We know this year’s holidays are going to look completely different this year, but we can still pull out some of those classic comfort foods to get in the holiday spirit! There is no shortage of comfort food in Texas, but we have some special favorites and some EASY recipes to help inspire you to some good ‘ole fashioned home cooking.
Pioneer has been a staple in my pantry and literally goes back generations for my family. My mom cooked with Pioneer, my grandmother cooked with Pioneer, heck you’ve probably cooked with Pioneer and not even realized it! The ideas are endless, the ease and convenience of their mixes takes out all the guesswork, AND you’ll feel like a super star chef when really you’re just one tired mama!
Here are some of our Comfort Foods that are sure to be a crowd pleaser….. errrr….. an immediate family pleaser 🤪.
Breakfast Comfort Food Ideas
Ingredients
- 3 cups Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit and Baking Mix
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 lb. Breakfast Sausage
- 1 pkg. Pioneer Country Gravy Mix
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450oF.
- Prepare biscuits according to Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit and Baking Mix packaging.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, crumble sausage and cook until golden brown. Set aside.
- Prepare Pioneer Country Gravy Mix to package instructions.
- Using a slotted spoon, add crumbled sausage to the prepared gravy.
- Split open fresh baked biscuits and spoon warm gravy on top.
Ingredients
1/2 each large yellow onion
2 cup frozen hashbrown potatoes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 lb. cooked and crumbled breakfast sausage
12 each cooked scrambled eggs
1/2 cup chopped pickled jalapenos
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cup prepared Pioneer Peppered Gravy
1/4 lb. cooked chopped bacon
2 cup Pioneer Baking Mix
3/4 cup milk
6 each green onions, white and light green parts, sliced thinly
Preparation Instructions
- Heat butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
- Mix together onion, potatoes and mushrooms and add to the pan. Sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Shake pan occasionally to prevent burning.
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.
- Mix together hashbrown mixture, sausage, eggs, jalapeños, cheese and gravy.
- Add mixture to pan.
- Mix together Pioneer Baking Mix, milk and bacon. Crumble mixture loosely over the top of the ingredients in the pan.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is nicely browned and biscuit mixture is baked all the way through.
- Top with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Ingredients
3 ½ cup. Pioneer Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 eggs
1 ½ cup water
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
Preparation Instructions
- Combine pancake mix, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl. Stir until well mixed. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, water, evaporated milk, pumpkin and vanilla extract. Stir until well mixed.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients together and stir until well combined.
- Using a 2 ounce ladle, drop batter onto lightly greased, preheated to 375ºF griddle.
- Flip when edges begin to dry and bubbles appear on top (approximately 1 1/2 minutes). Flip only once.
- Cook for approximately 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 minutes on the second side. Serve.
Ingredients
3 Cups Pioneer Original or Buttermilk Baking Mix
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 cup Powdered sugar
4 tsp. milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla or maple extract
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan lightly.
- Blend Pioneer Baking Mix and 1 cup milk; mix thoroughly.
- Turn dough onto a surface sprinkled with additional mix. Knead 10 times. Roll dough into a 12 x 14-inch rectangle, 1/4-inch thick.
- Brush dough with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle on top of butter. Allow butter to absorb sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins or nuts if desired.
- Roll dough from long side and seal edges.
- Cut into 1-inch slices and place in prepared pan. Brush tops with 1/4 cup melted butter.
- Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with remaining butter.
- Blend powdered sugar, 4 teaspoons milk, and vanilla or maple flavoring. Drizzle over warm rolls.
Comfort Food Snack Ideas
Ingredients
Preparation Instructions
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MIX the Pioneer Taco Seasoning Mix thoroughly with the sour cream and set aside.
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PREPARE the 7-layer dip by spreading the refried beans on the bottom of a deep 8×8-inch casserole dish.
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SPREAD the seasoned sour cream evenly over top of the refried beans.
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SPREAD the prepared guacamole evenly over top of the seasoned sour cream.
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SPREAD the salsa evenly over the top of the prepared guacamole.
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SPRINKLE the shredded cheese evenly over the top of the salsa.
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SPREAD the shredded lettuce evenly over the top of the shredded cheese.
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TOP the 7-layer dip with the sliced black olives.
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SERVE the dip with tortilla chips.
Ingredients
1 lb. Pork Sausage, ground
3 cups Pioneer Buttermilk Biscuit Mix
2 cups Pimento Cheese
1/2 cup Parsley, chopped
8 ounces Mild Cheddar Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400oF.
- In a large bowl, combine raw pork sausage, Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix, pimento cheese, and parsley.
- Form mixture into equally sized, roughly 2 ounces, patties. Place one 1/2 –inch cube into the center of each patty and form a sausage ball around the cube of cheese.
- Place prepared sausage balls onto a sheet pan and bake for 22-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Check out this classic comfort food!
Ingredients
2 cup Pioneer Chicken Gravy, prepared
2 can (16 oz) green beans, drained
1 can French fried onions
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced, canned, drained
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil an 8 x 8-inch pan.
- Add green beans, half of onions, and mushrooms to prepared Pioneer Chicken Gravy. Pour into pan.
- Bake 20 minutes. Top with remaining onions.
Comfort Food Main Dish Ideas
Ingredients
2 cups Pioneer Roasted Chicken Gravy Mix
2 lbs. Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless)
½ tbsp. Salt
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
½ cup (4oz.) Hatch green chiles, diced
¼ cup Cilantro, chopped
8 oz. Cream cheese
4 oz. Sour cream
1 lb. Shredded Jack cheese, divided
12 Corn or Flour Tortillas
Preparation Instructions
- PREHEAT conventional oven to 350°F.
- PLACE seasoned (salted) chicken thighs in a large pot and cover with just enough water to submerge all of chicken. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
- SIMMER for 30 minutes; partially drain, reserving 1 ½ cups of cooking liquid.
- PREPARE Pioneer Roasted Chicken Gravy, using 1 ½ cups of reserved chicken cooking liquid and bringing to boil, then use ½ cup cool water (per package instructions to make slurry) and adding to boiling cooking liquid. Simmer for 1 minute then set aside.
- LET chicken cool slightly, then shred by hand. Set aside in cooler.
- Sauté garlic in olive oil until golden (1 minute), then add hatch green chiles to prevent garlic from burning. Add this to gravy, whisking to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and whisk in cilantro, cream cheese, and sour cream until combined and cream cheese is melted.
- SPREAD one large spoonful of sauce to the bottom of a 13×9 inch casserole dish and set aside.
- PREPARE tortillas by warming on a griddle or microwave and keep warm in tortilla warmer.
- MIX in a large bowl, cooled shredded chicken and half of shredded cheese (½ lb.) to combine.
- FILL tortillas with about ¼ cup of chicken and cheese mixture, roll the tortillas and place seam side down into the dish. Repeat until you have filled the dish with enchiladas.
- SPREAD enough of the sauce on top of the tortillas to cover. Then, spread the remaining shredded cheese on top of the sauce.
- BAKE for 10 minutes, or until cheese is lightly browned on top and serve with remaining sauce.
Tip: Chicken can be cooked ahead and cooled until ready to make enchiladas. In addition, the sauce and enchiladas can be made ahead, built and cooled until ready to bake. If baking cooled pre-built enchiladas, allow an additional 5-10 minutes to heat enchiladas thoroughly (internal temperature of 165°F).
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1/2 medium Sweet Yellow Onion, diced
1 each Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 each Poblano Pepper
2 tsp. Cumin
2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Salt
1 each Roasted Chicken, shredded
1 10 oz. can Diced Tomatoes with Chilis, drained
1 pkg. Pioneer® Country Gravy Mix, prepared
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
8 each Corn Tortillas
1/2 cup Mexican Cheese Blend, shredded
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350oF. Lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a large sauté pan, heat oil until shimmering. Add onion, red bell pepper, and poblano pepper and cook until tender. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine cooked onion and peppers, cumin, chili powder, salt, chicken, tomatoes, Pioneer® Country Gravy, and cilantro, stir until combined.
- Evenly spread half of the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Layer half of the corn tortillas on top of the filling.
- Spread the remaining half of the filling on top of the corn tortillas and top with the remaining corn tortillas.
- Top with shredded cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and golden.
Tip: Garnish with diced jalapeños, pickled jalapeños, fresh sliced jalapeños, or fresh picked cilantro.
Get your comfort food fix with this favorite!
Ingredients
4 Tbsp. Butter
1 each Onion, diced
16 oz. Chopped Broccoli, frozen
3 cups White Rice, cooked
1/2 cup Milk
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 pkg. Pioneer® Country Gravy Mix
2 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350oF. Lightly grease a 13″ x 9” baking dish.
- In a sauté pan over medium heat, melt butter until bubbling.
- Add onions and cook until translucent. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine onion, broccoli, cooked rice, milk, salt, Pioneer® Country Gravy Mix, and cheddar cheese.
- Transfer mixture to baking dish, spreading evenly, and bake for 30 minutes.
- Allow to cool before serving.
Desserts and Sweets that fill our Comfort Food Buckets
Ingredients
6 cups Pioneer Brand All Purpose Flour
2 cups sugar
2 cups shortening
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
¾ cup molasses
¼ cup corn syrup
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon, ground
1 ½ tsp. ground cloves
1 ½ tsp. ginger
1 tbsp. meringue powder
2 tbsp. (or as needed up to an additional 1 ½ tsp.) water
3 cups powdered sugar
Preparation Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper or use a non-stick baking mat.
- Cream the shortening and the sugar.
- Blend in the salt and eggs.
- Add molasses and corn syrup.
- Add spices and flour.
- Form the dough into a ball. On a flat and smooth floured surface roll the dough into 1/4″ thickness. Cut out desired shapes.
- Bake the shapes 30-35 minutes until hard to the touch. Shapes must be harder than regular cookies to ensure the integrity of shape.
TO MAKE THE ROYAL ICING:
- Whisk the meringue powder and water until frothy. You can use a stand or hand mixer.
- Add powdered sugar and whip on high speed until icing is thick and bright white.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix
¾ cup Milk
1 ¼ cups Greek Yogurt
32 oz. Blueberry Pie Filling
Preparation Instructions
- PREHEAT conventional oven to 425˚F.
- ADD milk to a mixing bowl, then add Pioneer Buttermilk Baking Mix on top.
- MIX ingredients together until a thick, smooth batter forms.
- DROP a small spoonful of batter onto a parchment lined baking sheet with about 1-inch in between scoops.
- BAKE for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.
- COMBINE yogurt with half (16 oz.) of the pie filling; set aside.
- DIVIDE yogurt mixture evenly into the bottoms of 12 serving dishes or cups. Top with remaining pie filling, dividing evenly between 12 dishes and then top with 1 biscuit and serve.
Tip: these can be made ahead, covered and chilled, then serve.
What are you serving this holiday season?
Pioneer products have been served at kitchen tables to Presidential dining rooms since 1851. Inside every bag, box and package is a long and proud Texas family heritage, manufacturing expertise, a devotion to quality and superior taste. Together, we are stewards of the brand. Its success is critical to our company. We are called to protect it and help it flourish with our collective tools and talents, so customers can enjoy our products for generations to come.
