You're so lucky, limegreenc.
All (most) of this says 'Northern Ontario food!!!' to me. Especially the chicken and dumplings, which I made for my kids ... the scalloped potatoes, the cream of mushroom soup casserole (although my experience was chicken pieces with rice, the smallest pieces going to the smallest kids
), the BLTs.
What about the savory mince (ground beef browned with onions in a pan gravy, served over mashed potatoes)? And the shepherd's pie?
I didn't realize, until I was an adult with four children, that I grew up eating mostly Scottish foods. I made them for my kids, along with the Ukrainian foods my husband loved (vareniki, aka pierogi; holubtsi, aka tiny cabbage rolls; miasa na potechkia, aka beef kabobs; also Baba's Baked Chicken and Baba's Borscht). All of it is good, cheap, stomach-filling comfort food that families can afford.
Unfortunately, it's not the healthiest food. I've changed my menus over the years and now my kids prefer healthier things. But nothing beats these dishes (in moderation) for comfort on a cold winter day when the fireplace/woodstove is throwing enough heat that you can't sit within 10 feet, and the bread dough is rising on the hearth. Oh, and don't forget the beef stew/soup/bourguignon, or the coq au vin (which to my mind doesn't compare to chicken and dumplings) ...
Woodstoves. Casseroles. Homemade bread.
