Recipes That Deserve A Comeback
Every generation has foods that seem to disappear once the people who made them best stop cooking regularly. Grandmothers often had recipes that relied on inexpensive ingredients, plenty of patience, and techniques that aren't as common in busy modern kitchens. Some of these dishes may still show up occasionally, but they're certainly not appearing on family dinner tables as often as they once did.
1. Tuna Noodle Casserole
One of my favorites from my grandmother's repertoire was tuna noodle casserole. It was very simple to make with basic ingredients: egg noodles, canned tuna, and peas. It may not sound particularly exciting today, but plenty of grandmothers knew exactly how to make it comforting.
2. Chicken And Dumplings
Making homemade chicken and dumplings took quite a bit more time than just throwing it all in a bag and boiling. Once you had the chicken tender, it was time to add the dumplings. You could feed a lot of people with this one meal.
3. Stuffed Cabbage Rolls
Stuffed cabbage rolls allowed you to take simple ingredients and turn them into a family meal. You stuffed cabbage rolls with meat and maybe some rice, then cooked them with some kind of sauce. Since each roll would have to be stuffed by hand, it's no wonder they aren't commonly found on people's dinner plates.
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4. Ham Salad
If you ever found yourself with some leftover cooked ham, your mom probably made ham salad. You just cut up the ham and added some mayo and a few other ingredients. Maybe some relish or mustard.
5. Homemade Meatloaf
There's still meatloaf out there in the world, just not made from scratch as much. There was always ground meat and a bunch of other things added to make meatloaf. Some people liked to top their meatloaf off with some kind of glaze.
6. Creamed Chipped Beef
This meal was very cheap to make because you used dried beef. Once you got the dried beef and your cream sauce ready, you just served it over some toast. The recipe is simple enough to make today, but you're far less likely to find it on a typical modern dinner menu.
7. Ambrosia Salad
You could find many ingredients in ambrosia salad. From canned fruit to coconut and marshmallows. You could always find this at a family function or a picnic. While it's still around today, you will find it much less often than you once did.
8. Liver And Onions
This meal was great if you wanted to stretch your meat dollar a little further. Your grandmother would make the liver with onions and maybe serve it with some potatoes. While not a lot of people like liver, you can bet someone's grandmother had it on their weekly dinner menu.
9. Creamed Peas On Toast
Another one of my favorites was creamed peas on toast. It was a great way to get a meal if you had a limited budget. You simply took the peas and put them in some sauce and poured it over some toast. Again, a meal your grandma knew well.
10. Salmon Patties
Using canned salmon, you could make salmon patties. These patties could be made with many different things. Add them to your meal along with some veggies, and you have a nice dinner.
11. Potato Cakes
Never throw out your leftover mashed potatoes if your grandma is around. She'll take that mash and make it into a potato cake. You just add some more ingredients to your mash and fry them up.
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12. Corn Pudding
Corn pudding is something that is half mashed potatoes and half casserole dish. You could make this with a variety of ingredients. Although not very common on the dinner table today, it was particularly suited to large family meals, yet it's nowhere near as familiar on modern tables as mashed potatoes or roasted vegetables.
13. Pickled Beets
Grandmas loved pickled beets. If you had a bunch of vegetables that you wanted to keep fresh for later, she probably pickled them. You might still see these at family gatherings today, but you won't find them in every fridge.
14. Homemade Applesauce
There must have been a time when grandmas had so many apples they needed a way to use them. Making homemade applesauce was a great idea. Just peel them and mash them up with some other ingredients.
15. Rice Pudding
If you didn't like how your rice turned out or just bought too much, you could make rice pudding. All you have to do is add some other ingredients to your rice and cook it. Some people like to add cinnamon and others raisins.
16. Bread Pudding
Just like rice pudding, if you have extra bread lying around, you could turn it into bread pudding. It's just stale bread with a few ingredients thrown in. Another one of those meals your grandma was an expert at.
17. Tomato Aspic
Your grandma loved to serve aspic on her dinner table. It was once considered a perfectly respectable addition to a luncheon or formal meal, sometimes containing vegetables, eggs, or seafood. You'd have a much harder time convincing most modern dinner guests that savory gelatin should be the star of the table.
18. Chicken A La King
Chicken à la King was another one of my grandma's dishes. You basically take chicken and add cream of something. Add some other ingredients to make it taste amazing. Despite having fairly familiar ingredients, the dish has become much less visible in everyday cooking.
19. Seven-Layer Salad
If you made this for someone, they better appreciate it because that took me some time! This was always a dish you would see at gatherings and picnics. Depending on how many layers you want, you could make it almost look pretty.
20. Homemade Fruit Cobbler
Fruit cobbler was very simple to make at home. Just throw some fruit in the oven and you're almost done. With ice cream on top, it was the kind of dessert that didn't need a complicated presentation to make everyone want another serving.
Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash
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