There's nothing better than spending a Saturday doing absolutely nothing.  And by nothing, I mean doing ZERO things.  That means no errands, no chores, no putting on of clothes other than pajamas.  Yup, totally irresponsible....but totally awesome. 

Maybe you're saying to yourself, "Oh Katie, that's silly - I couldn't possibly neglect my plans/errands/life to do nothing for an entire 24 hours."  Oh but you can.  Just sleep in and make a choice to do nothing.  Oh wait, you will need one thing to if you plan to do nothing....sustenance.

Autumn weather and pajamas make me think about warm and cozy suppers.  I'm talking about the kind of comfort food that warms your entire body.  If you're going to be lazy, your food should be lazy too, and a slow cooker is the perfect solution.  You can lay on the couch while your food cooks itself, making your entire home smell fantastic.

When I was a kid, my dad always made goulash during the winter.  Traditional goulash is a hungarian stew, that pulls most of it's flavor from paprika, red peppers, lots of onions and caraway seeds - and my family always had it over egg noodles.  When I decided to make goulash a few lazy Saturday's ago - I was faced with a problem: 1. I had no idea if it was healthy 2.  I had no idea how to make it.

Since most recipes that I try from Eating Well turn out great - I decided to try their lightened-up version of goulash.  It's very non-traditional, but tasted really fantastic.  This recipe really helps you stay lazy, you don't even have to sear the beef before you let it braise!  The spice rub ensured that the meat was really flavorful and by the time it was done cooking it was literally falling apart.  I tasted the broth within the last hour of cooking and adjusted the seasoning a bit, just based on my own tastes (increased the salt a touch and added a bit of cracked black pepper).

I decided to serve my goulash on its own without any added carbs - but I think it would be great over egg noodles or with potato.  We had ours with a simple salad with vinaigrette and a bottle of red wine (hey, it's the perfect way to end a lazy Saturday).

What's your favorite comfort food from your childhood?  Leave a comment or shoot me an email because I'd love to try the recipe.

PS...wondering what happened to my promise of a month of chili recipes?  Coming soon, it's taken me awhile to gather the best of the best, but you will not be disappointed.


Hungarian Beef Goulash from EatingWell.com

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, (such as chuck), trimmed and cubed
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons sweet or hot paprika, (or a mixture of the two), preferably Hungarian (see Ingredient Note)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Place beef in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Crush caraway seeds with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the beef with the spice mixture and toss to coat well. Top with onion and bell pepper.
2. Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer. Pour over the beef and vegetables. Place bay leaves on top. Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours on high or 7 to 7 1/2 hours on low.
3. Discard the bay leaves; skim or blot any visible fat from the surface of the stew. Add the cornstarch mixture to the stew and cook on high, stirring 2 or 3 times, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

The weather this weekend was incredible.  Seriously, if you looked up 'autumn' in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of this weekend.  Jared and I spent lots of time celebrating the best things about fall.  There's something about the cool, crisp weather that feels so cozy and makes adults crave the things that they enjoyed as kids - things like apple picking, carving pumpkins and eating comfort foods.  This weather also makes me want to spend more time outdoors (which generally means ditching yoga for a walk outside in the evening).

On Sunday, Jared and I decided to head upstate to go apple picking.  We decided to head to the Hudson River Valley (right near where we went to college) because we know the area well and wanted to see the new Walkway Over the Hudson....and I'll be honest, we were both really eager to drive by campus and reminisce about our college days.  It was so nice to spend the day together outside, and I returned from our trip with a ton of apples that are ready to be made into healthy recipes

A few things that I learned this weekend:

1.  Apple picking can easily spin out of control.  You SAY you're not going to get too many apples and maybe you even promise that you won't get more than ten - next thing you know, you can't even carry all of the apples that you bought and you have no idea what to do with all of them.

2.  Thinking about the good ol' days feels really good.  After Jared and I did the Walkway over the Hudson, we walked over to Noah's in Poughkeepsie, which was our favorite college bar.  It was really nice to stop in there, look at how things have (and haven't) changed and talk about how much fun we had at Marist.

3.  It's important to make time to relax.  Seriously you guys, I know you're busy but you need to make time to turn off your phone and go outside.  You'll feel better and when you turn your phone back on and come back to reality, you'll be a more productive and calm member of society (or at least I am).

So on to the apples.  I have a huge bag of beautiful apples (Empire, Fuji and Golden & Red Delicious) that are begging to be eaten.  When I woke up this morning, I decided that I absolutely must have apple cake with yogurt sauce.  This cake isn't too sweet so it makes a perfect breakfast, and at 159 calories a slice, it also makes a perfect snack or dessert.  I'm also a big fan of my apartment smelling like delicious baked goods, and the cinnamon, sugar and apples really handle that job.

In sum, my advice to you this week is to enjoy the weather, turn off your phone and bake something that tastes like fall.  

Scrumptious Apple Cake (from All New Light Cooking from Publications International Ltd. 2003 edition)

3 egg whites
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups cored peeped apple slices (I used Fuji)
Yogurt Glaze

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Beat egg whites until slightly foamy; add sugar, applesauce and vanilla.  Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl; add to applesauce mixture.  Spread apples in a 13x9 inch pan or 9 inch round springform pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Spread batter over apples.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.  Prepare yogurt glaze; spread evenly over cooled cake.

Yogurt Glaze:
Combine 1 1/2 cups plain or vanilla nonfat yogurt, 3 tablespoons brown sugar (or to taste) and 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Stir together until smooth.