Snow Day and Comfort Food

So.... my day didn't go at all the way I planned it. It started out with this: 

... and ended up with the kids home (and stir crazy) and I didn't get a single thing done. We've tried to make the most of our snow day. This snow storm is ridiculous. The entire city practically shut down- restaurants, doctor offices, court houses! Eventually, some sort of snow traffic emergency regulation was instated and basically prohibited any car that wasn't equipped with snow tires or chains to be on the roads. Apparently there are hundreds of stranded cars on the highways (mine is just down the street). Our roadside assistance towing company "wasn't towing non-wrecked vehicles" today. Hopefully I'll get it back tomorrow!

Here is the door from our garage at around 9am.

This was the snow in the afternoon.... and my shovel was behind that door!

The kids "helped" me shovel a pathway with their pots and spoons... :)

Jackson was thrilled to make snow angels again!

He was also very eager to help me shovel, until he realized the snow was really heavy and shoveling is really hard work. Especially when it's over a foot deep.

Belle was content to sit and "make oatmeal"... She would pretend eat it and then proclaim that "it's delicious!"

We enjoyed a warm cozy fire along with some hot chocolate (that was really just warm) after we came inside!

Jackson fell asleep by 7:00 and Belle utilized the time to talk uninterruptedly for two hours..... two hours.

And now for a recipe....

I must have known somehow that today was going to be the perfect day for one of my favorite comfort meals when I did meal planning a week or so ago... Actually, I picked it because it's so super easy (and fool-proof) so it makes a great meal for when I work all day). I thought I'd go ahead and share because it's one of my favorites... and it's perfect for a snowy day! Note: this isn't the most healthy meal, but like I said... it's comfort food and it's delicious. 

This is the inspiration:

These bowls came out when we were first married. We ordered them once and they were super tasty.... also pretty expensive! So, now I make them at home. I'm normally not a fan of a one-dish-meal, but this is an exception. 

Here are the ingredients... 

{PS: I buy almost everything generic and/or from Aldi}

• Instant Potatoes
• Popcorn chicken
• Brown Gravy
• Corn
• Shredded cheese

Make the potatoes (or use real potatoes, it just takes longer). Make gravy. Heat chicken and corn. And then put it all together in a bowl. I do it in this order: potatoes, chicken, corn, gravy, cheese. Sooooooo easy. And it takes about 15 minutes. Now, I did buy the chicken this time from the deli counter at Wal-mart, but I normally use frozen. And I've even used chicken nuggets before. Whatever gets the job done!

I took a pic, but I don't think it looks very appetizing. But I promise you, it'd delish. And easy... did I mention that? My kids devour this, which is a total bonus. If you make it-- let me know!!