Include the name of the dish, how it is prepared, and why it is special to you.

#1

Cheese sandwich. When I was a kid and we didn't have much, I had a cheese sandwich for lunch every single school day, for twelve years. Umpteen years later and I still get the Anton Ego in Ratatouille moment when I eat one.

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#2

Viennetta ice cream - only served on special occasions when I was a kid and was eaten with a fork

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#3

Banana pudding (my granny always made it from scratch and always with REAL Nilla Wafers. Funny thing is that at some point as a kid I decided I didn't like it - stopped eating it and wouldn't for several years. Then one day I was served banana pudding at my best friends house, only it didn't look anything like my granny's and I ate it without realizing what it was. More vanilla than banana, so I didn't suspect anything. When I found out later that it was banana pudding, I was very sad not to have appreciated my granny's recipe more. My mom started to make it, and I have loved banana pudding ever since.

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#4

Bread and butter pudding. It's a baked vanilla custard with slices of buttered bread and sultanas in it, with a sprinkling of nutmeg on top. Some people (Philistines!) put marmalade or jam on the bread before baking.

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#5

It's chicken Frikassee.

That's a roux made with chicken broth, cream and lemon juice, it contains chunks of chicken meat. And is just spiced with salt, pepper and nutmeg, very simple but full of flavour if done right. Some people add vegetables like mushrooms, peas, even asparagus but I don't like that. I prefer mine just plain with some rice.

It's my absolute favourite dish since childhood, and my mom always made it for me when I was sick to cheer me up.

Whenever I eat it I feel very nostalgic. I get that warm, fuzzy feeling of being loved. Since my mom died last year, it also makes me feel connected to her.

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#6

The gnocchi my nonna made in Italy.... can' t eat gnocchi without thinking of her

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#7

(My nans) soda bread, with homemade butter (from her own cows).

So simple, but so satisfying when eaten while sat in front of the fire with a bowl of mussels cooked on said fire.

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#8

Not a dish…so breaking the rules here.

Circus Peanuts. When I was young, my twin sister and I would go grocery shopping with our mom. We’d sit in the backseat of her green 1974 Dodge Dart, not wearing seatbelts (it was the early 1980s) - and basically having fun riding in the car. But I knew that every once and a while my mother would buy us circus peanuts to eat during the drive home. They were bright orange peanut-shaped candy that tasted like bananas. Each time she treat us those little peanuts tasted like magic. They were truly out of this world. And my sister didn’t care for them so I ate most of them! Sweet memories!

So even 40+ years later, when I’m shopping and I run across a bag of circus peanuts, I remember back to the good times in my childhood. Heck, sometimes I’ll buy some for the nostalgia (and their great taste).

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#9

Gado-gado. An Indonesian dish. My grandmother taught me how to cook Indonesian food and this was the first one and I still love it. I have her recipes too. I can still remember the smell of her kitchen: bread, spices and other lovely things :)

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#10

Canned pickles. Grandma always made them with lots of dill and hunks of garlic. She would fill all the cupboards with them when she'd go to her winter home in Florida, and I'd snag a jar every time we'd swing by to check on the house. Favorite part was always the garlic that I'd fish out and eat first.
She taught me how to make them before she passed, but it doesn't taste the same without her dash of love.

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#11

It's "Wurstweggen". A kinda sausage rolls. But with bigger sausages. Take some puff pastry, put some (real) swiss cheese on it, then the sausage. Then some spice, mayo and mustard. Roll them up and in the oven.

Always looked forward to these when I was a kid on some special saturday nights. Didn't have them often, since you need about 3-4 a person for a dinner. And we didn't have much money back when I was little. So it's a really special meal for me, even though it sounds simple. I still like them. The way my mother prepares them.

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#12

My mother would occasionally make us tuna cakes for dinner. Think crab cake, but tuna, and very flat like a hamburger patty. I loved them! I've never seen anything else quite like them. They were light and crispy, not fishy at all. I would kill for one right now!

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#13

Campbells Tomato Soup, grilled cheese on the side.

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#14

This is a very Irish thing, but I miss Cheese & Onion Tayto sandwiches made with Brennan's bread. Tayto is an Irish brand of crisps and Brennan's bread is a basic white sliced loaf, but in my opinion, the best one around.

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#15

My great-grandmother's chocolate cake. She passed the recipe down to my grandfather, and when my mom and her siblings left the house, they each got a binder with family recipes, including said cake.

This cake has made appearances at almost every type of celebration: anniversaries, new jobs, birthdays, new children, you name it. It also holds a special place because it was one of the first things I baked with my grandmother.

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#16

Boiled peanuts! Raw peanuts boiled in salt water til they're soft.
My mom got me started on those. We'd be out and stop at a roadside stand and get a big bag of them. 😋

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#17

My grandmother's Sunday dinners: Fried chicken (the BEST ever), mashed potatoes, peas, cathead biscuits with chicken gravy. She passed away twenty years ago, and both of my parents within the last 4 years, but when I close my eyes, I can vividly recall the smell of her kitchen, and the sounds and conversations of all my extended family as we sat down down to eat. I miss those dinners! (BTW, she called them cathead biscuits because she said she made them the size of a cat's head.) size

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#18

I'm a Brit so prepare yourself for a lesson in haute cuisine;

Fish fingers, chips and baked beans*. Swimming in vinegar.

*Extra marks for baked beans with little sausages.

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#19

For me, it is a close race between two foods:

Biryani. My mom’s biryani is the best I’ve ever had, and it has been a dish throughout my childhood, so every time I eat it, I remember coming home from school on Friday and her preparing a big pot of it. It’s a staple across South Asian parties. You basically cook chicken in a spiced sauce with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, dried plums, and all kinds of aromatics. In the mean time, you infuse anise, cinnamon, and cumin into a pot of boiling water, and add rice. You only boil the rice until it’s about 80% done, then drain the rice, and layer it in a pot with the sauce and chicken. Leave it to steam in it’s own moisture for some time, then mix it all together.

Gulab Jamun. Every South Asian kid has grown up with these. A sweet treat to celebrate an accomplishment, found across South Asian parties, the go-to whenever you need sweets all of a sudden. It’s made of Khoya, which you get when you cook off a lot of milk’s water and turn it into a thick, pastel substance. Add some flour, rising agent, some ground cardamom, and make little balls of dough. You then deep fry the dough balls until dark, and add them to a cardamom (and saffron too if you’re feeling overly-fancy) sugar syrup. You leave them in the warm syrup to soak up all the moisture, and serve warm.

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#20

Hot Jello.
When I was little and didn’t feel well, my mom would make jello. But instead of chilling it, she would put some in a mug so I could drink it warm. It would help my throat if it was sore and was very comforting. I gave it to my child when she was little, too, and as a young adult she still makes it when she is sick.

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#21

Certain candy. I'm not a candy person at all as an adult, but I recently went to a candy store with a friend's kid and bought a few things i used to love as a kid. Fun Dip. Nerds. Those little wax bottles with the sugar liquid inside. Pixie Stix. Ice Cubes (still think it's the best chocolate).

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#22

Nothing too grandiose, but I have very good memories of chicken breasts topped with homemade salsa, served with rice and asparagus.

It was a meal my mom made a lot growing up, and she always made it taste amazing. When I attempt it, it's nowhere near as good as she makes it.

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#23

Have you ever heard of “Schnippelbohnsopp”? It’s a soup from northern Germany, consisting mostly of green beans (shredded, ”schnippeled”) and potatos, served with Frankfurters or Wieners (the sausages, not the citizens. Must I say that? Not really, of course you do know). Oh, I miss “the north” so much, not only for the cuisine!

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#24

Briggs vanilla ice cream! Best ice cream i have tasted ever and not since. And I've eaten a lot of ice cream! ☺ Used to come in a yellow card board box, and we never opened the box the same way twice. I was amazed when I found out you could peel open the flap and open it like a chest, instead of opening the side flaps. For me, that's pure nostalgia. I still think about it every so often.

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#25

Finnish pancakes and potato sausage.. that was our breakfast at my grandparents every Christmas

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#26

A Flint style Coney Island Hot Dog. It has a unique sauce that is a very thick kind of meat chili, but not runny like a chili dog. It's nearest competitor is the Detroit style coney island hot dog that looks more like a chili dog. Contrary to the name they were not invented in New York's Coney Island, but in Michigan, specifically Flint and Detroit.

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#27

Boiled eggs, mashed potatos and mustard sauce. My bestfriend and my SO hate it. They can't even stand the smell. The husband of said best friend loves it. It seems it's an acquired taste.

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#28

Chick Ful A. My Pawpaw and Grandma used to take me there once every week when I was younger. It was also the first ice cream I ever tried. Still go there with them, not every week, but at least once a month. We all get the same thing: a number 1 (chicken sandwich) with a large fry and lemonade and after we get ice cream there and chat. One of my favorite family traditions 🥰

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#29

My Nana would make noodles that I named "Nana Noodles"
She would take a pack of ramen and put it in a bowl, throwing out the salt packet.
She would then put this powder on top, I think it was some sort of cream of chicken powder, and a bit of water, throwing it in the microwave for three minutes.
It would be so creamy and full of carbs. I would always have it when I was at her house and some of my favorite memories are eating that and watching cartoons.
Whatever powder she used is no longer sold and I miss it a lot.

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#30

My mother's homemade rice pudding. She made the best: sweet and buttery with just the right amount of everything! Because she always made it from scratch I could never duplicate it, but it was a treat to die for. So was my grandmother's banana pudding!😛

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#31

Labskaus (very hard to translate into English). It’s a traditional sailors’ dish – basically made from mashed potatos and corned beef, traitionally served with a pickle, a salted herring (“Rollmops” or “Bismarck Herring”, how do you put that in proper English? Please, somebody jump in for assistance!). It’s a traditional northern German course, and from what I gather it’s served in Liverpool, too! I love it, it’s my favourite dish of all time. “Ship ahoy!” :^)

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#32

Lemon sheet cake with toppings like gummy bears, m&ms and sprinkles. It was our childhood birthday cake and I still bake it for my birthday.

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#33

Liver smothered in onions and gravy. I ate this alot when I was growing up. I don't cook it now because no one in my family likes it. I really miss liver onions and gravy. Most restaurants don't have it on the menu. I order it when ever I see it offered.

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#34

Bean with bacon soup, reminds me of when I was youngger(I’m a freshman in highschool)

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#35

Kraft macaroni and cheese and those sh1tty "cheese" slices. I grew up poor so the flavor of both reminds me of how hard my parents worked to provide for us. The macaroni and cheese was considered a treat, even those it's dirt cheap, that's how much we struggled.

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#36

While not a food, per se I think mine is Jolt Cola. It got me through my senior year of high school and many stressful periods later.

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#37

My most nostalgic food has to be rice with ragout. Just a heated tin of mushroom ragout mixed with some boiled rice. Looks like vomit and is not very tasty. But my mom (who was not a great cook) used to make it for me whenever I was sick and did not have much appetite. It's easy to eat and has no strong flavour. Sometimes I still eat it when I'm feeling down. Nowadays I do add some black pepper and spring onion to it though.

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#38

italian ice. my grandparents used to live with us when i was little, and every so often my grandpa would buy a box of italian ice. he always ate the lemon flavor and i always had strawberry. i remember always calling it "batalian ice"

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#39

It's pretty simple and we have it frequently but burritos and chips with salsa. We serve it in a burrito bar kind of way and I generally go (in this order) with 2 flour tortillas, refried beans (as a kind of glue not really but it keeps the rest stuck to the tortilla, ground beef, spanish rice, and cheese.

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#40

I like dosa.... My grandmother is from south India and she makes THE BEST dosas ever, everytime I see dosa outside I think of her and her food. Also idli and sambar or any south indian food. I know its served in a lot of places, but it just isn't the same as at home

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#41

This will sound weird, but gravy. I grew up on a farm in the U.S. Midwest, and growing up it was fried meat or roast with potatoes and gravy most nights. I'm no vegetarian and I don't cut carbs, so I still have the first two, but gravy is just too unhealthy to have all the time, especially since there is no excuse of a day full of "farm work" eating those calories.

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#42

Meatloaf and/or Chicken and Dumplings. My mother died young of cancer, and while I have the recipes she used, she never had the opportunity to teach me the techniques she used, so I've never been able to recreate those dishes exactly the way she cooked them. Ironically, I've realized as I've gotten older that my mom was actually not a very good cook--not that her food was inedible, but most of her recipes were that sort of generic, mid-1960's suburban American food that millennials are so disdainful of. I've become a more skilled and adventurous cook than she ever was, but even after almost 30 years, I still miss her meatloaf.

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#43

Pea and ham soup or bacon bone soup. My mum used to make the best one ever! A close second would be toasted cheese sandwich and tomato soup, mmmmmm it's good for the soul

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#44

hot dogs with a slice of cheese rolled up in a crescent. those and tater tots for dinner.

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#45

Spinach, sausage, and mashed potatoes.

Creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, and patties made from the tubes of Jimmy Dean or similar ground pork breakfast sausage, mixed with mustard seed.

Each thing is made separately, but each person crumbles their sausage then mixes it all together in whatever portions they prefer. I added a lot of pepper to mine.

Was my favorite meal as a kid, and when I say so people think it's odd, but whenever I've made it for them, they absolutely gush over it. A lot of "omg! I get it now! How is this so good????"

Perfect comfort food and it's relatively balanced as a meal. Plus it reheats well and is and easy left over meal. It also only takes about 15 minutes to make. It's a favorite of my kid's as well.

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#46

Honey cereal. Not cheerios, but I can't remember the name of the brand. It's nostalgic cause it was the only food I ate for breakfast at a summer camp that kind of shaped the person who I am today, helped me transition, and marks a lot of bigs changes on my life- insecurity to confidence and self love, ftm transition and acceptance of myself, my personality shifting from self-centred and anxious to self-centred and f*****g awesome and also still anxious but hey perfection is made from imperfections. I'm gonna be seeing the people I met there in around a month and I'm really excited.

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#47

Rice Krispie (as in the breakfast cereal) hot dish. Ground beef, onion, rice, and Rice Krispies mixed with chicken and rice soup. Popped in the oven for about 30 minutes. Dish it up, give it a good sprinkling of seasoning salt and you have 100% comfort food. Bad day? Rice Krispie hot dish. Sad? Rice Krispie hot dish. Cold? You guessed it, Rice Krispie hot dish.

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#48

Blueberry pie made by mom. The base is the same as in Finnish sweet buns, but with fresh blueberries on top. the bun dough is simply spread on a baking sheet and topped with fresh blueberries straight from the forest. They are carefully pressed into the dough. Bake and the cardamom-blueberry bun delicacy is ready. Similarly, the pepper sauce made by my father, I can't make anything similar myself because the secret spice must be love.

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#49

Spaghetti O’s
You haven’t had them regularly since I was like 7 and I would get them all the time. Last time I had them was when I was sick so I could barley taste it because my nose was so congested.

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#50

Coddle. It's a dish native to Dublin in Ireland. Every family has their own recipe.

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#51

Piccalilli butties. My grandparents looked after all us grandkids before and after school and there were 6 of us and money was very tight because my granddad had to give up bricklaying early due to ill health brought on my his war service and my grandma worked in the cotton mills. So a lot of our after-school meals were simple things like corned beef hash or just piccalilli sandwiches. Still love them now and it does remind me so much of my grandad who always used to eat some really wacky things himself.. like tinned peaches with a slice of bread. xd

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#52

Those little Kellogg's cereal multipacks and mixing a few of the boxes in a bowl.

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#53

Meatloaf. Momma made it every Friday night. As part of the ingredients were all or most anyway, leftovers from the previous nights. You could find anything from English peas to Mac n cheese. It was always delicious though. Probably the best part would be the cold meatloaf sandwiches on Saturday!

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#54

THE [[Fried Pipis]] IS MY FAVORITE [Snug as a bug in a rug] FOOD. IT REMINDS ME OF [Mama’s home cookin’]

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#55

basically burnt sour dough toast, a lot of butter, chocalate milk and fried eggs. I grew up eating that almost every day before school, though not eggs if i didnt have time.

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#56

Popcorn Shrimp.Back when it was the same price as everything else for a large bag, I ate these almost every day with ketchup when I was a kid. And Dinosaur chicken nuggets that actually looked like Dinosaurs.

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#57

My grandmother would make brigadeiros. They are little balls made from cocoa and condensed milk, covered in chocolate sprinkles or shredded coconut. They are super tasty, and I always think of her. She also made us mingau de chocolate (chocolate porridge). I make these for my kids when I'm missing my grandparents or just missing my country. I think I'll make some brigadeiros tomorrow.

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#58

My mum’s cottage pie, but she let me eat it when it was still mash and savoury beef cos I was special ( also known as fussy, or pain in the bum)

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#59

Kraft Mac and cheese with chopped up hot dogs. With canned corn if you want to be fancy. Weird thing is we ate it a lot cause we were broke, usually with store brand mac, but I still have random cravings for it. And when I make it I eat way too much.

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#60

Black Licorice and Salami. My favorite foods, and my great-grandpa loved them as well. I can't eat anything Italian or hear any french horn music without thinking of him.

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#61

Those almond cookies at SuperStore bakery
Dare French Creme cookies I can't find anymore
Horlicks malt beverage
My mom's lasagna, and generally her cooking
Honey dill steamed baby carrots
Teddy Grahams
Pistachio pudding and butterscotch pudding
Jeanne's Cakes, with the cookie bottom and has to have the chocolate shavings on the side
Warm molasses milk (don't like it but I pretended I did to please my mom.)

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#62

Homemade bread. Grandma made homemade rolls every day, and as I walked home from school, I broke into a run when I could smell that incredible aroma. Even better when she had a pot of beans and ham cooking. I have the recipes. Can I duplicate them? Nope.

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#63

Pauncit and lumpia! They are both Filipino dishes that my family makes usually only once a year around my birthday. We have wrapping parties for the lumpia. 😁 (Pauncit is a rice noodle dish and lumpia is a sort of egg roll and I love them both!)

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#64

Help I can’t make comments! It just says “in order to comment your account must be approved by bored panda staff.” HELP PLEASE! YOU PANDAS ARE BASICALLY MY INLY FRIENDS I NEED YOU! WHAT DO I DO?! PLEASE TELL ME *sits in a box* also I’m definitely NOT a kitten… definitely… yeah…

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#65

White flour gravy and mashed potatoes. My Mom would make it and chop onion on top, I miss it sooo much. I can't make it like Moms was able.

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#66

The only time I was coddled when I was little was when I was sick. I got sick twice a year, every spring and fall with strep throat. My mama would make me Milk Toast. She learned it from her grandmother, my GG, my Great grandmother. They both died when I was a teenager but Milk Toast makes me feel warm and loved to this day, 50 years later. The best was homemade bread sliced super thick toasted on both sides with a campfire toaster put on the stove burner. Scald some milk straight from the cow with all the rich cream still in it. Add a touch of pure vanilla extract to the milk. Slowly pour the milk over the toast in a bowl until very saturated and downright soggy. Then top with a big heaping spoonful or two of sugar. Immensely satisfying.

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#67

A casserole my mom made with canned salmon and cream of something soup. Topped with a Bisquick topping. The salmon was fish my grandpa and dad had caught and my grandma had canned.

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#68

Coffee. Just hits the soul to say “let’s do this”.

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#69

My Mamaw’s biscuits were absolutely positively delicious. They were so good the biscuits were talked about in her eulogy almost 10 years ago and in all the sympathy cards I got. I just wish my husband could have tried them. 😢

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#70

My mom's version of meatloaf was ground beef mixed with Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup. I absolutely loved it!

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#71

Lemon Meringue Pie - it was my favourite thing when I was a kid - made with love by my Nanna....she passed in 1996 and nothing I have tried since has even come remotely close to hers.......I miss her every day.

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#72

Baked beans on toast with grated cheese

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#73

Betty Crocker Date Nut Bar mix. I could make it by myself as a kid, pretty easy but I felt like a grown up. I know there are recipes to make it but not the same.

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#74

Alphabet soup and tortillas.
When I was a kid I would always eat the tortilla cold because I left it it on the table to cool too long. My dad would always heat them up too much. He also always made the soup too spicy. I disliked that as a kid but now it just feels pleasantly nostalgic.

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#75

Foil Wrapped Sandwiches - Velveeta cheese, minced onion, ground up spam, and catsup well mixed on a hamburger bun wrapped up tight in aluminum foil. Mom would make a couple dozen at a time and we could help ourselves, 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Seems crude today but tasted good then.

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#76

Porridge Banana cake.
My dad would make them for our lunches and I still have the original recipe. Put cake ingredients and porridge and banana in a bowl, mix, and bake.

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#77

Update: now it says I’ve been blocked from commenting. Help

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#78

Horse

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