Reminds me of the infamous “Hot Tuna Casserole w/ peas” we had in 1950s Jr High School cafeteria, on Fridays. Between that, Mac&Cheese Casserole, Salisbury Steak, Fish Sticks and Rubber Cheeseburgers during the other weekday lunches, no one ever died from it. I think. Mom packed my lunches after she found out the menus.
Fish sticks! Mom never had those at home. Yum!
When my kids were little I spent a lot of time, energy, and thought making them delicious well-balanced meals from the freshest and best ingredients, many of which I made myself. Oh, sure, there were pizzas and cheeseburgers too—I mean, come on, everybody loves those, we’re Americans. But generally we had local meats, fish, and poultry, vegetables from my garden, and fruit we picked ourselves at the nearby orchard.
In their late teens they discovered Classic American Fifties Food: tuna casseroles, meatloaf, mashed potatoes and Heinz gravy, Coca-Cola jello molds, Lipton powdered soups, macaroni and cheese from a box, Hamburger Helper, frozen dinners, frozen fishsticks, casseroles made with hamburger, greasy spaghetti, white bread. And they love this crap! They beg for it! My son, 18, asks me to buy him frozen dinners as a special treat!