What are your favourite Comfort Foods?

Poppet and I are on to our second (or maybe third) bowl of rice pudding. It's our special treat. The boys don't like it.* Weird, I know. I used to feel sad about that, but then Poppet came along and loved my rice pudding, so all was good again.
Poppet was sent home from childcare today all tearful and feverish and while she soon picked up at home (she's presently chasing the 'Daddy Monster') she's still flushed and hot.
So we're in comfort food mode.
On cold days and sick days and not-quite-right-days I always head for the same dishes - the ones I had as a kid: rice pudding and apple crumble. Luckily, they're both quick (especially the way I make them), easy and not that unhealthy.

Cheats Rice Pudding:
Cook a pack of 2 1/2 min microwave brown rice and put it in a microwaveable container. Cover the rice with milk, and then add a bit more milk. Add a lot of spices. Cinnamon is my fav. Some vanilla. A few handfuls of sultanas. Sugar to taste. Stir. Microwave until it all congeals into a pudding - about 20 minutes.
Voila. Done.

Preparation Time: a minute or so
Cooking time 22.30 minutes (roughly)

(I used to cook this in a big saucepan but My Beloved kept going into conniptions over the pots. Microwaved rice pudding is ALOT easier to clean)

Cheats Apple Crumble: 
2 big tins of Pie Apples (Pre kids, I loved sitting and peeling apples. Now, not so much.) Sometimes I add a tin of drained, tinned cherries as well.
2 cups oats
1 cup flour
BIG chunk of butter
Lots of Cinnamon
Brown Sugar to taste (Quite a bit)

Melt the butter in the saucepan. When it's melted take it off the heat and add the oats, flour, sugar and cinnamon. Stir.
Put the apple mix in an oven proof dish. Add more cinnamon to the apples and stir it through.
Put the butter/oat mixture on top of the apple mix and put it in the oven on 180/200 until the top starts to brown and the house smell of cinnamon. Eat with custard. (Or cream or ice cream, but I prefer custard)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes or so

My custard recipe is really just a white sauce - a tablespoon or two of cornflour in a cup, add some milk and stir to a paste. Pour a couple of cups of milk in a saucepan. Add the paste to the milk in the saucepan, put the heat on medium and stir continuously. Add vanilla. When the custard is the consistency you like add brown sugar to taste.

Preparation Time: 30 seconds
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes?

Voila. Done.

My theory is that these recipes are healthier than most breakfast cereals, so when I make them, Poppet and I have them for breakfast the next day as well. Sometimes for lunch as well...

You might have picked up I'm a throw in a bit of that and a dash of this kind of cook. I love cooking a hearty lentil soup... baking doesn't work so well for me...

Hmmm... now that the rice pudding is nearly finished maybe I should get started on an apple crumble?

Do you have any favourite comfort food?



*Which always reminds my of the A. A. Milne Poem 'And it's Lovely Rice Pudding for Dinner Again, a poem I never understood pre Sprocket.