Well, I was on a roll for a few weeks when it came to hyping a new release and pairing a yummy recipe with one of the characters in the book. I still have one book to get polished and released and it wasn’t in time for today’s post. The weather is finally turning around here. We haven’t turned on the AC in over a week. I swiitched summer linens for the winter set (tradining a chenille bedspread for a microswuide comforter) and I actually feel like cooking. When it’s hot, heating up the kitchen is not really high on my wish list. As I was making my grocery list, LG and I discussed some of the dishes we like that we haven’t had in a long time–since…like…early spring when it was still cool outside. One of the first things he mentioned was Swedish meatballs. Talk about easy but still yummy. What is more comforting than a creamy sauce, meat, and noodles. Okay, grilled cheese sandwiches and hot soup ranks up there too. Anyway, I fixed Swedish meatballs last night. And it was pretty yummy. And yes, I will share the recipe, such as it is. I’m often a “scratch” cook, meaning I add a bit of this, a dab of that, and don’t really measure. I do, but I use the “cup” of my hand for herbs and spices.

Ingredients
1 cup beef stock

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 t. dried rosemary, crushed, or more to taste

1 T. dried parsely

12  frozen cooked meatballs per serving, thawed and warmed

1/2 package wide egg noodles or dumplings – I use No Yolks Dumplings

Directions
1 – Prepare noodles according to package direction. I use about 1/2 of the package for 2 servings.

2 – Whisk together stock, cream, flour, soy sauce, rosemary, and parsley in a large saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes.

3 – heat meatballs in a no-stick frying pan coated with nonstrick cooking spray.

4 – Stir in warmed meatballs, and continue cooking until meatballs are heated through, about 5 more minutes.

5 – Taste and adjust seasonings before serving. You might want to add salt (or pepper–we don’t do pepper).

6 – serve over noodles

That’s the food portion of the post. Now, let’s talk books. I have questions for you. I’d love if you’d answser them but at the very least, think about them. If you were stranding in a mountain cabin in a blizzard, what series of books would you want to find in the bookcaseh? What is your Chicken Soupl Book? (That one book that you pick up to read when it seems like the world is falling apart around you.) What book always makes you laugh? What book always makes yoiu cry? See? Tough questions, but I’m all about comfort today. I mean snuggle fleece blanket, curled up in a cozy chair, favorite warm drink at your elbow, reading enjoyment. To go along with that wonderful comfort food you had for dinner. I could be perfectly happy with several different series on the shelf–Ilona Andrew’s Kate Daniels or JD Robb’s Eve Dallas/In Death. I’d lean tward the latter because there’s over 50 books to keep me occupied. 😉 My go-to book has always been NAKED IN DEATH. I’ve read it like 20 times. No. Seriously. I may not read the next book in the series but when no other book holds my attention, I can always count on NiD. Okay. The newxt questions are tougher because I’m really having to engage my memory. I always laugh when reading any of Shelley Laurenston’s Honey Badger books. As for a book that always makes me cry…That’s a tough one. There have been books that made me cry while reading them. I actually went back and scrolled through the 1700+ books I’ve listed on Goodreads. And came up on WILD COUNTRY by Anne Bishop, part of her The Others series. It occurred to me that I didn’t always relisten to it when doing a marathon because I always cry. I’m sure there are a few others, but that’s the first one I tumbled across that I saw the title and immediately teared up thinking about it. Don’t get me wrong. I love the book and the series but that one yeah. So, what about y’all? Favorite chilly weather comfort food and books?