FOOD FOR GRAY JANUARY DAYS

"On gray January days we must make our own fun" ~

I read this quote today in a book I was reading and agree with it wholeheartedly!  On my drive to work this morning the world was once again covered in that magical layer of frost that makes the trees glisten and look like big white pipe cleaners.  It's the one redeeming factor of  a single digit temperature day!  I'm not sure that it qualifies for 'fun' but it is enjoyable.

On days that I work, my husband generally cooks dinner because he gets home several hours before I do. Today was going to be an exception because we got our new furnace and he was going to be installing it. I knew there wouldn't be time for him to fix anything for dinner and I didn't want to wait until 6:30 when I got home to come up with something. I had dried beans on hand and decided I could come up with something to put in the crock pot over night that would be ready for tonight's dinner. 

After looking in the freezer, I found two seperate bags, one with a leftover roasted chicken carcass and another was what I thought was a ham bone, but turned out to be left over pork roast. I also added some frozen left over sun dried tomatoes and a large onion that I chopped up.  I cooked it on high until we were ready for bed and turned it down to cook on low overnight. Before I left for work, I turned it to the 'keep warm' setting and added a touch of salt.  I sliced a baguette and spread them with my garden basil pesto that I had frozen and toasted them in the oven.  We each had a glass of red wine with our meal for a delightful winter evening treat! It was warm and satisfying and qualified as 'fun'!



This time of the year soup is one of our favorite meals. When it's cold outside, it is the perfect dinner with a muffin or slice of homemade bread...true comfort food!