Grandma Never Needed a Shortcut
It doesn’t feel like it anymore, but there was a time when making dinner meant spending half the day in the kitchen. There was always something to do, too! You were peeling potatoes, rolling dough, or watching something simmer on the stove. Whatever the case, along the way, we all found shortcuts that took the elbow grease out of our favorite dishes—even if our grandparents never did. Though we’re far too lazy to make them nowadays, plenty of those old-fashioned dishes were worth the trouble, and it's a shame how rarely we make these 20 anymore.
myself (User:Piotrus) on Wikimedia
1. Homemade Chicken Croquettes
Leftover chicken soup in Grandma’s house? Not for long! She could turn leftover chicken into a proper dinner by chopping it finely, mixing it with a thick sauce, and shaping everything into little patties. That’s right, we’re talking about croquettes, those delicious delicacies we’d sooner avoid making ourselves nowadays.
2. Hand-Rolled Egg Noodles
Before bags of egg noodles became pantry staples, Grandma had the patience to make them by hand. It took a lot of work, combining flour, eggs, and a little salt before rolling the dough thin and cutting it into strips. Making noodles for chicken soup or beef and noodles was perfectly ordinary, but you probably wouldn't catch many of us doing it after work today.
3. Stuffed Artichokes
You’ve heard of stuffed peppers, but stuffed artichokes needed their own dedicated time in the kitchen! It was all about trimming the leaves, removing the tough tips, and stuffing seasoned breadcrumbs between the layers. Garlic, parsley, Parmesan, and olive oil also provided plenty of flavor, but carefully filling each artichoke required considerable patience.
4. Old-Fashioned Potato Pierogi
Forget about those frozen pierogies in grocery stores! Making the good stuff meant making them from scratch. You needed to mash potato filling, mix a separate dough, and roll out dozens of little circles. You know that Grandma filled each one with potatoes and cheese, too. It was way better than what you see today—though we’re not willing to make them.
5. Homemade Corned Beef Hash
When Sunday dinner left behind corned beef and boiled potatoes, Grandma knew exactly how to use them. With a little wizardry and some old-school patience, you had homemade hash on your hands! It involved chopping the meat, potatoes, and onions into small pieces before frying everything together until the bottom developed a crisp crust. Opening a can is easier now, though it doesn't have the same texture.
6. Pennsylvania Dutch Schnitz Un Knepp
Try not to let the name convince you this isn’t worth your time! This traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dish combined dried apples, ham, and homemade dumplings in a sweet and savory meal. Preparing it involved simmering the ham and fruit before adding spoonfuls of dough to cook, and it's the sort of regional family recipe that requires way more planning than the average modern supper.
7. Homemade Salmon Croquettes
Sorry, we’re back on croquettes! We can’t help it—there were so many ways to make them, and Grandma knew them all. With a little canned salmon on deck, she'd carefully remove unwanted bones and skin, mix the fish with eggs and breadcrumbs, then fry individual pieces until crisp. Add a homemade lemon dressing, and suddenly a simple pantry ingredient became an event.
8. Hand-Shredded Potato Pancakes
We barely have time for a quick coffee break in the mornings, let alone making homemade anything! But Grandma's potato pancakes began with peeling and grating raw spuds, often alongside an onion for even more flavor. After squeezing out excess moisture, it was then just mixing the shreds with eggs, flour, and seasonings before frying small batches until the edges were crisp. But between the grating, draining, frying, and cleanup, frozen hash browns have become the easier option.
9. Homemade Chicken Liver Pâté
Not every grandmother made pâté, but it was a familiar appetizer in enough households. We can’t say we blame those who didn’t bother, though. Preparing it required cleaning chicken livers, cooking them carefully with onions and butter, and blending everything into a smooth spread. Modern hosts are far more likely to serve crackers with store-bought dip than spend their morning preparing chicken livers.
10. Stuffed Baked Onions
What’s with all the baked veggies? We know, but Grandma was nothing if not crafty! This one meant hollowing out partially cooked onions, combining the centers with breadcrumbs, herbs, and sausage, then baking everything until tender. It's an excellent use of inexpensive ingredients, too.
11. Homemade Beef Tamales
For grandmothers raised in Mexican-American families, making tamales was an important tradition that went back several generations. Preparing the meat, mixing the masa dough, soaking corn husks, and wrapping each tamale required hours of effort. That’s also why, for today’s cooks, buying a dozen is more tempting.
12. Old-Fashioned Creamed Spinach
We know that creamed anything sounds like a disaster, but Grandma somehow managed to make those leaves a hit at the table! It’s a good thing, too, since it took hours to wash away the grit, remove tough stems, cook the leaves, squeeze out the water, and chop everything before making a separate cream sauce.
Konstantinos Papadopoulos on Unsplash
13. Homemade Potato Gnocchi
Don’t even think about those frozen noodles if you want the real stuff. Authentic potato gnocchi involves cooking potatoes, mashing them, and carefully incorporating flour and eggs into a soft dough. Leave it to Grandma to roll the mixture into ropes, cut the pieces, and press each dumpling against a fork to create those signature ridges. It’s too much work for us, though.
14. Traditional Baked Beans
Canned baked beans weren’t always a barbecue essential, and that meant Grandma spending an entire day preparing her own. Dried navy beans needed soaking and precooking before being slowly baked with molasses, mustard, onions, and salt pork. The flavor developed beautifully over several hours, even if it’s not something we’re willing to part with in our own schedules.
P.O.sitive Negative on Unsplash
15. Homemade Stuffed Grape Leaves
Some grandmothers were experts at rolling dozens of grape leaves around seasoned fillings—and you remember this delicacy if you had it growing up! Rice, herbs, onions, and even ground meat went into each leaf, which needed to be wrapped tightly enough to hold together during cooking. Anyone who's attempted a whole tray today, though, knows why buying prepared dolmas is so tempting.
16. Fried Cornmeal Mush
In many Midwestern kitchens, leftover cornmeal mush was deliberately prepared in large quantities so it could be fried the next morning. And why shouldn’t it be? Grandma would cook cornmeal in water until thick, pour it into a loaf pan, and refrigerate it until firm enough to slice. Those slices were then fried until crisp and served with butter or gravy, which is way more involved than pouring yourself a bowl of cereal.
17. Homemade Fish Cakes
Fish cakes aren’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but you might change your tune when you try the traditional stuff! You need to make them first, which is more preparation than modern patties, however. The dried, salted fish needs soaking and water changes to remove excess salt before being flaked and combined with mashed potatoes, onions, and seasonings.
18. Old-Fashioned Spoonbread
Southern spoonbread’s a comforting cornmeal dish that needed a lot of (wo) manpower than an ordinary pan of cornbread. Depending on the family recipe, grandmas everywhere cooked cornmeal with milk, added butter and egg yolks, then folded in beaten egg whites before baking. The finished dish was soft enough to serve with a spoon, hence the apt name.
19. Homemade Chicken and Dressing
Grandma's chicken and dressing wasn't necessarily reserved for Thanksgiving, especially in Southern households! She'd bake cornbread, crumble it with stale bread, prepare seasoned broth, and combine everything with celery and shredded chicken before baking. It's a wonderful example of traditional home cooking, even if preparing it takes longer than opening a store-bought package.
Infrogmation of New Orleans on Wikimedia
20. Old-Fashioned Apple Fritters
When apples were plentiful, Grandma could transform them into homemade fritters. You know what we’re talking about—and you know the work they involved, too! Preparing them meant peeling and chopping apples, mixing a spiced batter, and frying individual portions before dusting them with powdered sugar. Dealing with hot oil and cleaning the kitchen afterward is enough to send most of us straight to the bakery today, though.
