5 Warm & Wholesome Meals for the Winters by Tamanna

As the days grow shorter and the chill of winter settles in, there's nothing better than coming home to the warmth of a hearty, homemade meal. Winter is the season for comfort food, where rich flavors and nourishing ingredients take center stage to help us beat the cold. From slow-simmered soups to savory casseroles and spiced baked goods, these recipes are perfect for cozy nights in, gathering with loved ones, or just warming up after a frosty day.

In this collection, you'll find dishes that are not only delicious but also satisfying and easy to make. Whether you're craving something creamy, savory, or sweet, these recipes are designed to fill your kitchen with inviting aromas and your belly with warmth. Get ready to indulge in meals that wrap you up like a blanket and keep you toasty all season long. Let’s dive into some of the most heartwarming and filling dishes that are sure to become your winter staples!

1. LEMON CHICKEN SOUP

 

Filling, fresh, and vibrant lemony chicken soup made creamy with NO CREAM and a secret ingredient! Recipe adapted from Cooking Light. 

                                                                       Ingredients


  • - 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • - 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • - half of an onion, diced
  • - 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • - 8–10 cups chicken broth
  • - 1 cup whole wheat orzo
  • - 3-ish cups cooked chicken 
  • - 3 eggs
  • - juice of 3–4 lemons (about 1/2 cup)
  • - a handful of fresh spinach
  • - 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • - lots of freshly ground pepper
  • - as much fresh dill as you can handle

                                                                     Instructions

  1. Base: Heat large soup pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil. Add the carrots, onion, and garlic. Saute until fragrant and tender, about 10 minutes. (Be careful not to burn the garlic.)
  2. Orzo: Add the broth and bring to a simmer. Add the orzo and cook for a few minutes until softened. Stir in the chicken and remove from heat.
  3. Eggs: Whisk the eggs and lemon juice together in a small bowl. The idea here is to warm up the egg mixture slowly (without scrambling the eggs). Slowly add a scoop of the soup into the egg mixture. Then add your warmed egg mixture back to the soup pot – slowly, slowly, slowly, stirring constantly, until smooth and creamy. 
  4. Final touches: Finish by stirring in your spinach, salt, pepper, and dill and adjust seasonings to taste!

2. CINNAMON ROLLS

What if I told you I had a from-scratch cinnamon roll recipe that was effortlessly veganized, required no kneading, and could be coming out of your oven in just over two hours?

 

 

 Ingredients

    Dough

  • - 2 cups (475 ml) milk, dairy or non-dairy (i.e. oat, almond, soy, etc.), warmed
  • - 1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, dairy or non-dairy (i.e. margarine), melted and warm
  • - 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
  • - 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • - 1 packet or 2.25 teaspoons (7 grams) active dry or instant yeast
  • - 5 cups (650 grams) all-purpose flour, divided

    Filling
  • - 1/2 cup (115 grams) butter, dairy or non-dairy (i.e. margarine), softened
  • - 3/4 cup (160 grams) dark brown sugar
  • - 2 tablespoons (15 grams) ground cinnamon
    • Glaze

  • - 1 8-ounce (225-gram) block cream cheese or 1 8-ounce tub non-dairy cream cheese, at room temperature
  • - 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
  • - 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Instructions


Make dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Whisk in yeast and let it rest for one minute before continuing. Add 4 1/2 cups (585 grams) of the flour and mix with a spoon or dough whisk until all flour is moistened. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warmish spot to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

While dough rises, get everything else ready: Cut butter or margarine into cubes and place on a plate so it’s softened by the time the dough has risen. Combine dark brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside. Prepare your baking pan(s), either one 9×13-inch pan, 2 9-inch round cake pans, or 2 8-inch square cake pans by coating the sides and corners with butter or nonstick spray. Line the bottom of each pan with a piece of parchment.

Assemble rolls: Once dough has doubled, stir in remaining 1/2 cup (65 grams) flour and turn dough out onto a well-floured counter. Flour the top of the dough and roll into a large rectangle, about 20 inches wide (the side in front of you) and as deep as you can comfortably stretch it, keeping it about 1/2-inch thick.

Spread dough with softened butter. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar mixture. Roll the dough away from you into a tight coil. I find that the dough always stretches longer as I roll it but if yours hasn’t, you can gently stretch it closer to a 24″ log.

Cut log into 12 or 16 even segments. 12 will make classic, generously-sized buns, as shown here. 16 will make more of a muffin-sized bun, and for some reason, smaller pans always look better to me with 8 buns in each.

If you’re baking the buns now: Let buns rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to finish proofing. Heat oven to 350°F.

If you’re baking the buns tomorrow morning: Lightly coat a piece (or pieces) of plastic with nonstick spray, cover your pan(s), and transfer them to the fridge to chill overnight. You can bake them directly from the fridge in the morning.

Bake the buns: For 25 minutes, or until golden at edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of a few buns will come out with cinnamon goo on it, but not stretchy, uncooked dough.

While the buns bake, make your glaze: In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.

Finish and eat: When buns come out of the oven, cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then spoon cream cheese glaze on each. Eat right away, which I hope nobody was waiting for my permission to do

3. CHICKPEA CURRY WITH SPINACH AND RICE

    

This chickpea curry is, well, it’s everything. It’s cozy, it’s pantry-friendly, and maybe even a little elegant? *hair toss* even though it’s super super easy? It’s comforting without being heavy, nutritious without being boring, and beautiful without being high maintenance.

Ingredients

  • - 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • - 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • - 1 tablespoon brown sugar (more to taste)
  • - 1 1/2 tablespoons red curry paste (currently loving Maesri or Thai Kitchen brand)
  • one 14-ounce can full fat coconut milk
  • - 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • - one 14-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • - 2–3 cups fresh spinach, chopped
  • - 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • - 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice, uncooked
  •  

    Instructions

  1. Cook rice according to package directions.
  2. Heat the avocado oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and curry paste; sauté until softened and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add the brown sugar, coconut milk, and soy sauce. Bring to a low simmer until thickened slightly.
  4. Add chickpeas, spinach, and cilantro; cook until chickpeas are heated through and spinach is wilted. Mash the chickpeas ever so slightly with the back of a wooden spoon if you want to change up the texture and make it more creamy.
  5. Taste and adjust to your liking – we often add a squeeze of lime or some extra ginger or lemongrass, but it’s really not necessary. The flavor is totally there even with the most basic ingredient list. Serve over rice with a dollop of chili crisp (affiliate link) and a side of pickled cucumber salad if you want
  6. 4. MUSHROOM PASTA
  7.         
  8.  Ingredients

  9. For the Pasta

    • - 8 ounces penne pasta
    • - 4 tablespoons butter
    • - 16 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
    • - 1/4 cup grated or shaved Parmesan cheese
    • - salt and pepper, to taste
    • - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, for topping

    For the Walnut Pesto

    • - 1 cup walnuts
    • - 1 1/2 cups packed greens (spinach or basil are great – but keep some basil for a more traditional pesto flavor)
    • - 1/2 to 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
    • - 1/4 cup olive oil
    • - 1 clove garlic
    • - juice of 1 lemon
    • - salt and pepper to taste

    Instructions

  1. Cook the penne pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Toast the walnuts in a small saut̩ pan over low heat with no butter or oil Рstir and shake the pan until the walnuts are fragrant and toasty (about 5 minutes). In a food processor, combine all the ingredients for the walnut pesto and pulse until mostly smooth.
  3. Heat the butter over medium heat in a wide skillet. Add the mushrooms and saute for 8-10 minutes, until the mushrooms are a deep golden brown. Add the penne pasta to the pan and stir to combine, adding Parmesan, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley or other herbs to taste.
  4. Divide the pasta between 4-6 bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the walnut pesto OR stir the walnut pesto directly into the pasta.
  5. 5. VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS
  7.  
     
  8. Ingredients

  1. - 1/2 pound firm tofu
  2. - 1/2 cup coarsely grated carrots
  3. - 1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
  4. - 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
  5. - 2 tablespoons finely chopped scallions
  6. - 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
  7. - 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
  8. - 2 minced cloves garlic 
  9. - 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  10. - 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  11. - 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 
  12. - 1 egg, lightly beaten
  13. - 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  14. - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  15. - 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
  16. - 1/3 cup chicken stock or water

Instructions


Preheat the oven to 200°F.

Cut the tofu in half horizontally and lay between layers of paper towels. Place on a plate, top with another plate, and place a weight on top (a 14-ounce can of vegetables works well). Let stand 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cut the tofu into 1/4-inch cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the carrots, cabbage, red pepper, scallions, ginger, cilantro, soy sauce, hoisin, sesame oil, egg, salt, and pepper. Lightly stir to combine.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired*. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

Heat a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat. Brush with vegetable oil once hot. Add 8 to 10 potstickers at a time to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, without touching. Once the 2 minutes are up, gently add 1/3 cup chicken stock to the pan, turn the heat down to low, cover, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove wontons to a heatproof platter and place in the warm oven. Repeat until all the wontons are cooked.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy these meals as much as I do :)









Comments

Post a Comment