My go-to dish for the winter is my late mother’s ham hocks and bean soup recipe. It was what soups were like in the 1940s before the wussies got their hands on our cooking. It freezes wonderfully.
I have resisted the temptation to comment on your mama's ham hocks.
See? I'm rehabilitated.
It would be a sin in the South not to serve that with cornbread and some chow chow.
I made grilled chicken strips and plunked them into a garlic cream sauce with spinach, tomatoes, bacon and tossed linguini. It was great!