The Superior Express -

Any ideas for winter meals? Most of the time it seems like the same menu pattern at our home is often overly repeated. There are the soups, casseroles and stews. There are roasts, noodles, beans and cornbread. These meals are repeated and repeated. This especially is a problem when there are only two to fix for. Thankfully my husband does not mind eating leftovers.

Some people enjoy grilling on their grills even throughout the winter, so there is that option. We enjoy eating breakfast items for lunch and even supper. There is nothing like delicious blueberry pancakes, bacon and eggs any time of the day. There are also yummy waffles, biscuits topped with a delicious gravy, and French toast to be enjoyed.

If a person is drawn to Italian foods, there are items like tasty lasagna, spaghetti and pizza. For those with a Mexican menu hankering, there could be tacos, burritos and enchiladas.

We have a lot more menu options than our grandmothers and great-grandmothers had. For my great-grandmothers, there were no grocery store frozen foods incorporated into their meals. My grandmothers used meats raised on the farms, vegetables raised in the gardens and canned, dairy items from the cows milked in the family’s milk barn and eggs from the family’s hen house. Fresh lard was used to make flakey, tasty pastry for pies. Bacon grease was saved to cook with, and butter was hand churned. The breads were mostly home-made.

For our ancestors, dining out was only on special occasions. With the larger families back then, dining out was not an option because of the cost. Chores had to be done before the breakfast and supper meals. That made them think twice about having to clean up and travel several miles to the nearest cafe.

Today’s cooks should feel fortunate for all the options in the grocery stores, and the variety offered at eating establishments. After considering what coud be, my so called “limited menu repeated pattern” isn’t all that bad after all. Bon Appetit!!