Retro foods

Not weird...and I've pretty much ended my heavy red-meat eating days...but maybe about once every 6 - 7 months, I pull out Mom's (actually dearly departed Grandma's) Sunday roast recipe and feast for a week.

Just the right mix of veggies, potatoes, spices, and meat in the crockpot for 8 - 10 hours...and when I walk in the door after it's been slow-cooking in the Crock Pot all day.....mmmmmmm

Pot roast YUM!, We use the LaChoy mixed vegetables and an extra can of bean sprouts, fry up some port, chicken or beef, we use some of the water from the bean sprouts with flour to thicken it up a bit throw in a slow cooker for a couple hours on low.

Oh unless you like the little ears of corn dont get the stir fry vegetables.

My Grandmother's goulash recipe, fry hamburger & onion, drain grease, then add one small can of contidina tomato paste 2 cans of water and Heinz(only one that taste good for this) ketchup 3/4 bottle, cooked and drained Mueller macaroni, cubed long horn cheese. mix cheese with macaroni(save some cheese to sprinkle on top) then add meat sauce. She has always called this goulash but I saw something on the food channel in NYC where they had automated cafeterias and how they made this and called it cheesy beef macaroni. It was made with ketchup the same way.

Also, cooked and drained macaroni and milk for a late night snack. And for breakfast she called it "grave yard stew" buttered toast with warm milk poured over it.
My children and I still eat these food today.

oldhometown: What cut of beef do you use for your roast? I am tired of stringy pot roast!

ToledoLatina: That sounds so good. My ex husband's late mother used to make what I now call "heart attack." Take 1 pound bacon, cut into small pieces, brown, leave grease, add 3 standards cans of stewed tomatoes, 2 cans of water, and 1 pound of elbow macaroni. Cook until macaroni is el dente.... Sounds grouse but it tastes like a BLT!. LOL

chung king divider pack - two cans held together with plastic red tape and sold as one unit. i remember having it fairly often. don't recall the why behind the gimmick of two cans... fairly bland and salty but first encounter with "chinese" food

SO the meat can be in a gravy and not packed in water like the vegetables.

For me, it's hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes, as mentioned in the original post. Just like we had in grade school. I call it "Shit on a Cloud".

I'm also a fan of the macaroni/hamburger/tomato variations. Took me years to find a recipe that I really like.

Prairieson who posts here makes THE BEST POT ROAST. I am not kidding you. It's so good you can't help but weep just a wee bit. Same for his meatloaf. swoon Yeah. I'm a lucky grrl.

My mom used to make a recipe that I think she got out of a "women's magazine" or The Blade back in the 1960s called "Cheeseburger Pie". I have carried on the tradition and continue to make it every couple of months. Sinfully simple, but very, VERY good! [Pie plate, crust made from Crescent Rolls, browned hamburger, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, sm. can of tomato paste, topped with mounds of Mozzarella cheese and baked]

Most of the recipes that I found in the 1960s started with one or more cans of Campbell's soup or a packet of Lipton's onion soup mix, to which you added ground beef and other substances. Mom would never fix anything like that in a million years - everything was made using the base ingredients. I think one memorable concoction specified a pie shell made of crushed Fritos or Doritos or something, and when I asked Mom to try it I got an in-depth lecture about nutrition that kept me corked up for six months. That junk in my kitchen? No, no and Hell No!

That didn't mean that the slop they had in public school was much better. The food at Hillview Elementary was so bad that I wouldn't have fed it to a dog. The only reason the school got away with feeding the kids that kind of slop was that the students didn't understand just how to complain about it, and the students who purchased this so-called lunch from the cafeteria were forced to eat the stuff. I can vividly remember a bowl of watery vegetable soup with a layer of grease floating on top of it. On another memorable occasion they served us wieners and kraut, which is going to be a dead loser anyway, but I think some of the hot dogs went bad. I ate about half my lunch and sneaked out without the authorities detecting me. By the time I got home I knew I was sick, and late that night I flashed until I couldn't stand up. I was sick for three weeks, and coincidentally so were a lot of other kids. Flu, they said. There was a lot of it going around, they said. Our condolences, they said.

Sure, hamburger gravy and mashed potatoes. By comparison that isn't so bad. One of the oddest recipes I ever encountered was the one for burgoo. Here it is, courtesy of Tristan Jones:

Burgoo is especially suited for cold weather passages, as it can be stored topsides and eaten right out of the container. Prepare porridge and pour an inch layer in a container. Cover with a layer of bacon. Another layer of porridge, then add a layer of beef. Alternate layers of porridge, beef, fish, and bacon. Lace each layer of meat or fish with a few drops of whiskey. In tropical regions a smaller amount is made. If the outer edges begin to turn moldy, they can be scraped away and the remaining burgoo can still be eaten.

Jones also advised that you save the bacon fat, as it can be spread over bread and served up as a side dish.

Now I'm hungry.

OH My but I am hungry now!!

Campfire Stew, from Girl Scouts:
One can corn, one can tomatoes, one can of water, one pound ground beef, browned (with onions if you can do the extra step). Simmer on stovetop or in fireplace. Or over a campfire!

I still make hamburger gravy over mashed potatoes. It is my husband's favorite meal.

I hear ya, Jackie! It's a true comfort food for me. Had it just last week, if I remember correctly.

My mom, back in the 60s, made "Pigs in a blanket". I know that means different things to different folks, but for me it means hamburger and rice and other stuff wrapped in a cabbage leaf and baked. I haven't had the homemade version of that since I was a kid, though I've ordered the Stuffed Cabbage at Packo's, and it tasted just like mom's! Crap. Now that's what I want.

What cut of beef do you use for your roast? I am tired of stringy pot roast!

I'm a bad person to ask because mom's pot roast was stringy, so I don't look at that as a negative!

Usually I just get a bottom round cut, as reasonably sized as possible.

gamegrrl, do they use sour cream on top or a red sauce? My grandmother use to make it. mmmmmmmm

tm2, Packo's stuffed cabbabge comes with a tomato based sauce.

(Now I'm getting hungry for it too...)

I cook pigs in the blanket in the crock pot with Brook's ketchup and water as the sauce. Yummy!

Cream Dried Beef on Toast...my mom used to make that...god it was good

Good luck finding Brook's ketchup, neither Krogeror Meijer carry it anymore, have to go to Foodtown to find it.

Pigs in the blanket (Golambki). I don't always have time to roll those little buggers up, so I make "pigs in the blanket stew", which is basically everything thrown all together (I chop the cabbage first, or you can evern use shrd slaw mix) in a pot, with a can of tomato juice (I use barley instead of rich, as it's healthier. The family loves it more than the regular "pigs"! We had it last week. You can make a big pot and it's great for those cold nights! For those of you who still like to make the actual rolls, I have found out that instead of parboiling the cabbage, you can put your cabbage head in one of those plastic grocery store bags and microwave it on high for 5 minutes (if it's not soft enough, just put it back in for another minute or two). I didn't believe it would work, but it does. So much easier and not as messy as boiling the thing and getting water all over.

I have the actual Packo's stuffed cabbage recipe. It uses sour cream in the tomato sauce. It can be found in Mary Alice Powell's book "Aren't you gonna taste it, honey?" I can post it later if you guys want it?

Madjack: I went to Stranahan and I feel your pain. LOL

I love cabbage rolls. Never had them at Packo's though. Never been willing to skip the paprikash. The recipe would be awesome though gold!

Oh, I would LOVE to have the recipe! Thanks for the offer to post it!

Just had a few friends over last week for a Sunday breakfast of Buckwheat Pancakes just like Mother used to make. The kind you make with yeast and let set in a crock overnight. The only thing I din't do was make her homemade maple syrup.

Yeah, you tend to get in trouble for tapping trees for syrup in Toledo...

Tony Packo’s Stuffed Cabbage

1 cup uncooked rice
1 head cabbage, about 3 pounds
2 pounds ground beef or 1 pound ground pork and 1 pound ground beef
2 eggs
2 medium onions, chopped, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
Pepper and paprika to taste
1 pound sauerkraut, canned or bulk
1 can (1 pound) whole tomatoes with juice, mashed
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Sour Cream Sauce--
1 tablespoon butter
2 small onions, chopped
3 ounces sour cream
1 can (1 pound) whole tomatoes with juice, mashed
In a small bowl, soak the rice in cold water for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the core from the cabbage and immerse the head in boiling water long enough to wilt the leaves, about 10 minutes. Remove from the water and drain. Remove the large leaves and cut out the large vein from the center of each with a triangular cut. In a large bowl, combine the meat, eggs, 1 chopped onion, the garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper and paprika. Rinse the soaked rice well with cold water; drain and add it to the meat mixture. Using your hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Place about 1/2-cup meat mixture onto each cabbage leaf and roll it up, tucking the sides in like an egg roll. Secure the rolls with a toothpick. Repeat until all the meat mixture is used. Set the rolls aside. Removing any remaining core, chop the remaining cabbage. Place it in a large bowl with the sauerkraut, mashed tomatoes and juice, tomato soup, remaining chopped onion, the sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and additional pepper and paprika to taste. Put some of the sauerkraut mixture on the bottom of a large heavy kettle or Dutch oven. Place the cabbage rolls upright around the edge and center of the kettle. Put the remaining sauerkraut mixture on top. Fill the kettle with enough water to cover the tops of the rolls. Cover and cook over low heat about 2 hours, adding water as needed to keep the rolls completely covered. Meanwhile, prepare the Sour Cream Sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter; add the onions and cook until soft. Stir in the sour cream, tomatoes and juice. Mix well and keep warm until serving time.
Yields about 8 servings

I use a combo of pork and beef when I make mine. This was published in Mary Alice Powell's cookbook, "Aren't You Going to Taste it, Honey?" It has lots of local recipes in it.

Ah, buckwheat cakes. Grew up eating them as a kid at grandma's. The more fermented the batter got, the better they were. Tasted great with the homemade syrup.

I like Packo's pigs, but use the recipe from the old Ritz Supper Club that I got from the Blade years ago. It uses pork, no beef, and the mixture includes barley and dill as well as the rice, garlic and onion. Top with bacon strips, cover, and bake. Yummy.

You guys are killing me! I've been reading this thread all week and finally went to The Anderson's, Talmadge, and got the Stuffed Cabbage at Packo's Express. For $6.99, it was AWESOME! The sauerkraut adds just a bit of tangy flavor.

Thanks for introducing me to something I probably never would have tried.

Thank you SO MUCH for the recipe, golddustwoman! I'll need to get my hands on Mary Alice Powell's cookbook for sure!.

Viola, so glad you tried the Stuffed Cabbage at Packo's and that you loved it!

I would like to see the Ritz Supper Club recipe, too! Hint! Hint!

We need to get Prairieson to post his Pot Roast recipe here. I swear it will spoil you for any other.

I guess I should have said maple FLAVORED syrup.

Tomato gravy over home made biscuits and buckwheat flapjacks.

Last time my step mom came up she brought me almost a gallon of it :) had it for breakfast and dinner for almost a week lol.

This time of year deer jerky/burger/steak is also a big one.