Warm Up Your Belly

It is officially fall because I have finally made my homemade cocoa mix for the season. My cocoa machine had a nice little break while my blender worked overtime this summer. His days were numbered and yesterday's cool weather was just the excuse to start making my cocoa mix. Marshmallows topped our mugs to the brim and we enjoyed a sweet treat on yesterday's cool afternoon.

The yummy warm comfort foods and drinks are something I look forward to all year long. Who can resist a big bowl of soup and a grilled cheese for dipping?

Speaking of these comfort foods, we have been missing our yummy bowls of clam chowder since we had moved back to the Midwest. No one does it better than Boston and we seemed to always be craving a bowl of this yummy goodness, but couldn't seem to replicate it. I was determined to find a recipe to feed our cravings this year and lucky for me, I stumbled upon this chowder recipe that fit the bill perfectly.

This recipe for chowder is delicious. Rich, but not too rich. Chunky, but not too chunky. It is just an absolute bowl full of perfection. There are other chowder recipes out there, but I think this one will be in heavy rotation in our house. The kids won't eat it, but that won't stop my husband & I from enjoying it!

I did make some minor changes to the recipe- I omitted the heavy cream and replaced that with half & half. I also omitted the dill in the recipe because I didn't have any on hand.

Determined to perfect my grilled cheese too, I also tried this delicious recipe for baking your grilled cheese in the oven instead of making it in the pan. Since I am doing grilled cheese in mass quantities, I thought this would be a great solution for us to all have our grilled cheese sandwiches at the same time, instead of doing my batches in stages. Technically not a grilled cheese, this "toasted cheese" is delightful! No soggy centers and perfectly crunchy! Just keep your eyes on them while they cook. The bread does have a tendency to get a tad too toasty, if left unattended!

I hope you can try some of these delicious recipes to warm your belly.

Sound Off: What are your favorite dishes when the weather turns cool?