1 Hour of Comfort Food Recipes

All Recipes

Nothing says comfort food quite like the recipes in this collection! In this video, join Nicole as she shares over an hour of cozy, nostalgic dishes that have stood the test of time. From hearty casseroles and budget-friendly Depression-era favorites to potluck classics, comforting desserts, and Sunday dinner staples, these recipes are packed with the flavors of home.

Transcript

00:00:00If you're looking for some real comfort in the kitchen,

00:00:02I've got you covered.

00:00:03Here is an hour worth of delicious comfort food recipes.

00:00:07We're gonna start with one of the most popular foods

00:00:09from my era, Hamburger Helper.

00:00:11We had this on a weekly basis

00:00:12and I'm gonna show you my best version.

00:00:15Come on.

00:00:15Start by crumbling your hamburger, of course.

00:00:18My mom always bought the beef stroganoff kind,

00:00:21but I also liked the cheeseburger kind.

00:00:23The beefy noodle was the original,

00:00:25so my version is the best parts of all of those.

00:00:28Also, what I love is that this is the ultimate one-pot meal.

00:00:31We do not have to boil our noodles separately.

00:00:33You know, this is my favorite kind of cooking.

00:00:35I'm using a lean ground beef,

00:00:37so you can see there's not a ton of fat right here.

00:00:39If you want, you can use a paper towel

00:00:41and just kind of dab out any excess.

00:00:44Now we're gonna make it saucy,

00:00:45so with all good sauces, we're gonna start with a little butter.

00:00:47Just need a couple tablespoons in with some onion.

00:00:51I'm gonna keep it really simple.

00:00:52You know, when you read the ingredients

00:00:53on some of these boxes where like the prepackaged stuff comes,

00:00:56it's a lot of stuff you can't pronounce.

00:00:58So far, you can pronounce beef, butter, onions, salt and pepper,

00:01:03and a little garlic powder.

00:01:05Doesn't have to be weird.

00:01:06You know, the 80s was the start

00:01:09of all the convenience greatness.

00:01:11Some of it great, some of it not so great.

00:01:13I think it was the novelty of the fact

00:01:15that you could get an entire dinner in a box,

00:01:18but now we know better.

00:01:20All right, so once the onions are softened,

00:01:22our seasonings are in there.

00:01:24Gonna go in with a little flour.

00:01:25This is gonna give us that really creamy sauce

00:01:27that we love in a hamburger helper.

00:01:29You don't need much here because we're gonna add the pasta in,

00:01:32and that's also gonna thicken our sauce.

00:01:33Just let that cook out for about a minute or so,

00:01:36and then end with our beef broth.

00:01:37And then I'm gonna scrape up any like loose brown bits

00:01:40that have accumulated on the sides of the pan or the bottom.

00:01:43You know the drill.

00:01:44See how easy this is?

00:01:47When y'all taste it, I mean,

00:01:49you're gonna be tasting your childhood, but better.

00:01:52Gonna go in with a little bit of ketchup.

00:01:53You could also do tomato paste here,

00:01:55but just to kind of cut some of that richness

00:01:57and a little bit of Worcestershire.

00:01:59This kind of heightens that meaty experience.

00:02:02Plus this kind of reminds me of the cheesy hamburger version.

00:02:05All right, so all the flavor is in there.

00:02:08I'm just gonna bring this to a simmer,

00:02:09and then in go the noodles.

00:02:11Now, there were different noodle varieties

00:02:14in all of the hamburger helpers.

00:02:16But when I think of my childhood,

00:02:18I think of these noodles, the egg noodle.

00:02:20Plus when it comes to a one-pot meal,

00:02:22these cook perfectly in this situation.

00:02:24See, you can still pronounce every ingredient I've added.

00:02:27Start to finish, this meal can be on your table

00:02:29in 30 minutes or less.

00:02:32All right, let's come to a simmer,

00:02:33so in go our noodles.

00:02:35That smells so good.

00:02:37Let's come back up to a simmer.

00:02:39I'm just gonna reduce the heat slightly and cover it.

00:02:41And now it only takes about eight to 10 minutes to cook.

00:02:44You're gonna uncover it and stir it every now and then,

00:02:47just to prevent any sticking,

00:02:49and until those noodles are done.

00:02:50By the time the noodles are done,

00:02:52they would have absorbed a lot of this liquid,

00:02:54and you'll see just how delicious this gets.

00:02:57Here's how we're looking after eight minutes.

00:02:59I don't want the liquid to be fully absorbed

00:03:01because I like it saucy, but it is still gonna thicken.

00:03:03But you can tell the noodles are cooked.

00:03:06I'll test just to prove it.

00:03:12Perfect, and here's how we finish it.

00:03:13A little bit of heavy cream.

00:03:14You could also do sour cream here

00:03:16if you want that stroganoff remembrance.

00:03:19And four ounces of cheddar cheese.

00:03:22Now I'm just gonna stir all this in,

00:03:24turn off the heat, cover it,

00:03:25and let it sit for five minutes.

00:03:27Look at that.

00:03:28Look how good that looks.

00:03:30Going back in time.

00:03:31Here's what we got.

00:03:34And that sauce has gotten so creamy.

00:03:36Better than what you get in a box, that's for sure.

00:03:39Now my mom, and you've heard me say my dad,

00:03:42requires something green on the plate

00:03:44to consider it a full meal.

00:03:46So my mom always served it with broccoli.

00:03:49I did a trial run on my family with this the other night.

00:03:51They inhaled it.

00:03:53A taste of my childhood right here.

00:03:56This definitely has more flavor.

00:03:58It's heartier.

00:03:59You get more than what comes in a box.

00:04:01It's just as cheap, just as easy.

00:04:08God, that's so good.

00:04:11It shouldn't be that good, but it is.

00:04:14It is like the biggest, warmest hug on a plate.

00:04:18I love this so much.

00:04:21Weekend pizza nights called for French bread pizzas.

00:04:24When it comes to frozen pizzas,

00:04:26I prefer the French bread pizza over anything else.

00:04:28There's just something about that crunchy bottom

00:04:31and that gooey top.

00:04:32We're gonna recreate that and make it even better.

00:04:35The problem with the French bread pizzas

00:04:36from the freezer section

00:04:37is that they didn't feed a lot of people.

00:04:40It was kind of like a single serving or two servings.

00:04:43We're gonna get a lot more,

00:04:44so you can feed your whole family

00:04:45from one loaf of French bread.

00:04:46Take your French bread, cut it in half.

00:04:51Now, the frozen version would just put the pizza toppings

00:04:55right on top and put it in the oven.

00:04:57I'm gonna create a flavorful base

00:04:58by turning the French bread into garlic bread

00:05:01because that's better than plain bread.

00:05:03I'm gonna start by melting my butter.

00:05:04I'm using Land O'Lake salted butter here.

00:05:06Little trick when I go to melt my butter in the microwave,

00:05:09put it in your bowl, cover it with the wrapper

00:05:12and microwave it that way.

00:05:13That way you don't get any splatters.

00:05:15To the melted butter, garlic, and then just a pinch of salt.

00:05:20Smells so good already.

00:05:22And then we're gonna brush this over our bread.

00:05:24When I think about French bread pizzas,

00:05:26this is what we had when we had babysitters come over.

00:05:29Just something easy.

00:05:30When I make homemade pizzas on pizza dough,

00:05:34I also like to parbake the crust because I'm all about the crunchy, toasty crust.

00:05:41So that's what we're gonna do here, too.

00:05:43I'm gonna bake this off first for a few minutes just to get it a head start,

00:05:47and then we'll add our pizza toppings.

00:05:48I almost forgot.

00:05:49I wanna top it with a little Parmesan cheese to help kind of create that crust.

00:05:54Layers of flavor is what it's all about.

00:05:57Now I'm gonna pop it into the oven until it's good and toasty.

00:06:00Now you top it however you want.

00:06:02I'm gonna top mine how my kids like it.

00:06:06Sausage, cheese, black olives.

00:06:09You know, the ones from the freezer section are always kind of weird.

00:06:12So I just have, like, these little pieces of, like, dried up bell peppers and stuff.

00:06:19I mean, I like bell peppers on it, but not those.

00:06:21Also a lot easier than making homemade pizzas with pizza dough

00:06:24because you don't have to worry about all the stretching and rolling.

00:06:29Sauce down.

00:06:30I'm gonna do a little bit of cheese first, and then my toppings.

00:06:33I'm gonna do sausage.

00:06:34This is just Italian sausage that we've cooked off.

00:06:37And then I'm adding some pepperoni because when I picture the box of French bread pizza,

00:06:45it has the little pepperonis on there, and it's usually a thicker cut like this.

00:06:50You know exactly what I'm talking about.

00:06:52Also being able to do it this way, we can get cheese underneath and on top because they

00:06:58just put the cheese down and then you get, like, that frozen piece and it's got all the

00:07:01toppings on there and they all fall off.

00:07:03You just have more control when you do these things at home.

00:07:05It's also a good way to stretch the pepperoni.

00:07:08It does go further when you quarter it.

00:07:11All right, then we like black olives in our family, so I'm gonna go in with some black

00:07:15olives.

00:07:16I sort of like some red onion on there also.

00:07:19Looking good, isn't it?

00:07:20And then finally a little more cheese because we're in control.

00:07:23Then back into the oven until it's all melty and gooey.

00:07:28Oh, they smell so good.

00:07:31Now that is a substantial dinner.

00:07:33Let me show you the best part.

00:07:37That's what you want.

00:07:39And this sound right here.

00:07:42That is the sound of magic.

00:07:43Do you remember how good these were?

00:07:46Mmm.

00:07:47I'm gonna add just a bit of freshness.

00:07:49You could do fresh basil or parsley and then a little sprinkle of crushed red pepper.

00:07:53If you haven't made a French bread pizza in a while, this is your sign.

00:07:58I mean, take me back.

00:08:01Love it.

00:08:07I thought I liked the ones back then, but I bet if I had one after eating this, I might

00:08:13change my mind.

00:08:14French bread pizza straight from my childhood is what you need to make next.

00:08:20That crunch though.

00:08:22This next recipe is what you had when people were coming over or maybe it was Sunday dinner

00:08:26or maybe mom just had a little more time.

00:08:28Chicken and rice casserole.

00:08:29Am I right?

00:08:30This is one of our top rated recipes at all recipes called Maman's Chicken and Rice Casserole.

00:08:36You know that's gonna be good.

00:08:37And you know just by the name that it is also going to feel like a warm hug in a

00:08:40dish.

00:08:41This is also one of the easiest dinners you could possibly make and it's just a good one

00:08:45to have in your file.

00:08:46So it starts with three boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

00:08:50Listen, you don't even have to dirty a bowl to mix all this in.

00:08:53It all gets mixed and cooked straight into the casserole dish.

00:08:56Along with the cream of stars, we've got cream of celery, cream of mushroom, and cream of

00:09:01chicken.

00:09:01There's a time and a place for cream of soups, and this is the time and the place.

00:09:05You know I'm a fan of making your own cream of, but in the name of nostalgia, we gotta

00:09:10use the can.

00:09:11Plus this is how mommy used to make it in my childhood.

00:09:13If it wasn't this casserole, it was a variation, but you know chicken and rice was somewhere

00:09:19on the menu.

00:09:20My mom was a big fan of like chicken divan, so it would kind of be like this but with

00:09:25curry powder added in, and I know that's probably not really chicken divan.

00:09:29Two cups of instant rice and two cups of water.

00:09:33Not the prettiest of the day, just turn away for a second.

00:09:38Now the recipe does not even call for salt and pepper.

00:09:40The only thing I am going to do is add pepper, because my grown up taste would like that.

00:09:44Could also stir in some fresh herbs here.

00:09:47I'll save some for the top for the star of the show and what really makes this amazing.

00:09:53A stick of butter, kind of like how we make those dump cakes and we put the pats of butter

00:09:57all on top.

00:09:59We're doing that here.

00:10:00The butter's nice here because we're using a lean, boneless, skinless chicken.

00:10:03We don't have much liquid in there, so this is going to help keep this rich and moist

00:10:07also while adding plenty of flavor.

00:10:11This is one of your indulgent dinners, which is why I was fit for special occasions.

00:10:17Super easy.

00:10:18You can have this prepared in less than 10 minutes, and now it goes into the oven 400

00:10:21degrees for about an hour.

00:10:23All right, ma'am all, how did we do?

00:10:25Still not the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but just wait.

00:10:28I'm going to add a little fresh greenery, and then because I do like having the roof of

00:10:34my mouth, I'm going to let it sit for about, you know, five minutes or so before we serve

00:10:37it.

00:10:38My favorite comfort casserole is this, chicken and rice.

00:10:44So creamy.

00:10:45Another little crack of pepper.

00:10:47Was there ever a more comforting casserole from your childhood?

00:10:50I think not.

00:10:51As it sits, it'll come together even more, but I like it, you know, really creamy like

00:10:56this.

00:11:03We're just hitting home run after home run.

00:11:05It's exactly like what you remember.

00:11:07It hits every time.

00:11:08The rice is cooked perfectly.

00:11:10The chicken is so tender.

00:11:11It falls apart.

00:11:12When company comes over next, I might remind them of their childhood with this one, A plus.

00:11:17You know what else was a big part of my childhood?

00:11:19Sleepovers.

00:11:20You know what my mom would make every time I had a sleepover?

00:11:23Monkey bread.

00:11:24If monkey bread isn't the most iconic 80s breakfast, I don't know what is.

00:11:29Simple ingredients, canned biscuits, sugar and cinnamon, and of course, butter.

00:11:34And my mom had a little trick, and I'm going to do it the way she used to make it.

00:11:37Take our biscuits and we cut them into bite-sized pieces.

00:11:40Now, when I was a kid, we didn't have this size biscuit.

00:11:43You know, they only had the regular biscuits, and I remember my mom used to use four cans.

00:11:48This is adapted now.

00:11:51I like cutting it into smaller pieces so that there are more chances for the gooeyness to

00:11:57get around each piece.

00:11:58Okay, you know what she would do.

00:12:00It's like the modern recipes call for plastic bags.

00:12:04Not my mom.

00:12:08The paper grocery bag.

00:12:10You throw your cinnamon and sugar in the bag, and you give it a shake with the biscuit pieces.

00:12:15We'll see if mom's way was the better way.

00:12:18I think we can get all our biscuits in at one time.

00:12:21That's going to be the bonus.

00:12:23I feel a disaster might be coming.

00:12:38It's working.

00:12:38This is easier, because with the plastic bag, you've got to do it in stages.

00:12:44Each piece is coated.

00:12:45Call mom.

00:12:47Nicole?

00:12:50Hello?

00:12:51Hey, mom.

00:12:53Hi, Nicole.

00:12:54I'm making monkey bread?

00:12:57Yes.

00:12:58From my childhood?

00:13:00Yes.

00:13:00Didn't you always shake it in a grocery bag, paper grocery bag?

00:13:04A paper bag.

00:13:05I sure did.

00:13:06A brown paper bag.

00:13:07Okay, well, we think that's very smart.

00:13:11Okay.

00:13:13Now, take your greased bunt pan or tube pan.

00:13:16Now, you've got to make the gooey glue that holds it all together.

00:13:20Also known as the best part.

00:13:21The glaze is super simple.

00:13:23It's just a stick of butter and a cup of brown sugar.

00:13:25Melt that together over the stove.

00:13:26You're going to bring it to a boil.

00:13:28Boil it for one minute, and then we pour it over our biscuits.

00:13:30Gosh, cinnamon sugar covered in butter and more sugar.

00:13:34I don't know why we liked this as a kid.

00:13:35Into the oven, 350 degrees.

00:13:39Once it's cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes before we flip it out.

00:13:42I'm telling you, it smells like Saturday morning.

00:13:46This is the moment of truth.

00:13:57Perfection.

00:13:58This is, I mean, this is what I remember.

00:14:00And, you know, I know you can cut it into slices.

00:14:03Nobody does that.

00:14:05Everybody stands around the kitchen island and eats it like this.

00:14:08And we're all still here alive to talk about it.

00:14:11Now, kid me might have had orange juice.

00:14:16Grown up me is going to have coffee with this.

00:14:19It only seems right.

00:14:20Do you see the level of sugary coating to bread?

00:14:25That's a good ratio.

00:14:27That's thanks to the bite-sized pieces.

00:14:30Perfect bite.

00:14:36The buttery sugar coating melts in your mouth.

00:14:42I feel so sophisticated.

00:14:44Monkey bread, you can never go wrong.

00:14:46This is the way you make it.

00:14:47This is the way you eat it.

00:14:49It's another one.

00:14:49If you have not done this in a while, here's your son.

00:14:54No 80s childhood is complete without a TV dinner.

00:14:56The only time I really remember having TV dinners was when we would go spend the night at my grandmother's

00:15:01house.

00:15:01And on the way there, we would stop at the grocery store.

00:15:04My brothers and I would get to pick out our own TV dinner.

00:15:07I'm not sure I remember the one I always got, but I definitely know the most popular is the Salisbury

00:15:12steak TV dinner,

00:15:13complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and a dessert.

00:15:19A little salt and pepper.

00:15:21While I did love a TV dinner, I don't know that I've ever even bought my kids one.

00:15:25Buying something like that now feels a little weird considering I cook for a living.

00:15:29But I do buy other convenience products.

00:15:32Not sure why I haven't bought this before.

00:15:35Seems like mystery meat now.

00:15:36So that's the benefit of making our own.

00:15:38We know exactly what we're getting.

00:15:39In goes an egg.

00:15:40A little bit of dry mustard.

00:15:42A little soy sauce.

00:15:44Some ketchup.

00:15:44Give that a mix.

00:15:46Then I'll stir in breadcrumbs.

00:15:47Okay.

00:15:48That's the mix.

00:15:49And that took a minute.

00:15:52Recipe calls to cover and chill this for a little while just so everything comes together.

00:15:56Meanwhile, I'm going to chop an onion because we are going to make the homemade gravy.

00:16:01So we're going to cook our Salisbury steaks and in the drippings we'll make the gravy.

00:16:05And the gravy we're making is a mushroom gravy because we are grown-ups now.

00:16:10Although you can leave out the onions and the mushrooms if you want and still have a gravy.

00:16:14Still, at the end of the day, this meal is made with a bunch of pantry staples.

00:16:18All you really need is the pack of ground beef.

00:16:20All right, we're just going to make our patties and put them straight in our skillet.

00:16:23We're going to cook these patties in butter, of course.

00:16:27Get a couple pats in there to melt.

00:16:29Classically, Salisbury steak patties are shaped slightly more oval than a hamburger patty.

00:16:35So it's not quite round, a little more oval.

00:16:38The recipe I'm following has you make the gravy first, then the steaks, and then put the two together.

00:16:44My gut tells me to make the steaks first.

00:16:46That way we can use the drippings to make a more delicious gravy.

00:16:50Just a couple minutes per side.

00:16:52We're going to finish cooking them in the gravy so they don't have to be fully cooked at this point.

00:16:56You just want some good browning like that.

00:17:00That's thanks to the butter.

00:17:02These smell so good.

00:17:04About two minutes on this side, I'm going to pull them out.

00:17:06See all that good flavor?

00:17:08I'm going to add in one more tablespoon of butter, too.

00:17:10In goes the onion and mushrooms.

00:17:13I'm going to cook this up a little bit.

00:17:14I'm going to cook this until those mushrooms are softened and browned.

00:17:18Now we turn it into gravy with some flour.

00:17:21Cut that down a little bit.

00:17:23In with the beef broth.

00:17:27No mystery meat here.

00:17:28No mystery ingredients.

00:17:30That looks good and grown up.

00:17:32I'm going to bring this to a simmer.

00:17:34That way you can see how thick it's going to be.

00:17:36And then we'll go back in with our Salisbury steaks to finish cooking

00:17:39and to absorb all that flavor.

00:17:41Oh, wait.

00:17:41I have to season it.

00:17:43I'm going to season this up the same way I seasoned the Salisbury steaks.

00:17:47I'm going to add in a little ketchup and a little Worcestershire.

00:17:49Definitely some pepper.

00:17:50I'm going to taste it first before I add in salt.

00:17:57A little bit of salt.

00:17:59And now I'm going to nestle the Salisbury steak right back in.

00:18:01I'm just going to let this go just about five more minutes.

00:18:05Meanwhile, we'll get our mashed potatoes ready.

00:18:08Because you've got to have something to soak up all this gravy.

00:18:12Now, I had nothing against instant mashed potatoes when I was younger.

00:18:16Well, I still don't really, I'm being honest.

00:18:19You know that's what came in the TV dinner.

00:18:21Since we are making updated grown up versions, we're going from scratch.

00:18:25I've just got some potatoes that I've cooked.

00:18:28And then in goes some melted butter and milk.

00:18:31Before, chips and dip was my favorite food.

00:18:33Mashed potatoes and gravy was my favorite food.

00:18:35I ate it every day at school.

00:18:37Now, the biggest treat is how we plate it up.

00:18:40I had to do it.

00:18:42Had to get the kids plate out for this one.

00:18:44My friend made me some delicious brownies.

00:18:46Got the green beans to match the picture.

00:18:49And now, for the best part.

00:18:52Plus, you get more when you make it at home.

00:18:55There were some teeny portions in those things.

00:18:58TV dinner.

00:18:59As my kids say, that's a TV dinner from the 1900s.

00:19:04Look how tender that Salisbury steak is.

00:19:06No knife required.

00:19:08And it's no processed junk either.

00:19:11Oh my God.

00:19:12You know what I mean?

00:19:12I feel like you could taste it.

00:19:15Can't you?

00:19:17Hoover stew.

00:19:18Hoover stew is like similar to like a goulash.

00:19:22The hot dogs have fat in them.

00:19:24But I'm going to start by sauteing the hot dogs.

00:19:27Because it's just going to carry flavor.

00:19:29If you don't have a lot of ingredients, you've got to maximize the flavor with each ingredient.

00:19:32And so, if we get some color on these hot dogs.

00:19:36Caramelization.

00:19:37Flavor.

00:19:37This already looks good.

00:19:39Water's boiling.

00:19:42Salt was and still is cheap, thankfully.

00:19:44But you didn't find a lot of like other condiments or spices.

00:19:48You still can find pasta for a dollar though.

00:19:51I'm just going to cook the whole pound because we're making this for an army.

00:19:55So, now we've built all this flavor at the bottom of our pot.

00:19:58And I'm going to go in with the tomatoes first because it's going to lift up that flavor from the

00:20:01pan.

00:20:02See, just like that.

00:20:03That pot is clean.

00:20:04Dried herbs were and still are pretty inexpensive also.

00:20:07So, you can go into your pantry and flavor this up however you like.

00:20:10My way, I'd probably add in something like Cajun seasoning.

00:20:13Maybe like some fresh herbs.

00:20:15Parsley.

00:20:16Something like that.

00:20:17But I'm going to kind of stick to the old school way for the most part.

00:20:21And then beans.

00:20:22When I did my episode on dirt cheap dinners, I also told you that beans are a great way to

00:20:28kind of stretch a meal.

00:20:29And because they're really substantial, they fill you up for definitely not a lot of money.

00:20:33But they also have added fiber and protein.

00:20:36And then a can of corn.

00:20:37My grandmother grew up during this time and she, for her whole life, cooked like this.

00:20:41All of these recipes, because of the minimal ingredients and lack of complicated cooking processes, are going to be really

00:20:49fast.

00:20:49So, besides being cheap dinners you can incorporate into your weekly routine, they're going to be like fast 30 minute

00:20:55meals you can also.

00:20:57And I'm saving for some sweet endings.

00:20:59Okay, we've got like a couple blow your mind desserts.

00:21:04Drain it and add it in.

00:21:06See?

00:21:07That is a full pot.

00:21:08So I would cook this for like a few more minutes together just to bring those flavors in.

00:21:13And that pasta quickly absorbs all that liquid that was in there.

00:21:16If I was doing this at home, I'm very tempted to add in some butter.

00:21:20Although butter wasn't super cheap back then.

00:21:23Even a little like parmesan cheese.

00:21:25But it definitely needs a little salt and pepper and that's what we're going to do.

00:21:28And now I feel like I'm going to add the rest of those tomatoes.

00:21:31Now we're looking more like a stew.

00:21:33Now let's dish it up.

00:21:34Listen, this is a comfort meal and I can already tell you my kids would eat this.

00:21:38They might look at me a little funny.

00:21:39They will eat it and they will like it.

00:21:44Simplicity.

00:21:45Definitely a good move to saute the hot dogs before adding everything in.

00:21:49I mean, it's comfort food.

00:21:50It's kind of like eating a warm hug.

00:21:52If you've got money in the bank, you could take this and zhuzh it up with like some, you

00:21:57know, sausage and more veggies, fresh veggies if you want.

00:22:00But otherwise, if you're waiting on the next payday, give this one a try.

00:22:04This next meal is known as poor man's meal.

00:22:07This one came from Miss Clara on YouTube in her depression cooking.

00:22:14If you've never seen her videos, they are just so sweet.

00:22:16You just feel like you're at home and she is your great grandmother.

00:22:23Another meal made with hot dogs.

00:22:25However, this one also has potatoes and onions.

00:22:27She's who I saw like cut the hot dogs really thin.

00:22:31I mean, my grandmother used to put hot dogs in scrambled eggs.

00:22:35I have made that video before.

00:22:36You should go check it out.

00:22:37But so she peeled the potato.

00:22:39Also, I'm doing it like they do.

00:22:40Okay.

00:22:41This is how also how every grandmother cooked.

00:22:43She said they didn't have things like cutting boards.

00:22:45So they just cut everything in their hands like this.

00:22:48I feel like she kind of cut her potatoes kind of like smallish.

00:22:52This kind of hurts your wrist.

00:22:54It's starting to make a little sense or maybe I need this kind of exercise with my hands.

00:22:57I don't know.

00:22:58I don't know if I should stop or keep going.

00:23:04You get the point.

00:23:06All right.

00:23:06And then onion.

00:23:07And I put onion in everything.

00:23:09Now we just fry it all up together for the ultimate poor man's meal.

00:23:14She starts with a little oil, the onion and the potato.

00:23:18I'm just going to cook this down like this until the potatoes soften and then we'll add on the hot

00:23:24dogs.

00:23:24So I'm sort of burning.

00:23:26These potatoes want to stick a little bit.

00:23:29That's okay.

00:23:29Because what did we just do right here?

00:23:32Make a little flavor.

00:23:33So I'm going to add a little water to just lift that up and then kind of steam the potatoes

00:23:38to cook them.

00:23:38The best time to get flavor into your starches, whether it be potatoes or pasta, is while it's cooking because

00:23:43it needs to absorb in.

00:23:44If you just wait and season at the end, the salt just sits on the surface.

00:23:47All right.

00:23:48The water's evaporated out.

00:23:50Now I'm going to add in the hot dogs.

00:23:52Once all this is heated through and cooked, we're done.

00:23:55I just remembered she added just a couple little spoonfuls of marinara sauce.

00:24:02I just have some leftover pizza sauce in the fridge.

00:24:06So this is what I'll use because we're resourceful.

00:24:09I guess that's a good way to incorporate some extra flavor.

00:24:12Let's dish it up.

00:24:14It's like one of those meals I feel like that you would make like if you're sick or you just

00:24:19like want something comforting,

00:24:20which I think was the goal of all these depression meals.

00:24:23I love like the way like the starch from the potatoes has cooked down and it's kind of made it

00:24:28like kind of creamy.

00:24:32Mmm.

00:24:33I love this.

00:24:34That hot dog has just like lent like the perfect salty like savory note to this.

00:24:41The potato is creamy and those onions are just like melted down.

00:24:45That little hint of tomato sauce at the end brings it all together.

00:24:50I mean, look at the amount of food in here.

00:24:52That was three hot dogs and two potatoes and one onion.

00:24:56Do the math on that, but per serving, is that like two bucks or something?

00:25:01I'm really grateful for Clara's recipe.

00:25:04This next one is a childhood favorite of mine that my mom used to make all the time.

00:25:08I'm beginning to think maybe we were financially strained and I didn't know it.

00:25:13I'm making classic egg drop soup.

00:25:16You know, you don't think about this one because you just have it like if you go to a Chinese

00:25:19restaurant.

00:25:19Why not make it at home?

00:25:20I'm just going to start out by chopping a little bit of green onion.

00:25:23Back then, people would have not wasted anything.

00:25:25So if they cooked a chicken, they had their own broth.

00:25:28If you make your own stock and you always have eggs on hand, this meal is basically free.

00:25:32Some ground ginger.

00:25:34Ginger is super inexpensive, so you could do fresh here as well.

00:25:36But the potency of the ground ginger, a little bit goes a long way.

00:25:40A little salt.

00:25:41And that's our broth.

00:25:42Before I heat up the broth, you want to start with it cold.

00:25:44I'm going to take a little bit out and whisk it with a little cornstarch.

00:25:48This is going to help thicken the soup later.

00:25:51You always want to dissolve cornstarch in colder water, colder liquid.

00:25:55If you add it to hot liquid, it just clumps up.

00:25:57This can be heating up.

00:25:59And then egg drop soup.

00:26:00You've got to have eggs.

00:26:01Okay, so I'm just going to whisk together some eggs and egg yolks.

00:26:05If you add egg yolks a little bit separately, it kind of makes the soup a little bit richer.

00:26:08Our flavorful broth is going and I'm going to whisk in our little slurry here.

00:26:13So you want this to be back up at a boil because you want that water to be circulating.

00:26:18So when you drizzle in the egg, it immediately cooks and kind of forms little ribbons in there.

00:26:22I was actually supposed to put the cornstarch in after the eggs, but I think it's all going to be

00:26:27fine.

00:26:28Let that cook for just a couple minutes.

00:26:30I'm going to stir in the green onions.

00:26:31The eggs cook immediately when they hit the boiling broth.

00:26:35So basically it's done at this point.

00:26:37Let's serve it up.

00:26:39Can y'all believe how easy that was and how few ingredients?

00:26:42I mean, it looks just like the restaurant kind of.

00:26:45Mmm.

00:26:47What's the bite?

00:26:48This is a depression dinner that's making me very happy.

00:26:51Those eggs are just like noodles.

00:26:53If you've never had this, it doesn't taste eggy at all.

00:26:57That broth is so flavorful.

00:26:58This will also probably cure any cold.

00:27:00So remember this in cold and flu season.

00:27:03Yes, they did eat fresh meat back in the depression,

00:27:06but you've got to know how to make it stretch.

00:27:09The recipe I found is actually called potato pancakes, but they're stuffed with ground beef,

00:27:13and this is the ultimate recipe to stretch the ground beef.

00:27:17The whole recipe just calls for a half a pound.

00:27:19Grated onions, so we're making almost like a little meatball mixture to go inside.

00:27:23And then a little bit of garlic, an egg, a little salt and pepper.

00:27:28Mix that up and then add in a little breadcrumbs.

00:27:30Obviously, you would have used your stale bread, dried it out, and used that for your breadcrumbs.

00:27:36I knew you would have.

00:27:37There's just lots of different versions of like meat patties.

00:27:41So while this particular recipe isn't directly from the Great Depression, it's the same concept.

00:27:47So then we're going to take our potatoes and shred them up.

00:27:50If you were making this at home and you're not as worried about the cost,

00:27:53you could always do this with shredded hash brown potatoes.

00:27:56Squeeze some of that water out.

00:27:57That way your potato pancakes get crispy on the outside.

00:28:00So to this, I'm going to add in some baking powder and some regular flour.

00:28:05I want the flour to kind of soak up some of the moisture in the potato.

00:28:08Season it up and then an egg to hold it together.

00:28:11And we just mix this all together.

00:28:13That's it.

00:28:14Now we just fry them up in the skillet.

00:28:18Oil.

00:28:19You've seen me make the smashed tacos with the raw beef going on the tortilla.

00:28:24Same concept, but it's going to be cooked in the potato.

00:28:28These are going to be thin.

00:28:30I mean, they're pancakes.

00:28:31It's not like a big stuffed burger.

00:28:32These might be slightly larger than what's typical, but I'm thinking of dinners

00:28:36and not like appetizers.

00:28:39Okay.

00:28:39And then we take our meat mixture, place it down in, and you want to go almost to the edges.

00:28:44And then you do another layer of potato on top of that.

00:28:46It's like a little surprise inside.

00:28:48All right.

00:28:48So now we just cook it until it's all crispy and cooked through on the first side.

00:28:52Flip.

00:28:53And then we keep going.

00:28:54Oh, that's good looking.

00:28:55And this is substantial.

00:28:56I mean, that's a substantial portion.

00:28:58Pop these out, keep frying and dinner's done.

00:29:01This is only half of half of the recipe.

00:29:04That is a good depression dinner right there.

00:29:06I feel like I'm going to eat it like I would a Waffle House hash brown.

00:29:10Oh, that is so crispy on the outside.

00:29:14Mmm.

00:29:15How have I never heard about this before?

00:29:16This recipe has been hiding and I will be the one to bring it back.

00:29:20I know it's not meant to be burgers and fries, but it is like just the perfect bite of that.

00:29:26The potatoes are cooked perfectly salty and crispy around the edge.

00:29:31The meat is so tender and you get plenty of it.

00:29:33Even though it was like a tiny portion, it feels like a meaty bite in there.

00:29:37I mean, look at that.

00:29:38I mean, this is the one I was least excited about, but it might be the winner.

00:29:42This is eggs with peppers and potatoes.

00:29:44This is another one that my mom makes on the regular basis, probably at least once a month.

00:29:50And it's just the meal that you make when you just don't want something like super heavy, but full of

00:29:54flavor.

00:29:55Now, this one does incorporate some vegetables, but these were very inexpensive back then still.

00:30:01And then I saw in Miss Clara's videos that she used to bring this to lunch at school.

00:30:07She said all the kids wanted her lunch.

00:30:09So I'm just going to cut my potato.

00:30:11You want it kind of like thinly sliced because it just cooks in a skillet.

00:30:14You don't boil it or anything.

00:30:15My mom always just used green bell pepper.

00:30:17It's also the least expensive, but I love the flavor of both in here and onion.

00:30:23I think you could get by with these meals that I'm making today.

00:30:26I feel like I could say $20, definitely less than 30.

00:30:30So this is like a hearty meal for two people, let's say.

00:30:33So you can determine how many eggs you want to add based on how many people are eating.

00:30:37So I'm going to have these already beaten up and then we'll just add it all in in the skillet.

00:30:41This one starts with a little oil.

00:30:43This is another good time.

00:30:44You could use the bacon fat or whatever fat you like.

00:30:47I'm just going to cook your peppers, onions and potatoes until the peppers are really soft and the potatoes are

00:30:52tender.

00:30:53I'm going to go ahead and season with a little salt.

00:30:55Of course, it's going to flavor the potatoes and everything, but it's also going to help these veggies soften.

00:30:59So once it gets going, I'm going to turn the heat down a little bit and cover it.

00:31:03This way it allows those veggies to kind of steam and it keeps the moisture in there so the potatoes

00:31:07don't stick to the bottom like they did earlier.

00:31:0910 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

00:31:11Now you can see how soft the potatoes have gotten.

00:31:15Season it with a little more salt and pepper.

00:31:16And now we just add in the egg and it's going to cook fast because everything is so hot.

00:31:21The egg just kind of scrambles in there, kind of blends in with some of that creamy potato.

00:31:27I mean, you know, let me go ahead and disclaimer, this is not the prettiest of meals today.

00:31:30I feel like you're judging this book by its cover and I don't want you to do that.

00:31:35My mom serves this up drizzled with ketchup and it is the only time it has been acceptable to put

00:31:42ketchup on eggs in my opinion.

00:31:45I prefer a little hot sauce. I'm sure they had ketchup and hot sauce back then, right?

00:31:49Can you believe how tender that potato cooked?

00:31:51And with those peppers and onions and the eggs just kind of like blend in.

00:32:02Sort of like reminds you of like a breakfast hash almost.

00:32:06You're going to love this one.

00:32:07You want to know ingredients that are cheap but also hearty?

00:32:12Cabbage and noodles.

00:32:14And that is the name of this dish, cabbage and noodles.

00:32:16It actually goes by a traditional name, haluski.

00:32:20In addition to things like potatoes and onions, cabbage is also very hearty because it lasts for a really long

00:32:26time.

00:32:27Super cheap, easy to grow.

00:32:30So I am shredding it and then it will sort of like blend in with the noodles.

00:32:34So it's a way to kind of add nutrition to like a not so nutritious plain old pasta.

00:32:40And of course onion, the onion is going to melt right into everything else.

00:32:44This recipe calls for a lot of butter but to save money you could use the fat that you have

00:32:51stored on your countertop.

00:32:52I.e. bacon grease.

00:32:53So I am going to get this going.

00:32:54You also want to bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta and then we will combine

00:32:58the two things.

00:32:59A little salt to help soften those.

00:33:01I just like to give those a little head start and then we will add in the cabbage.

00:33:03Plus the smell of onions cooking in bacon.

00:33:08A plus.

00:33:08So you want to cook this down until it's super tender but you're not really looking for color in this

00:33:14traditional recipe.

00:33:16However, if you're really wanting to maximize the flavor, I would try to get some caramelization on this.

00:33:22So this will cook down about 10 minutes.

00:33:24The noodles will cook about 5 minutes.

00:33:26When the cabbage cooks down, of course it's like buttery, tender, especially mixed with those onions.

00:33:32But it also kind of has like a subtle sweetness to it.

00:33:35Now for the butter.

00:33:36Let this all melt together with the hot pasta.

00:33:39Taste for seasoning.

00:33:42It's another good one, y'all.

00:33:44It's another good one.

00:33:45Alright, so now a little more butter.

00:33:47And then into the oven.

00:33:49Low temperature, about 300, just until everything kind of comes together and it might lightly brown on top.

00:33:54Hot, steamy, delicious, comforting.

00:33:57I feel like you don't even have to do the oven step.

00:33:59You could just like let the cabbage kind of smother a little more on the stove.

00:34:03Each bite of pasta is going to have the cabbage and onions like naturally in it.

00:34:08Because it's all kind of cut the same shape.

00:34:15I almost feel like this is another one of those like sick day meals because it is so just like

00:34:20cozy.

00:34:20The onions like have melted into this.

00:34:23They haven't caramelized, but they've gotten kind of sweet in there.

00:34:26Cabbage is tender.

00:34:27There's absolutely nothing wrong with this meal.

00:34:29We know bread was cheap.

00:34:31Bread still is cheap.

00:34:33But also a lot of people just made their own bread.

00:34:35So yesterday I made this bread.

00:34:38We've got a great easy recipe.

00:34:40You can make it in the Dutch oven.

00:34:41All you need, flour, a little salt, water, and yeast.

00:34:44But using bread is really how you stretched your meal and made people full.

00:34:49These next recipes are kind of two for one.

00:34:52I'm going to do both at the same time.

00:34:53And one of them was one of the first things I learned to cook.

00:34:57So I'm doing creamed chipped beef.

00:35:00Otherwise known as on a shingle.

00:35:03The other one is called hard times tuna or cream tuna or tuna on toast.

00:35:08Which I happen to love.

00:35:10And I'm not lying when I say I had it for lunch yesterday.

00:35:13So you want this to be toasted while you make everything else.

00:35:17Dried beef.

00:35:18Again, a little bit goes a long way.

00:35:20And chop it up finely.

00:35:21And then we're just making like a white gravy.

00:35:24And then I do my tuna a little bit different.

00:35:26Let me show you.

00:35:27So the first one is probably the way you're most familiar with.

00:35:31You make a roux first.

00:35:32Melt the butter with a little flour.

00:35:34Equal parts.

00:35:36Cook that down a little bit and then whisk in your milk.

00:35:38You can always add more.

00:35:39You'll know how thick your gravy is going to be once it starts to simmer again.

00:35:43But I like to just kind of gradually add it in while whisking.

00:35:45In this pot, this is one of the first recipes I learned to make.

00:35:49And instead of flour, I'm going to use cornstarch.

00:35:52There used to be a recipe when this stuff came in a box on the side.

00:35:57And it was just called medium white sauce.

00:35:59And my mom, whenever I decided I wanted to start cooking, she's like,

00:36:02Oh, you can make this.

00:36:03Follow this recipe.

00:36:05And then we'll serve it with tuna and toast.

00:36:09And I crave it.

00:36:11It's so good.

00:36:12And go ahead and add some cold milk to your saucepan.

00:36:14And then you're going to want to whisk in your cornstarch while it's cold.

00:36:18Because cornstarch is different than flour.

00:36:20So it needs to dissolve in cold liquid first.

00:36:22And then I go ahead and add my butter in.

00:36:24And the butter kind of melts into it as it comes up to a simmer.

00:36:27So same ingredients, basically just a little different procedure.

00:36:32All right.

00:36:32So it's rich and creamy.

00:36:34Now I'm going to stir in the beef.

00:36:36The beef is going to act as our salt.

00:36:38And for a little kick, a little cayenne pepper, creamed, chipped beef.

00:36:42Ready to go.

00:36:45Mm-hmm.

00:36:46You don't need to add salt.

00:36:48Keep that warm there while we finish this one.

00:36:51And you'll just see the butter start to gradually melt into the milk.

00:36:54And then the whole thing will start to thicken together.

00:36:56This one you will season with salt and pepper.

00:36:59Just the most simple white gravy.

00:37:01Going to serve up the tuna first.

00:37:03Toast.

00:37:04Then the tuna.

00:37:06Straight from the can.

00:37:07You could just stir it in like the beef.

00:37:09But this is just the way I always used to do it.

00:37:11And then you just pour your sauce right on top.

00:37:14The bread soaks up this gravy.

00:37:16And it's a knife and fork situation at this point.

00:37:22I love it.

00:37:24If you like things like tuna noodle casserole, you're going to love this.

00:37:27There's really, I mean, there's nothing not to like.

00:37:29Now, how about a little SOS, as they say.

00:37:33The toast being the shingle, you know.

00:37:36I already can tell you what's not to like.

00:37:39Well, that's a perfect bite.

00:37:40It just like happened so easily.

00:37:45That one is really rich.

00:37:47While you might think like canned tuna is a strong flavor,

00:37:50the flavor here is a little bit stronger.

00:37:52So you could get by with just using a little bit of that dried beef.

00:37:57Because the flavor is pretty intense.

00:37:59Strong in a good way, but it makes me kind of want like a glass of wine

00:38:02to kind of cut through that richness, you know.

00:38:05After dinner, you always want a little something sweet.

00:38:07So I'm bringing you two depression era desserts.

00:38:11Starting with the most mind blowing.

00:38:14We're making water pie.

00:38:16And it actually has flavor in it.

00:38:18You won't believe it.

00:38:19So you take your water and you pour it directly into the crust.

00:38:23Then mix together some flour and sugar.

00:38:27This is going to thicken the water.

00:38:28Then you sprinkle this over the water.

00:38:30You don't stir it in.

00:38:31You just trust the process.

00:38:34Can you imagine being the inventor of this?

00:38:36Put in a little vanilla.

00:38:38And then you place five pats of butter on top.

00:38:40It's five tablespoons of butter, but it has to be in five pieces.

00:38:43Not six or seven.

00:38:46Six.

00:38:47And you tell I have a middle schooler.

00:38:49My gosh.

00:38:49I'm going to place this on a baking sheet just for insurance.

00:38:53And then it just bakes at 400 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes.

00:38:56All right.

00:38:57Water pie is boiling like water does.

00:39:00I know.

00:39:00You're not thinking it's going to work.

00:39:02But what has happened is that that flour and sugar mixture has cooked.

00:39:07So it's basically like if we cooked that mixture on the stove and it comes to a boil,

00:39:11it's going to thicken.

00:39:12But now as it cools, it's going to firm up and then it will become sliceable.

00:39:18So this has to cool like for hours, like completely.

00:39:26It's perfectly sweet.

00:39:27It doesn't have like its own specific flavor, like it's not lemon or strawberry.

00:39:32But if you added just like even a garnish of that, it would take that on.

00:39:36And then the little buttery goodness that sits on top, but also in the crust,

00:39:41it just balances it out.

00:39:43It's rich, but also sweet, but also light.

00:39:45I got one more final trick.

00:39:48Have you ever heard of wacky cake?

00:39:50This is a recipe we have at All Recipes.

00:39:52It is known to have been created during the depression.

00:39:55And I like the description of this recipe.

00:39:58It is the brainchild of the depression era when ingenious cooks developed a cake

00:40:03that could be made without expensive and scarce ingredients.

00:40:07So without butter.

00:40:10And this also has no eggs in it.

00:40:13Okay, so I'm going to whisk together the dry ingredients,

00:40:15which is just a little bit of flour and some sugar, some cocoa powder,

00:40:20and baking soda we know is one of the few things that's still very inexpensive.

00:40:25Always a little salt when you're baking things that are sweet.

00:40:29All right, give that a whisk.

00:40:30It says to sift it, but I just never do.

00:40:33I never do.

00:40:34I'm a rebel like that.

00:40:36Then it says to make three depressions into this flour mixture.

00:40:42Into one of them, we're going to put oil.

00:40:45So always just like whatever the inexpensive oil was.

00:40:48And then apple cider vinegar into another one.

00:40:51This is somehow, some way, if you understand chemistry,

00:40:56can replace the egg part in here.

00:40:59Don't ask me how.

00:41:00I don't know.

00:41:01And then a little vanilla extract into the third.

00:41:04Now we pour water over the whole thing.

00:41:07Now you stir it together with a fork.

00:41:09Oh!

00:41:10Do you know you don't even have to dirty a bowl for this recipe?

00:41:12You're just supposed to mix it all in the pan.

00:41:14It did say to put it in an ungreased baking pan.

00:41:16But you can see how it's kind of bubbling already.

00:41:19The egg is normally one of the leavening agents.

00:41:23So the combo of vinegar and baking soda together is doing that.

00:41:27It's so easy.

00:41:28You bake it at 350 for about 30 minutes.

00:41:3130 to 40.

00:41:33It's wacky, but it works.

00:41:35Of course, you're going to want to let it cool a bit.

00:41:37But that is probably one of the easiest chocolate cakes

00:41:41or cakes, period, that I've ever made.

00:41:43You should really wait longer, but...

00:41:47Let's not rush it.

00:41:49It looks and feels, like, super moist.

00:41:52You could make, like, a glaze or an icing for this,

00:41:55but I'm just going to keep it simple.

00:41:57I mean, it is so tender.

00:42:01Mmm.

00:42:02That's delicious.

00:42:03It has great chocolate flavor.

00:42:05It's not overwhelmingly rich and chocolatey,

00:42:08but, like, it's perfectly chocolate.

00:42:10I don't know.

00:42:11I like how it kind of formed a little, like, sugary crust along the top.

00:42:16It might be wacky in its prep method, but nothing wacky about the taste.

00:42:22The Fritos corn salad.

00:42:24You can't just have a million potato salads and coleslaws.

00:42:27This one offers all the flavor and delightful crunch, and it starts with canned corn, so you know it's going

00:42:32to be easy.

00:42:32If you're making this in the heat of the summer and corn is super cheap and available, you can totally

00:42:39use fresh corn.

00:42:40I'm just trying to keep things really easy today.

00:42:42Drain the corn.

00:42:44All right, then you grab a few fresh components to jazz it up and give you that delightful crunch.

00:42:49You can add in whatever veggies you want to.

00:42:52I'm going in with red bell pepper.

00:42:54This recipe in particular was made famous by a creator on TikTok, and since then I've seen tons of people

00:43:00recreate it and kind of put their own twist on it.

00:43:03I'm going to take the seeds out because if you're going to a potluck, you want to kind of appeal

00:43:08to everybody.

00:43:08This still offers the great flavor without all the heat.

00:43:12I'm going to do about half a bunch of cilantro.

00:43:15So I'm just going to do about a quarter of a red onion.

00:43:17Okay, that's all the prep.

00:43:19This whole thing can come together in about 10 minutes.

00:43:21So if you get that last-minute invite, here's the one to bring.

00:43:24Just dumping everything into a bowl, and I'll add in our drained corn.

00:43:28For the dressing, it's similar to that of street corn.

00:43:31You know, it's got those street corn vibes.

00:43:33I like a combo of mayonnaise and sour cream.

00:43:35I feel like the sour cream kind of cuts some of the richness.

00:43:38Okay, and then a little lime juice, and then you're going to get some seasoning from the Fritos.

00:43:42So I'm just going to do a little salt and pepper.

00:43:46Yum.

00:43:47A whole bag or two cups of shredded cheese.

00:43:50I'm using a Mexican blend cheese.

00:43:52If you're making this for the potluck, you're ready to go.

00:43:55You're just going to keep it like this, and then just before you get there, just before you serve, is

00:44:00when you add the Fritos.

00:44:02This is the one that's going to be the hit.

00:44:04It's like taco salad and street corn mixed together.

00:44:08Let's give her a taste.

00:44:10You got to just dig in.

00:44:11Oh my God, look.

00:44:12You dig in, you come right out with the perfect bite.

00:44:14It's got it all.

00:44:15Juicy corn, creamy cheese, crunchy chips.

00:44:23I hate when I start out with something so good, because I don't know if I'm going to be able

00:44:25to top it.

00:44:26Mmm.

00:44:27So good.

00:44:27You can crunch a few more Fritos on top or just a little sprinkle of cilantro.

00:44:32Stick a spoon in it and call it a day.

00:44:36It's so beautiful.

00:44:37Any guesses as to what I'm making next?

00:44:40The infamous strawberry pretzel salad.

00:44:42If you've never had the strawberry pretzel salad, it's one of the greatest inventions of all time.

00:44:47It is the perfect combination of sweet and salty, but also creamy and crunchy.

00:44:54Pure Delight.

00:44:55All right, start by crushing your pretzels.

00:44:57You need about two cups or so to fill the bottom of your casserole dish.

00:45:01Okay, so you're going to mix the pretzels together with melted butter and sugar.

00:45:04I can just eat that by a spoonful, but I won't.

00:45:08All right, this goes into a lightly greased 9 by 13.

00:45:11Okay, so spread it out and then give it a little press.

00:45:14Just want to be sure to go all the way to each edge.

00:45:17All right, then this bakes at 350 for just about 10 minutes.

00:45:20All right, so while that's baking, we're going to make the filling, the creamy filling.

00:45:24So the base is cream cheese.

00:45:26All right, I'm going to whip this up with about a cup of sugar.

00:45:29I can't wait to hear all the comments that I like.

00:45:30I can't believe you call this a salad.

00:45:32I'm going to whip this together until it's fluffy and smooth.

00:45:35Take about a minute or so.

00:45:38I love when I pull this out.

00:45:40You know there's a time and a place for it, and this is the time and the place.

00:45:43All right, so I'm going to fold in this whole container into this mixture.

00:45:47Okay, you'll spread this over the pretzel layer, but you can't do that until the pretzel layer is completely cooled.

00:45:55You know when you make the Chex Mix, like during the holidays, it kind of gives you that same vibe.

00:46:01This has to cool completely.

00:46:03I'm just going to let it cool back here and chop up the strawberries.

00:46:07Now the recipe calls for frozen strawberries, which you can use.

00:46:10But why when you've got these that just look so pretty and they're buy one get one free at the

00:46:15store.

00:46:15So I've already washed them and I'm just going to slice them up.

00:46:18And then this gets mixed into the jello layer.

00:46:20So you get like little juicy bites throughout the salad.

00:46:24You'll want to keep your strawberries really cold so that when you stir it into the jello mixture,

00:46:28it cools it down really quickly because that's kind of key into keeping the layers separate.

00:46:32I'm going to keep these cold in the fridge till we're ready to use them.

00:46:35This is the perfect example of a Midwestern salad.

00:46:39They're known for salads that aren't really salads.

00:46:42This is that.

00:46:43And I have another one coming up in a few minutes.

00:46:46Again, you want to spread all the way to the edges so that when you pour the jello in,

00:46:50it stays on top of the white layer.

00:46:53That is just so pretty.

00:46:54You can already see the layers forming.

00:46:56So now this goes back into the fridge for about an hour.

00:46:59Let's make the jello layer.

00:47:00I haven't made jello in forever.

00:47:02For this, I'm going to bring a cup of water to a boil.

00:47:05Water boiling.

00:47:07You have to have the boiling water to dissolve the gelatin.

00:47:10And then I'm going to stir in a cup of really cold water to bring that down.

00:47:13Again, so we don't have a hot layer going on top of a cold layer.

00:47:17That's how they're going to stay separate.

00:47:18And don't forget our strawberries.

00:47:21The strawberries are ice cold as well, so I'm actually going to just pour this over the strawberries.

00:47:26Okay, now this goes on top of our salad.

00:47:28I'm going to spoon it over gently to start to make sure it all stays above the cream.

00:47:35Okay, and then you want to get this back into the fridge pretty quickly.

00:47:38And then you'll refrigerate it until it's completely set.

00:47:42She's a beaut.

00:47:43Look at those layers.

00:47:44It's all set up.

00:47:46You've got all the textures that are about to come together in the perfect bite.

00:47:50I mean, I got a really hefty serving, but I'm just so excited about it.

00:47:55Top it with a little more cream and a couple more berries.

00:47:59Have you had it?

00:48:00Have you had the strawberry present salad?

00:48:02I feel like a lot of people have had this.

00:48:04But I also feel like if you've had it, it's been a long time and you needed a reminder to

00:48:08make it for your next get-together.

00:48:10Do you see all three layers plus a berry in the perfect bite?

00:48:16Mm-hmm.

00:48:19Mmm.

00:48:20I would, like, leave this in my fridge and eat on it all week.

00:48:24Honestly, I'd eat this for breakfast.

00:48:25It kind of makes the perfect breakfast.

00:48:27It kind of reminds you, you know, something healthy.

00:48:30Trust me when I tell you this will go so fast at the potluck.

00:48:35Mmm.

00:48:37What's a potluck without a big ol' bowl of pasta salad?

00:48:41So this is that, and I'm doing a deviled egg macaroni salad.

00:48:44Because I've done the classic in the past.

00:48:47This is very similar to that, but with a couple little twists to more resemble the flavors of a deviled

00:48:52egg.

00:48:53For the macaroni salad, I'm going to start out by killing two birds with one stone.

00:48:56I'm going to cook the pasta and the eggs at the same time.

00:48:59So I've got a pot of water that has come to a boil.

00:49:02I'm going to add in some salt.

00:49:04Drop in the pasta.

00:49:06Give that a stir, and then when it comes back to a boil, I'm going to add in the eggs.

00:49:11The beauty of this is that the eggs and the pasta will cook in the same amount of time.

00:49:17So it's the perfect way to do this.

00:49:19You just want to be careful when you lower your eggs in this way.

00:49:21So I just like to lower them gently into the water.

00:49:24Both will cook in about nine to ten minutes to perfection.

00:49:27Then ten minutes.

00:49:28So I'm going to drain this and then put the eggs into an ice bath.

00:49:31I'm going to also rinse the pasta with cold water so that it stops cooking.

00:49:35The key to getting your peel off of hard boiled eggs, even fresh eggs, is to peel them under running

00:49:40water.

00:49:40I like to peel them under cold water and the water helps loosen the connection between the egg and the

00:49:45shell.

00:49:46All right, pasta into the bowl.

00:49:49I'm going for components of crunch and flavor that are classic in both a traditional macaroni salad but also in

00:49:56a deviled egg.

00:49:56So I'm going to go in with some celery, a little bit of green onion, and then I'm going to

00:50:01add in some crunchy carrots.

00:50:02There's enough sweetness going on in the dressing for this, so that's why I'm going to do the dill pickle

00:50:08instead of the sweet relish.

00:50:10For the eggs, to give it the deviled egg feel, I'm going to add the yolks to the dressing so

00:50:14that you get that creaminess found in a deviled egg.

00:50:16And then I'm going to chop the whites up.

00:50:18And it's perfect because our yolks are pretty jammy, so they'll blend right into the dressing.

00:50:23All right, so I'm going to mash these up with some mayonnaise.

00:50:29And then we go in with some sugar.

00:50:31A couple tablespoons.

00:50:33A little bit of yellow mustard because this goes into my deviled eggs.

00:50:36And then salt and pepper.

00:50:38Lots of pepper.

00:50:42Oh, that looks good. Let's give it a taste.

00:50:46This was a good idea to start with those yolks.

00:50:49Gives you that deviled egg flavor, but not like so strong, not like super eggy.

00:50:54Oh, I like that better.

00:50:55The classic macaroni salad dressing.

00:50:58Okay.

00:50:58Then you just pour it over and toss.

00:51:01Mm-hmm.

00:51:02That looks delicious.

00:51:07This truly might be the best macaroni salad I've ever made.

00:51:11It's going to be the best you've ever had.

00:51:13You're going to want to make this one.

00:51:14You know all the deviled eggs have to get sprinkled with a little paprika.

00:51:19Therefore, my deviled egg macaroni salad does too.

00:51:21That reminds you that this is a deviled egg version.

00:51:25I'm also going to add in some of those green onions we saved earlier.

00:51:29This is perfection.

00:51:31Because it's the perfect amount of creamy and crunchy, but also sweet and salty.

00:51:35It's not overwhelming.

00:51:36It's not like super heavy.

00:51:38It feels light.

00:51:39It's the perfect macaroni salad.

00:51:41Going back for another Midwest salad for this next one.

00:51:44And this one's going to have y'all in the comments.

00:51:46We're making cookie salad.

00:51:47You heard me.

00:51:48You've seen me do Snickers salad before.

00:51:49Kind of like that same vibe.

00:51:51Don't knock it until you try it.

00:51:53This happens to be a top rated recipe at All Recipes.

00:51:56So we'll see what the fuss is all about.

00:51:58It starts with buttermilk.

00:51:59Two cups.

00:52:00And we're going to whisk that together with instant pudding mix.

00:52:03And instead of regular milk, this one uses buttermilk.

00:52:05And you get two packs of the instant pudding.

00:52:08This is half the amount of milk that you would use per pack.

00:52:12So it's going to be really thick.

00:52:14Salad number four.

00:52:16There's you out.

00:52:17Okay, so it is thick.

00:52:19A little bit chunky.

00:52:20But this is when you fold in the Cool Whip.

00:52:24Fold it in, David.

00:52:26Okay, when everything's sort of evenly incorporated,

00:52:29now we get to the healthy part.

00:52:32Okay, so in this cookie salad goes mandarin oranges and pineapple.

00:52:36The recipe calls for pineapple chunks.

00:52:38I also saw a lot of these recipes with crushed pineapple.

00:52:42So I'm going in between with pineapple tidbits.

00:52:45All right, you want this to be well-drained.

00:52:47We don't want to add too much juice to that or it'll be too runny.

00:52:50I think the thing that makes sense to me is something like a vanilla wafer or a shortbread cookie.

00:52:56But what's classic in this recipe, striped cookies.

00:53:00Now I can kind of see that because you can do like chocolate and orange is a good combo.

00:53:03And these are kind of like shortbread cookies with chocolate.

00:53:08Unfortunately, guys, I think we're going to love this one.

00:53:11Okay, so at this point you want to chill this and let it kind of firm up just a little

00:53:14bit and come together.

00:53:17After our salad is chilled, now's the time to add the cookies.

00:53:21Oh yeah, you know this is going to be good.

00:53:24Okay, I'm going to put it in a cute bowl.

00:53:28That's a salad. It has fruit.

00:53:29I feel like this one might intimidate people or scare them a little bit.

00:53:33So I'm just going to try it first because I know you trust me.

00:53:38Hmm.

00:53:39It's like a dessert version of a parfait.

00:53:41Like instead of granola, you got crunchy cookies.

00:53:45You've got this like creamy, not too sweet custard and you've got your fruit.

00:53:51See what I'm saying?

00:53:52It's not out of the question.

00:53:55I'm for sure bringing this to the next party.

00:53:59My final trick is the unexpected surprise of the potluck brought to you by TikTok.

00:54:05TikTok made me do it.

00:54:07The celery and Parmesan salad.

00:54:09Never made it, but I've been craving it ever since I saw it on my feed.

00:54:14So we're going to make it. It's going to be delicious.

00:54:17Instead of lettuce, you've got crunchy celery.

00:54:20The great thing about making this for a potluck is that it's going to stay crunchy and delicious the whole

00:54:25time

00:54:25because celery doesn't get, you know, soggy.

00:54:28So you want to wash your celery really well.

00:54:30I'm sharing the person that I saw this recipe from.

00:54:33However, since I saw it, I've seen a dozen other people create it,

00:54:37but the way this lady made it seems the most appetizing to me.

00:54:43I've seen people make it with really thin slices of celery.

00:54:46I like kind of the chunkier pieces because I really love that crunchy bite from celery.

00:54:51Cucumbers next. I'm not going to do too much.

00:54:54I'm just going to do like a half of an English cucumber in there.

00:54:56I'm just going to do like really small slices of the shallot.

00:55:00Kind of quarter it and then slice it really thinly.

00:55:03Okay. The dates are next.

00:55:05You want pitted dates. They were out of those.

00:55:07So I'm having to take the pits out myself.

00:55:10And then we're just going to chop them up.

00:55:11You can picture how this would work in the salad.

00:55:15You know, at parties, how you'll go and they'll have like date appetizers.

00:55:18And they're usually like stuffed with blue cheese or something like that.

00:55:21That's why this is a great idea for a combo because you've got that salty Parmesan cheese.

00:55:27Mmm.

00:55:28I'm going to do the apple last so that it has the least amount of time to brown.

00:55:31I'm just going to chop that up.

00:55:32Depending on how big your apple is, one to two.

00:55:34Okay. Now time to mix it up.

00:55:37Okay. So she describes the salad as a cross between.

00:55:40It's like where Waldorf salad meets the Caesar salad.

00:55:43So, you know, you've got the apple.

00:55:44You've got the savory notes.

00:55:46And then you've got this like Parmesan forward lemony dressing.

00:55:50Okay. So I'm just going to shred it into a bowl.

00:55:53This is the time when you do want to buy the block of parm versus the pre-grated kind.

00:55:57It's just going to be creamier and have a better flavor.

00:55:59It's a lot of cheese. Okay.

00:56:01To that we're adding in some olive oil.

00:56:06A little mayo.

00:56:08And then a lot of lemon juice.

00:56:10Just a hint of sweetness.

00:56:12I like honey for this.

00:56:14And some garlic.

00:56:15I'm going to grate it in so you don't get like big pieces of garlic.

00:56:20See how that cheese just melts in there.

00:56:23Season it with a little salt and pepper.

00:56:26Now this goes over all this.

00:56:29You wouldn't think this would all go together.

00:56:33This is the salad you bring if you're invited to the foodie's house.

00:56:38You know?

00:56:38This is the one that's going to get you an invitation back the next time.

00:56:42Seen this salad with pecans or walnuts.

00:56:45I'm going pecans.

00:56:47Now you're getting that look like the Waldorf.

00:56:50Okay. Y'all ready?

00:56:51Are we ready for the taste test?

00:56:53You know you're just going to go in.

00:56:55And without even looking, come out with a perfect bite.

00:56:57It really does.

00:56:59It's probably a big bite, but...

00:57:05Mmm!

00:57:06It's everything I said.

00:57:07The celery is kind of neutral in flavor.

00:57:09Almost a little bit salty.

00:57:10But you get those bites of sweetness from the apple and the dates.

00:57:14Then that creamy dressing with the lemon and Parmesan.

00:57:18Just make this.

00:57:19Okay.

00:57:19Just make it.

00:57:20I feel like you can taste it just by looking at it.

00:57:22I'm going to finish it off with another little sprinkle of parm.

00:57:27I'm also going to use the celery leaves because if you're using a whole bunch of celery in this salad,

00:57:32you got to make use of those leaves.

00:57:33Oh yeah.

00:57:34That is cute.

00:57:36While everyone's Sunday dinner varies a little bit, when I ask the question, when you think of Sunday dinner, what

00:57:41is it?

00:57:41You think of pot roast was the number one answer.

00:57:44Starting with a rump roast.

00:57:46You've seen me do pot roast in the form of a chuck roast.

00:57:49A rump roast is a little less common, but I think this is what a lot of grandmothers used back

00:57:54then.

00:57:54Sundays used to be slow, but now they're filled with baseball practice and whatever else you have going on.

00:57:58But I'm bringing it back.

00:58:00It's time to slow down.

00:58:00The thing about our grandmothers, when they cooked, it was very simple.

00:58:04So I'm going to keep everything simple today.

00:58:06We're just going to start with salt and pepper, because I think that's the way they did it.

00:58:10And when available, I'm going to modernize grandma's dinner best I know how, while still keeping to tradition.

00:58:17A rump roast has enough fat going throughout, so you don't need all this fat on top, so I'm going

00:58:22to trim some of this off.

00:58:24I tried to dress as close to a grandma as they do in 2026 right now.

00:58:28So I'm doing the classic way to make a pot roast, which is start on the stove and finish it

00:58:35in the oven.

00:58:35I'm just going to start with about a tablespoon of oil and get it really hot, because we want to

00:58:40create that flavorful crust on the outside.

00:58:43And that's what you want to hear.

00:58:45Now this process is going to take a good 10 to 15 minutes. You want it to be browned on

00:58:49all sides.

00:58:50All that sears, chop up some onion and celery, just keeping it basic.

00:58:55Browned and flavored. I'm going to set it aside while we cook our veggies in the drippings, onion and celery

00:59:00that I've chopped up.

00:59:01You just want to cook it for a few minutes just to start softening these veggies.

00:59:05I'm also going to add in a few cloves of garlic.

00:59:07I like to smash it and then just give it a rough chop.

00:59:10Smelling good. I'm also going to add in a little more salt and pepper here.

00:59:14Now I don't know if my grandmother did this, but adding a little tomato paste is going to help lift

00:59:20off the flavor that remains on the bottom of our pot, and I think it's a good idea.

00:59:24Not much, just about a tablespoon.

00:59:26The best part about a pot roast is the gravy.

00:59:28So I'm going to try to start thickening up our cooking liquid a little bit so that it cooks in

00:59:33its own gravy.

00:59:34So I'm going to go in with a little flour to the veggies.

00:59:36Cook it for about 30 seconds to a minute and then go in with our liquid.

00:59:40The liquid combined with that tomato paste is really going to help lift that flavor off the bottom and keep

00:59:45our pot easy to clean.

00:59:47I'm going to add potatoes and carrots a little bit later, but we're going to go ahead and get it

00:59:52started in the oven now.

00:59:54Scraping up all that good flavor.

00:59:56Okay, now one thing that I think our grandmothers did is use bouillon, beef bouillon.

01:00:03I'm going to update that just a little bit by using a bouillon paste.

01:00:08I think the flavor of this is a little bit better, and the flavor is a little deeper than what

01:00:13comes in a carton, so instead of broth.

01:00:15You can see how I've really cleaned the pot, so all that flavor now lives in the liquid.

01:00:20I'm going to add back in the roast, and for a little more flavor, I'm going in with a tablespoon

01:00:25of Worcestershire and two bay leaves.

01:00:27All right, we're starting to simmer, and you can see that our gravy has started to form thanks to that

01:00:33flour.

01:00:33An hour and 45 minutes at 325.

01:00:36I feel like if your grandmother was telling you what was on the menu, it would be pot roast with

01:00:41carrots and potatoes.

01:00:42Like that. Say it like that.

01:00:45I'm going to do the gold potatoes to go in the pot roast.

01:00:48I love these because they're nice and tender and buttery, especially when they're swimming in that delicious gravy.

01:00:54And then I've got five large carrots, and I feel like the iconic look is to cut them into, you

01:01:01know, big chunks like this.

01:01:04I didn't add these at the beginning because they might turn mushy after four hours of cooking.

01:01:10So we add them at about the halfway point.

01:01:12So I'm going to pull our roast out and see what it looks like.

01:01:16It's smelling good.

01:01:18We'll give it a little flip.

01:01:19And you can tell, I mean, it's still really tough, so we've got a ways to go.

01:01:23Add in our carrots and potatoes.

01:01:26All right, lid goes back on.

01:01:28Back into the oven 325 for another couple hours.

01:01:32You think grandma did that?

01:01:39Beautiful.

01:01:40Gorgeous.

01:01:41And it's all ready.

01:01:42I mean, the gravy is perfect.

01:01:44Not too thick, not too thin.

01:01:46Look how tender these veggies are.

01:01:48The meat is also going to be so tender, but just like anything we roast, we're going to let it

01:01:54rest.

01:01:55And it's going to be the perfect amount of time to get the table set.

01:01:58We are about to have the best Sunday dinner.

01:02:01I would be willing to bet anything that if you have pot roast on your Sunday dinner menu, that there

01:02:08would be mashed potatoes next to it.

01:02:09Even if we're putting potatoes in the pot roast, because I also don't think you could have the pot roast

01:02:15without potatoes in it.

01:02:16My husband says that he would have rice with his pot roast, but there would also be potatoes in the

01:02:22pot roast.

01:02:23I'd love to know who still does Sunday dinner.

01:02:25We tried to bring it back.

01:02:27Sometimes we do.

01:02:28We were going to do it once a month.

01:02:29It's gotten to be like now like twice a year, but hey, it's something.

01:02:33But our Sunday dinner, you know, is pasta.

01:02:37Another thing I think of when I think of Sunday dinner, if we weren't eating at my grandmother's house, for

01:02:43example, we might be eating at the cafeteria.

01:02:47So some of this menu is inspired by the old cafeterias, the cafeteria restaurants, not the school cafeteria.

01:02:55And you want to start them in cold water so you can have your pot ready with cold water.

01:02:59To our potatoes, go ahead and salt your water.

01:03:02You can't really mess this up either.

01:03:04You want to cook these until they are like super falling apart.

01:03:07So in another saucepan, I like to heat up milk and butter.

01:03:11And we're going to add that in instead of adding cold milk in.

01:03:14Just a little trick they teach you in culinary school.

01:03:17Show you how tender these potatoes are.

01:03:21See, they just are super fork tender, not where they're just barely fork tender, but where they almost fall apart.

01:03:27All right, this is key to getting the best fluffy mashed potatoes.

01:03:32Drain them.

01:03:34And then we're going to put them back in the hot pot.

01:03:36Set it over the burner while it's still hot.

01:03:38This way any excess moisture can evaporate out.

01:03:41See how they're just kind of falling apart.

01:03:43I like to go ahead and give them a head start mashing while they're hot before I add anything to

01:03:47them.

01:03:48Because we're not a fan of like super lumpy mashed potatoes in my house.

01:03:51So I like to mash them at this stage and then throughout the whole process.

01:03:55And we're going to start adding our warm buttery milk.

01:03:59A little bit at a time.

01:04:00You don't want them to get too watery.

01:04:02Light, fluffy.

01:04:04Simplicity at its finest.

01:04:06A little taste.

01:04:10Mmm.

01:04:10So delicate.

01:04:11They just float.

01:04:14Salt and pepper.

01:04:16When I make them at home, I usually at this point add in a big spoonful of sour cream.

01:04:21But I don't think grandma did that.

01:04:23So when it comes time to serve them while they're hot, I'll add in a little more butter for the

01:04:28top.

01:04:28When it comes to the green vegetable that would be on the table at Sunday dinner,

01:04:32sometimes I think that nothing else existed except green beans.

01:04:36Hands down the number one answer when I said what was on your table for Sunday dinner.

01:04:42The only vegetable mentioned, green beans.

01:04:45They weren't fancy around my house.

01:04:46They could have even been from a can.

01:04:48But they were definitely short, not like the fancy sautéed haricuvier.

01:04:53Okay.

01:04:53Got some bacon cooking back here.

01:04:55And we're going to smother these green beans with a little bacon, onion, and then just let them cook.

01:05:02Right?

01:05:02The bacon is good and crispy and the fat has rendered out.

01:05:05That's the fat we're going to cover our onion and green beans in.

01:05:09And we're just going to leave the bacon in there.

01:05:11I like to give the onion about a 30-second head start.

01:05:14That way the flavor can extract out of it a little better.

01:05:17One of the top five greatest smells is onion cooking and bacon grease.

01:05:22Change my line.

01:05:24I know for a fact this is a grandma green bean recipe because it comes from allrecipes.com

01:05:29and it's called Grandma Max Green Beans.

01:05:32So I had to do it with my own twist, of course.

01:05:35The seasonings, I'm going in with some seasoned salt.

01:05:38This is about as classic as it gets.

01:05:40And a little regular salt, some pepper, and then just a little bit of sugar.

01:05:44This is probably a southern grandma.

01:05:46I know that because it started with bacon.

01:05:48All right, now we're going to add some liquid.

01:05:49It says just enough water to cook the green beans.

01:05:53They'll cook down a little bit, so I'm not going to submerge them in water.

01:05:56I'm just going to go about halfway.

01:05:58These are going to slow cook.

01:06:00I'm just going to bring them up to a simmer, cover them, and let them, just let them go.

01:06:04About 45 minutes of good simmering.

01:06:07These are going to be nice and soft.

01:06:09Let me just get a little sample.

01:06:14Mmm.

01:06:15Mmm.

01:06:16Grandma Mac knew what she was doing.

01:06:17Whether at your grandmother's or the cafeteria, there was a little salad on the table.

01:06:22And the salad couldn't be more basic.

01:06:24And when I think about my childhood and what I remember is that the dressing that my mom always made

01:06:30sure we had was Thousand Island.

01:06:32So we're going to have a simple salad with Thousand Island dressing.

01:06:34I'm going to make the Thousand Island dressing.

01:06:36And you have everything on hand to make it, so you really don't need to buy the bottled stuff.

01:06:41Ketchup.

01:06:43I know, separately it's weird.

01:06:45And sweet relish.

01:06:46A little salt and pepper.

01:06:48And my mom always added a dash of vinegar.

01:06:51It's usually about half as much ketchup as there is mayonnaise.

01:06:55You just want to get that nice, like, light shrimpy color.

01:07:00I mean, that took five seconds.

01:07:01When it came to salads back then, they were very simple, as is everything else.

01:07:07But no fancy lettuces, okay?

01:07:09We are not bougie back in the day.

01:07:12I happen to love this kind of salad.

01:07:14Basic isn't always bad.

01:07:16They wouldn't go ahead and dress it.

01:07:18It would just be built, maybe even individually plated.

01:07:23Ain't nobody got time for that.

01:07:24Simply, lettuce, cucumber, and not the fancy cucumbers.

01:07:30But you can make them fancy.

01:07:31Tomato.

01:07:32Cheese.

01:07:33And then croutons.

01:07:35And this is going to be so good with our homemade Thousand Island dressing.

01:07:40One of my favorite things I used to do is take a crouton like it was a chip, and the

01:07:44dressing was the dip.

01:07:49Still hits.

01:07:51Grandma always had something sweet on the table.

01:07:53The real dessert I remember my grandmother having, I'm going to surprise you with at the end.

01:07:57But it's not much cooking to that one, so I'm going to whip something up for you.

01:08:01I did a little poll on my Instagram to see what dessert was most commonly served after Sunday dinner at

01:08:07your grandmother's.

01:08:07The two most popular answers were banana pudding and a pie.

01:08:12Well, you've seen me do banana pudding, so now we're going to do a pie.

01:08:16And when it comes to pie, I think the most popular was either a fruit pie or a chocolate pie,

01:08:21so I'm going to do a chocolate pie.

01:08:22So I just did store-bought pie dough, and then we're just going to, in this pot, start with three

01:08:27egg yolks.

01:08:27You might have been a part of that poll that I asked on my Instagram, and if you're not, are

01:08:33you following me on Instagram?

01:08:35Shameless plug.

01:08:37Put my Instagram handle at the bottom when I talk about that.

01:08:40To the egg yolks, we're going in with a cup and a half of sugar.

01:08:42This is one of those desserts that, just like all old-fashioned desserts, they're made with pantry staples.

01:08:48This could be one that you can whip up on the floor.

01:08:51It's a lot of sugar until you know it's going to be good.

01:08:54All right, I'm just going to beat this together until it's good and creamy.

01:08:57Should I do this with a hand mixer?

01:09:00I feel like they would have. I feel like she would have used her electric mixer.

01:09:05There's people just walking them this up.

01:09:10My egg yolks were not large enough.

01:09:13Going in with another one.

01:09:14I guess the chickens were bigger back then.

01:09:16So now we put in our cocoa powder and a little cornstarch.

01:09:20This will help thicken it in addition to that egg yolk.

01:09:22Kind of like we're just making a chocolate pudding.

01:09:24And a little salt.

01:09:25Okay, now we add in the milk.

01:09:27It's three cups of milk.

01:09:29I know this looks really thick.

01:09:31I'm going to thin it out and then thicken it back up on the stove.

01:09:34I need multitasking.

01:09:36Once this is smooth and well blended, now we go to the stove.

01:09:40And we're going to cook it until it comes to a simmer.

01:09:42We're going to cook it for about five minutes until it's good and thick.

01:09:44The recipe states to stir it with a wooden spoon the whole time.

01:09:49All that sugar will dissolve and it'll get nice and thick.

01:09:51It smells so good.

01:09:53Look how thick it is.

01:09:55Coating the back of the spoon.

01:09:58A little sample for me.

01:10:00Mmm.

01:10:00And then the final, final step is to stir in a tablespoon of cold butter and a little vanilla.

01:10:06Stir that until that butter melts.

01:10:08Why do we complicate things?

01:10:10Life and recipes were simpler back then.

01:10:12That's why we're bringing it back.

01:10:14All right, now we're going to pour it into our pie crust.

01:10:18You want to let it cool on the counter for a little bit and then pop it into the fridge

01:10:21for a couple hours.

01:10:22If you're having the family over on Sunday, you could easily put this together on Friday or Saturday.

01:10:28Mmm.

01:10:30Time to set the table.

01:10:32Our pie is done.

01:10:33I finished it off with some fresh whipped cream and shaved chocolate.

01:10:36But you want to know what my grandmother really had on the table for dessert on Sundays?

01:10:42Can you taste it?

01:10:43This is also how they would maybe serve it up at the cafeteria.

01:10:47And this is the time you break out the can.

01:10:49We have two desserts because I couldn't resist.

01:10:51Don't forget the bread and butter.

01:10:53There was never a meal at your grandparents that didn't include bread and butter.

01:10:57We have the feast start to finish a grandma's Sunday dinner right here.

01:11:02You will never find a plate more comforting than this.

01:11:05I think I've made the grandmothers proud.

01:11:06Don't you?

01:11:08I'm going to be a good grandmother someday.

01:11:12But not any time soon.

01:11:14If I just jinx myself, I swear.

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended