meals

Tweet

I've been seeing a lot of 90s recipes popping up lately, and it made me smile. The truth is, though, my parents never really cooked a lot of the popular dishes in the 90s. My mom is not a cook. She was a terrible cook. She never seasoned anything. My dad didn't like a lot of the popular dishes back then. He never made anything from a box. I didn't have Hamburger Helper until I was probably in my teens or 20s and made it for myself. A lot of our produce came from our garden that my dad grew every year and would have my brother and me help with. He also used to take us berry picking. My dad just wasn't one to take shortcuts to most things. If he made things, it wasn't from a box. I can't really remember everything he made back then to remember a favorite food he specifically made. I do remember he made pizza crusts and would have my brother and me put the toppings we wanted on our pizza. I remember eating a lot of hamburger gravy, which I didn't like very much but tolerated it. He also made potato soup, which I hated. I also really hated baked potatoes, and later on I started hating mashed potatoes because it became a texture issue after having to eat the soup. My dad hated cheese, so we rarely ever got mac n cheese. The only time I got Spaghetti Os, mac n cheese, or grilled cheese is if my mom made dinner, which was rare. I believe we had meatloaf a lot. My dad would make me spaghetti for dinner since it was one of my favorites. I also remember him making chili quite a bit for dinner. As an adult, I haven't really been able to pass recipes from my childhood down to my son. I have had to make my own. My dad taught me how to cook, but I don't remember most of the stuff he made. My parents separated when I was 12, and from then on we ate out a lot or had frozen dinners. My mom only knew how to cook about four things, one of which was lasagna, which I hated. I can tolerate it now, but still don't care for it. I learned to cook and feed my family and have created my own dinners. My son likes most things I make but there are definitely some things he doesn't care for. One of the dishes I've made in the past I call poor man's casserole. It's a casserole I make when we are running low on items and use what we have. He doesn't care much for casseroles in general. My son is also not a big fan of anything with gravy. I always try to get his input on dinner. So far, a list of his favorite things I make is as follows: Chili, meatloaf, spaghetti and meatballs (I make my own sauce using canned ingredients and also make homemade meatballs), burrito bowls, tacos, enchiladas, hamburgers (super easy, but he likes how I season them), chicken wraps (also super easy, as I just use Tyson crispy tenders and shove them on a wrap with lettuce, cucumber, and cheese, and top them with ranch dressing), and he loves when I make Alfredo. I have made other things he likes, but he doesn't care if they're on rotation. I make things like pork chops, steak (he does love steak, but it's not something he directly asks for), French bread pizzas, baked mac n cheese, fajitas, cheesesteak, and other variations of sandwiches and wraps. I don't typically make a lot of big dinners during the school year since we are so busy, but sometimes I will throw one into the rotation. I know one of his least favorite things I make that he barely tolerates is vegetable soup. I am still working on some ideas for recipes. I find a lot of easy dinners. My dad didn't work when I was a kid, so he was always able to make bigger dinners. I have to make all of the dinners in our house. Both of the boys usually like what I make, but sometimes I get complaints. My husband has learned not to complain because I could end up making him make it. My son is also learning that lesson. I am the one who makes grocery lists and makes dinner. They also know I don't have to cook anything so they've learned not to complain much. I'm not going to lie, dinner usually has to do with what I'm in the mood for since I'm the one cooking. I always tell the boys they can decide when they are the ones making dinner. Is there any specific childhood dinners you loved or hated as a child? Do you ever make it now? Do you have easy weeknight meals that don't take long but taste good?