Almost every Friday night, one of our latest (also reads: quickest, not very costly, convenient, etc.) “go-to” comfort foods would be a simple beans and franks casserole, humbly called “Frisky Farm Beanie Weenies”. Even if you have difficulty boiling water, you could do this one. Honest.

My Mom has made this dish for Christmas dinner for years and it has been served as the carbohydrate at many a fine meal. It’s quick to make, has a relatively short list of ingredients and goes together nicely. Pull this one out whenever you need a touch of class, with simple elegance, for the next time your spouse’s boss, or some in-laws, comes to dinner.

Chopped, minced, sautéed, and caramelized; the ancient and dependable value of onions in cooking cannot be praised enough. Cook a chili, a stew, or a spaghetti sauce; and leave all of the onion out of the recipe and note the difference in the end result. Your recipe will just not be the same. There are many applications, as well, for un-cooked onions. Their use in sandwiches and salads, in particular, is well-known, wide-spread, ancient, and dependable. Sharp and pungent, they have their own sets of flavor layers.

Great advice and awesome guidance for those who are reading my recipes and can gather that my primary focus is on your individual “ability” to cook loving comfort foods, for yourself or for loved ones.