Favorite food dishes from childhood
 

Here are some of mine:

Noodles Romanoff (It was like mac and cheese but with linguine-type noodles, and I liked the version that came right out of a box and was discontinued, so says the Internet. It had this amazing cheesy cheesiness!)

The Chefboyardee pizza kit (OMG, it was so cool, all in one box. Mom would have my brother and I make it with her. We'd make the pizza crust which was quite thin. Then we'd get to pour a small can of tomato sauce from the box on the pizza. Then we'd get to sprinkle this parmesan like cheese packet all over the pizza and put it in the oven. Pizza magic!)

Homemade potato chips (Our longtime babysitter would make us this after school. She'd slice a potato, fry it in butter, salt it, and put ketchup on the side. It is best eaten while watching Little House on the Prairie.)

Fried clams at Friendly's followed by the Happy Ending (!) Sundae (Perfection.)

My mom's chicken and dumplings.

Yumbolicious

My grandma would make this home made baked bean dish that she had individual special baked bean dishes for with long handles. They'd be baked in the oven for hours, and the scent was too die for, as was the taste!

As an aside, I make my own potato thins (when industrious) by slicing potatoes really thin, tossing in just a little olive oil, then sprinkling with light salt and sometimes oregano. Something like 425 oven for 15 minutes. I got that from a book, though.

My mom was an OK cook but a fabulous baker. She made rhubarb pie with rhubarb from our garden. Every Christmas, she made a giant pile of cookies. I found the recipes at my brother's. She used to make cakes from scratch, but mixes always tasted homemade, somehow.

Anyway, some of her dinners were:

Stouffer's Creamed Chicken on rice. I haven't found creamed chicken in years, but could probably find the recipe or something close.

La Choy Chow Mein and sweet rolls. Sounds terrible, but I make this myself.

Meat loaf. Her recipe was, "Oh, I don't know, I never measure". I like mine, but it doesn't come close.

Her spaghetti sauce, which only I like. It was very tomato-ey and strong. I do have that recipe, and like to make a huge batch and freeze in bags. My kids won't eat anything but Prego.

My dad made first-class pancakes, and he was the undisputed cook for his service organization's pancake breakfasts. He made them for us every Sunday. Of course, mine can't come within light-years.

My grandma made colcannon (cál ceannann), I make it from her recipe but it just doesn't taste the same

My birth mother was not a good mother, but she was a fantastic cook. I loved her homemade banana pudding and would stand at the stove and stir the pudding (for what seemed like hours back then) while it cooked. Then she would layer banana slices and Nilla Wafers. It was a rare treat.

She also made the best homemade biscuits I've ever had.

My Mom didn't cook so we ate a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches when I learned to make them. I think I was 7 or so.

So that has always been my go-to comfort food with a heavy childhood memory :)

My ma made some great mashed potatoes and turkey gravy. I remember eating that a lot when I was a kid. Also, she made french bread pizzas with sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. They were really really good. When I got older, I ate a lot of Velveeta sandwiches (mayo/cheese/pickles). Lastly, Kraft mac/cheese with green chili. YUM.

Now as an adult, I don't eat any of that-- go figure.

note to nycfem
 

Yes Yes about the boxed Chefboyardee boxed pizzas. I loved those when I was little. My mom would chip up hot dogs into tiny pieces and put on the top.

I had not seen this in decades until a few months ago at one of the dollar-type stores. Couldn't wait to make it. When I opened the sauce can, I tasted it ... %?*@&%# ... they changed the flavor of the red sauce ... Bye bye, the whole thing went into the trash can. Talk about a let down ... I felt slam-dunked. :(

Egg noodles with mushrooms, a little salt, and butter.

Even though I largely avoid wheat, it's still a comfort food here. My daughter administers it as needed, and I eat when I really need comfort food.

My grandmother made:

Grapefruit halves with a maraschino cherry in the middle, twice baked potatoes stuffed with spinach and cheddar cheese, spaghetti you dream about, peanut butter cookies with M&M's in them, and chocolate pudding.

What I craved when I was sick: Iceberg lettuce with Italian dressing, and canned pears. Not sure what that was about.

My poor mom was in the role of food provider and she hated cooking. As much as my grandmother LOVED to cook, my mom didn't pick up on it. Combination of lack of interest in learning, and I think it was my grandmothers alone time in the kitchen. My mom hated cooking, my father worked a night shift noon-midnight, my brother only wanted pasta and steak, and I wanted salad and vegetables. I didn't really discover food until college.

Noodles and butter my brother use to make it for me .
My grandmother made the best roast beef and Yorkshire pudding and matzo and eggs.

I also remember a girlfriend of my brother making chicken and dumplings that I loved

Portuguese Pickled Onions-My mom made these and they went exquisitely with every meal, addictive..i miss them

my mum would make this tuna mornay... god it was so good... I haven't eaten meat or fish in over ten years but I still remember that with love...
... also spinach pie... spinach and cheese in flaky pastry mmmmmmm

my nan would make amazing corned beef with homemade relish... loved it...

on saturday nights we often made homemade pizza with these great bases from the supermarket... tomato paste... olives and cabanosi and ham and mushrooms... delish!

there is this restaurant we would always go to, mixed Asian... loved the sechuan beef...

long drive to the grandparents place, bacon and egg mcmuffin and hashbrown from mcdonalds!

butter chicken made from a packet mix

so many good things!

My gran used to make a dish with those, she would take Steak-ums and roll it around Stove Top stuffing put a tooth pick in em and put them in a baking dish then pour cream of mushroom soup over the whole thing and bake, I loved that as a kid. I tried to make it again as an adult and it was SO SALTY, I thought I was gonna die

We would also make budget ruben sandwiches with Steak-ums, thousand island dressing, sauerkraut, swiss cheese and toasted white bread. Also loved as a kid, not nearly as good as I remembered them as an adult.

Still some of my favorite comfort food today...
 

Campbell's tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwich

elbow macaroni & diced tomatoes (with a daub of butter & salt mixed in)

I loved my grandma's home made beef stew/soup made with stew meat, tomatoes home canned, carrots and potatoes. YUMMMY and I still make it for myself today. I Love that stuff.

I also loved my grandma's home made chicken and dumplings, awesome stuff and was all hand made dough....not biscuits.

I love my mom's fajita soup over rice. It's really pretty delicious.

There's a lot more I like that I can't seem to think of at the moment.