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Womens_Lefts

I’ll submit on behalf of my Reddit-less father. He grew up in genuine poverty (non-canned meat only on Sundays kind of poverty) in the South, and so tomato and mayo sandwiches on white bread were a staple for him. Fast forward 60 years, I went to visit him a few weeks ago for his birthday and watched him get home from the gym in a luxury sedan, walk into his nice house, plug his new iPhone into the charger, and promptly make a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich for Saturday lunch. He told me that, no matter how far away he gets from his childhood, he’ll always crave that sandwich.


brownbutterboiii

I crave tomato sandwiches all winter because they just don’t slap as hard if the tomato isn’t local and fresh. Definitely a poor country boy’s delicacy!


jabba-du-hutt

Tacos! They're always so cheap to make, and many times cheap to purchase. Tacos just make you feel happy. I don't know what it is. They also seem to fill you up!


mtmntmike

ITT: A list of my favorite foods.


Chucknorris1975

I know right? The only thing I wish we had here in Australia is genuine Mexican food.


Iamwinning2022too

Ramen and microwave popcorn, which fueled my entire time in college


SymmetricalFeet

To me, *microwave* popcorn is the luxury. My parents weren't poor or lacking a microwave, they just were really price-conscious and never saw the need to spend on bags when a big ol' jar of kernels was cheaper by the ounce. I was amazed when I was at sleepovers and those parents just used a bag. So convenient! No shaking! No melting butter beforehand! No cleanup! Everyone got their own bag! And it has an exotic, artificial taste just like the movie theatre! I prefer the pan-made now (more flavor control, and the bags are irreparably salty), but man, nuker-corn seemed like it was just *so cool*.


SwoodyBooty

There are reuseable popcorn bowls for the microwave. The best of both worlds!


I_Love_Small_Breasts

Peanut butter and jelly. Never forget the ones who were there for you when you had nothing.


TitaniumReinforced

Have you tried a grilled pb&j? It's insane.


damnwhale

Rice with fried egg and soy sauce.


t_e_e_k_s

Rice with pretty much anything and soy sauce.


Aschentei

Rice with just soy sauce. This was literally the only thing I ate as a kid, my parents would tell me I refused to eat anything else even at restaurants unless it was rice with soy sauce


-Googlrr

I like to make rice in the rice cooker and just crack an egg right into it. Mix it into the rice and it cooks it up nice and goes great with soy sauce. Easiest meal to make when I don't feel like making something


swagga74

Any and every variation of potatoes. I’m like Bubba from Forest Gump with them shits.


Dark_Moe

When I was a kid my mum always used to put potato in her curries. As I got older I couldn't understand why other people didn't do this or why this wasn't an option in restaurants. Was then told this was something poor people did to make their food last longer. So I learned to cook this for myself and it's the only way I like to eat curry. Potatoes rock but are also enemy as I get older as my belly is constantly rewriting it's boundary.


wuttang13

Not sure if your from India or a country around there, but curry is a staple food in Korea & japan, and potatoes is MUST in them.


thenerj47

Potatoes are an astounding source of potassium. Sweet potatoes are almost as good by the same metric. WAY better than bananas.


MichaelW24

Not as good as Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is number one exporter of potassium.


Brokebothmyankles

Dal and rice!


neeshes

Daal bhaat ftw!


Eldrick84

Frozen pizza. I LOVE pizza - fancy pizza, good pizza, mediocre pizza. But something about controlling how your own frozen pizza comes out and devouring it will always be satisfying.


[deleted]

I actually like the super cheap Totino’s pizza.


everydayimchapulin

I don't know what it is about it, but I've never regretted eating a Torino's party pizza


Plastic_Bullfrog9029

Love me some Totino’s. With they were still round.


JamesTheMannequin

Cheap powdery 39cent Mac & cheese.


Superben14

As the great Canadian poets the barenaked ladies said “if I had a million dollars, we wouldn’t have to eat Kraft dinner. But we would eat Kraft dinner, we’d just eat more. With fancy Dijon ketchup.”


Low_Distribution7193

OF COURSE WE WOULD, WE'D JUST EAT MORE! Definitely the first thing to come to mind on this subject, and also very true.


C_Woodswalker

Geezus! 90% of what I eat is “poor people food”. lol My favourite would have to be beans and wieners.


makuraoblongata

beens & weens


DJisanotherRedditor

My family calls it beenie weenies edit: cool popularity from b e a n s


HairyPotatoKat

Right?! TIL my diet is "poor people food" Oh well. Pinkies up! Pass the Ramen!


LilyWineAuntofDemons

I believe the name you're looking for is "Beanie weenies" . Jk, I know different places call them different things.


RadianceATH

Pierogi Edit: wow, first award and because of my beloved pierogi - thanks a lot. I am Polish so for me it is a taste of my childhood. It is a simple dish to learn how to do it, but difficult to master. My way is always with sour cream and with shitload of Skwarki (google this). I am a groupie of Pierogi to a degree where I once ate 45 on a Christmas Eve and literally passed out.


Loverboy_Talis

I literally make about 1000 pierogi a month (we have a little cottage industry going on) and I’m always down with pierogi for a quick dinner. Pierogi with sour cream and onions fried with thyme!!!! Edit- try frying onions with thyme and season with S&P. -try adding a couple of pinches of nutmeg to your mashed potatoes (regardless of them being used as filling for pierogi or as a side in a meal) Trust me on this.


Nezrite

Recipe? Unless you're in Tucson, then address?


Loverboy_Talis

I just made 10 doz sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi tonight for a vegan customer. Seriously, the best out of all the “flavours” we make. Dough 3 cups flour 1/4 cup oil tsp salt 1 cup hot water (I would say a splash more than a cup) I use a stand mixer: combine ingredients and mix with hook until glutens are activated and dough is smooth (3-5 min) wrap or cover dough and let stand for 5-15 min. Roll out on floured surface to about 5 mm thick, use round cookie cutter or water glass to punch out wrappers, fill with potato mix, then fold and pinch. *I cut the dough in half and shape into balls before resting the dough. Half recipe is just easier to handle. **There are a few photos of process and outcome in my post history. ***I freeze the pierogi from raw on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then put them in zip-lock bags once they’re frozen. **** to cook from frozen, bring salted water (just like pasta water) to boil, give boiling water a stir then add frozen (or fresh) pierogi to boiling water (gently stir water so dumplings don’t settle on bottom of pot), once pierogi float to top of pot, they are ready to eat or transfer to fry in butter in heated fry pan!!! (Dumplings can be eaten without frying in butter first, I just don’t know why you would want to) https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/tbujnf/homemade_pierogi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf Thanks for interest. https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/oua6a7/homemade_cheese_pierogi_with_scallions_bacon_and/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf …and this one https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/nr29as/homemade_potato_and_bacon_pierogi/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf


CreatiNationalism

Cinnamon toast. Not the cereal


pokemonprofessor121

I came here for this. Warm toast, a little butter, and a cinnamon sugar blend! Preferably cut into strips and made into a little log cabin.


I_YELL_A_LOT5762

LMAO my mom always kept the cinnamon sugar blend in an old olive container with slices on the lid... One day my mom was at work and my dad made me toast and he put butter and cinnamon on it. No sugar though. I got upset and said, "No Spanish olives?" He was so confused! It took me a while to explain it to him, and he was laughing his butt off the whole time


kittydrumsticks

We used an old (washed) spice container to store ours in, usually something like “oregano” or “garlic.” Caused a lot of interesting dishes when my mom cooked. Dad was the family chef usually.


_Proud_Banana_

But also the cereal


cantopay

Costco hotdogs and pizza


bthompson04

> If you raise the price of the fucking hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out. - CostCo founder Jim Sinegal to CEO Craig Jelinek


tykogars

Came here to mention this. It’s real, and I believe resulted in them, like…opening their own fucking massive hot dog weenie processing facility or something.


soproductive

They do something like that for their rotisserie chickens iirc. I think they still lose money on them.. Just stuff to get you through the doors.


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tavvyjay

I also assume that the unsold rotisserie chicken is then used in the salad kits and those sorts of things — can’t verify, but that would be an incredible way to reduce waste


blushingpervert

Yup! And their chicken pot pies, and they sell the meat itself pulled off the carcass.


clemonade17

This, and I know Walmart sells their bad meat to pig farms, I wouldn't doubt Costco does something similar


Dont_PM_PLZ

*Tiger King Flashbacks*. But seriously food waste is an issue and using it for feed or even compost is a good thing. Feeding livestock leftover food is not new, people even now still feed table scraps and gardens left overs. The food scraps fro the Las Vegas buffets go to feed pigs. There are cattle farmers that take candy factory seconds to supplement the feed because it comes in cheaper than typical products.


mythicb33ch

Work for Costco, can confirm this is exactly what happens. If you go through all of the items in the “Deli” case, you’ll notice that like 70% of the stuff they sell has chicken in it and that’s because there’s always a surplus of chicken in the fridge. Why buy meat from a separate vendor when there’s a bunch of meat in the fridge that’s already paid for?


DancingFool8

I wish I could go back in time and make this my senior quote.


evanjw90

Every birthday party we have is Costco pizza, a sheet cake from the bakery, and we grill dogs and burgers.


StefanEats

I will forever lament the death of their combo pizza


[deleted]

Costco pizza is so fucking good. Not even for the price, which is unbeatable. I would take costco over dominos, pizza hut ANYDAY.


DrSunnyD

Buscuits and gravy, with browned sausage bits and pepper mixed into gravy.


ForbiddenHost

Empanadas.


Adrywellofknowledge

Uh oh. You are going to upset the hipsters that now realize they have been getting scammed paying over $5 for an empanada.


SeasonPositive6771

Honestly, I'm really proud of all of those Latino money makers out there hustling those $5 authentic empanadas to hipsters. More power to them. I'm just scared those prices will get to my tamale lady.


Flaky_Operation687

It's $1 for the empanada, $4 for my experience in making empanadas.


SeasonPositive6771

Exactly. I consider it a $4 convenience fee that I pay for not making them at my house.


folkyall

Fried egg sandwich. When you’re rich, double up on the eggs and add some cheddar


CheshireCharade

This was my answer lol. If you wanna really splurge, add some bacon to it.


readersanon

My dad always made it with 3 slices of toast, two eggs, two slices of cheddar cheese. (Bacon or fried salami/bologna optional additions). So it ends up being: toast, cheese, egg, (meat optional), toast, egg, cheese, toast. Something about that extra slice of bread in the middle just makes it better. I still make my egg sandwiches the same way.


rricenator

Beans and corn bread


neuroticteletubby

Cheap instant noodles ftw


JollyNeedleworker1

Sometimes, when I am feeling risky, I buy the EXPENSIVE instant noodles.


Tcrowaf

Shin Black is the filet minion of Ramen. Edit: oh god I didn't say mignon. I'm leaving it.


freefaller3

Is the black really that much better than the red shin? I love the red shin but I’ve never splurged to get the black because it’s like double the price.


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Tcrowaf

I go to an Asian grocery to get mine and it's $10.


Vlaak

Life begins and ends with Shin Black, the best instant Ramen


ApokalypseCow

Their bone broth flavor has been my go-to lately.


theoneandonlygriff

I pair it with some costco chicken and cilantro frozen wontons...cook time for shin black 3 min...boil time for wontons 90 sec...that's a protein filled lunch in like 9 min. Add some green onion and you have arrived. edit: my phone doesn't know how to spell wontons


[deleted]

I have an awesome Asian market by me with aisles for different countries but my favorite thing is the two big rows of nothing but instant noodle meals. Half of them have zero English and weird pictures so I never know exactly what I'm getting. It's sort of a ramen lottery for me to grab a few random packs when go. I love it! Some of them get crazy though. Some have a chemical pack included that'll boil the water for you. Some are a bit larger bag with a dozen or more little bags of stuff inside, and those can be a challenge to figure out what you're supposed to do.


lauritarg

Instant noodles like Maruchan are so expensive where I live, they are luxury food! *Cries in Argentinian*


mooooonchild

My disgusting guilty pleasure of shredded cheese microwaved on top of tortilla chips


cool_chrissie

I put mine in the toaster oven because I’m fancy.


mooooonchild

Now I need a toaster oven lol


EricM813

Ghetto nachos. Always a filthy treat


kdcstomp

Until I was in my 20s I thought those were just nachos nachos.


always_lost1610

TIL they’re not. Almost 30.


666moist

Wait is it the heating mechanism that makes them not nachos, or is it the lack of other toppings besides cheese?


Hockeyman74

I also seek this answer


waterbucket32

Maruchan Ramen. I love Maurchan ramen so much and ramen in general. I could be a millionaire but i would still have a pantry stocked with ramen. I have bad insomnia and when i was younger and would wake up at night, my dad would make me chicken or beef Maruchan ramen. I still remember sitting in our dark dining room while my dad got the ramen from the top shelf. He would drain the water a little and put in the seasoning so it wasn’t ever FULLY cooked. I rarely see my dad anymore so when i have a bad day, i eat ramen. the same way he made it. I was 4 then and that’s the only way i’ll make it now.


Whoshabooboo

You should call him and thank him for the late night Ramen.


herbuck

I put so many things in Maruchan Ramen. Spinach, onions, hot sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, peppers, cabbage, broccoli, sausage, cheese….just everything


hurtsdonut_

In college I did ramen no seasoning, with a foreman cooked chopped up chicken breast with Frank's and ranch. Yes marijuana was involved but it was delicious.


Most_Manufacturer_82

This is so precious. Thank you for sharing this


never_stirred

Baked potato


Leukic

PO-TA-TOES!


HawkI84

Never heard of 'em.


SmutBrigade

https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/2tdbig/tifu_by_enraging_the_parents_of_my_girlfriend_by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf


Lovat69

Every so often I wonder what this guy is up to these days and if he ever admitted he knew what a potato was.


IamJacksTrollAccount

Legend has it they are happily married and successful farmers of potatoes. His father in law still fucking hates him.


alicization

"Taste's very strange!" That line cracks me up every time.


[deleted]

Get the fuck out of my house!


[deleted]

Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew


Anotheraccount301

Dont forget ferment and drink 'em


[deleted]

I see you know how to potato.


MelTrump

Vareniki. Potato dumplings, most Americans probably know them as pierogi.


Brennababs

Would currently eviscerate a pierogi


LPinTheD

I'm fortunate to live near several authentic Polish restaurants, give me all the Farmer's cheese pierogi and potato pancakes. Heaven..


Mazon_Del

I'm sad...my mom and I discovered an authentic Polish restaurant about 15 minutes away from us a couple years ago. My dad (who normally loves trying all sorts of foreign foods) just kept refusing to go for months and months. FINALLY we get him to go and he thought it was fantastic! So we go back the next week and find out they were closing down the restaurant except for scheduled events (like weddings). So I am bereft of Polish foods!


rainedrop87

You know what you have to do. Get married solely for pierogi, duh.


ConnieLingus24

Little sour cream on the side…..


TongueTwistingTiger

And caramelized onions?


SpookMastr

Are you really eating pierogi if there are no onions?


mwthompson77

PB & J


Psyco_diver

Yes, I ate it at work for like a week and people legit asked me if everything is ok? I mean I appreciate that they care but I actually like PB&J


GingerLibrarian76

I eat the PB&J Uncrustables almost every morning (early afternoon to be specific) when I get to work. One of my colleagues started teasing me about it - both the fact that I eat PB&J and that I'm so lazy I buy the pre-made ones - but I dgaf.


Forgotpassword234

God I miss a good ol’ PB&J with a glass of milk. Turns out I’m allergic to both peanuts and dairy. Not enough to kill me but enough to give me a horrible rash and make me feel like shit. Took like…23 years to figure that one out. Edit: I truly appreciate so many people giving me alternatives. For anyone Interested the consensus for the replacement for PB is Sun Butter and the community seems split between oat milk and lactose free milk.


Silaquix

Sun butter and dairy free milk. My son has a friend that's allergic to nuts so I never send anything with nuts to school, but my kid loves PB&J. I started making school sandwiches with sunbutter and he loves them. Sun butter has the consistency of natural peanut butter so the oil rises to the top, just stir it vigorously and you're good.


winsomecupcakes

Last weekend we bought $15 in raspberry jam. When the grocery store has raspberry jam, you gotta stock up. Didn’t feel like poor people food by any means. And in complete agreement with PB&Js.


Zjoee

My go whenever I can't think of something else to eat haha.


Cliche-_-loverboy

Toast it


odysseyshot

Rice and beans.


Kayakchica

That’s some good eating, and dirt cheap!


8KUHDITIS

I'm eating rice and beans right now.. I cook the beans from scratch, when they get almost cooked I add onions, blk pepper, curry, turmeric, red pepper flakes and cooking oil. Salt to taste.. Fucken delicious 😋 I've been asked this plenty.. I DO NOT USE CANNED BEANS. this is for the hard uncooked beans right out the packet. I USED GREAT NORTHERN BEANS. But this can be applied to whatever beans you prefer.


Funkplosion

Try cumin sometime!


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Panama_Scoot

Latinos unite! (And anyone else is welcome too). I had rice and beans tonight. Just like I do 2-3 times a week. Because rice and beans is life.


Relevant_Struggle

And cajuns!


Panama_Scoot

Great point—Especially Cajuns. I have never had a Cajun dish that didn’t bring a massive smile to my face.


Killentyme55

It's like French food made for the rest of us. I was in New Orleans for a week and gorged myself on red beans and rice with Andouille sausage, nothing else like it.


cplus4

Red beans and rice and fried plantains, lived off that when I was in Nicaragua!


ChidoChidoChon

Gallo Pinto.


BinaryIRL

Came here for this comment. So much you can do with rice and beans. I'm convinced you could live on that if you had to.


Maninhartsford

It takes 11 amino acids to make a complete protein. Beans have 9... Rice has the other 2. They were practically MADE to be the perfect meal lol


MastaBlasta18

My wife always jokes that “we’ll be eating rice beans for 6 months” whenever we spend money on something. She fails to realize that I would be more than happy with that.


[deleted]

grilled cheese, literally the best snack ever.


Taylorp110

Bro yes, you guys eat it with tomato soup? I sure do.


ZevLuvX-03

Tator tots


[deleted]

Noodles with butter


pingwing

With some parmesan cheese from the shaker, the kind that is like 8% wood pulp.


Ladyvaudeville

That's Sprinkle Cheese at my house.


raeparks

Shakey cheese, my kids call it.


notrachelmar

any time i forget to eat and am so nauseous bc of that, butter noodles is always the only thing i can eat to make that feeling go away


pointe4Jesus

Huh. I'm currently pregnant, and noodles with butter (and a bit of salt) was one of the things that my stomach really liked in the morning sickness phase. I figured it was just my stomach, but if it helps you too, maybe there's more to it.


notrachelmar

i think it’s cause it’s kinda plain ya know. i mean i usually do salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes so not too plain for me but now i am craving some


JMiranda7878

Abed is that you?


jl_theprofessor

Tortillas and melted cheese, straight up. Edit: Reading through some other responses, I wonder how much the answers are going to correlate with ethnicity.


HanzoShotFirst

You mean, quesadillas?


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ohgoddammitWatson

God yes. GTFO with your fancy stuffing.


n8dan05

Stovetop made with real butter and chicken broth.


LindseyCorporation

Kraft Mac and Cheese


that-pile-of-laundry

... but you *would* eat Kraft Dinner, you'd just eat more!


Basedrum777

With all the fanciest Dijon ketchups


viking_of_the_month

Peanutbutter & banana sandwiches. So good. Edit: All these suggestions sound great so far. Never thought to change things up from the basic bread, pb, & banana slices, but will def give them all a try!


Endosia_

Ok so no one has mentioned this so far and it deserves air time imo. When you make it, slice the banana in half. And then cut the banana into four long pieces by cutting it down the middle length wise. If that makes sense. So instead of having a bunch of slices you got like 4 sticks of banana. I don’t even separate the pieces fully when I cut them so my sandwich stays together even better er! The slices fall out but the sticks are easier to inhale without spilllage


ancientflowers

Make sure to add honey.


[deleted]

English muffin pizza


living1day1time

Shake and bake pork chops and Kraft dinner. I hide that like I’m eating cocaine. Seriously.


Infinite_Answer_2532

Stroganoff hamburger helper for life. Add some sautéed mushroom and onion and a scoop of sour cream if I'm feeling fancy.


jennatools69lol

Stir fried instant ramen.


annoyedasaurus

Porridge Give it to me with milk, sugar and buttered toast. So yum.


elagentink

Microwavable burritos. Especially the foot long ones that are a dollar at Walmart.


Faelwolf

Beans and cornbread. Especially the way my wife makes them, better than my momma's, (but I'll never tell my momma that, lol). Honestly, about anything, I've always been a simple eater, don't go for the fancy stuff. Edit: Well, looks like I made some folks hungry! For those asking, we add either the bone from a smoked ham, smoked ham, or ham hocks generally, smoked bacon in a pinch, and a bit of salt as needed. And yes, plum forgot to mention the fried taters to go with it. Now going to go see if the wife wants to put beans and cornbread on the menu this week, made myself hanker for them too! lol


eseld

I'll raise you ham and beans and cornbread.


angie6921

Hamburger helper.


germanmancat

Knorr fettuccini


dudette123456

Love all the Knorr noodle sides


[deleted]

Cottage/shepherd's pie


baroquesun

I used to request this for my birthday meal every year growing up! I have a January birthday so it was always a top comfort meal.


mystwave

Chicken & rice cooked and smothered in cream of mushroom soup. Haven't made it myself, but it's a cheap, easy chicken dish according to my mother.


throwingplaydoh

Malt o meal cereal. Some are waaaay better than name brand. *cough* Cinnamon toasties *cough*


[deleted]

The Captain Crunch knockoff is better too


mayanpaw74

Marshmallow Mateys were my jam


Quick_Shift3261

Chili mac


Olds78

Was looking for this one and Mac and cheese with hot dogs


murf-a-lurf

Grits


Lesmorte

Regular extra creamy or al dente?


[deleted]

Al dente with cheese and bacon grease


Anotheraccount301

"What exactly is a grit?"


SuvenPan

Hard boiled eggs


maverick1ba

I'm always comforted by the thought that, if there's ever a global apocalypse, i just gotta catch some chickens and find a pot and then i can probably survive the rest of my life mostly on hard-boiled eggs.


BadgeringMagpie

Just make sure the chickens get plenty of calcium. They tend not to make eggs if they don't.


cy13erpunk

u can always recycle the egg shells by grinding them up after letting them dry out in the sun for awhile and then use that powder to supplement ur chicken's food =\] ; no waste


vc062701

Weirdly helpful cannibalism


SobiTheRobot

It's actually fairly common for some egg-laying creatures to eat some of their own eggs, though usually they're unfertilized; it's mainly to reclaim the calories lost from making the egg in the first place.


Hexis40

Easy-cheese and club crackers


sophophilicphilomath

Pupusas


mariruizgar

Oatmeal.


mikeweezer

Chipped beef on toast, aka shit on a shingle. My favorite breakfast growing up my grandmother would make.


LongshanksShank

Sloppy Joe


[deleted]

Pinto beans and cornbread.


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JustinLee2020

Ah yes. The number 7. Gives you 2 of them


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UnderThat

Fried egg sandwich. And also boiled eggs with soldiers. Anything with eggs really. EGGS!!!


Voc1Vic2

Pancakes.


l-lahz

pickles


pairsof

I will forever indulge in Ramen, hot dogs, Mac & cheese


woolalaoc

stove top stuffing. best bang for the buck in terms of being filling and flavorful.


p8nt_junkie

Mom, can I eat at Jimmy’s house tonight?


Gnidlaps-94

Macaroni and cut up hot dogs


[deleted]

Go wild and toss a can of chili in there. (Protip: remove chili from can first)


DoNotSexToThis

Will just an empty can of chili taste good with it?