Comfort.....

I'm having cheesy noodles for supper tonight - even on a good day, sometimes you just need to enjoy some comfort food!

It's interesting what "comfort food" means to different people - normally, we think of standby mac 'n cheese, or meatloaf.....but really, comfort food to me is anything that brings back childhood memories. Over the years, many different foods have fallen into that category for me.

For reasons I don't totally understand, one of those dishes that always takes me back to my childhood is macaroni and tomatoes - which includes frying up some chopped bacon and onion together, and stirring that into cooked macaroni and canned tomatoes. Yum! Oyster dressing is something that makes me feel close to my Grandmother - that, and salmon patties.

I have fond memories of Campbell's chicken noodle soup - that was the comfort food I always got as a kid when I was sick. We'd make the 20-mile trek to town, Dr. Staton would give me a shot of penicillin, and we'd stop to pick up chicken noodle soup and I think sometimes a bottle of soda.

Second grade was a somewhat challenging school year, because my class managed to pass around mumps, 3-day measles, chickenpox, and hard measles......all in that one school year. We ended the school year with the hard measles - I broke out four days into summer vacation. Talk about memories - I can still remember that illness, regardless of how long ago it was! While I was at my worst with the measles, I have vivid memories of eating Campbell's beef soup......as I started feeling better, I craved canned tomatoes. That's the only food that sounded good to me. And there was not a can in the house. As evening approached, Dad finally got tired of listening to me. A little settlement about five miles from our home had a store with some food supplies, so he drove over and picked up a couple of cans of tomatoes. They tasted so good!! My appetite came back for good on a Sunday, and I can still taste the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a fresh salad!

For my kids, spaghetti is their go-to comfort food.....and my brownie recipe. Luckily they all liked spaghetti, because it's really cheap to make, so we had it a lot while they were growing up! I think hubby's comfort food is pb&j - he's always happy with that.

Please excuse me - I need to enjoy my cheesy noodles now!