Rainy Day Comfort Food

People tell me all the time, “I hate rain!”

I know, I know — I feel your pain. Rain is never a good thing if you were hoping for a good hair day, if you wanted to try out that new pair of shoes, or if you needed to get outside and do some work in the yard.

We have to remember though that like the song says, “Rain is a good thing!”

*Here* is a link the current US Drought Monitor for the state of Georgia. You’ll notice as is indicated by the bright red shading that most of the state of Georgia (All of Middle Georgia) is seeing Extreme Drought conditions.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, on January 4, 2011, 6.49% of the state was in an Extreme Drought.

As of January 3, 2012, 63.92% of the entire state of Georiga is in an EXTREME Drought!

Our farmers need this rain, so even if it does tend do be bad for our hair, it’s great for your neighbors!

So, what’s my advice for those of you who just “can’t stand the rain?” (I know…I can’t stop with these song references!)

Cook!

I love cooking when it’s raining, and since we’re right smack in the middle of Winter (Who would have guessed, considering your high temperature just yesterday was 68 degrees!) there’s no better time to cook some comfort food than when the wet stuff is falling.

Mama Dukes’ Slow Cooker Chicken:

Ingredients:
1.) One family sized can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
2.) One package of boneless, skinless, chicken breast
3.) One regular sized container of ham
4.) One package of bacon

Procedure:
1.) Take each individual piece of chicken and wrap one (Or two if you’re not feeling calorie conscious!) piece of ham around.
2.) Wrap bacon around the ham (One or two strips…your choice!)
3.) Place each piece of chicken inside of your slow cooker.
4.) Pour entire can of Cream of Mushroom Soup on top of chicken.
5.) Set timer on low (8 hours).

It never hurts to go back and stir the soup, but you certainly don’t have to.

Burnin’ Up Chili:

Ingredients:
1.) One package of ground beef
2.) Two cans of canned tomatoes
3.) Two cans of Rotel
4.) One pepper
5.) One onion

Procedure:
1.) Brown ground beef on stove top
2.) Cut up the pepper and the onion (It doesn’t have to be a specific size — this is more of a personal preference issue.)
3.) Place ground beef, pepper, and onion in your chili pot.
4.) Add canned tomatoes and Rotel to your mixture.

This shouldn’t take any longer than thirty minutes to cook, once you’ve browned your ground beef and added everything to the chili pot.

Both of these recipes are incredibly easy to make, and great for a rainy or cold Winter day!