5 Childhood Dinners That Taste Better Than You Remember Nicole s Favorites Allrecipes

We're taking a trip down memory lane and I'm recreating five of my favorite childhood classic dinner recipes. These iconic foods of the 80s typically came pre-packaged, but I'm gonna show you how easy it is to make them homemade. We're gonna start with one of the most popular foods from my era, hamburger helper. We had this on a weekly basis and I'm gonna show you my best version. Start by crumbling your hamburger, of course. My mom always bought the beef stroganoff kind, but I also liked the cheeseburger kind. The beefy noodle was the original, so my version is the best parts of all of those. Also what I love is that this is the ultimate one-pot meal. We do not have to boil our noodles separately. You know, this is my favorite kind of cooking. I'm using a lean ground beef, so you can see there's not a ton of fat right here. If you want, you can use a paper towel and just kind of dab out any excess. Now we're gonna make it saucy, so with all good sauces, we're gonna start with a little butter. Just need a couple tablespoons. In with some onion. I'm gonna keep it really simple. When you read the ingredients on some of these boxes where the prepackaged stuff comes, it's a lot of stuff you can't pronounce. So far, you can pronounce beef, butter, onions, salt and pepper, and a little garlic powder. Doesn't have to be weird. The 80s was the start of all the convenience greatness. Some of it great, some of it not so great. Think it was the novelty of the fact that you could get an entire dinner in a box, but now we know better. All right, so once the onions are softened, our seasonings are in there. Gonna go in with a little flour. This is gonna give us that really creamy sauce that we love in a hamburger helper. You don't need much here because we're gonna add the pasta in, and that's also gonna thicken our sauce. Just let that cook out for about a minute or so, and then in with our beef broth. And then I'm gonna scrape up any loose brown bits that have accumulated on the sides of the pan or the bottom. You know the drill. See how easy this is? When y'all taste it, I mean, you're gonna be tasting your childhood, but better. Gonna go in with a little bit of ketchup. You could also do tomato paste here, but just to kind of cut some of that richness and a little bit of Worcestershire. This kind of heightens that meaty experience. Plus, this kind of reminds me of the cheesy hamburger version. All right, so all the flavor is in there. I'm just gonna bring this to a simmer and then in go the noodles. Now, there were different noodle varieties in all of the hamburger helpers, but when I think of my childhood, I think of these noodles, the egg noodle. Plus, when it comes to a one-pot meal, these cook perfectly in this situation. See, you can still pronounce every ingredient I've added. Start to finish, this meal can be on your table in 30 minutes or less. Okay, it's come to a simmer, so in go our noodles. Oh, it smells so good. It's come back up to a simmer. I'm just gonna reduce the heat slightly and cover it. And now it only takes about eight to 10 minutes to cook. You're gonna uncover it and stir it every now and then just to prevent any sticking and until those noodles are done. By the time the noodles are done, they would have absorbed a lot of this liquid and you'll see just how delicious this gets. Here's how we're looking after eight minutes. I don't want the liquid to be fully absorbed because I like it saucy, but it is still gonna thicken. But you can tell the noodles are cooked. I'll test just to prove it. Perfect, and here's how we finish it. A little bit of heavy cream. You could also do sour cream here if you want that stroganoff remembrance. And four ounces of cheddar cheese. Now I'm just gonna stir all this in, turn off the heat, cover it, and let it sit for five minutes. Look at that, what that looks. Going back in time, here's what we got. That sauce has gotten so creamy. Better than what you get in a box, that's for sure. Now my mom, and you've heard me say my dad requires something green on the plate to consider it a full meal, so my mom always served it with broccoli. I did a trial run on my family with this the other night. They inhaled it. A taste of my childhood right here. This definitely has more flavor, it's heartier, you get more than what comes in a box. It's just as cheap, just as easy. It shouldn't be that good, but it is. It is like the biggest, warmest hug on a plate. I love this so much. Weekend pizza night's called for French bread pizzas. When it comes to frozen pizzas, I prefer the French bread pizza over anything else. There's just something about that crunchy bottom and that gooey top. We're gonna recreate that and make it even better. The problem with the French bread pizzas from the freezer section is that they didn't feed a lot of people. It was kind of like a single serving or two servings. We're gonna get a lot more, so you can feed your whole family from one loaf of French bread. Take your French bread, cut it in half. Now, the frozen version would just put the pizza toppings right on top and put it in the oven. I'm gonna create a flavorful base by turning the French bread into garlic bread, because that's better than plain bread. I'm gonna start by melting my butter. I'm using Land O'Lakes salted butter here. Little trick when I go to melt my butter in the microwave, put it in your bowl, cover it with the wrapper, and microwave it that way. That way, you don't get any splatters. To the melted butter, garlic, and then just a pinch of salt. Smells so good already. We're gonna brush this over our bread. When I think about French bread pizzas, this is what we had when we had babysitters come over. Just something easy. When I make homemade pizzas on pizza dough, I also like to par-bake the crust, because I'm all about the crunchy, toasty crust. So that's what we're gonna do here, too. I'm gonna bake this off first for a few minutes just to get it a head start, and then we'll add our pizza toppings. Almost forgot. I wanna top it with a little Parmesan cheese to help kinda create that crust. Layers of flavor is what it's all about. Now I'm gonna pop it into the oven until it's good and toasty. Now you top it however you want. I'm gonna top mine how my kids like it. Sausage, cheese, black olives. You know, the ones from the freezer section are always kinda weird, so I just have these little pieces of dried up bell peppers and stuff. I mean, I like bell peppers on it, but not those. Also a lot easier than making homemade pizzas with pizza dough, because you don't have to worry about all the stretching and rolling. Sauce down. I'm gonna do a little bit of cheese first, and then my toppings. I'm gonna do sausage. This is just Italian sausage that we cooked off. And then I'm adding some pepperoni, because when I picture the box of French bread pizza, it has the little pepperonis on there. And it's usually a thicker cut like this. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Also, being able to do it this way, we can get cheese underneath and on top, because they just put the cheese down and then you get like that frozen piece and it's got all the toppings on there and they all fall off. You just have more control when you do these things at home. It's also a good way to stretch the pepperoni. It does go further when you quarter it. All right, then we like black olives in our family, so I'm gonna go in with some black olives. I sorta like some red onion on there also. Looking good in it. And then finally, a little more cheese, because we're in control. Then back into the oven until it's all melty and gooey. Oh, they smell so good. Now that is a substantial dinner. Let me show you the best part. That's what you want. And this sound right here. That is the sound of magic. Do you remember how good these were? I'm gonna add just a bit of freshness. You could do fresh basil or parsley. And then a little sprinkle of crushed red pepper. If you haven't made a French bread pizza in a while, this is your sign. I mean, take me back. Love it. I thought I liked the ones back then, but I bet if I had one after eating this, I might change my mind. French bread pizza straight from my childhood is what you need to make next. That crunch though. This next recipe is what you had when people were coming over, or maybe it was Sunday dinner, or maybe mom just had a little more time. Chicken and rice casserole. Am I right? This is one of our top rated recipes at Allrecipes called Mamaw's Chicken and Rice Casserole. You know that's gonna be good. And you know just by the name that it is also going to feel like a warm hug in a dish. This is also one of the easiest dinners you could possibly make, and it's just a good one to have in your file. So it starts with three boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Listen, you don't even have to dirty a bowl to mix all this in. It all gets mixed and cooked straight into the casserole dish along with the cream of stars. We've got cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and cream of chicken. There's a time and a place for cream of soups, and this is the time and the place. You know I'm a fan of making your own cream of, but in the name of nostalgia, we gotta use the can. Plus, this is how mommy used to make it in my childhood. If it wasn't this casserole, it was a variation, but you know chicken and rice was somewhere on the menu. My mom was a big fan of chicken divan, so it would kind of be like this, but with curry powder added in, and I know that's probably not really chicken divan. Two cups of instant rice and two cups of water. Not the prettiest of the day. Just turn away for a second. Now the recipe does not even call for salt and pepper. The only thing I am gonna do is add pepper because my grownup taste would like that. Could also stir in some fresh herbs here. I'll save some for the top for the star of the show and what really makes this amazing. A stick of butter. Kind of like how we make those dump cakes and we put the pats of butter all on top. We're getting that here. The butter's nice here because we're using a lean, boneless, skinless chicken. We don't have much liquid in there, so this is gonna help keep this rich and moist also while adding plenty of flavor. This is one of your indulgent dinners, which is why it was fit for special occasions. Super easy. You can have this prepared in less than 10 minutes, and now it goes into the oven 400 degrees for about an hour. All right, ma'am all, how did we do? Still not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but just wait. Gonna add a little fresh greenery, and then because I do like having the roof of my mouth, I'm gonna let it sit for about five minutes or so before we serve it. My favorite comfort casserole is this. Chicken and rice. So creamy. Another little crack of pepper. Was there ever a more comforting casserole from your childhood? I think not. As it sits, it'll come together even more, but I like it really creamy like this. We're just hitting home run after home run. It's exactly like what you remember. It hits every time. The rice is cooked perfectly. The chicken is so tender, it falls apart. When company comes over next, I might remind them of their childhood with this one. A plus. You know what else was a big part of my childhood? Sleepovers. You know what my mom would make every time I had a sleepover? Monkey bread. If monkey bread isn't the most iconic 80s breakfast, I don't know what is. Simple ingredients, canned biscuits, sugar and cinnamon, and of course, butter. And my mom had a little trick, and I'm gonna do it the way she used to make it. Take our biscuits, and we cut them into bite-sized pieces. Now, when I was a kid, we didn't have this size biscuit. You know, they only had the regular biscuits, and I remember my mom used to use four cans. This is adapted now. I like cutting it into smaller pieces so that there are more chances for the gooeyness to get around each piece. Okay, now what she would do. It's like the modern recipes call for plastic bags. Not my mom. The paper grocery bag. You throw your cinnamon and sugar in the bag, and you give it a shake with the biscuit pieces. We'll see if mom's way was the better way. I think we can get all our biscuits in at one time. That's gonna be the bonus. I feel a disaster might be coming. It's working. This is easier, because with a plastic bag, you've gotta do it in stages. Each piece is coated. Call mom. Nicole? Hello? Hi, Mom. Hi, Nicole. I'm making monkey bread. Yes. From my childhood. Yes. Didn't you always shake it in a grocery bag, paper grocery bag? A paper bag, I sure did, a brown paper bag. Okay, well, we think that's very smart. Now take your greased bundt pan or tube pan. Now you've gotta make the gooey glue that holds it all together, also known as the best part. The glaze is super simple. It's just a stick of butter and a cup of brown sugar. Melt that together over the stove. You're gonna bring it to a boil. Boil it for one minute, and then we pour it over our biscuits. Gosh, cinnamon sugar covered in butter and more sugar. I don't know why we liked this as a kid. Into the oven, 350 degrees. Once it's cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes before we flip it out. I'm telling you, smells like Saturday morning. This is the moment of truth. Perfection. This is, I mean, this is what I remember. And, you know, I know you can cut it into slices. Nobody does that. Everybody stands around the kitchen island and eats it like this. And we're all still here alive to talk about it. Now, kid me, might've had orange juice. Grown-up me is gonna have coffee with this. It only seems right. Do you see the level of sugary coating to bread? That's a good ratio. That's thanks to the bite-sized pieces. Perfect bite. The buttery sugar coating melts in your mouth. Also sophisticated. Monkey bread, you can never go wrong. This is the way you make it. This is the way you eat it. It's another one. If you have not done this in a while, here's your son. No 80s childhood is complete without a TV dinner. The only time I really remember having TV dinners was when we would go spend the night at my grandmother's house. And on the way there, we would stop at the grocery store. My brothers and I would get to pick out our own TV dinner. I'm not sure I remember the one I always got, but I definitely know the most popular is the Salisbury steak TV dinner, complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a dessert. Little salt and pepper. While I did love a TV dinner, I don't know that I've ever even bought my kids one. Buying something like that now feels a little weird considering I cook for a living. But I do buy other convenience products. Not sure why I haven't bought this before. Seems like mystery meat now. So that's the benefit of making our own. We know exactly what we're getting. In goes an egg, a little bit of dry mustard, little soy sauce, some ketchup. Give that a mix, then I'll stir in breadcrumbs. Okay, that's the mix, and that took a minute. Recipe calls to cover and chill this for a little while just so everything comes together. Meanwhile, I'm gonna chop an onion because we are going to make the homemade gravy. So we're going to cook our Salisbury steaks, and in the drippings, we'll make the gravy. And the gravy we're making is a mushroom gravy because we are grownups now. Although you can leave out the onions and the mushrooms if you want and still have a gravy. Still, at the end of the day, this meal is made with a bunch of pantry staples. All you really need is the pack of ground beef. All right, we're just gonna make our patties and put them straight in our skillet. We're gonna cook these patties in butter, of course. Get a couple pats in there to melt. Classically, Salisbury steak patties are shaped slightly more oval than a hamburger patty, so it's not quite round, a little more oval. The recipe I'm following has you make the gravy first, then the steaks, and then put the two together. My gut tells me to make the steaks first. That way we can use the drippings to make a more delicious gravy. Just a couple minutes per side. We're gonna finish cooking them in the gravy so they don't have to be fully cooked at this point. You just want some good browning, like that. That's thanks to the butter. These smell so good. About two minutes on this side, I'm gonna pull them out. See all that good flavor? I'm gonna add in one more tablespoon of butter, too. In goes the onion and mushrooms. I'm gonna cook this up a little bit. I'm gonna cook this until those mushrooms are softened and browned. Now we turn it into gravy with some flour. Cut that down a little bit, in with the beef broth. No mystery meat here, no mystery ingredients. That looks good and grown up. I'm gonna bring this to a simmer, that way you can see how thick it's gonna be, and then we'll go back in with our Salisbury steaks to finish cooking and to absorb all that flavor. Oh, wait, I have to season it. I'm gonna season this up the same way I seasoned the Salisbury steaks. I'm gonna add in a little ketchup and a little Worcestershire. Definitely some pepper. I'm gonna taste it first before I add in salt. Little bit of salt. And now I'm gonna nestle the Salisbury steak right back in. I'm just gonna let this go just about five more minutes. Meanwhile, we'll get our mashed potatoes ready because you gotta have something to soak up all this gravy. Now, I had nothing against instant mashed potatoes when I was younger. Well, I still don't really, being honest. You know that's what came in the TV dinners. Since we are making updated grownup versions, we're going from scratch. I've just got some potatoes that I've cooked, and then in goes some melted butter and milk. Before chips and dip was my favorite food, mashed potatoes and gravy was my favorite food. I ate it every day at school. Now, the biggest treat is how we plate it up. I had to do it. Had to get the kids played out for this one. My friend made me some delicious brownies. Got the green beans to match the picture. And now, for the best part. Plus, you get more when you make it at home. There were some teeny portions in those things. TV dinner. As my kids say, that's a TV dinner from the 1900s. All right, going in for the perfect TV dinner bite. Little mashed potato, little Salisbury steak. We are five for five of the best recreations of my childhood. Look how tender that Salisbury steak is. No knife required, and it's no processed junk either. Oh my God, you know what I mean? I feel like you could taste it. Can't you? About seven million times better than anything that comes out of the freezer section, I'll tell you that. This right here has been a fun trip down memory lane. I would love to know what your favorite childhood classic recipe is, and maybe I'll recreate that one too.