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     One weekly date that I try to keep as often as possible is going over to my son's house every Tuesday and eating lunch with his two children.  One is almost 3 and the other is 6 months old.  I started when there was only the oldest and we called it "Lunch with Spencer."  Now that I babysit my daughter's baby, Emily, I take her along and it is a nice time for these cousins to connect.  
       I usually stop at a different take-out restaurant and pick up food for everyone.  Since my son works from home, I get lunch for him, my DIL, myself, and the kids.  (Well, Emily mostly shares with me and Amelia is too young for that kind of food yet, but you get the idea.) I have started to learn what everyone likes.  For example, if I stop at Subway, I know my DIL likes the meatball sub.  
        Recently, I was looking at Jan D'Atri's website. She published a version of a Meatball Sub Casserole that I thought looked delicious and I figured that my DIL would really enjoy it.  I tried it out and it was very tasty. DIL did really like it!  My only problem was that I like to do my garlic bread slightly differently and I decided to make my own meatballs.  I wanted the bread to come out a little crispier the second time I made it.  So, I took her awesome recipe and adapted it to my taste and this time, it really hit the spot with ME!  I am going to make this version and take it to "Lunch with Spencer" and see how everyone likes it. 

          Click on the pictures to get a quick overview of what I did: 

Meatball Sub Casserole

     One warning!  There is a lot of stretchy, melty cheese in this casserole that can be kind of deliciously messy!  I sure didn't mind that though!  

P.S.  It is even better if you use good cheese! 

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This is the third installment of my (Alicia) culinary adventure through Germany. There will be one more German food post after this and then we will be moving on to Ecuador!

This has been such a fun little adventure and has made my husband and I excited to go to Europe one day and eat the 100% authentic versions of the meals we've had. I'm a little sad the month is ending but excited for our next "trip" to South America!

But I still have 2 more German dishes to share with you and this week's dish is Käsespätzle and I got the recipe from Kimberly at The Daring Gourmet again.

Described as German mac and cheese, don't be fooled into thinking it's the same just with spätzle instead of macaroni. The German egg noodles, spätzle, are layered with Jarlsberg cheese (or another good Swiss cheese), and caramelized onions and then baked. It is so much more delicious than mac & cheese.

The Jarlsburg Swiss pairs so well with the caramelized onion to give you this great depth of flavor. And the noodles themselves are quite delicious, though I'm having a harder time explaining the flavor of them.

My tips for making käsespätzle:

• Don't skimp on the onion! Next time I might use even more onion.
• The recipe didn't specify what type of onion to use, but I used white onions and it was really good. I think sweet yellow onions would go really well with it also.
• Make sure you have enough time to properly caramelize the onions to a nice brown. I didn't and it was still delicious but I'm looking forward to next time when I do it better.
• You can make your own noodles, there are recipes all over, but you'll need a spätzle maker. I bought a rather large bag of them from Cost Plus World Market, but they're on Amazon too.
  
• Don't skimp on the cheese. It's important.

I didn't make a side dish with our käsespätzle because I felt it didn't need one, I did feel like we did need a large helping of green salad on the side though. You know, for digestion.

Please make this! It's the dish you've been missing your whole life. It's so good and actually very easy to make. There's really no excuse ;)

Have you tried any of the other dishes I've highlighted? What are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!

          I hope you all got your shopping lists ready to make Renny's Healthy Zucchini Lasagna, if you haven't, click the link and get ready because it is time for this week's...
                                    5 Friday Faves!
  This is our weekly event when I ask, "What's your favorite_______?"  and then we give you our answers!  We have a lot of fun with it and hope you will, too as you consider what your answer would be.  When you think of your answer, please share it with us in the comments! We would love to hear it.
           So, here is this week's question:  "What is your favorite comfort food on a cold, rainy or snowy day?"  The weather all over the country has been pretty unpredictable and even in Phoenix we have had some chilly days.  All of the answers given this week really work for me!  

         Alicia got to cheat last week, so this week we will start with her favorite. Alicia actually lives where it is pretty cool and rainy year round. When I asked her the question, she immediately gave this answer:  Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. 

            Alicia's grilled cheese has come a long way since I was a kid! We used to butter bread and stick it in a pan to toast it as the cheese melted on the inside.  Alicia uses her  panini maker  to get those nice toasty grill lines on her bread. (I gave my kids panini makers for Christmas last year, but failed to get one for myself.  I may need to rectify that situation.)   And that isn't any old slice of cheese either. You could use Provolone, Havarti or Gruyere, like Alicia used here. Just looking at this picture makes me want to take that sandwich and dip it in the soup and bite it.  The cheese would stretch out of it and it would be so warm and delicious!  Yum!  Good choice Alicia!  

            The second Fave comes from Lindsey.  On a cold day, she likes to snuggle up and enjoy a big bowl of Chili and a slice of Cornbread! 

          You know Lindsey tries to be the super healthy eater, so her chili is usually made with turkey.  She makes it in a crock pot.  One of her specialties is Pumpkin Chili, which I am sure we can get her to give us the recipe for one of these days on Renny's Recipes.  Also for the amazing Cornbread that she invented herself!  This makes me feel warm just thinking about eating it!

              Madalynn is eating pretty healthy lately as well.  She is limiting her meat intake and going for a lot of vegan options.. Remember these amazing chocolate cookies? She still has a sweet tooth, but is finding healthier ways to satisfy it.  When I asked her for her favorite cold weather comfort food, she said,  "Cinnamon Rolls!".   Then she proceeded to make these vegan, yeast free ones!  She has even given you the recipe!

               Now for my choice!  When I was a little girl, we lived out in the country.  We had a long driveway to walk down when the weather was cold after we got off of the school bus.  Many times, my mom would have warm butterscotch pudding waiting for us to have as a snack when we got in from the cold.  The pudding was still a little warm but soft set.  It was delicious and it also warmed my heart, so whenever I think of comfort food, I think of Butterscotch Pudding.

             Now, if you make Butterscotch Pudding from a box, that is okay, but make sure it is the cook and serve kind, not instant!  Yuck!  The cooked kind is so much better.  This time, I used my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook recipe for Butterscotch Pudding from scratch.  That link goes to the edition I have.  Here is a newer edition.  This cookbook has been a go to for me throughout my married life. We received it as a wedding gift.   When you make pudding from scratch, you use the egg yolks and not the whites.  So, I made a little meringue with the egg whites, and browned them with my  creme brulee torch.  Then, I drizzled a little caramel sauce over the top.  They were delicious, if I say so myself.  The bonus was that I got to use the torch, it is so much fun to use.  This set comes with little ramekins for your creme brulee! 

            That was 4!  Are you ready for #5?  This week our special guest is Jessica Reynolds, my DIL and genealogy buff extraordinaire!   She has a blog called "Do As I'm Doing"  where she teaches some fabulous things about finding your ancestors and making a book like this one that she gave to my husband for Christmas.  She spells out so clearly how to do it and includes things in the book that you may have never thought of including or even how to do it.  
             So, I asked Jessica what her favorite cold weather comfort food is and she said that when it rains her mom would always say it was time to make cookies!  So, that is when she bakes cookies! Chocolate Chip Cookies and she uses the recipe on the back of the bag. 

             So, that is our Five Friday Faves!  I hope we have warmed you up a little just reading our selections and maybe you can find some comfort from all of the cold weather out there! Let us know if you have a fave that we should know about!  
                Come back tomorrow and read about Alicia's Non Valentine's Day Party and Date ideas!  She always has fun plans to share.  You won't want to miss them!