Comfort Food!

Whenever the weather is cold and snowy, I crave comfort food! So today I'm having two of my favorites, Corn Chowder and Chocolate Chip Pie. Here are the recipes! Enjoy!

Corn Chowder : this recipe is definately not good when you are counting calories, but it sure is delicious. The half and half gives it a sweetness, while the crushed red pepper adds some spice.

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

5 tsp. chopped garlic

3 tsp salt

5 tsp crushed red pepper

1 bunch green onions

2 lbs peeled shrimp (or salad shrimp) *

48 oz creamed corn

2 quarts half and half

Melt butter. Add garlic and onion, saute. Add shrimp, crushed red pepper, salt, and green onion; cook till warm. Add half and half. Bring to a boil, reduce heat.

* my brother in law, Dave, is allergic to shrimp. So we substitute potatoes. Either way, it's yummy!

Also, this recipe makes a lot of chowder. Unless you have a very large crowd, half a recipe is plenty. I also reduce the crushed red pepper, I use about 1 1/2 tsp. for half a recipe. It just depends on how spicy you like things.

Now on to the best part of the meal, dessert!

Chocolate Chip Pie

1 frozen pie crust (you can make one from scratch if you're really motivated!)

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk chocolate morsels

1/2 cup semi sweet morsels

1/2 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (you can use any nut you prefer)

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine sugar, flour, and butter, mix well. Add eggs, vanilla, morsels, and nuts. Pour into pie crust. Bake until firm in the middle, approximately 50 min. (my oven takes longer). Serve warm with ice cream, and coffee of course!

Variation: If you like peanut butter, use 1/2 cup chopped peanuts in place of the macadamia nuts. Also substitute 1/2 cup peanut butter morsels instead of the semi sweet morsels, and add 2 tablespoons of chunky peanut butter. (the peanut butter would go in with the sugar/flour/ butter mixture.)