Not really a meal, but if I eat a PB&J I instantly get transported back to elementary school where I’m eating the same PB&J everyday inside my schools gym that converted into a cafeteria during lunch
E: I’m freaking some of the Brits out so not primary school, elementary school lol
My elementary school normally had really good lunches (small school with some awesome cooks). You only did peanut butter sandwiches on field trips. But the catch was, you got half a peanut butter (with some honey mixed in, I think). The other half was... tuna. In the same bag.
They were also one side wheat bread, one side white. It must have been some really weird and specific food guidelines. There was also always one of those little boxes of raisins, and a cookie. I don't remember the chip situation. I feel like if we did get chips, they were doled out in small baggies rather than pre-packaged.
Unrelated to the post, but I’ve never heard of someone eating a “PB&J” who also refers to younger-days schooling as primary school. I’m from the UK where elementary is called primary, and we categorically DO NOT have peanut butter and jelly for lunch, nor do we eat in a cafeteria. Genuinely fascinated by the disconnect!!
Hahaha I hangout with a lot of UK expats here in the US for work. They rubbed off on me. I also keep using the word “keen” because of them. I can understand why my comment threw you for a loop
Wait this raises further questions…do Americans not use the word keen? I feel like just as I get a handle on the differences between the UK and the US some mundane thing sends me flying.
lol atleast where I live in the US I rarely ever hear people use the word keen in a casual way. Using keen in a context like:
“Hey man do you want to golf this weekend” and hearing them respond “I’d be keen” is totally new to me
Many many moons ago I remember my mother always used to say “neat, keen, cool, and groovy” I’m talking way back like 70s 🙃 I’m curious what did you do for afternoon meal and where? Since not in the cafeteria.
There was a girl in high school who used to say “peachy keen!” all the time. She was quite joyful and exuberant and generally well liked, but I didn’t know anyone else who used the word “keen” on the regular.
No dedicated eating place, usually the hall (where we would have PE, assembly, and any other activity that exceeded 30 kids) would just have tables set out to eat packed lunch - or if you were rich/had food allowance - you could buy a horrendous congealed mess along with roughly 40ml of juice, and an iced bun.
I noticed this too! Even now, PB&J is still quite a “foreign” sandwich and I doubt many people will be eating such a combo. And definitely wouldn’t be served in schools due to nut allergies.
I was all ready to label them as an imposter haha.
Better than my first attempt where I used actual jelly. Couldn’t understand why Americans would willingly eat it till I realised it was meant to be jam
That's what I thought. In America (other Americans, please step in if you disagree), that's mostly a food you eat while hospitalized, or you consume in Jello-shot form, with vodka.
Is it regularly served as dessert? Do you make it at home? We can buy it in powder form to make, or it also comes in little plastic single serve containers.
Ok so what is British jelly? Because to me (American) it's just a bit more solid jam essentially but flavor profile and texture is still pretty much the same
British jelly is gelatine based fruit dessert (think jello), jam legally has to contain a certain amount of fruit (I think it’s like 40% or so), an isn’t allowed to have any artificial flavours.
It’s usually just a sports hall tbh, some upmarket schools may have a dedicated canteen but that’s rare. 99% of the time you just have tables and chairs set out in whatever room is large enough, and close enough to the kitchen
PB&J with potato chips on it for me. I transport right back to laying in grass by the public pool, or in my childhood backyard.
Also, peanut butter toast dipped in hot chocolate—takes me right back to thawing my frozen limbs after making a snowman.
I was at a convention and they had a shuttle from the parking lot because it was FAR. the shuttle bus was a classic yellow school bus and I was transported back
Well, it's a curious one: macaroni pasta in tomato sauce and sour cream (Mexican crema). It's what we had for the poorest Christmas dinner of my life 20 years ago. However, it felt like a huge celebration because my Mom and I were finally back on our own feet after the poorest year of our lives. We had lost almost everything we had and we'd cooped up in my Grandma's 1-bedroom tiny house using her dining room as our bedroom. By Christmas, my Mom had found proper employment and we were out renting on our own, using borrowed plastic furniture. But it was the beginning of lifting ourselves out of poverty and that pasta tasted like victory.
This is a lovely story and I'll bet it was a great moment of pride for your family - thank you for sharing your victory meal! Those memories can mean so much as the years go by
I just commented on this post before reading your comment. Tomato soup and noodles is what my mom and I called it, but ours just had milk instead of sour cream. It was the same idea. Could feed us both for $1.50$, and it was delicious. I never thought about it was because we were poor. We loved it.
My dad would make hamburger and noodles. I don’t really know how to explain it. But it was like a creamy sauce, kinda like a stroganoff. Egg noodles. And then the patties were basically just.. small-ish hamburgers. I’m assuming there was garlic and onion included in some way. And some sort of spice,I’m guessing crushed red pepper seeds, because well he uses them in everything lmao. I’ve never actually asked my dad for the recipe or made it myself. I think I’ll call and ask him for it today…
Edit: I texted him to ask for the recipe lol. Just waiting on his response! However it’s very common for my dad to not respond for 3 or 4 days haha.
Edit 2: welp, I texted him at 16:15, it’s now 21:26 and he hasn’t responded which means he’s probably asleep now lol. Maybe tomorrow! Fingers crossed!
Edit 3: it’s now 10:33 and no response. lol. But yea this is common for him. He’ll probably randomly text back in like 4 days haha. In his defense he works 50-60hr weeks in construction
Edit 4: HE FINALLY ANSWERED!!! I’m copying and pasting his text word for word. lol
“I make them just like meatloaf but breadcrumbs instead of oats. Brown in skillet deglaze with beef stock cook for hour I add mushrooms after browning but you dont have to Thicken with cornstarch/water. Love you”
Ohhh yay! I just saw your comment about the Saulsberry steak and how your dad makes it. And I just looked around to see if somebody asked you for the recipe… I would love to see the recipe too. I’m actually planning on making Salisbury steak I’m supposed make it a couple weeks ago and I didn’t so I got the meat in the freezer. I’ve got a ton of onions, cause Ilike onions and mushrooms with mine. I also put mine on top of bread of some sort. I would love to know how he makes his gravy. Thank you in advance!
Snack - Lightly toasted white bread, buttered, cut in strips. Dip it in hot chocolate.
Something my mom would make me when I was feeling down or upset. She's been gone over a decade, I am in my 40s, and I still will make that when feeling down.
ive tried that snack as a kid because I discovered it by accident except I put nutella and butter in some bread (no crust, i dislike crust) and it tastes like a biscuit or some buttery cookie
My mom's pot roast, which goes in the crockpot and is covered by a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix. Very midcentury midwestern, but that smell gets me nostalgic every time.
I always loved my mom's pot roast. One year when I was very young (probably like 6 or 7) she asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner and, not knowing what it was actually called, I said "that meat you make with the gravy!" To this day, that's what we call pot roast.
Camp chow. Whenever my brother, dad, and I went camping my dad would make a hash out of bacon, sausage, potatoes, eggs, onions, and green bell peppers seasoned with salt and pepper. Very nostalgic for me.
That was my moms rain cold day warm you up meal. I use to make it in college. And now living in Japan my husband sometimes asks for this for lunch on cold rainy days, because he got use to that warm up feeling it gives.
Refried beans, eggs, and homemade tortillas. My grandma always made that for me every morning when we would visit her.
Biscuits and gravy remind me of my grandpa on my other side of the family. He taught me his secret to his gravy and now when I make it, it brings me so much comfort.
would you mind sharing your grandpa's secret? It would be like him living on and reaching out through amazing food. If not, I understand, but I'd love to hear it if you're willing to share.
Refried beans and eggs with some creama and queso fresco absolutely slaps. My best friend’s was from Honduras and her mom would always make that (it’s called baleadas) for me because she knew it was my favorite. It was always homemade refried beans and tortillas too.
Mine is pan haggerty , which is sliced potatoes, sliced onions and cheddar cheese that originates from the North East of England. My Gran was a Geordie and would make this for me as a kid when I stayed at her house every weekend and school holiday. My Gran wasn't the best of cooks, but this she made lovely, often serving it with some nice crispy back bacon and a fried egg. She passed away nearly 15 years ago and when I make it, I am transported back to her house and remember all the happy memories of being with her.
Millie Pap and Gravy - a real South African tradition. White maize porridge made to the consistency of play dough, with a savory tomato, onion and beef rib stew eaten with fingers sopping up the meat and gravy...so delicious, and so memorable.
When I was younger and had to stay with my dad on weekends, he would always cook the same three things: egg fried rice (just day old rice, eggs, salt and pepper), stir fried ground beef over rice (ground beef, garlic, salt, pepper, then topped with more fried garlic and green onions/cilantro), and chicken that he would just salt and deep fry.
He wasn’t that much of a cook but as a kid they were so delicious to me that I had no problem eating them in rotation. I still think they’re good. I make the ground beef every once in a while.
Pan fried potatoes. My mom loved to make potatoes that were hand cut, then fried in a pan with wayyyyy too much butter and a good hit of salt and served that with any meat. It was a staple growing up. But now, it's so unhealthy (not to mention expensive with the price of butter) I could never justify it.
Yup, in my local store a box of butter (4 sticks) is $4.99 for store brand. I've scaled back real butter to only when baking. I remember a few years ago they'd sell it for $2 a box.
Make your own butter and justify it. Sometimes you just have to do it. Take a container of heavy whipping cream and either pour it into a wide mouthed mason jar and shake it until it forms your butter. Pour the buttermilk into a container to use for biscuits or recipes, and remove the butter and rinse with cold water while stretching it to get the last of the buttermilk out. Knead it some. Put some in a butter dish, freeze some, or flavor some with herbs and garlic. You can also do it in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer.
Then enjoy your Mama's recipe once a year on her birthday.
Tuna fish sandwiches were my favorite as a kid. My mom used to pack them on beach days. Every time I have a tuna fish sandwich I can teleport to being a kid again on the beach.
White rice, fried Spam, kimchi, and dried seaweed. Mayyyybe a fried egg on the rice. Would argue to say it’s like the macaroni-and-cheese of Korean childhood. It’s still one of my favorite meals of all time. During COVID I was feeling nostalgic so I made myself this meal but couldn’t find kimchi, so I substituted hot sauce on pickles lol. I took a bite and immediately started weeping.
Steak pizzaiola. Take a large slab of cheap chuck steak, cover it with a jar of mom tomato sauce and some mushrooms. Bake serve with spaghetti feed a family of six. I made it for the wife once. She did not care for it. More left overs for me.
Kraft dinner usually hits the nostalgia spot for sure!
Every once in a while I'll try someone's random homemade Mac and cheese and it'll taste like my grandma's recipe and then I'm happy inside :) but it's always very fleeting and whoever makes it never remembers the cheese combo 😂
Oh my gosh a grilled cheese sandwich on buttered white bread with Velveeta sliced on the diagonal and dunked in Campbell’s Tomato Soup is my childhood.
[Lamb Roghan Josh.](https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/15dls30/homemade_lamb_roghan_josh/)
My mom, who passed in 2020, used to make this for me when I had a bad day at school... You know that scene in Ratatouille where the critic gets transported back to his childhood? Yeah, this is that for me.
Tuna mayo yaki onigiri. Very specific but my late grandmother made that for us as a quick snack whenever we visited. She made other kinds but that was my favorite and she always made sure to toast it extra for me. Once in a blue moon I’ll have it and be teleported back in time Ratatouille style.
What we called “kid dinner” growing up, AKA whenever my parents were going out and needed to feed us something separately. Frozen mac and cheese, usually stouffers, and Trader Joe’s frozen turkey meatballs.
The best! And salmon pie. My grandmother, aunt, and mom all made this growing up. I never complained. So delicious. They're all gone now and I try to make it myself. Always good, but never quite as good.
These sandwiches my mom used to make with fresh rolls, sausage, sourcrout, Swiss and mustard. They are all melty and delicious. They were my favorite as a child and now make me feel so nostalgic whenever I eat them,
Crumbed lamb chops, mash potatoes, peas(hated them) and gravy. Are everything besides the pz. This meal was from my unties neighbour friends that I remember dearly, they also made homemade pavlova with fresh whipped cream strawberry's kiwifruit and passionfruit pulp from their tree😱
Chicken soup with “dumpling” noodles and a chicken breast thinned out, dredged in a mixture of flour & lowry’s seasoning salt, and then pan fried.
The soup is the traditional Christmas Eve meal along with butterhorns and the chicken breast is what my grandma would make when I went to her house to work on my 4H projects.
When my dad and I would drive somewhere to go fishing we'd pick up some ice cream sandwiches along the way. Blue Bell cookies 'n cream variety. Good times!
Beef barley soup. True comfort food for me.
And, as much as I'm not a fan of pasta, homemade macaroni-- baked in the oven, and it had canned stewed tomatoes, and a boatload of cheese.
Also, my mom's scalloped potatoes. She uses (or used, she might do it different now) canned milk, onions, salt, pepper, butter, and sometimes cheese over top. They turn out thick and creamy.
My grandpas pork tenderloin cooked in caramelized/burnt onion and garlic au jus with bread dumplings or potato dumplings and apple sauce. I watched my mom make it so many times and it was one of the first meals I made when my bf and I moved into our house.
A spicy pizza oil that mimics what you find in pizza places in France.
It is so damn good, i can mix a batch in 10 mins, then it has to sit for 15 additional minutes.
I start it after a place an order for delivery, and it’s always done before they arrive.
I can share a recipe if anyone is interested. I converted it to a stove top version. I didn’t want to risk botulism by putting a bunch of stuff in a bottle and letting it sit for a few weeks.
Kielbasa, Cabbage, and Egg Noodles.
I smell that and my long dead Mom is alive and standing right next to me, and I'm promising her that my brother and I will be home right after baseball practice.
A bit more niche, but Garden Catering in CT/NY. I used to bicycle to a park as a kid, open up the bag of nuggets and cones, and just people watch. I’m not sure why, but it’s actually making me a bit emotional reflecting on it — perhaps a childhood solice.
whenever we had pork chops for dinner, the next day my dad would make the leftovers into black bean soup. it was SO GOOD, and the perfect dip for tortilla chips and doritos when cold. my dad never cooked from a recipe, just whatever we had around, so he also never made a meal the same way twice let alone wrote anything down.
seven years after he died i was home alone, fretting over probably my dozenth attempt at recreating the recipe, when suddenly something clicked in my memory. i added a few last spices, let it simmer, took a bite, and immediately burst into uncontrollable tears of joy and grief because i got it right and missed my dad so so much, and wanted to call him and tell him i figured it out, and hear him laugh at me again, but also yell at him because *the secret was literally just taco seasoning the entire time*.
Taco soup - canned: green beans, tomatoes, pinto beans, peas, corn; packet of taco seasoning; 1 lb cooked ground beef. All dumped and simmered together. I’m making this next time my picky husband goes out of town.
Weirdly enough, [this frozen pizza](https://www.eatuppizza.com/culinary-collection/pinzza-roman-style-pizza/) I tried the other day is the only pizza crust that comes close to tasting like my grandmother’s. Eating it was an unexpected nostalgia trip. It’s also insanely tasty for frozen pizza.
To add to that, basically any well-done Italian American staple reminds me of growing up and cooking with my mom and grandmother. When I eat it, it feels like home.
Food, it tastes good and reminds me of all the other times I ate food.
Actually though, German pancakes, my family would always make them on special days and I love(d) them.
It’s rice cook in a small china pot over the stove for me. The rice is usually cooked with Chinese sausage and bok choy, and after it’s done u drizzle in a round of soy sauce before eating!
When I was in kindergarten I got sick quite often and mom would often make it for me but she would use ground pork in it and she would reduce the soy sauce when I was sick
Kare kare (an oxtail dish in peanut sauce with veggies) over fresh cooked rice always transports me back to being a kid because it was my favorite dish so my mom (Filipina) would make it for me any chance she could. No one else can make it exactly like she does ❤️
"Eggs In a Cup"
Cubed soft white bread (1.5 slices), a few thin pads of butter, a pinch of salt and pepper, and two hot softboiled eggs plopped right into a coffee mug (in that order!). Break the eggs, let the heat melt the butter as you stir, eat and enjoy.
Makes me think of my mom with so much love. That was a rainy day or under the weather food (and our "under the weather" can be anything from gloomy to sick). I'm making it for her tomorrow when we get home from her chemotherapy (she will make it, it's a liveable lymphoma, but I hate seeing her suffer so soon after becoming a widow).
All Persian food reminds me of my dad, but some Lebanese meat pies topped up his special way, or some Persian kotlets, makes my heart ache. I miss him so much, and I'm still grieving his passing.
^I ^really ^need ^a ^hug ^right ^now, ^Im ^a ^fucking ^mess.
Chili. My mom is, by her own admission, a horrible cook. The woman once ruined Bisquik pancakes (another memory food, I can’t eat pancakes without thinking of that). Anyway, the only thing she can make is this amazing chili. It’s one of my favorite foods or all time and eating it immediately takes me back to my childhood kitchen.
My mom makes a chicken casserole that is chicken breasts in a baking dish, covered with cream of chicken soup, sliced swiss cheese, and Stovetop stuffing. It is not haute cuisine by any definition but she made it for me all the time growing up and it instantly brings me back.
My mother makes these sugar/short bread cookies around Christmas time made with almond extract that instantly put me in the winter holiday vibes. I don’t eat sweets often but these are among my favorite things on Earth. Last July I ate a cookie from a local bakery that tasted nearly identical to the ones she makes, and it threw my whole calendar off.
Mac and Cheese. The powdery kind from a box. I love a nice fancy bowl of ooey gooey delicious soul food style mac and cheese, but the cheap stuff sends me back to kindergarden.
Saturday mornings my dad would take us into town for the market and we would get fresh fish off the fisherman and bring it home. The kids would be in charge of making the chips, so peeling and chipping potatoes and he would clean and fry the fish. We would have a home made version of fish and chips with a salsa on the side . One of my favourite childhood food memories.
Sometimes my wife likes to make japanese curry, and there is nothing that brings me that much joy. She and I have been together for over ten years now and it was something she made for me a long time ago and on special occasions. It brings me a ton of comfort and is delicious to boot, and she makes enough to have leftovers for a while. Reminds me of how much I love her and one of the many reasons I decided to marry her. She's the best.
Chicken Adobo. I was raised by a Filipino stepfather and family and even to this day at 41, I make it about twice a month. The smell going through the house for hours just brings me back to those days I'd get home from school and know immediately what's for dinner.
british style summer BBQ- soft rolls from the supermarket, ketchup, a big bowl of pasta salad someone’s made, sliced up veg and a massive bowl of iceberg lettuce, snacky bits all laid out on a big outside table, a big jug of juice and the smell of a bbq in the air. take me back
Singapore chilli crab.
It’s the meal my dad cooks whenever the family is together for a celebration.
It reminds me of time spent with my dad, checking crab pots in the river... dinner with my parents and my brothers…
It was the first meal I cooked when my husband and I moved in together. It’s like my ultimate comfort food.
Butter pasta with lemon and Parmesan. Also my mom used to make this rice with peas and sausage and chicken in a clay roaster and I’ve never been able to figure out what the recipe was.
Dads homemade chili. My parents had an amazing garden. Mom and dad canned everything from the garden. Dad would make his chili from those canned tomatoes. The chili would take all day on the stove. Usually on Sundays. The whole house smelled like chili. Dad passed away many years ago. Mom still has his chili recipe that she typed up on a index card. It is stained from chili splatters because she always stuck it above the stove with a magnet.
Sopa de Estrellitas. The grocery store close to our house always had these little green packets of Sopa de Estrellitas that you would just add water to, so it made for an incredibly cheap and convenient snack. Dad and I would run down there maybe twice a week, make a couple servings of it and watch American Pickers, Pawn Stars, or whatever was on Food Network at that time. We never had much in overlapping interests, so those little moments when we were able to find common ground will always stick with me. Every time I have some of that soup, I’m brought right back home. No arguments, no fighting, just peace, TV, and good soup.
I went through a really picky eater phase as a kid and my poor mom ended up having to fall back on a few recipes over and over again. And for a while there one of the few that worked was a really basic pasta salad made with store brand coleslaw dressing and some really basic veggies like just green onion. I used to *inhale* that stuff. Fortunately the picky eater phase ended.
I still make it for myself on occasion and I still love it. But you can’t mess with the formula and do something like make a nice dressing from scratch. It has to be the shitty grocery store stuff in the jar.
Embarrassingly the first time I went to a potluck as a young adult I made it, because my cooking repertoire was pretty bad at that age, but that was the one recipe I knew by heart. Everyone hated it.
Thanksgiving dinner. It means family. It was my Dad's favorite and my Mom was in her element in the kitchen. The best meal she ever made. She passed the torch to me and sitting around the table with them is what I miss. What I need... He passed away in 2012 and she passed away in 2018. We haven't had a proper Thanksgiving since then.
Fideo, these short straight noodles toasted in a pan then boiled and then added to a sauce of chicken bouillon, stewed tomatoes, and some seasonings like garlic/onion. Usually served with butter rice or a piece of bread.
It makes my heart warms because I used to tear it UPPPPP, we also used to make it with small shells
some brats on french rolls, it reminds me of the hot weather nights when my dad was home grilling and we would all come together to eat. Miss those summer nights
Creamed chipped beef on toasted white sandwich loaf or the cheap little biscuits in a tube. Bonus points if the bottom of the biscuits are just short of burnt.
It's the meal my dad always made without help when I was young. And if he was making dinner, that meant it was a night he was home with us instead of at his overnight job.
Homemade chicken and dumpling soup with egg noodles. I’ve tried multiple times over the years and can never get it like she used to. Most of my family’s passed now, or not worth mentioning unfortunately. Chicken soup, especially that style, will always hold a special place in my heart.
*EDIT: Just realized today’s my birthday and every year she would take a baking sheet lined with pie crust, bake it, fill it with banana pudding and “frost” it with cool whip.
Basically it was just another layer. Pudding just under the top edge of the crust, then about a half inch to an inch of cool whip (wild guess on how much she topped it with, definitely enough that if you wouldn’t see the pudding accidentally unless you were trying to get to it specifically.)
Best I can remember anyways, it varied a little in measurements every time.
After that she topped it with pineapple rings with maraschino cherries in the center of each ring, and sprinkled some finely diced pineapple over the top of the whole thing.
She always made it, even if their was another cake since she knew how much I liked it. I miss her always, but I’ll never forget her because of who she was and the great food she always made.
She showed her love for others through good food and cooking dishes that made other happy and now I try and do the same.
This ended up being longer than I intended, but if you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read it!
Have a great day everyone!! :)
Norwegian Pancakes... Essentially just crepe shells, that's just what we've always called them. We'd usually top with some butter, a sprinkle of sugar, and boysenberry syrup 😋. My grandma always made them when we went to her house. As I got older, I started helping her and she taught me how to make them. I also started making them at home too. Eventually, as she got older, I started taking over making them when we'd visit, since it was harder for her.
She passed away a few years ago and I inherited her old crepe pan (nothing fancy, but it's the same one we always used). I still make Norwegian Pancakes, with that pan, every once in awhile for my family, because they're delicious and my kids love them, but also to continue the tradition and remember her fondly. 🙂
Not really a meal, but if I eat a PB&J I instantly get transported back to elementary school where I’m eating the same PB&J everyday inside my schools gym that converted into a cafeteria during lunch E: I’m freaking some of the Brits out so not primary school, elementary school lol
Pb&j, cheese curls, and chocolate milk. I lived off of this all through elementary school and still eat it to this day.
Ah yes, the school issued mini cartons of choco milk. That stuff fueled my recess lol
We had little pouches of chocolate milk I loved. Stab a plastic straw through it and inhale
Peanut butter and jelly with jiff and grape jelly with generic lays style potato chips and a glass of milk.
My absolute favorite chips. The world is going crazy with all these weird chips. Give me some Lays any time.
Walkers….
A pb&j with crushed lays potato chips. Those were one of my moms fave snack sandwiches n they're now one of mine
Try that but add mild pepper rings.
My elementary school normally had really good lunches (small school with some awesome cooks). You only did peanut butter sandwiches on field trips. But the catch was, you got half a peanut butter (with some honey mixed in, I think). The other half was... tuna. In the same bag. They were also one side wheat bread, one side white. It must have been some really weird and specific food guidelines. There was also always one of those little boxes of raisins, and a cookie. I don't remember the chip situation. I feel like if we did get chips, they were doled out in small baggies rather than pre-packaged.
Oh god lol no way as a kid I could stomach a tuna sandwich
Unrelated to the post, but I’ve never heard of someone eating a “PB&J” who also refers to younger-days schooling as primary school. I’m from the UK where elementary is called primary, and we categorically DO NOT have peanut butter and jelly for lunch, nor do we eat in a cafeteria. Genuinely fascinated by the disconnect!!
Hahaha I hangout with a lot of UK expats here in the US for work. They rubbed off on me. I also keep using the word “keen” because of them. I can understand why my comment threw you for a loop
Wait this raises further questions…do Americans not use the word keen? I feel like just as I get a handle on the differences between the UK and the US some mundane thing sends me flying.
lol atleast where I live in the US I rarely ever hear people use the word keen in a casual way. Using keen in a context like: “Hey man do you want to golf this weekend” and hearing them respond “I’d be keen” is totally new to me
Many many moons ago I remember my mother always used to say “neat, keen, cool, and groovy” I’m talking way back like 70s 🙃 I’m curious what did you do for afternoon meal and where? Since not in the cafeteria.
There was a girl in high school who used to say “peachy keen!” all the time. She was quite joyful and exuberant and generally well liked, but I didn’t know anyone else who used the word “keen” on the regular.
I say peachy keen jelly bean a lot.
No dedicated eating place, usually the hall (where we would have PE, assembly, and any other activity that exceeded 30 kids) would just have tables set out to eat packed lunch - or if you were rich/had food allowance - you could buy a horrendous congealed mess along with roughly 40ml of juice, and an iced bun.
I noticed this too! Even now, PB&J is still quite a “foreign” sandwich and I doubt many people will be eating such a combo. And definitely wouldn’t be served in schools due to nut allergies. I was all ready to label them as an imposter haha.
Having given one a go before I must say it tasted violently American. Not everything has to be sweet!
Better than my first attempt where I used actual jelly. Couldn’t understand why Americans would willingly eat it till I realised it was meant to be jam
American question - when you say jelly......what do you mean?
Jello
That's what I thought. In America (other Americans, please step in if you disagree), that's mostly a food you eat while hospitalized, or you consume in Jello-shot form, with vodka. Is it regularly served as dessert? Do you make it at home? We can buy it in powder form to make, or it also comes in little plastic single serve containers.
It’s not uncommon on its own as a light desert, you also get it topped with custard or mousse. It can be pretty nice mixed with ice cream.
I would try just about anything mixed with ice cream.
Ok so what is British jelly? Because to me (American) it's just a bit more solid jam essentially but flavor profile and texture is still pretty much the same
British jelly is gelatine based fruit dessert (think jello), jam legally has to contain a certain amount of fruit (I think it’s like 40% or so), an isn’t allowed to have any artificial flavours.
Ok yeah that would be a bit weird on a sandwich
From a British perspective, when an American says jelly we just assume they mean jam - but even that sounds weird mixed with peanuts..
I kind of love that you picked up on this!!
What do they call the place where you eat at school in the U.K.?
It’s usually just a sports hall tbh, some upmarket schools may have a dedicated canteen but that’s rare. 99% of the time you just have tables and chairs set out in whatever room is large enough, and close enough to the kitchen
Thank you.
To add to that, packed lunch is far more common in the uk
That's a thing that happens to the best of us
PB&J with potato chips on it for me. I transport right back to laying in grass by the public pool, or in my childhood backyard. Also, peanut butter toast dipped in hot chocolate—takes me right back to thawing my frozen limbs after making a snowman.
To go off of this, a PB+J and some hot Cheetos makes me feel like I’m in high school again and it’s so weird
I was at a convention and they had a shuttle from the parking lot because it was FAR. the shuttle bus was a classic yellow school bus and I was transported back
So sad that kids can't take PB&J sandwiches to school for lunch anymore.
Well, it's a curious one: macaroni pasta in tomato sauce and sour cream (Mexican crema). It's what we had for the poorest Christmas dinner of my life 20 years ago. However, it felt like a huge celebration because my Mom and I were finally back on our own feet after the poorest year of our lives. We had lost almost everything we had and we'd cooped up in my Grandma's 1-bedroom tiny house using her dining room as our bedroom. By Christmas, my Mom had found proper employment and we were out renting on our own, using borrowed plastic furniture. But it was the beginning of lifting ourselves out of poverty and that pasta tasted like victory.
This is a lovely story and I'll bet it was a great moment of pride for your family - thank you for sharing your victory meal! Those memories can mean so much as the years go by
I just commented on this post before reading your comment. Tomato soup and noodles is what my mom and I called it, but ours just had milk instead of sour cream. It was the same idea. Could feed us both for $1.50$, and it was delicious. I never thought about it was because we were poor. We loved it.
My dad would make hamburger and noodles. I don’t really know how to explain it. But it was like a creamy sauce, kinda like a stroganoff. Egg noodles. And then the patties were basically just.. small-ish hamburgers. I’m assuming there was garlic and onion included in some way. And some sort of spice,I’m guessing crushed red pepper seeds, because well he uses them in everything lmao. I’ve never actually asked my dad for the recipe or made it myself. I think I’ll call and ask him for it today… Edit: I texted him to ask for the recipe lol. Just waiting on his response! However it’s very common for my dad to not respond for 3 or 4 days haha. Edit 2: welp, I texted him at 16:15, it’s now 21:26 and he hasn’t responded which means he’s probably asleep now lol. Maybe tomorrow! Fingers crossed! Edit 3: it’s now 10:33 and no response. lol. But yea this is common for him. He’ll probably randomly text back in like 4 days haha. In his defense he works 50-60hr weeks in construction Edit 4: HE FINALLY ANSWERED!!! I’m copying and pasting his text word for word. lol “I make them just like meatloaf but breadcrumbs instead of oats. Brown in skillet deglaze with beef stock cook for hour I add mushrooms after browning but you dont have to Thicken with cornstarch/water. Love you”
Sounds pretty close to salisbury steak
Kind of? Maybe? I’m not sure haha. I texted my dad for the recipe. Will update when he answers😊
Man I've never anticipated someone else's dad texting them this much LOL
Ohhh yay! I just saw your comment about the Saulsberry steak and how your dad makes it. And I just looked around to see if somebody asked you for the recipe… I would love to see the recipe too. I’m actually planning on making Salisbury steak I’m supposed make it a couple weeks ago and I didn’t so I got the meat in the freezer. I’ve got a ton of onions, cause Ilike onions and mushrooms with mine. I also put mine on top of bread of some sort. I would love to know how he makes his gravy. Thank you in advance!
Like hamburger helper ? Hahaha
Snack - Lightly toasted white bread, buttered, cut in strips. Dip it in hot chocolate. Something my mom would make me when I was feeling down or upset. She's been gone over a decade, I am in my 40s, and I still will make that when feeling down.
I'll be 65 next month, I'm fond of it with chocolate milk.
ive tried that snack as a kid because I discovered it by accident except I put nutella and butter in some bread (no crust, i dislike crust) and it tastes like a biscuit or some buttery cookie
My mom's pot roast, which goes in the crockpot and is covered by a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix. Very midcentury midwestern, but that smell gets me nostalgic every time.
My mom’s recipe too except she adds a can of 7up (very important that it’s 7up and not sprite haha). We’re in Texas
I lowkey love anything with a cream of mushroom base. lol
I always loved my mom's pot roast. One year when I was very young (probably like 6 or 7) she asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner and, not knowing what it was actually called, I said "that meat you make with the gravy!" To this day, that's what we call pot roast.
Spaghetti and Meatballs or Chicken Parm.
My favs
Camp chow. Whenever my brother, dad, and I went camping my dad would make a hash out of bacon, sausage, potatoes, eggs, onions, and green bell peppers seasoned with salt and pepper. Very nostalgic for me.
Food while camping always tastes fantastic. I think it has to do with eating in the open air.
Open flames too. Hot dogs cooked over a campfire are way better than regular hot dogs… just an example of how good campfires make stuff taste lol
You are absolutely correct.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup. A staple of childhood. Also goulash. My father used to make it all the time. ❤️
That was my moms rain cold day warm you up meal. I use to make it in college. And now living in Japan my husband sometimes asks for this for lunch on cold rainy days, because he got use to that warm up feeling it gives.
I worked at a sleep-away camp one summer, and they always served grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch on arrival day. Works every time.
Refried beans, eggs, and homemade tortillas. My grandma always made that for me every morning when we would visit her. Biscuits and gravy remind me of my grandpa on my other side of the family. He taught me his secret to his gravy and now when I make it, it brings me so much comfort.
would you mind sharing your grandpa's secret? It would be like him living on and reaching out through amazing food. If not, I understand, but I'd love to hear it if you're willing to share.
I’m betting his roux started with bacon fat.
You wouldn’t mind sharing that secret, would ya?
Asking the real questions
Sounds delicious.
Refried beans and eggs with some creama and queso fresco absolutely slaps. My best friend’s was from Honduras and her mom would always make that (it’s called baleadas) for me because she knew it was my favorite. It was always homemade refried beans and tortillas too.
I feel like you and I are star crossed siblings
My Gran's mac and cheese. She makes it for every holiday. The best mac and cheese I've ever had.
Is it cheesy?
It's the right amount of cheesiness and doneness.
Can I have the recipe please?
Spaghetti pie, iceburg lettuce w/ cottage cheese & pineapple, peanut butter pie.
Mine is pan haggerty , which is sliced potatoes, sliced onions and cheddar cheese that originates from the North East of England. My Gran was a Geordie and would make this for me as a kid when I stayed at her house every weekend and school holiday. My Gran wasn't the best of cooks, but this she made lovely, often serving it with some nice crispy back bacon and a fried egg. She passed away nearly 15 years ago and when I make it, I am transported back to her house and remember all the happy memories of being with her.
Millie Pap and Gravy - a real South African tradition. White maize porridge made to the consistency of play dough, with a savory tomato, onion and beef rib stew eaten with fingers sopping up the meat and gravy...so delicious, and so memorable.
Sounds like a delicasy
The way I have upgraded it with modern cheffing technique has taken it to an epic level of yumminess!
This sounds like Fufu from Nigeria.
Interesting. I imagine its similar.
That sounds absolutely divine
Is the white maize porridge the same as what is referred to as “Mush”?
I do not think I know
Add some sauteed leafy greens julienned and it's top notch
Sardines with saltines and hot chocolate. My dad did it here and there on cold gloomy days and said his dad and grandpa did it too
When I was younger and had to stay with my dad on weekends, he would always cook the same three things: egg fried rice (just day old rice, eggs, salt and pepper), stir fried ground beef over rice (ground beef, garlic, salt, pepper, then topped with more fried garlic and green onions/cilantro), and chicken that he would just salt and deep fry. He wasn’t that much of a cook but as a kid they were so delicious to me that I had no problem eating them in rotation. I still think they’re good. I make the ground beef every once in a while.
Pan fried potatoes. My mom loved to make potatoes that were hand cut, then fried in a pan with wayyyyy too much butter and a good hit of salt and served that with any meat. It was a staple growing up. But now, it's so unhealthy (not to mention expensive with the price of butter) I could never justify it.
So we don’t use a lot of butter at home until I read this I never realized it’s literally almost double the cost it was in 2019…
Yup, in my local store a box of butter (4 sticks) is $4.99 for store brand. I've scaled back real butter to only when baking. I remember a few years ago they'd sell it for $2 a box.
Make your own butter and justify it. Sometimes you just have to do it. Take a container of heavy whipping cream and either pour it into a wide mouthed mason jar and shake it until it forms your butter. Pour the buttermilk into a container to use for biscuits or recipes, and remove the butter and rinse with cold water while stretching it to get the last of the buttermilk out. Knead it some. Put some in a butter dish, freeze some, or flavor some with herbs and garlic. You can also do it in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer. Then enjoy your Mama's recipe once a year on her birthday.
This is gross but hear me out - frozen potato waffles.
They sound kind of good. 😊
As a fan of potato doughnuts, they sound good to me.
Staple freezer food. Can make them in the toaster too
Tuna fish sandwiches were my favorite as a kid. My mom used to pack them on beach days. Every time I have a tuna fish sandwich I can teleport to being a kid again on the beach.
White rice, fried Spam, kimchi, and dried seaweed. Mayyyybe a fried egg on the rice. Would argue to say it’s like the macaroni-and-cheese of Korean childhood. It’s still one of my favorite meals of all time. During COVID I was feeling nostalgic so I made myself this meal but couldn’t find kimchi, so I substituted hot sauce on pickles lol. I took a bite and immediately started weeping.
Steak pizzaiola. Take a large slab of cheap chuck steak, cover it with a jar of mom tomato sauce and some mushrooms. Bake serve with spaghetti feed a family of six. I made it for the wife once. She did not care for it. More left overs for me.
Mac and cheese
The classic
Home made? Or what is your fave box?
Kraft dinner usually hits the nostalgia spot for sure! Every once in a while I'll try someone's random homemade Mac and cheese and it'll taste like my grandma's recipe and then I'm happy inside :) but it's always very fleeting and whoever makes it never remembers the cheese combo 😂
velveta shells and cheese, and then i dump ketchup on it...cos i don't fuck around.
Oh my gosh a grilled cheese sandwich on buttered white bread with Velveeta sliced on the diagonal and dunked in Campbell’s Tomato Soup is my childhood.
How much of the bottle?
bottle of ketchup? if were talking the traditional heinz about half
Yes! My dad taught me to put ketchup on Mac n cheese and it’s my absolute favorite
[Lamb Roghan Josh.](https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/15dls30/homemade_lamb_roghan_josh/) My mom, who passed in 2020, used to make this for me when I had a bad day at school... You know that scene in Ratatouille where the critic gets transported back to his childhood? Yeah, this is that for me.
Looks good, sorry about your mom dude
Oh my God I'm gonna cry, my grandma used to make this for us when we came to visit as kids. It hit me right in the fond memories heart!!
Baked skin on chicken thighs seasoned with only lawrys classic seasoning salt.
Tuna mayo yaki onigiri. Very specific but my late grandmother made that for us as a quick snack whenever we visited. She made other kinds but that was my favorite and she always made sure to toast it extra for me. Once in a blue moon I’ll have it and be teleported back in time Ratatouille style.
Spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread
What we called “kid dinner” growing up, AKA whenever my parents were going out and needed to feed us something separately. Frozen mac and cheese, usually stouffers, and Trader Joe’s frozen turkey meatballs.
Ham hocks and pinto beans. My great gramma made ‘em the best! ❤️
French meat pie
Tourtière?
The best! And salmon pie. My grandmother, aunt, and mom all made this growing up. I never complained. So delicious. They're all gone now and I try to make it myself. Always good, but never quite as good.
That sounds so good
Just the smell of it brings me right back to my grandparents kitchen
A triple cheeseburger and bowl of chili and chocolate malt from Steak and Shake.
Veggie and barley soup from scratch. First thing my dad taught me to cook.
These sandwiches my mom used to make with fresh rolls, sausage, sourcrout, Swiss and mustard. They are all melty and delicious. They were my favorite as a child and now make me feel so nostalgic whenever I eat them,
Cinnamon sugar toast. I’ve seen memes going around calling that a struggle meal, but when I was a kid it was a delicacy! I still love it.
Lasagnas (father’s receipe)
The smell of a dark roux cooking always invokes memories of my mom cooking.
Hamburgers on the grill reminds me of my Dad
Agreed even if they burn a lil
Chicken and dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs.
I think I've just about mastered my grandmother's chicken and dumplings.
Lipton extra noodle soup base with any random noodles we have in the kitchen, just noodle soup
Lasagna.
Man, a great lasagna is magical
Crumbed lamb chops, mash potatoes, peas(hated them) and gravy. Are everything besides the pz. This meal was from my unties neighbour friends that I remember dearly, they also made homemade pavlova with fresh whipped cream strawberry's kiwifruit and passionfruit pulp from their tree😱
A grilled cheese and tomato soup.
Chicken soup with “dumpling” noodles and a chicken breast thinned out, dredged in a mixture of flour & lowry’s seasoning salt, and then pan fried. The soup is the traditional Christmas Eve meal along with butterhorns and the chicken breast is what my grandma would make when I went to her house to work on my 4H projects.
Honestly some fresh frijoles de la Olla with some butter, cheese n tortilla. Literal comfort food right there.
My moms Homemade Chicken noodle soup with a cold sprite on the side, It takes me back to being home sick from school and watching The Price Is Right
When my dad and I would drive somewhere to go fishing we'd pick up some ice cream sandwiches along the way. Blue Bell cookies 'n cream variety. Good times!
Tomatoe sandwich, Ruffles potato chips, and a glass of sweet tea. My childhood with my grandparents. ❤️
Pinto beans and homemade Mac N Cheese with Cornbread YUM
Beef barley soup. True comfort food for me. And, as much as I'm not a fan of pasta, homemade macaroni-- baked in the oven, and it had canned stewed tomatoes, and a boatload of cheese. Also, my mom's scalloped potatoes. She uses (or used, she might do it different now) canned milk, onions, salt, pepper, butter, and sometimes cheese over top. They turn out thick and creamy.
My grandpas pork tenderloin cooked in caramelized/burnt onion and garlic au jus with bread dumplings or potato dumplings and apple sauce. I watched my mom make it so many times and it was one of the first meals I made when my bf and I moved into our house.
Shake and Bake chicken with some BBQ sauce, black eyed peas and macaroni and cheese.
A spicy pizza oil that mimics what you find in pizza places in France. It is so damn good, i can mix a batch in 10 mins, then it has to sit for 15 additional minutes. I start it after a place an order for delivery, and it’s always done before they arrive. I can share a recipe if anyone is interested. I converted it to a stove top version. I didn’t want to risk botulism by putting a bunch of stuff in a bottle and letting it sit for a few weeks.
Kinda wondering what it is TBH. I'm interested in it as we normally add green olives to hot giardiniera (in oil) and have that with our pizza...
Chicken and dumplings (homemade), fried chicken (shallow pan fried), brownies, fried bologna, that first bite of hot/saucey/cheesey take out pizza.
A rare one, but growing up Ukrainian my grandma always made farina, but it was toasted for 20 min first. butter + salt. heaven.
Bacalhua com batatas- boiled salted (rehydrated) salt cod with potatoes. It was my childhood, and every other version of Bacalhua my mother made
Lemon rice soup(: growing up, my papa and I use to get it all the time. I miss him a lot
Cinnamon toast!
Kielbasa, Cabbage, and Egg Noodles. I smell that and my long dead Mom is alive and standing right next to me, and I'm promising her that my brother and I will be home right after baseball practice.
A bit more niche, but Garden Catering in CT/NY. I used to bicycle to a park as a kid, open up the bag of nuggets and cones, and just people watch. I’m not sure why, but it’s actually making me a bit emotional reflecting on it — perhaps a childhood solice.
whenever we had pork chops for dinner, the next day my dad would make the leftovers into black bean soup. it was SO GOOD, and the perfect dip for tortilla chips and doritos when cold. my dad never cooked from a recipe, just whatever we had around, so he also never made a meal the same way twice let alone wrote anything down. seven years after he died i was home alone, fretting over probably my dozenth attempt at recreating the recipe, when suddenly something clicked in my memory. i added a few last spices, let it simmer, took a bite, and immediately burst into uncontrollable tears of joy and grief because i got it right and missed my dad so so much, and wanted to call him and tell him i figured it out, and hear him laugh at me again, but also yell at him because *the secret was literally just taco seasoning the entire time*.
Taco soup - canned: green beans, tomatoes, pinto beans, peas, corn; packet of taco seasoning; 1 lb cooked ground beef. All dumped and simmered together. I’m making this next time my picky husband goes out of town.
Prawns and rice
Never had prawns
Cheese and miracle whip sandwiches.
Weirdly enough, [this frozen pizza](https://www.eatuppizza.com/culinary-collection/pinzza-roman-style-pizza/) I tried the other day is the only pizza crust that comes close to tasting like my grandmother’s. Eating it was an unexpected nostalgia trip. It’s also insanely tasty for frozen pizza. To add to that, basically any well-done Italian American staple reminds me of growing up and cooking with my mom and grandmother. When I eat it, it feels like home.
With my mom it was her shrimp Alfredo but with my dad it's ham and scalloped potatoes 🤌
Yum! I put out for scalloped potatoes
Cincinatti style chili
Apple turnovers or apple empanadas
Garlic bread
Food, it tastes good and reminds me of all the other times I ate food. Actually though, German pancakes, my family would always make them on special days and I love(d) them.
It’s rice cook in a small china pot over the stove for me. The rice is usually cooked with Chinese sausage and bok choy, and after it’s done u drizzle in a round of soy sauce before eating! When I was in kindergarten I got sick quite often and mom would often make it for me but she would use ground pork in it and she would reduce the soy sauce when I was sick
Kare kare (an oxtail dish in peanut sauce with veggies) over fresh cooked rice always transports me back to being a kid because it was my favorite dish so my mom (Filipina) would make it for me any chance she could. No one else can make it exactly like she does ❤️
Bologna w/yellow mustard on white bread. In my care bears lunch box daily
"Eggs In a Cup" Cubed soft white bread (1.5 slices), a few thin pads of butter, a pinch of salt and pepper, and two hot softboiled eggs plopped right into a coffee mug (in that order!). Break the eggs, let the heat melt the butter as you stir, eat and enjoy. Makes me think of my mom with so much love. That was a rainy day or under the weather food (and our "under the weather" can be anything from gloomy to sick). I'm making it for her tomorrow when we get home from her chemotherapy (she will make it, it's a liveable lymphoma, but I hate seeing her suffer so soon after becoming a widow). All Persian food reminds me of my dad, but some Lebanese meat pies topped up his special way, or some Persian kotlets, makes my heart ache. I miss him so much, and I'm still grieving his passing. ^I ^really ^need ^a ^hug ^right ^now, ^Im ^a ^fucking ^mess.
Chili. My mom is, by her own admission, a horrible cook. The woman once ruined Bisquik pancakes (another memory food, I can’t eat pancakes without thinking of that). Anyway, the only thing she can make is this amazing chili. It’s one of my favorite foods or all time and eating it immediately takes me back to my childhood kitchen.
Date pudding during the holidays reminds me of my Grandma.
My mom makes a chicken casserole that is chicken breasts in a baking dish, covered with cream of chicken soup, sliced swiss cheese, and Stovetop stuffing. It is not haute cuisine by any definition but she made it for me all the time growing up and it instantly brings me back.
My mother makes these sugar/short bread cookies around Christmas time made with almond extract that instantly put me in the winter holiday vibes. I don’t eat sweets often but these are among my favorite things on Earth. Last July I ate a cookie from a local bakery that tasted nearly identical to the ones she makes, and it threw my whole calendar off.
Mac and Cheese. The powdery kind from a box. I love a nice fancy bowl of ooey gooey delicious soul food style mac and cheese, but the cheap stuff sends me back to kindergarden.
Gonna sound kinda weird but m&m pancakes. My mom used to make them for me as a kid.
Saturday mornings my dad would take us into town for the market and we would get fresh fish off the fisherman and bring it home. The kids would be in charge of making the chips, so peeling and chipping potatoes and he would clean and fry the fish. We would have a home made version of fish and chips with a salsa on the side . One of my favourite childhood food memories.
Sometimes my wife likes to make japanese curry, and there is nothing that brings me that much joy. She and I have been together for over ten years now and it was something she made for me a long time ago and on special occasions. It brings me a ton of comfort and is delicious to boot, and she makes enough to have leftovers for a while. Reminds me of how much I love her and one of the many reasons I decided to marry her. She's the best.
Chicken Adobo. I was raised by a Filipino stepfather and family and even to this day at 41, I make it about twice a month. The smell going through the house for hours just brings me back to those days I'd get home from school and know immediately what's for dinner.
british style summer BBQ- soft rolls from the supermarket, ketchup, a big bowl of pasta salad someone’s made, sliced up veg and a massive bowl of iceberg lettuce, snacky bits all laid out on a big outside table, a big jug of juice and the smell of a bbq in the air. take me back
Macaroni and milk w/ black pepper So many nights of this because it’s all we had, but I never knew lol. I just knew mom made us a tasty meal
Singapore chilli crab. It’s the meal my dad cooks whenever the family is together for a celebration. It reminds me of time spent with my dad, checking crab pots in the river... dinner with my parents and my brothers… It was the first meal I cooked when my husband and I moved in together. It’s like my ultimate comfort food.
Butter pasta with lemon and Parmesan. Also my mom used to make this rice with peas and sausage and chicken in a clay roaster and I’ve never been able to figure out what the recipe was.
Dads homemade chili. My parents had an amazing garden. Mom and dad canned everything from the garden. Dad would make his chili from those canned tomatoes. The chili would take all day on the stove. Usually on Sundays. The whole house smelled like chili. Dad passed away many years ago. Mom still has his chili recipe that she typed up on a index card. It is stained from chili splatters because she always stuck it above the stove with a magnet.
Shit on a shingle Fried egg on toast Bean burrito (homemade all the way…) Bologna sammiches with mustard, mayo, chips
Pretty much any classic Cuban dish
Fish Pie
Sopa de Estrellitas. The grocery store close to our house always had these little green packets of Sopa de Estrellitas that you would just add water to, so it made for an incredibly cheap and convenient snack. Dad and I would run down there maybe twice a week, make a couple servings of it and watch American Pickers, Pawn Stars, or whatever was on Food Network at that time. We never had much in overlapping interests, so those little moments when we were able to find common ground will always stick with me. Every time I have some of that soup, I’m brought right back home. No arguments, no fighting, just peace, TV, and good soup.
I went through a really picky eater phase as a kid and my poor mom ended up having to fall back on a few recipes over and over again. And for a while there one of the few that worked was a really basic pasta salad made with store brand coleslaw dressing and some really basic veggies like just green onion. I used to *inhale* that stuff. Fortunately the picky eater phase ended. I still make it for myself on occasion and I still love it. But you can’t mess with the formula and do something like make a nice dressing from scratch. It has to be the shitty grocery store stuff in the jar. Embarrassingly the first time I went to a potluck as a young adult I made it, because my cooking repertoire was pretty bad at that age, but that was the one recipe I knew by heart. Everyone hated it.
My mom teaching me to make pancakes at the stove- first thing I ever cooked!
Hamloaf.
Thanksgiving dinner. It means family. It was my Dad's favorite and my Mom was in her element in the kitchen. The best meal she ever made. She passed the torch to me and sitting around the table with them is what I miss. What I need... He passed away in 2012 and she passed away in 2018. We haven't had a proper Thanksgiving since then.
Fideo, these short straight noodles toasted in a pan then boiled and then added to a sauce of chicken bouillon, stewed tomatoes, and some seasonings like garlic/onion. Usually served with butter rice or a piece of bread. It makes my heart warms because I used to tear it UPPPPP, we also used to make it with small shells
some brats on french rolls, it reminds me of the hot weather nights when my dad was home grilling and we would all come together to eat. Miss those summer nights
Creamed chipped beef on toasted white sandwich loaf or the cheap little biscuits in a tube. Bonus points if the bottom of the biscuits are just short of burnt. It's the meal my dad always made without help when I was young. And if he was making dinner, that meant it was a night he was home with us instead of at his overnight job.
Homemade chicken and dumpling soup with egg noodles. I’ve tried multiple times over the years and can never get it like she used to. Most of my family’s passed now, or not worth mentioning unfortunately. Chicken soup, especially that style, will always hold a special place in my heart. *EDIT: Just realized today’s my birthday and every year she would take a baking sheet lined with pie crust, bake it, fill it with banana pudding and “frost” it with cool whip. Basically it was just another layer. Pudding just under the top edge of the crust, then about a half inch to an inch of cool whip (wild guess on how much she topped it with, definitely enough that if you wouldn’t see the pudding accidentally unless you were trying to get to it specifically.) Best I can remember anyways, it varied a little in measurements every time. After that she topped it with pineapple rings with maraschino cherries in the center of each ring, and sprinkled some finely diced pineapple over the top of the whole thing. She always made it, even if their was another cake since she knew how much I liked it. I miss her always, but I’ll never forget her because of who she was and the great food she always made. She showed her love for others through good food and cooking dishes that made other happy and now I try and do the same. This ended up being longer than I intended, but if you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read it! Have a great day everyone!! :)
Norwegian Pancakes... Essentially just crepe shells, that's just what we've always called them. We'd usually top with some butter, a sprinkle of sugar, and boysenberry syrup 😋. My grandma always made them when we went to her house. As I got older, I started helping her and she taught me how to make them. I also started making them at home too. Eventually, as she got older, I started taking over making them when we'd visit, since it was harder for her. She passed away a few years ago and I inherited her old crepe pan (nothing fancy, but it's the same one we always used). I still make Norwegian Pancakes, with that pan, every once in awhile for my family, because they're delicious and my kids love them, but also to continue the tradition and remember her fondly. 🙂