Kindle Scout Diary - Five Days Left & My Five Favorite Comfort Foods

I've reached the final countdown. It will be great to be done, but I'm sure I'll be a mess during that waiting time, looking at my inbox every five minutes for the verdict from Kindle Press. I keep telling myself that I'll be fine whether they publish it or not. Self-publishing The Standout, like I have with my other books, is not the end of the world.

And win or lose, I'm happy I tried. I had no idea how supportive everyone would be. So many people have posted for me, encouraging their friends and family to nominate my book.(This actually works well and has put me in Hot & Trending more than once.) I've always been terrible at self-promotion, but one benefit to doing this campaign is I've forced myself to toot my own horn. (Oh, BTW, if you have nominated The Standout yet, please click here right now and do so! Please & thank you!) Anyway, the enthusiasm and encouragement I've received has been extremely gratifying.

And I'm all about gratification, instant and otherwise. That's why today, in honor of "five days left," I'm going to list my five favorite comfort foods.

#5: Mac & Cheese

I'm talking about the homemade kind, with melted cheddar, cream, dry mustard, and garlic breadcrumbs on top. Once or twice a year I'll make a batch and freeze most of it, and then defrost small portions to enjoy throughout the winter. It's especially good accompanying seafood.

#4: Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I learned to make it from my mom. She told me to use a grocery store rotisserie chicken, cut it up and season it, and layer it with corn tortillas, cheese, green chile sauce, onion, and cilantro. I'm not above making this every month or so.

#3: Tuna Melt

The Uptown Diner (now closed) in Minneapolis made the best tuna melt ever. I can't replicate what they did, probably because I don't keep that much butter in my refrigerator. So again, I make them like how my mom does, which is also really good. They're open faced, on English muffin halves. Served with tomato soup, they remind me of childhood: Tuesday evening dinner, after I got home from dance class.

#2: Chocolate Cake

Every year for my birthday I make my own chocolate cake. My husband always offers to either make or buy me a cake, but I always refuse. I like to experiment with recipes from my Chocolate Cake Doctor cook book. Maybe by the time I turn 70 I'll have tried them all, but I doubt it. The chocolate midnight cake is so good I've made it multiple times.

#1: Spaghetti

It's my favorite Sunday night meal! I make it often, so I often skip the garlic bread, and lately I've started mixing in bean sprouts with the noodles, which is actually really good. I also love spicy meatballs. The only concession I can make there is reduced fat pork sausage. What else can I do?

Honorable Mention: Sriracha Sauce

I would put it at number one, but it's a sauce, not a food. I use it like little kids use ketchup. I put it on everything I mentioned above, except the chocolate cake. But does anyone know of a good Sriracha/chocolate cake recipe? Let me know!