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Inherited Family Food Quirks


Royalfan5

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My dad would always request spaghetti pie when we'd have leftover spaghetti. It was literally just spaghetti with meat sauce put into a pie crust. I fucking hated it because it was so bready and starchy.

We also ate a lot of hot dog themed dishes because poor. My favorite was cut up hotdogs fried up with diced potatoes and onions/bell peppers. Shit was good with some ketchup on top.

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My mom to this day makes "Poor man's lasagna" which just substitutes cottage cheese instead of the more expensive ricotta. We make a half and half version in our household because I just can't let it go.

Edited by TankedBevo
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13 minutes ago, TankedBevo said:

My mom to this day makes "Poor man's lasagna" which just substitutes cottage cheese instead of the more expensive ricotta. We make a half and half version in our household because I just can't let it go.

Poor Man's or not, it makes a great lasagna.  I do the half rocotta half cottage cheese, as well.

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3 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Bought a can of Deviled Ham and had a couple of sandwiches last week, didn't even bother to stir it up just ate it yellow gel on bottom and all. 

Username checks out, almost.

 

images.jpeg

Edited by Deej
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22 hours ago, Royalfan5 said:

As I’m getting married soon, I’ve been trying to explain some of my family legacy dishes to my fiancé, like that our beloved beans and weenies recipe is hot dogs sliced vertically into green beans and a white sauce, we dip cookies and bars into leftover fruit syrup from canned fruit as part of dessert, and all still know how to make and like head cheese among other things. Mostly I’m trolling to see if anyone else did the hot dogs and green bean things but want to hear about other oddball dishes 

That chick must really love you...

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My old man had a sandwich that pretty well died with him.  We all made fun of it when he'd make it, but on at least one occasion, we each tried it, and while it wasn't anyone's favorite but his, we had to admit, it wasn't terrible.

Bread, peanut butter, Coleman's hot mustard, Oscar Mayer bologna, cheese de los Estados Unidos, bread. 

I may have to make it again someday just to threaten currently living family members.

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3 hours ago, Texas St. Armadillos said:

Macaroni and Tomatoes.  Elbow macaroni and Hunt's diced tomatoes.  Salt.  Pepper.  

Apparently, it's a West Virginia thing from where my folks are from.  Great hangover meal.

We grew up on it.  Cheap and satisfying.

I will make a batch a couple of times a year just to take me back to childhood.

Cheap ass comfort food.   A dash of Lawry's or cajun chef does alright too.

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We called it Del Rio chili when I was a kid, but it just consisted of a big can of Hormel chili, Rotel, Ranch style beans and some Velveeta.  Nuke it for 2 min in the microwave and serve over Fritos.  I feed that to the kids when my wife is gone. 

On her side, it's Texas Hash.  Total East Texas fare.  Love it.  Kids love it.  We eat it once every two weeks or so.

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6 minutes ago, dcbc said:

My old man had a sandwich that pretty well died with him.  We all made fun of it when he'd make it, but on at least one occasion, we each tried it, and while it wasn't anyone's favorite but his, we had to admit, it wasn't terrible.

Bread, peanut butter, Coleman's hot mustard, Oscar Mayer bologna, cheese de los Estados Unidos, bread. 

I may have to make it again someday just to threaten currently living family members.

Peanut butter and mustard slams. 

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An item my boys and I invented when they were little,  that we still make when we all get together...mostly just to spite their momma and now, my daughter-in-law:

1 bag of frozen burritos.  Bean and cheese are ok, but I like the green or red chili ones better.

1 medium or large  can enchilada sauce.  Hotter is better.

2 cans Jalapeno Cheddar Frito canned dip.

put burritos in 13x9 backing dish.

pour sauce generously over each piece.

spoon over/ divide jalapeno cheddar dip around each burrito.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  turn all burritos.  Continue baking until cheese starts to brown.

 

So disgusting, but so wonderful.

Edited by slorch
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My mother would cook smothered pork chops about once a week. She can make about 3 dishes well, so I loved pork chop night.  
 

Cheapest pork chops available, lots of ketchup, green peppers, onions, and worcestershire sauce. Let it cook until everything is brown. Served over rice. I have no idea where she picked it up. Seems kind of creole, but she grew up in San Antonio and Houston. 
 

She used the leftover pork chops to make crock pot beans. 
 

She would also combine leftover cereal into a new box, Cheerios and Rice Crispies. She would also combine leftover milk into a new bottles. 

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59 minutes ago, slorch said:

An item my boys and I invented when they were little,  that we still make when we all get together...mostly just to spite their momma and now, my daughter-in-law:

1 bag of frozen burritos.  Bean and cheese are ok, but I like the green or red chili ones better.

1 medium or large  can enchilada sauce.  Hotter is better.

2 cans Jalapeno Cheddar Frito canned dip.

put burritos in 13x9 backing dish.

pour sauce generously over each piece.

spoon over/ divide jalapeno cheddar dip around each burrito.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  turn all burritos.  Continue baking until cheese starts to brown.

 

So disgusting, but so wonderful.

I bet the windows were left open at your house after that “meal.”

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A standard growing up which I have carried on with more spices.

 

2 cups rice

1 can Cream of Mushroom.

3--4 cups of water.

Meat--Chicken breasts, pork chops, whatever.

Salt, pepper, seasoned salt, whatever to taste

Bake covered in foil at 375 for 1.5 hours

 

Good as hell

 

/as my my mom got older, she put together a recipe book of all the standards that had survived the years.  It's laminated and well used at this point.  But it means the world for other reasons, too.

Edited by dcbc
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1 hour ago, dcbc said:

My old man had a sandwich that pretty well died with him.  We all made fun of it when he'd make it, but on at least one occasion, we each tried it, and while it wasn't anyone's favorite but his, we had to admit, it wasn't terrible.

Bread, peanut butter, Coleman's hot mustard, Oscar Mayer bologna, cheese de los Estados Unidos, bread. 

I may have to make it again someday just to threaten currently living family members.

PB & Bologna was had by me plenty of times.  

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My mom and her mother made mac n cheese with spaghetti/vermicelli noodles.    It was perfectly fine if a little different.  I suppose it was all that was commonly available to my grandmother, I don't know.  

Also, when my grandmother made apple pie, and my mom, they made it with grated apple.  Pretty good, really.

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This is more growing up poor as opposed to weird family recipes..

Cheap tuna casserole - cook a box of Kraft mac and cheese, leave it in the pot, dump in a can of tuna and a can of mushy canned peas, mix and eat

"Hash" - brown some hamburger meat with onions and bell peppers, cut up 3 or 4 potatoes, throw it all in a soup pot, cover in water and cook until potatoes are mushy and bell peppers turn to slime, add tons of salt and pepper because my mom and step-dad smoked like chimneys and had no taste buds

Lays potato chip sandwiches, just chips and bread

Warm tortillas with butter (well, margarine, who could afford butter?) (and no, we did not sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on it, that's why God made cinnamon toast)

An open face grilled cheese?  Piece of bread, slice of cheese on top, pop in the toaster oven until cheese just starts to turn brown, ate that everyday after school

My step-grandma, bless her she was so country, used to make this pseudo-Watergate salad, lime green jello mixed with cottage cheese, pineapple chunks, pecans, shredded carrots and raisins - ugh  Did I eat it, yeah

My mom used to make homemade salad dressing, miracle whip, ketchup, a little worcestershire sauce and garlic powder mixed together, 500 islands maybe?

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My mom to this day makes "Poor man's lasagna" which just substitutes cottage cheese instead of the more expensive ricotta. We make a half and half version in our household because I just can't let it go.

I think I remember that America’s Test Kitchen took the time to make the best Lasagna and Baked Penne and they found that cottage cheese was superior than ricotta in both dishes.
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3 hours ago, slorch said:

An item my boys and I invented when they were little,  that we still make when we all get together...mostly just to spite their momma and now, my daughter-in-law:

1 bag of frozen burritos.  Bean and cheese are ok, but I like the green or red chili ones better.

1 medium or large  can enchilada sauce.  Hotter is better.

2 cans Jalapeno Cheddar Frito canned dip.

put burritos in 13x9 backing dish.

pour sauce generously over each piece.

spoon over/ divide jalapeno cheddar dip around each burrito.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  turn all burritos.  Continue baking until cheese starts to brown.

 

So disgusting, but so wonderful.

200.gif

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Anyone else have cheese toast at school? We always had it in the cafeteria for breakfast. It is a piece of toast with a kraft single on top, sprinkle some sugar on top of the cheese, then broil it until the cheese starts to melt. I rarely got to school early enough for breakfast but this was my go-to when I did.

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6 hours ago, Gladeite said:

Hot Dr. Pepper.  Mom/grandmothers used to warm Dr. Pepper on the stove and serve to the kids in the winter.  With a slice of lemon.  Very good on a cold(Texas) day.

my mom made that for us when we were kids but only when we were sick.  that was the only time we were allowed to drink coke so it was a benefit to being sick. 

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14 hours ago, idigTexas said:

I think many people do graham crackers in milk.  Nailing the dunking time is crucial.  Pull out too early, and it won't have that pleasing moistness.  Leave it in too long, and you are going to have to go fishing or wait until the end and spoon out the dregs.  A nice variation is to make peanut butter sandwiches with the graham crackers, and then dunk those. 

I also like peanut butter on apple slices. 

I ear them in a bowl of milk like cereal. Each Graham cracker plank has four rectangular section. I break those up into eight little squares. About half of one of those cellophane packages will fill a bowl. There’s a little crunch at the start but I also like it when it’s mushy at the end of the bowl. And I always eat two bowls thereby consuming that whole package and not risking any going stale.

Love peanut butter on apples. Bananas too. My mom used to make little peanut butter boats out of celery stalks and those were good too. But that’s not something I do. If I’m snacking on celery I just dip it in blue cheese dressing. 

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6 hours ago, Gladeite said:

Hot Dr. Pepper.  Mom/grandmothers used to warm Dr. Pepper on the stove and serve to the kids in the winter.  With a slice of lemon.  Very good on a cold(Texas) day.

When I was a kid and was sick and couldn’t go to school, I’d often stay with my grandma and she’d serve me warm Tang. That was pretty good. Never had it past the age of seven. 

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5 hours ago, Deej said:

My mom used to make "pizza" on English muffins in the toaster oven. I would slam about six of those right now. 

We used halves of hamburger buns and called them pizza burgers. They even served them in school (which were better than we could make at home). Except at my junior high where the kitchen was run by a bunch of old ladies, including my other grandma, where their pizza burger was a burger patty dipped in sauce and topped with mozzarella and served in a whole bun. Those were good too but I’d prefer the other kind. Their food was great though and, if my grandma was working the serving line, she’d give me extra generous portions if I asked. Like of mashed potatoes with chicken and gravy and egg noodles. Haven’t had that in a long time.

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An item my boys and I invented when they were little,  that we still make when we all get together...mostly just to spite their momma and now, my daughter-in-law:
1 bag of frozen burritos.  Bean and cheese are ok, but I like the green or red chili ones better.
1 medium or large  can enchilada sauce.  Hotter is better.
2 cans Jalapeno Cheddar Frito canned dip.
put burritos in 13x9 backing dish.
pour sauce generously over each piece.
spoon over/ divide jalapeno cheddar dip around each burrito.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  turn all burritos.  Continue baking until cheese starts to brown.
 
So disgusting, but so wonderful.

I want to do this with tamales instead of frozen burritos. Sounds great.
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pizza bagels. Good times.

One other not sure if this unique though: when my parents always did a chicken or turkey pot pie - it was always scooped into those Pepperidge farms frozen puff pastry shells.

I always just assumed everyone ate them that way, and learned later one most people make it into an actual pie type deal. 

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15 hours ago, Deej said:

That's called a perfect BLT. 

I've just recently discovered heavy mayo on a sesame seed bun with scrambled eggs, bacon, and cheese and no question my entire upbringing with my parents. Never once thought about adding real mayo to that, and for that I was wrong.

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4 hours ago, Da Fino said:


I want to do this with tamales instead of frozen burritos. Sounds great.

You want my Dad's tamale cassarole. Can of Hormel tamales, can of yellow hominy, can of chili. Dump the tamales in a baking dish, add the hominy, smother with chili. Bake 30-40 min. Dee lish.

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