your body consumes that heat too,so you dont get much fats on your abs too.Well then otherwise i llike to cook pumpkin pancakes too
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Pumpkin pancakes sound delicious! I found a soup last winter that I really like. Cook some squash--I use butternut or acorn--and a peeled, cut up pear together. Blend it till smooth, you'll have to add some water, then serve it hot with a little nutmeg or brown sugar on top. Yummy!
@malpoa (1216)
• India
1 Oct 09
Winter for us means lots of food hi hi rich and fatty...More nonveg, more of red meat as it helps to keep the body warm. we prefer snacks whic are deep fried in oil. It is a hot favourite in winter along with tea in the afternoons. ALso the food has to be really hot, especially non veg...We make more of biryani and stuff like tha tin winter.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Is it cold there in the winter? I picture India as always warm except, of course, high in the mountains. If I ate like that I would gain 100 pounds! I have to be so careful with my weight so that I don't gain. I love deep-fried everything and rarely get to indulge!
@malpoa (1216)
• India
3 Oct 09
We live in plains here in west bengal and we get to experience all the seasons here. But not as cold as in the hills during winter. We get minimum temperature around 10 deg celcius. It is fun to have winter.
• India
1 Oct 09
i like to cook...chicken noodles and a chicken soup...and put lozz of black pepper and chilly to make it spicy....and sit in the sun in my undies...and enjoy my lunch...in winters
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Aha, you are in India where it is a tropical climate! If I am outside in the winter, I'm all bundled up with long underwear under my clothing, I'm wearing a heavy coat and gloves and slogging through the snow. I love winter!
• India
1 Oct 09
in india the winters are too cold ..temp go low as 0 deg c so i also like winters...
@codris (781)
• Italy
2 Oct 09
yes i've a kind of food that i like to cook in winter, foods that give me a feels of hot, and soft, and familiar. in winter i love to cook duck in orange, russian salad, or "brasato", or "taglaitelle al ragu", sorry but i don't know the englis for them.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
3 Oct 09
Taglaitelle al ragu sounds wonderful!! I looked up the recipe and would love to try it. Duck a la'orange? Delicious! I don't think I've ever met anyone here from Italy. Welcome to myLot! Make lots of friends requests so you can get to know people and converse with them. This is a fun place and the people here are great!
@neelimaravi (1793)
• India
1 Oct 09
i am vegetarian, i use to cook hot hot pokoda's bajji's in the evening time. i use to spend that with the hot hot chai. my favorite food ever fryies. i use to cook spicy kurries and rasam. thankyou.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
There are a lot of yummy dishes that don't need meet. I don't think I've ever had curry--I had a friend once that said she couldn't even stand the scent of it but her husband really liked it. When he wanted it he had to go out by himself and enjoy it!
• India
1 Oct 09
hey neelim switch over to non vegiteranian food....then u can enjoy more foods of winter....i also eat pakoda but i make a nonveggy beef pakoda...
1 person likes this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
1 Oct 09
That's what I made tonight, beef stew. I like to crock pot a lot in the cold months. Not only is it an effortless meal, it makes the house smell great all day long!! I also like to make homemade chicken soup, and add some dumplings I made on the stove. We don't do chili too often, maybe about once a month (nobody here is a chili fan except me lol) I basically do the same as you with the leftovers, and turn it into a whole new meal. I keep a tupperware in the freezer and all the veggies that didn't get eaten in one meal go in there to be added to a soup or stew later on. Sometimes I'll take left over chicken and make a giant pot-pie with the left over veggies added.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Chicken and dumplings are great! My ex husband hated it but my kids loved it. He considered it "just filler"--code words for eating like poor people. Nothing wrong with simple foods, in my mind. They're usually the very best!
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
1 Oct 09
i like to make soups and stews and home made bread during the cold weather. i found this great recipe for beef and barley soup on the internet. i really dont like chili so much but my hubby does and he has made some already this fall!
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I really like chili but a whole recipe is too much for me, as I live alone. Luckily, my stepmother like it, too, and my dad won't eat it so I can split it with her! That beef and barley soup sounds delicious, I found the barley when I was making my beef stew and added some in.
@ladym33 (10979)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Chili is one of my favorite meals to cook in the winter time, plus I can a big huge batch of it and use it to serve over noodles or rice, or to make chili dogs with. Stews are also really great in winter time. I also love hamburger type casseroles or tuna fish casseroles. I love casseroles unfortunately my husband has never cared for them so I end up cooking a meat, a vegetable and a protein all seperature but if I had it my way I would make more things like Shephard's pie. I also used to make a nice bean and sausage one pot meal. The kids don't really like sausage though so I have not really made it since they were born. But it is a nice cold weather meal, very hearty and spicey.
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I found a great sausage recipe your kids might like. I use turkey sausage to save fat and calories. Slice it up and add some onions and applesauce in the slow cooker. Then dice up an apple and throw that it. Cook all day on low and serve it over rice or noodles. My kids loved it when they were small and still ask for it when they come to visit as adults!
@trisha27 (3494)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I love having warm things to eat during winter months and I just love it when its winter. During the winter I would make gumbo, which has all kinds of seafood in it depending on what you like as well as you can add chicken and turkeynecks. I also like adding sausages in it as well. Another thing I like to make during winter months is chili. I also like eating chicken noodle soup as well. I never make it from scratch but I'll buy the cans of soup of chicken noodle soup.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I love chicken noodle soup but I won't buy it in the cans anymore since I became aware of how much sodium is in it. I'm going to try my hand at making it this year. In fact, I've quit buying most processed food, frozen or canned, because of all the sodium. I hope you have a nice, warm winter and enjoy all the beauty it brings!
@irefed (200)
• Philippines
1 Oct 09
During winter season I appreciate soap. I always like to cook sinigang with veggies. Sinigang is famous here in Philippines during rainy season. Have you taste sinigang? Your location?
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
I have never heard of sinigang but I looked it up and it sounds delicious! I'm in America and we got our first frost today, about 3 weeks early. They say it will be a very harsh winter so I expect a lot of snow and cold!
• Bangladesh
1 Oct 09
ohh , send me some ready dish , i will eat
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@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
1 Oct 09
Welcome to myLot! I hope you enjoy it here, you'll meet people from all over the world and make some really nice friends. Remember to not post referral links! If you want to make money from your replies, they have to be 3 or 4 sentences at least. You make the most when you start discussions of your own. You could start some by telling us about your country, places where tourists would enjoy going or the type of food you cook and your favorite dish. I hope you have a lot of fun here!