Comfort Food Tonight

~patches~ said:

Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.

That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.
Goomba

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ said:

Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.

That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.
Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs. They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol
......Sharon

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ said:

Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.

That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.

Imagine serving this to my new inlaws! I did. They were very gratious
but I'm sure it was horrible.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs. They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol
......Sharon

I'm dating myself but we got married in the late 70's at the ripe age of
18 and had baby #1 14 months later. My FM never really taught me how to
cook even though she was a wonderful cook. After she got sick, she
simply stopped cooking. I had almost no cooking skills. Thank goodness
DMIL came to the rescue and taught me how to cook spaghetti sauce and
lasagne from scratch. DMIL also taught me how to can relish and
tomatoes. From there along with my previous exposures to canning the
seeds of home preserving were firmly sown. She gave me my very first
cookbook - Betty Crocker 🙂 A wonderful elderly lady by our apartment
had a cherry tree so taught me how to make cherry pie. I was lucky that
I had encouragement to cook as it set the pattern for me. I made sure
my kids were exposed to cooking right from the time they could sit up.

~patches~ said:

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ wrote:

>Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
>bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.
>

That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.

Imagine serving this to my new inlaws! I did. They were very gratious
but I'm sure it was horrible.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs. They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol
......Sharon

I'm dating myself but we got married in the late 70's at the ripe age of
18 and had baby #1 14 months later. My FM never really taught me how to
cook even though she was a wonderful cook. After she got sick, she
simply stopped cooking. I had almost no cooking skills. Thank goodness
DMIL came to the rescue and taught me how to cook spaghetti sauce and
lasagne from scratch. DMIL also taught me how to can relish and
tomatoes. From there along with my previous exposures to canning the
seeds of home preserving were firmly sown. She gave me my very first
cookbook - Betty Crocker 🙂 A wonderful elderly lady by our apartment
had a cherry tree so taught me how to make cherry pie. I was lucky that
I had encouragement to cook as it set the pattern for me. I made sure
my kids were exposed to cooking right from the time they could sit up.

I have a few years on you Patches. We were married in 59 at age 16
(not a typo) My Mom didn't teach me anything about cooking (probably
best that she didn't...she was a terrible cook) and my MIL, though a
good cook didn't teach me anything either. I picked up things from
watching people that I came in contact with, and seeking recipes from a
cookbook. But I didn't do anything adventurous. Meatloaf from an older
friend, Hamburger stew from a friend on a tight budget, etc. The
purchase of a slow cooker helped in my working days, with roasts etc.
It wasn't until we retired 4 years ago that I started reading this group
and picked up a LOT of tips. The best thing I learned here was not to
disturb meat in the pan until it realeases on it's own. Now my breaded
fried stuff still has the coating on when it's served. I also got away
from the onion soup thing for my potroast and stocked up on spices and
herbs so I could do it my way. We yard sale in the good weather, and I
have accumulated a lot of cookbooks. I learn something from almost all
of them and have a large collection of loose recipes printed from the
web and copied from library books. The other day my DH bragged to my
sisters about my culinary endeavours...lol. He's loving it and the deal
we have, is that if he doesn't like something he will say so before I go
and make it again. So far, so good. No Shake and Bake in this house
anymore, but when you don't know any different.......
.........Sharon

biig said:

there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and

Betty Crocker. Comes with a packet of frosting too. Used to love to do
these as a kid & dad always brought one along for camping trips. We
used to cut out the spoon from the box & mix it with that.

Denise~* said:

biig said:

there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and

Betty Crocker. Comes with a packet of frosting too. Used to love to do
these as a kid & dad always brought one along for camping trips. We
used to cut out the spoon from the box & mix it with that.

That's cute....lol.... They had chocolate chip flavour that had an
alternate recipe for cookies, using oil, I think. I used to mix it up
and bake it spread out in a single layer on a sheet pan and cut it into
squares. The kids loved it and it saved me a lot of time........Sharon

~patches~ said:

Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.

Here's an updated take on that meal for tonight. Oven roasted marinated
chicken breasts, real mashed potatoes using chicken broth, sauteed
zucchini & onions & mushroom mix served with - tossed mesclun mix salad
& rasperberry viniagarette and white wine.

After a week of warmth cold weather returned. The comfort food tonight is
rice pudding.

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ said:

Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.

That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.
Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs.

I didn't work 2 jobs but I still used Shake & Bake from time to
time... with no misgivings. Can't remember if it was S & B for
chicken or pork chops that I liked better. I suspect it was the pork.

Quoted message said:

They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

sf said:

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.

I don't remember a Peach cake, but the brand that had the plastic
pouches with the pan included was Betty Crocker.

I remember the Spice cake with white frosting (coulda been cream cheese
frosting), chocolate cake with white frosting & white cake with
chocolate frosting. Later in the 90's they tried doing a microwave
version, but it really didn't last long.

I think they are making them again.

No, no, this is sooooooooooooooo sad. My MIL _still_ cooks like that.
And I mean it, that's the kind of food she would serve at what she
woudl call a 'posh' dinner party. My sweet MIL is truly stuck in the
70s kitchen...

You know, funny story. When we were living in England, I bought an old
copy of Mrs Beeton at a car boot sale. It was the late 60s edition and
was like 50p. I love it as a gorgeous treasure from the past; step by
step photos on how to skin and join a rabbit (gruesome) and a reminder
to 'first, brush the teeth" when preparing a sheeps head for roasting.
When we came back to Australia, I was telling MIL I found an old copy
of Mrs Beeton and she says 'oh yes, I have one too, but a very modern
edition'. Turns out, we both have the same edition!

tinny

sf said:

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ wrote:
> Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
> bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.
>
That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
Seriously.
Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs.

I didn't work 2 jobs but I still used Shake & Bake from time to
time... with no misgivings. Can't remember if it was S & B for
chicken or pork chops that I liked better. I suspect it was the pork.

Quoted message said:

They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.
--

Practice safe eating. Always use condiments.

The peach cake I used to make wasn't a mix as such. I used a regular
cake mix and substituted the juice from the drained peaches for part of
the liquid. I used all the peach juice and made up the rest of the
liquid with whatever liquid the mix called for. Back then you could buy
a pouch mix that made a single layer cake. Nowadays it seems there are
only two layer mixes. I didn't add any sugar or cherries as you might
do for an pineapple upside down cake. After all this talk, I think I'll
make one for our domino game Saturday. ....Sharon

Denise~* said:

sf said:

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.

I don't remember a Peach cake, but the brand that had the plastic
pouches with the pan included was Betty Crocker.

I remember the Spice cake with white frosting (coulda been cream cheese
frosting), chocolate cake with white frosting & white cake with
chocolate frosting. Later in the 90's they tried doing a microwave
version, but it really didn't last long.

I think they are making them again.

The peach cake was not a mix. That's my version. I substituted the
juice from the drained peaches for part of the liquid. .....Sharon

On Wed 15 Mar 2006 11:48:50p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it sf?

Quoted message said:

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ wrote:
> Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was
> shake & bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn
> niblets.
>
That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so
dreadful! LOL I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy
better food. Seriously.
Goomba

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs.

I didn't work 2 jobs but I still used Shake & Bake from time to
time... with no misgivings. Can't remember if it was S & B for
chicken or pork chops that I liked better. I suspect it was the pork.

I was somewhat fascinated with convenience food products in my early
cooking years. I used Shake & Bake for chicken sometmes, but when they
introduced a "bbq" S&B for pork, I used it quite a lot. As with the
regular S&B, it was a powdery mix, but when baked it formed a bbq sauce on
the meat. Actually, rather good.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.

Dromedary Pound Cake Mix and some of the other Dromedary cake mixes were my
favorites back in those days. I guess it's still made, but I haven't seen
it in a store in decades. I don't bake cakes very often these days, but I
bake them from scratch when I do. Modern cake mixes are to "fluffy" and
full of air for my liking.

http://tinyurl.com/fob6x

--
Wayne Boatwright o¿o
____________________

BIOYA

Wayne Boatwright said:

On Wed 15 Mar 2006 11:48:50p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it sf?

Quoted message said:

biig said:

Goomba38 wrote:
>
> ~patches~ wrote:
> > Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was
> > shake & bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn
> > niblets.
> >
> That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so
> dreadful! LOL I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy
> better food. Seriously.
> Goomba
That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs.

I didn't work 2 jobs but I still used Shake & Bake from time to
time... with no misgivings. Can't remember if it was S & B for
chicken or pork chops that I liked better. I suspect it was the pork.

I was somewhat fascinated with convenience food products in my early
cooking years. I used Shake & Bake for chicken sometmes, but when they
introduced a "bbq" S&B for pork, I used it quite a lot. As with the
regular S&B, it was a powdery mix, but when baked it formed a bbq sauce on
the meat. Actually, rather good.

Ages ago when I first started investigating the effects of white sugar,
I found out that S&B had a fair amount of white sugar in it. So, I set
about trying to duplicate the coating myself. It's surprising the
number of things that you wouldn't think of that have high amounts of
white sugar in them.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

They seemed to like it though, as long as
there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
(they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
discerning..lol

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.
I wouldn't turn up my nose at it if it tasted as good as it sounds.

Dromedary Pound Cake Mix and some of the other Dromedary cake mixes were my
favorites back in those days. I guess it's still made, but I haven't seen
it in a store in decades. I don't bake cakes very often these days, but I
bake them from scratch when I do. Modern cake mixes are to "fluffy" and
full of air for my liking.

http://tinyurl.com/fob6x

I'm a scratch cake baker too except when I buy the strawberry shortcake
from M&M. It seems to be a real crowd pleaser and since I don't eat it,
no problem. I can't recall the last time I bought a cake mix but it had
to have been when I made the dreamsicle cake. The recipe called for
either an orange or lemon cake mix, orange jello, and cool whip IIRC.
Heavens, that has to be ages ago!

sf said:

biig said:

Goomba38 said:

~patches~ wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
> bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.
>
That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful!

I don't know what's "sad" about it. Cooking dinners like that is how
I learned to cook. Our first "fancy" dinners were chicken baked in BBQ
sauce, instant taters, frozen corn, and Pillsbury Crescent rolls.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
small and we worked two jobs.

Quoted message said:

I didn't work 2 jobs but I still used Shake & Bake from time to
time... with no misgivings. Can't remember if it was S & B for
chicken or pork chops that I liked better. I suspect it was the pork.

I've never had Shake & Bake but it doesn't seem "low class" to me.
It's just pre-mixed spices and crumbs, right? Nothing wrong with using
it when you're in a hurry or if you just like the taste of it.

Quoted message said:

Peach cake in a box that was like the Betty Crocker (not sure if
that's the brand with a plastic pouch to "mix" everything in and an
included pan) coffee cake mix? Anyway, it sounds easy and delicious.

Mom made that all the time. Yum! She made some really great desserts
by hand, but the boxed peach cake was one I was glad she bought.
I miss her home made pineapple upside down cake, though. It was
amazing.

Stacia

Last night's comfort food: sloppy joes. I bought a couple of cans
of sloppy joe sauce to use in meat loaves. The other night, Rachel
Ray made sloppy joes and that made me start to crave one. We had all
the ingredients, so I finally went with the craving.

Tonight's comfort food: macaroni and cheese mixed with the last bit
of sloppy joe filling.

Tara