The meals of my childhood:

C

clofthwld

Well-known member
Mom was, well, I don't want to say cheap, but ok, I'll say cheap, and my father worked nights, so this is what we got:

1. Chipped beef on toast. The jarred stuff mixed with flour and water and butter.

2. Canned potatoes mixed with hamburger and onion

3. Boxed pizza mix

4. Creamed chicken with peas on toast

5. Grilled cheese(American)sandwiches with canned tomato soup

6. Shepherd's Pie

7. Cream of wheat with milk and sugar

8. Pancakes and bacon (1 slice apiece)

(I'm talking dinner here)

9. Scrambled eggs and toast (Mom liked white bread)

10. Stuffed peppers. (My favorite)

 
Meryl, I just PM'd you. I can't get my mailbox empty. I've tried everything.

I'm not dumb. Really. I clicked on the boxes and sent them to "trash", but I'm still full. Help me.

 
Alright, you need to guide me through this, 'cos I'm showing 37 or so messages

and I trashed them all (boo-hoo), but they are still there and I can't see any more and there's no arrow or anything to point to a new page! What am I doing wrong? Wake up, Mimi. Wake up! I need you, darling. Holy shinola, I can't even spell anymore.

 
Hey kiddo, you've got to empty out your trash folder also! Plus any messages you don't want to save

in your Sent folder.

 
Sailors-in-a-Boat - one of my childhood memories

When Dad was out of town, Mother would make Sailors-in-a-Boat.
Twice baked potatoes with 2 vienna sausages in the bottom. I have no idea where this originated.
Hmmm - maybe this explains my passion for sailing!

 
Clofthwld, poor child. Both my parents were great cooks and many of the ....

items newly discovered by the "foodies" were everyday fare. Have you read Ruth Reichels (sp?) book about her mother's cooking and food practices? Hilarious but also life-threatening.

 
Clofthwld, LOL. My Mom was a terrible cook, and the items that stand out most in my mind are...

Fried baloney sandwiches on toast for breakfast, because we didn't eat cereal.

Scrambled eggs so dry that I would spit them out and hide them in a napkin.

Fried steak, chops, all fried in bacon grease.

Fried flour and water turnovers, also fried in bacon grease.

Thanksgiving turkey roasted until NO juice ran out when pricked with a fork.

I must give her credit, though, she was Czech and made the BEST stuffed cabbage.

In her later years, she and my Dad chose McDonald's as their favorite restaurant.

And me, I love to cook, and explore gourmet restaurants. Go figure? (It helps to have a DH who loves to eat, and whose mother was a fantastic cook.)

Thanks for a fun question!

 
Wow! Very similar to what I grew up with! I'll add

French toast
Salmon patties and creamed peas
"goulash" (elbow macaroni, canned tomatoes, celery,
green pepper, onion, ground beef
mac & cheese (elbow macaroni, chunks of cheddar,
and onion - not creamy in the slightest)
classic tuna noodle casserole
My favorites were:
Roast beef with potatoes, carrots and onions
Roast chicken with gravy, mashed potatoes and peas
(the mashed potatoes had to have lumps, I made
a big hole in the middle, filled it with
peas, and covered with gravy and salt to
taste.

To be fair, my mom was very young when she had me and did not have much money. The only thing I really rebelled at was when she tried to pawn off cooked elbow macaroni mixed with a can of stewed tomatoes! Funny thing is every once in awhile I'll make it.

And, as Bob Hope used to sing...
"Thanks for the memories..."

Debbie

p.s. I've been wanting to ask ever since you came "on board," what is "clofthwld?" Every time I see it I only think "ClothWorld" a fabric store. Can you enlighten me? Thanks!

 
There were a ton of kids in my family and Dad got paid every two weeks...

so the fare depended on if it was Payday Friday or the last Thursday before payday. And Mom, bless her heart, hated to cook, but feed us well anyway.

Now that I think about it, meals were fairly repetitive over the weekdays:

Sunday: some roast (Rump or Pork...with real fat!)
Monday: Hot roast beef sandwiches + French fries
Tuesday: Serbian steak and mash potatoes, liver and onions (I cried on those days)
Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs, beef stew
Thursday: Chili or Stuffed cabbage rolls
Friday: Something non-meat: Perogies or fish (so overcooked as to be pitiful).

Dinner was always sit-down, always with my father at the head of the table, always started with Grace said by one of the kids, rotation-style around the table, always included a meat, starch, tossed salad (vinegar, oil +salt....I didn't know other salad dressings existed until I was 20), a canned vegetable, sliced white bread or Italian loaf, butter, milk for kids and coffee for Mom and Dad. You didn't leave the table until your plate was cleaned and your glass was empty. Dessert (pudding, jello or ice cream) were only around a few days after payday.

I don't think we ever had soup or sandwich as a dinner....Mom would have felt as though she hadn't fed her family. I know I would have preferred it over liver and onions.

 
Hmm, everytime I see clofthwld, I think of a Renaissance faire maiden

flowing long dark green velvet dress, tall pointy hat, whimple...jousters viving for her favor.

 
I don't think she'll mind if I answer for her. It's...Call of the Wild and I'd say it fits pretty>>>

well. I think she still has a bit of wild left in her. I think it would be a blast to spend an evening with her. ;0)

 
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