Vintage comfort food taken to the next level! Inspired by YouTuber Catherine’s Plates, I added an option for an enhanced 1950s experience that relies less on prepared food: the Cook Your Own Pasta Sauce option. The original recipe that uses prepared spaghetti sauce from the supermarket works just fine, but I think that going the […]
Category: Grandma’s Picks
Hearty Meat Sauce Casserole
This decadent dish isn’t for the person on a weight loss regimen! Dating back to 1950, an age of blissful dietary innocence before cholesterol became a scary household word and liver was considered health food (and eating liver was a considered sign of being grown up), this kid-pleasing, tongue-coating, pantry-staple recipe will surprise you with […]
Man’s Casserole
With a name like this, it has to be vintage. Amazingly flavorful, preparation is fairly easy and its lower oven temperature makes it suitable for warmer-weather baking. You’ll need: 1 lb. ground beef1 cup onions, finely chopped½ tsp. celery seed (or ½ cup diced celery)2 Tbsp. butter1 Picnic size can cream of mushroom soup (that’s […]
Classic Lasagna
Lasagna hasn’t changed much from this 1960 recipe, and this one is fantastic. It calls for a lot of old-fashioned kitchen time, but it’s worth it. You’ll need: 1 lb. ground beefOlive oil2 cloves garlic, finely chopped1 package onion soup mix1 No. 1 can (that’s 8-9 oz.) tomato sauce1 No. ½ can (that’s 6-8 oz.) […]
Turkey & Onions Au Gratin
This amazing dish is a fantastic way to use leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and make the most out of every remaining scrap of meat that you can salvage from the bone after roasting. I intentionally used only dark meat in this recipe, and the result is flavorful beyond wild expectations. You’ll need: 6 Tbsp. butter4 […]
Twas The Night Before Church Plant-Based Stroganoff
Sure to emit lots of malodorous, sulfur-containing gaseous metabolic by-products thanks to its plant-based protein, this Mennonite recipe adapted for Beyond Beef crumbles is sure to guarantee you a pew of your own. Oh, by the way, it’s insanely delicious. You’ll need: 6-8 oz. medium noodles or egg noodles½ cup onions, finely chopped2 Tbsp. butter1 […]
Beef Macaroni Casserole
Appetizing eye appeal makes everything taste better, and this dish has it! Mild yet fun to cook with its old-school techniques, anyone who likes meat will chow this right down. You’ll need: 1 lb. ground beef (15-20% fat best, see instructions)1 tbsp. fat or shortening1 No. ¼ can mushrooms, finely chopped (optional) (that’s 3-4 oz)1 […]
Three-Cheese Manicotti in Meat Sauce
This Italian classic will make any dinner extra special and create more fond memories for the kids. Lots of steps and handiwork give it a definite old-fashioned feel. You won’t regret it! For this particular batch, I used two pint-sized jars of my home-cooked and home-canned pasta sauce, and round steak – home-ground with the […]
Souped-Up Pork Chops and Rice
Adapted from a pastor’s wife’s recipe appearing in the 1969 collection of Assemblies of God Women’s Recipes, this surprisingly good pork chop recipe will bring back fond memories of dinner in the oven. (If you prefer to prepare the exact original recipe, omit the bacon pieces and related steps and lightly grease the skillet instead.) […]
Easy Hamburger Casserole
Fond memories of dinners as a child! Mild, simple and kid pleasing, this tasty, filling dish is as much fun to make as it is to eat. Just like Jiffy-Pop. For the ground beef, I used home-ground sirloin which provided a wonderful uniform texture, but if using ground beef of more than 20% fat, consider […]