“I Won’t Even Let My Husband See Me Eat It”: 30 People Share The Most Comforting Yet Worst-Looking Foods They Will Never Renounce
InterviewSometimes we all crave something weird. And while the combination may be very surprising and in some cases hands-down embarrassing, it does the trick and curbs that inner foodie monster.
So when an anonymous Redditor asked people to share their favorite "junky" meals that they crave sometimes — even if they wouldn't ever serve them to guests — Pandora's box of the weirdest recipes was opened and the responses started rolling in.
Below are people’s weirdest comfort foods that they don’t even dare to eat in front of their family.
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I do not get this thread. It is FILLED with people saying normal a*s food like it's a secret shame. Are there really people here who would never eat breakfast cereal with another person? Or a basic chili dog? THAT is your dirty food secret??? I'm over here doing things like eating peanut butter and cheese sandwiches with a glass of sugar milk knowing they're just specifically things that I enjoy and aren't everyone's taste. Hell Alfredo and pickle pizza is arguably a weirder combo and I serve that s**t to every person that will give it a chance.
I agree! Who cares if you like canned pasta, cereal, or pigs-in-a-blanket? Comfort food is not disgusting to most people. The post was supposed to be odd and weird comfort foods that most people would find strange. Eat a cookie, people.
If people get up in arms about pineapple on a pizza, I can only imagine how those people would react to Alfredo and pickles
Okay, here are SOME of mine: headcheese, blood sausage, any and all organ meats (heart, liver, brain, testicles, kidneys...), Slightly roasted pig skin rolled up and eaten as a snack or rolled up and sliced thinly and used in soup as noodles, blood fried with eggs... I was born in Eastern Europe grew up poor and we butchered two pigs a year. Nothing went to waste. If we could digest it, we ate it. Living in America for the passed 25 years or so, I learned to only eat any of those things in front of people I really trust, or in front of people I want to stop coming around LOL.
As I am from anòther country I don't recognise the brand names for your yummy dishes. Here is one I worked out while allergic to tomatoes. I can baked beans in tomato sauce, 1 frankfurter per person (2 people in our house), 1x bag of cheese tortilla chips ,1 50g pottle of sour cream, 1Tbsp of sweet Thai chilli sauce with ginger. Heat beans and add cut up frankfurters to bite size in one bowl. Serve with chilli sauce mixed with sour cream over the tortilla chips in another bowl. Similar to nachos but faster and tasty.
alfredo and pickle pizza sounds really good, but then I love pickles
my son also eats sunbutter and cheese sandwiches (no peanuts in our house, sunbutter is sunflower seed butter)
Brown sugar toast. Cheap white bread, thick layer of butter, cover in brown sugar and put in the oven until the sugar melts (usually like 10 minutes). I'd never feed this to anyone else, but for me it's a combination comfort food/sugar bomb which I love (though rarely indulge in).
Yes! My mom had a small Tupperware container in the spice cupboard that was her "special" blend of cinnamon and sugar. She'd butter some toast and sprinkle that magical dust onto the melting butter. That was my FAVORITE childhood breakfast.
Load More Replies...white, potato, sourdough, or tsoureki toast with butter and McCormick cinnamon sugar all day every day
I ate this as a kid me and my brother both lol my kids seen me eating it one day end asked me mommy what the f***k are you eating lmao I let her have a bite........ now all my kids love cinnamon sugar toast.
i do this but i cream the butter and sugar and use it as a spread
Buttered pasta with parmesan.
With some 50-80g of butter and almost a bag of parmesan on it? I mean yes it's normal, carry on.
Load More Replies...With loads of black pepper. I eat this quite regularly, it's perfect for when you want something hot but don't want to cook. It was also my go to when there was too much month in the money.
Lol i always eat a bowl of plain pasta with butter and parm whenever we make spaghetti and my family thinks I’m crazy
Me too. But just so I don't appear completely crazy I'll put a dab of sauce on one tiny spot. Besides, tomato sauce gives me acid.
Load More Replies...Add some fresh cracked pepper and this is my go to quick meal.
This is simply fettuccine al burro (pasta with butter, Parmesan, and a pinch of salt and cracked pepper). It looks delicious and comforting.
Bored Panda reached out to the pediatric dietitian and feeding expert Rachel Rothman, MS, RD, CLEC, who is also the owner of Nutrition in Bloom, to find out what an expert thinks of comfort food. “I absolutely love the idea of comfort food,” Rachel told us. She believes that “food is so much more than nourishment, it's part of our culture, identity, history, AND provides comfort when we might need it most.”
Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Macaroni. This got me through my 20s and I still crave it occasionally. Don't tell my cardiologist.
I get a craving for the lasagne one every now and then.
Load More Replies...I didn't have hamburger, so I made Helper Helper. Wasn't bad if you were stoned!
I do it on the cheap-- a box of crappy Mac and cheese, a lb. of hamburger, a can of corn, and a packet of taco seasoning mix. To die for. You can also add onion and/or peppers, salsa, guacamole, sour cream. You can cover it with lettuce, chopped veggies, and shredded cheese and eat it as nachos. Add beans, whatever floats your boat.
Don't buy the Hamburger Helper just get mac n cheese and add hamburger. Price of HH these days it's not worth it.
Dry ramen shaken up with the seasoning packet. I won't even let my husband see me eat it lmao.
We lived on this s**t in high school .. I never even cooked ramen noodles until my 30's!!
I remember people doing this in HS all the time, I dont think I ever tried it!
Load More Replies...We kinda have a similar thing in Malaysia. mamee-mons...-001-1.jpg
I heat water in the kettle, mix in the seasoning and dip the dried ramen in it. I would justify that I'm getting less sodium that way, if I didn't drink the broth afterword.
I’m 43 and never done this! Have eaten tons of ramen and made it lots of different ways (with fried egg plus veggies etc) but never tried this!
I’ve never heard of this! I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Load More Replies...I would cook the ramen with a can of soup. (Not IN the can, in a microwave safe bowl) Usually leave out the seasoning packet, made a quick casserole. (Cheap lunches when I was working in a shop back in 90's) EDIT: Almost forgot, gotta smash the dry ramen brick into little pieces first. This may just be my preference, but I like it.
Kraft max and cheese with cut up hotdogs or spam, and a generous splash of hot sauce.
FYI, the folks at Kraft have really leveled up on this comfort food staple. IMG_2097-6...e-jpeg.jpg
As a Canadian we have strong KD feelings and I want to help with confusion. KD is not mac and cheese. It's not supposed to be. It's poverty food that tastes good enough to eat when you're rich. We also have wonderful mac and cheese but it's a different craving. No one wants kd with ribs brisket and sweet potatoes. It's more like Canadian ramen.
Load More Replies...Yeah if you add hot dogs you gotta add ketchup. My grandfather would put ketchup on scrambled eggs too. I still do if I am eating a breakfast bowl (bacon egg cheese and potatoes all mixed up.)
Load More Replies...We asked whether comfort food can be healthy, and Rachel said that comfort food is different for everyone. “Healthy is so much more than the nutrition a food provides. I believe helping people form a healthy relationship with food is so important, and is so much more than nutrition,” the nutritionist explained.
She argues that food that provides comfort can be healthy in so many ways. “Comfort food typically evokes positive emotion, which is absolutely healthy in my book!”
Peanut butter pickle sandwich.
I've loved peanut butter & pickle sandwiches since I was a kid. Thanks dad. Last year, while my sister & her family were staying with me, I convinced my then 7 year old nephew (who hates everything) to try a piece of my sandwich. Next thing I know, he's making himself one. A proud uncle moment.
I love (LOVE) peanut butter and I love pickles, but never thought of that combo. Gonna try that asap, thanks!
Load More Replies...Weird, click bait picture is of a peanut butter pickle sandwich, but they put a pickle jar here? 🤔
Try it with banana slices instead of pickles. Lower sodium, higher potassium.
I have an English muffin with peanut and banana almost every day for breakfast.
Load More Replies...Lettuce and mayo add crunch and tang, but chips might be one to try. I smash BBQ chips on some sandwiches, but I have not tried with PB & pickle.
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Spoon burgers, my grandmother made these and I still crave them here and there. 1lb lean ground beef browned and drain plus one can of Campbell's chicken gumbo soup. Cook it down until the soup has almost completely absorbed into the meat to form a sauce and spoon onto a hamburger bun. Sounds nuts, but is so tasty.
This and Sloppy Joes are both examples of loose meat sandwiches.
Load More Replies...My mom and grandma made this! We just called it chicken gumbo hamburger or gumbo burgers. I honestly thought we were the only people who made this. Now I'm wondering if it was a recipe on a soup can or in a magazine....
This sounds great and I'm dying to try it. Was it the condensed Gumbo in the little red and white can or the large red can?
Load More Replies...This sounds soooo good and worth a try. Good luck finding gumbo around here though...
I just made some Maid-Rites today. The closest Maid-Rite is 80 miles away. I found a recipe some years ago that is really close. I baked my own buns. Served with yellow mustard and pickles. There was loose meat everywhere. As it should be.
Add a big squirt of ketchup and that’s exactly how I make sloppy joes.
Crushed Doritos mixed with shredded lettuce, Catalina dressing, shredded cheese, and taco meat. With some hot sauce.
Catalina dressing would probably throw it off for some
Load More Replies...… I mean I never had a plate of nachos that started with Doritos as the base, but it is basically nachos otherwise ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Load More Replies...Yes! "Classic" Taco Salad that was served at all the potlucks growing up :)
My fave is layer of refried beans, layer of wolf brand chili, layer of spicy cheese Doritos with shredded cheese on top. Then layer everything again. Cook in oven leave the top layer of Doritos off til 10 min left in cooking in the oven then put it on and a huge pile of shredded cheese. It's soooooo good and the heartburn is worth it. Lastly add a dollop of sour cream and I'm in crappy food heaven. Why 2 layers? Why not?
Believe it or not, the Catalina dressing really works.
Load More Replies...I do this when I have leftover tacos. Crush the hard shell tortillas into pieces, mix it in with all the toppings and meat, reheat. It's like a Taco bowl with crunchy little pieces
Where does everyone think the idea for a Doritos Taco at Taco Bell came from? I don't use Catalina dressing but have had taco salad made with Doritos most of my life.
For Rachel, comfort food is all about something warm and filling. “My favorite comfort foods include tomato soup and grilled cheese, warm fresh-baked bread, and strawberry shortcake,” she said, and added that these are all foods that comfort her, make her smile, and bring her joy.
Peanut butter straight from the jar.
My go-to midnight snack! Sometimes I use a butter knife instead, though XD My favorite brand is Jif. All other brands are heathen. XD
Load More Replies...Get the kind with no sugar, just peanuts and salt, and there are almost no carbs.
Don't give that to dogs! It can kill them. It's the xylitol
Load More Replies...Umm... hello!? I'd you haven't done this before, you don't love peanut butter
Wait, what?!?!? Oh my heck, now I have to try this!!
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Canned chili on rice with shredded cheese on top. We had this a lot growing up (very cheap for a family with a ton of kids) and I still love it.
The thing about having amazing parents is that you never feel poor. I still have barbecue sauce on white rice when I'm feeling nostalgic.
I buy s**t frozen chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and MICROWAVE them, then douse em in ketchup, leave me alone! They're horrible, and I love em.
This. Of all the chicken nuggets out there, the dino buddies are probably the best and most affordable option.
Load More Replies...at school we used to have smiley face fries. Honestly they were always really gross compared to the normal french fries, and often undercooked
Load More Replies...My one friend is 47 and still loves having his Dino nuggs; they're yummy
Pigs in a blanket but like, embiggened. Hogs in a blanket. Two whole-a*s sausages wrapped in dough and baked. Maybe add some cheese in there.
I've never actually made these myself but they used to be a not-uncommon hot snack/drunk food in Rio several years ago and I'm currently back in Rio and they're nowhere to be found and I'm heartbroken.
Pigs in blankets in the UK is sausage wrapped in bacon. The picture is sausage rolls.
I used to make piggies in a blanket for my boys. Use the crescent rolls in a tube, beef hot dogs, and presliced sharp cheddar cheese. Cut halfway through the hot dog lengthwise, making a trench of sorts. Fold a cheese slice in half, and then in half again. Tuck the cheese into the trench. (At this point I like to add a little bit of finely chopped onion to mine.) Unroll and separate the rolls and lay them flat. Place a hotdog along the short side of the dough triangle, cheese side down. Carefully roll the dog in the dough, ending with the point centered, and making sure the cheese is contained, and place them on a baking tray, point up. I cook them for whatever the instructions on the dough say to do. Dipped in "Desi sauce" (ketchup/hot sauce mix, named after my bff) for the boys, or mustard for me, they're simply lovely.
What else is there to do with Pillsbury crescent rolls but stick a hot dog in it?
Y husband once actually made full on pigs in blanket with big sausages so much bacon and cheese as well we called them hogs in a quilt
I live in Canada and praise the heavens Superstore and Safeway both sell sausage rolls. The quick and easy meal with just about anything you like when you forgot to thaw something. Snack. Lunch. Supper. Midnight snack.. 😋
Some of my starving twenties comfort foods still hit the spot, even though my husband and kids make fun of me if they catch me eating them.
Pizza bread- white bread, spaghetti sauce, American cheese. Pop in the oven until the cheese is melty and the bottom of the bread is toasty.
Bean burritos- canned refried beans, cheddar cheese,tortilla. Microwave until hot as lava, then eat with tomatoes & sour cream on top.
Spaghetti sandwiches- cold leftover spaghetti on buttered white bread.
Back in the day, you could buy something called "Pizzaquick" sauce. For making lil pizzas. We used English muffins. Guess what? It was just spaghetti sauce 😉
Hostes "Chocolate" covered donuts... There is no way that coating is anyway near actual chocolate and they are waxy, dry, and frankly kind of gross.... Yet sometimes I just want to eat a whole packet....
I used to love those! But now if I crave them I usually grab the Entenmanns ones, they are a step up, and if I really want a treat the Franz has a version that is the best! (Franz is a PNW bread company based out of Portland)
I drive by that factory on the way to my favorite game store! Small world... But yeah, Franz is fantastic.
Load More Replies...U gotta put them in the microwave for like 15 seconds for one of the regular sized chocolate covered donuts. It's like heaven when it all melts and the oils in the donut come.out a bit into the melted chocolate......
those and the powdered donuts. Both are soooooooo good but I know they are soooooooo bad for me!
I've called them chocolate covered sponges my whole life. I didn't even like them as a kid. Love the powdered ones though.
I feel the same way about the Hostess powdered donuts. They're always so dry & stale, but omg, I will eat an entire pack!
The way my mom made chicken and dumplings when we were camping! It was just Campbell’s cream of chicken soup and a tube of refrigerator biscuits laid out on top of the soup. I would never serve it to others, but hoooooo boy I still love me some of my mom’s “white trash chicken and dumplings!”
I think that's ravioli. Nevertheless, the photos are mostly chosen (randomly, it would seem) and inserted by Bored Panda to make the feed more visually appealing to us, the huddled masses.
Load More Replies...It's ok to go pictureless if you can't find a pic that matches the description.
In the U.S., its biscuit and similar doughs sold in the refrigerator section. They come in a cylindrical tube with a metal top and bottom and a paper wrap in the middle. Look up Pillsbury biscuits and you’ll see what he’s talking about.
Load More Replies...What temperature and for how long? I want to try this at least once...
https://www.pillsbury.com/products/biscuits. Any/all of these when yo7 open them you smack them on the counter and they pop open
Load More Replies...My mom did dumplings by hand. Here is her recipe: Beat two eggs, adding milk until it's the right color. Add several large cups of flour, until it feels right. Roll out until it's thin enough. Add to boiling broth (with chicken in) until they're cooked through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Taco dogs. My grandma’s classic, honestly embarrassing but I bet it’d sell great in a late night food truck.
You take a hot dog, wrap it in American cheese, wrap it in a tortilla, and deep fry it. Top with hot sauce or whatever else you feel like.
100% set your truck up outside a bar in a college town and you'll make millions
my hubby puts sausages in the enchiladas I make and in the tacos so you are not alone!
You take a hot dog, stuff it with some jack cheese, fold it in a pizza, you got Cheesy Blasters! And then all the kids say "Thanks, Meat Cat!" and Meat Cat flies away on his um, skateboard.
My late dad used to insist he invented the taco dog and "to this day" it was the biggest seller in the home town he hadn't visited for 40 years. It made him happy, so I went along with it
Tater Tots are my secret shame.
If I could have tater tots with every single meal, I would. Goddamn I love tater tots, like how does anyone not?
Yeah, we definitely need to broaden the horizons of what's acceptable as an adult. I seriously don't want to live in a world where tater tots are a source of shame; they're too wholesome and delicious to be associated with that sort of inner turmoil.
Load More Replies...You might know these as potato gems or potato royals. So good with chicken salt and gravy.
Load More Replies...Why would you be ashamed of liking tater tot's? Ever have them loaded? AMAZEBALLS
Instant nooooodlleeesssssss.
I make mine a whole meal. Never the Cup Type: My Raman is the package type, cooked in the microwave with the seasoning packet. When done add any type of cooked meat, then cheese, and the best part...Shredded Iceberg Lettuce. This is a staple in my home.
Yum with frozen mixed veg (peas, broccoli, diced carrots, etc) and eaten off of microwaved prawn crackers!
Mac and cheese, made with elbow noodles, chunks of Velveeta cheese, and a can of Campbell's tomato soup, baked for 30 minutes at 350ºF... Gooey... Cheesy... Tangy... **SO** bad and yet **SO** good!
I grew up eating Velveeta. I know it isn't "cheese". I know people revile it. But I love it. My dad loved it and I loved my dad... ergo, I love Velveeta :)
Salami and olives eaten straight from their respective containers. Just slices of salami and forkfulls of green olives. I feel awful abt myself when I eat it but if I'm already depressed and just want comfort food gosh it's such an enjoyable meal. Also pork & bean sandwiches. Also also, canned tuna with mayonnaise and flamin hot cheetos.
The only reason why I put the salami and olives on a plate is so I can add cheese and eat it mix-and-match with a frilled toothpick. I feel fancy.
Load More Replies...I despise pimentos, so I didn't eat a lot of green olives growing up. (Ate the black ones by the fistful, though.) Now, they have natural (non-pickled?) green olives in cans, and I eat those babies like candy! https://www.ilovelindsay.com/products/crafted/crafted-medium-green-ripe-pitted-olives
I LOVE THESE!!! Granted, I will eat almost any olive out there. But I really, really love these and will buy them whenever my $$ allows.
Load More Replies...Put it on a wooden board to make it classy. Restaurants sell it for like $25
I spread cream cheese on the salami and roll the olives up inside. Such a great combo
I loved olives when I was a kid. If my mother opened a can of pitted black olives (of which there were always at least a dozen cans in the house at any given time), I'd come running and beg for her to stick one olive on each of my fingers, and I would then proceed to eat the olives off of my fingers while pretending I was eating my fingers XD We also ALWAYS had a jar of green olives with pimientos in the fridge, my dad's favorite. I can't stand either black or green olives these days, though. XD
Sorry you can't stand either of those now. I still love black olives and occasionally kalamatas. Used to do the finger thing with both black olives and Bugles
Load More Replies...Fancy it up a little - place the slices of salami on a plate, sprinkle generously with drained olives, then add cheese cubes, maybe some pickles, toss on some favorite crackers with little bowls of mustard and whatever other condiments you might like and some tomato wedges, and some boiled egg wedges, and call it dinner. Oh, and invite me over, too!
Growing up I was left on my own alot for dinner. Youngest child of two working parents and all that.
I made alot of canned corned beef hash with eggs.
I would get the pan hot, open the can and just scoop it into the pan. I'd always save a few scoops and just eat cold. After a couple minutes I'd crack 3-4 eggs into it, and cook while mixing till they were done. Topped with all the hot sauce.
I pass them in the isle while shopping and think about it alot. I don't know if I actually miss the meal or the nostalgia.
I worked in a hospital and they serve this heart attack combo in the cafeteria every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Sell out every time.
I only tried corned beef hash for the first time last year at 70, and loved it.
The only corned beef cans I have bought have been exceedingly hard for me to open. They're the kind with a little key you have to pull off. If only you could see me battling one of them, it would give you a good laugh.
Pizza rolls, but made out of crescent rolls. I mean, it's literally just layering pizza ingredients inside refrigerated crescent roll dough, rolling it up, and baking it.
Pizza sandwiches. Spread tomato paste on bread, layers of pepperoni, tomato slices, onions, anchovies, sliced olives, cheese, basil, oregano. Top with another slice of bread. Toast horizontally in suitable appliance e.g. toaster oven,George Foreman grill, or under a stove grill (NOT a toaster or vertical grill).
I think it is a US thing. Crescent vs croissant – because of the way they are rolled they look the same, but they are not. Croissant dough is folded several times with chilled butter to get flaky layers. Though light and fluffy, Crescent Rolls do not have the same buttery flaky puff pastry layers as a croissant. You can buy them premade in a can. Ask the oracle about Pillsbury crescent rolls.
Load More Replies...Cinnamon Toast Crunch
44 and have a Costco sized box. It's been my favorite for as long as I can remember.
Load More Replies...WHY?! Why is stuff like this on the list?! CTC is the best cereal out there, and there is no reason to ever quit it [unless health or something dictates you can't eat it]. I have friends who visit from overseas, and I feed this to them instead of their nutella on toast because if you're going to s**t that's bad for you for breakfast, at least it should taste like heaven!
wait do you refrigerate your cereal? I can't tell if you meant to say on or in. Refrigerated cereal might be good tho
Load More Replies...I eat that without milk (allergic) straight out the bag. Why is this a secret food?
... and?? This is the most delicious cereal. This should be no secret
Mustard cheese sandwiches. You grate cheddar cheese, then you squirt yellow mustard on it, and mix it up until it becomes a thick paste. Then you spread it on toasted white bread. Add hot sauce to taste.
Interesting.... I like cheese and mustard sandwiches, the grating adds too much labor, but I'm intrigued enough to try it next time I'm grating some cheddar. Bet some nice cold crispy romaine would be nice too.
Hmm... Try with sliced tomatoes and cucumbers...
Load More Replies...If you then toasted the cheese and mustard, it would *almost* be a welsh rarebit.
Almost. Welsh rarebit usually has a delicious pale ale in it and some Worcestershire sauce for taste. It is also served piping hot so it gets all delicious and bubbly.
Load More Replies...This isn't too far from a pimento cheese sandwich. Pimento cheese uses mayo instead of mustard, though.
Boxed mac and cheese....because I absolutely *will* serve velveeta-based queso.
Velveeta is legit! It might not be "cheese", but it's legit! I'll die on this hill XD
I'll stand next to you, ankle deep in processed "cheese" powder, and defend the honor of the processed cheese by-product known (and loved) as Velveeta.
Load More Replies...As a poor kid government cheese was the BEST! Basically unmarked Velveeta and made the best grilled cheese sandwiches.
Govt cheese was not Velveeta. It was way better.
Load More Replies...I wish someone would by this for me. In jaan it's so expensive ;( Order just a box online it cost 5 bucks. Something i DO miss in the states ;)
One jar of Velveeta nacho cheese dip + 1 can of Rotel tomatoes and peppers. Appropriate in any setting, whether watching "The Big Game" or attending a white tie affair at the French embassy.
Does a mix of premade icing, crushed up Oreos, and mini MnMs count?
Cakepops are basically just cake and icing smashed together and then formed into a ball, so subbing cookie for cake is no problem at all
Probably the signature baked Frito burrito.
It’s basically baked beans from a can, ground beef, sour cream, diced tomatoes and chili cheese Frito’s in a tortilla god I could eat 8 of those f*****g things at once.
Growing up in a non-Hispanic home, we made a lot of gringo tacos: hamburger, cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and PORK & BEANS, topped with Tabasco sauce. I still love them.
One word: Beefaroni.
Gotta say it: what do ribs, Mac, cornbread, beans, and BBQ sauce (aka a decent looking BBQ meal) have to do with beefaroni? And now I want BBQ ribs!
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A shredded chicken sandwich. I only realized a couple years ago that it's an Ohio thing. It can be a thoughtful dish when you make it in the Crock-Pot with actual ingredients, but my dad and I do it the other way: canned chicken mixed with cream of chicken soup, nuked in the microwave. Serve it on a bun with a slice of American cheese, and you've got a delicious meal.
It can be iffy with several types at a potluck. That and various types of chili. Turns out the "fancier" a cook tries to get with these, the more they often have to take home
I make a shredded chicken breast with mayo sandwich and call it poor man's chicken salad.
I do the canned chicken and cream of chicken soup with egg noodles and shredded cheese.
I don't know if anyone already posted this and I missed it, but home made chips aka french fries in north America, smooshed between two buttered slices of soft fresh bread. Often know as a chip butty. Bloody delicious.
I don't know if this junk enough or not.. but as an Asian.. uh pipping hot rice, tons of butter, and soy sauce. It hits home just right.
YES! I dated a Chinese guy for 21 years and this became one of my favorite late-night snacks. The Japanese version (piping hot white rice, a bit of soy sauce, a raw egg cracked on top and vigorously stirred/whipped in with chopsticks) is also AMAZING.
Japanese version with some sesame oil and seeds if you've got them is a fav!
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In college I was a very stressed out introverted, autistic, anxious kid. One day I needed comfort food but I couldn’t decide which one to have.
So I brought out a cake pan and added these in layers starting from the bottom (obviously):
Chicken nuggets
Mashed potatoes and gravy
A little homemade mayo
Spaghetti and meatballs
Broccoli cooked to be slightly mushy, with salt and butter
Fried rice
A little of my dad’s buttermilk ranch
Macaroni and cheese
I ate it over the course of a week. I had a tomato salad or coleslaw or something on the side (after the first night) to feel ‘healthy’, but sometimes I had garlic bread, too.
I rarely eat it nowadays (an exception for when trump got in as president) but I f*****g crave it once a month and have to exercise great restraint.
Chef Boyardi Ravioli. The ingredients are absolute garbage but they taste sooooo good.
Give me the ones with meatballs; I'll even add some Sazon too. Love those stupid little meatballs and wished they made cans of just the meatballs
When I was in high school, the cafeteria served ravioli. I thought it was good, but what did I know at 15? It's still good, and the Chef makes it.
Cold corn, right out of the can with a spoon.
I much prefer frozen corn. There's less sodium, and you can always eat part of a package and put the rest back in the freezer.
Go with "no salt added" for the best flavor, even if you add salt yourself.
My mom ate this all the time when I was a kid and I picked up the habit! XD We always had literal dozens of cans of Green Giant brand corn in the pantry at all times. I could just stroll in and open up a can for an after-school snack!
Fried mozzarella sticks with marinara and a side of ranch.
Day-old rice, fried egg, and sriracha hot sauce.
Peanut butter and jelly burrito. My favorite midnight snack. If I’m feeling decadent, I throw in a handful of mixed nuts.
We call it “College Cuisine”: boxed white cheddar pasta (our favorite is Pastaroni Shells and White Cheddar) over a Tyson chicken patty with a big spoonful of peas on top.
Ha ha. I hate peas. Once when I was a waitress, my best friend and I had just ended our shifts and were sharing a pasta dish that had peas in it. I was pushing all the peas on the side for her when our GM walked by asked about the peas. And without thinking I said "it's just too much pea-ness for me". We laughed our āsses off as soon as I said it; did not realize what I said until I said it 🤣
Plain spaghetti with cream cheese, franks red hot, and butter, inspired by quarantine boredom!
this is finally something I haven't heard of before on this list!
Instant noodles, it doesn't matter which because I'm making it different than the instructions, unless its indomie, than i am in fact following the instructions. I boil the noodles, drain them, pan fry them with a bit of butter and the seasoning packets that came with it, then at the end, make 2 sunny side eggs in the same pan, where I break the yokes before eating it. Letting the yoke get all over everything.
Fried Spam Sandwich. Loved them as a kid - they are a forbidden fruit as an adult...
I still do a fried Spam sandwich at least once a year. I'm *so* glad they sell individual slices.
A can of condensed tomato soup mixed with a can of condensed cheese soup over your choice of pasta noodles. My grandpa called it Army Food, but god, it's so delicious.
Yep. Campbell's cheddar cheese soup is most definitely a thing.
Load More Replies...https://www.walmart.com/ip/Campbell-s-Condensed-Cheddar-Cheese-Soup-10-5-Ounce-Can/754002854?athbdg=L1200&from=searchResults
dipping salt n vinegar chips in cottage cheese with a buttload of pepper & Hungarian paprika
I do this. If for whatever reason I don't have cottage cheese on hand, I use sour cream.
The best Salt n Vinegar chips I've found are Lays Kettle style Salt n Vinegar chips. I eat them like crackers, with a piece of sharp white cheddar cheese on top.
I can't eat kettle chips because they're crunchy, which scraps my mouth really bad, and would probably break of one of my brackets in my mouth lol
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Spam musubi. I make a bunch at a time and keep them in my fridge but they never last. I don’t do it very often because I am so weak when it comes to those bad boys.
Same but I only get it when I'm at a sushi of poke place cause of my parents
Load More Replies...I'd never even heard of it, but there are a bunch of recipes online. I'm gonna have to give it a try.
Yes! I was hoping this was on the list. I drive about an hour to this little hole-in-the-wall "island bbq" place just for musubi. ❤️
Had spam fried rice ar a high end Hawaiian fusion restaurant the other day. Was so good
Annie’s mac and cheese. Suck it, Kraft.
Annie's is for those of us who are able to AFFORD better than Kraft. XD
Beans and weenies. Can of van camps pork and beans in tomato sauce with a couple hot dogs ripped up in it. Nostalgic comfort food to the max, but looks terrible and is too low effort for me to serve to guests as an entree and still feel good about it.
I feel like when I was a kid in the 80s, whenever we went to a family gathering or "fancy" dinner/event, there was ALWAYS a crockery dish FULL of beans and cocktail weenies! In my opinion it's absolutely an acceptable dish to serve to guests, haha XD Just cut the hot dogs into medallions instead of tear them up ;)
A frequent nighttime snack for me is four Triscuit® brand snack crackers that are topped with a slice of Kraft American cheese that has been folded and portioned into four Triscuit®-sized pieces. Basically just fat, salt, and a few carbs and it makes me so happy.
I love Triscuits. I don't know why, but I do XD The "cracked pepper and olive oil" and "rosemary and olive oil" flavors are ::chef's kiss::
I adore the rosemary and olive oil ones, but my favorite are the triangle Triscuit Thins. I either top them with one of a hundred types of cheese, or just munch them alone.
Load More Replies...My comfort food, since I was a child, is plain steamed rice topped with tuna (with mayo and a squeeze of lime juice). Nowadays I add fun veggie sides to it, and roll bitefuls into those seaweed snack sheets like a faux sushi roll. Craving it now. On a side note, in kindergarten we were once told to draw our favourite food. I couldn’t figure out what colour crayon to use for tuna.
I lived in upstate NY for a few years. It was there I was introduced to the garbage plate. I would never willingly *make* a garbage plate for somebody. The closest I'll do is Poutine. But if offered an authentic garbage plate, especially one with onion rings, red hots, cheese and spiral fries... yes, yes I would eat it.
Since OP didn't define "garbage plate": "A traditional Garbage Plate is your choice of cheeseburger, hamburger, white or red hots* (aka hot dogs, especially those made by local company Zweigle’s), Italian sausage, chicken, or grilled cheese, served on top of any combination of home fries, french fries, baked beans, and/or macaroni salad. The plate is usually topped with a Rochester-style meat “hot sauce.” Optional mustard, onions and ketchup may be added on top. A Garbage Plate is traditionally served with a side of buttered bread (in case you were still hungry!)."
Thanks for the explanation! I was imagining Red Hots as the little red candies 🍬 🙃
Load More Replies...LOL, "Poutine" is how we spell "Putin" in France. And THAT would truly be a garbage plate ;-))
Not to disparage the delicious, if substantial, Québec dish! But it is spelled the same. And the few restaurants that serve it here had some trouble when the war in Ukraine started, for touting their specialty on their storefronts. Stupid people thought them pro-Russian...
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Spicy chips (hot cheetos) dipped in nacho cheese.
Oooor taki's dipped in cheese cause also. Such trash deliciousness, sorry (not sorry), body!
Corn dogs. I could eat corn dogs all day.
Bro, me too. I could eat dozens. Hot Dog on a Stick is the food of the gods.
The hot rod dog. BBQ pulled pork over a hot dog with onions and cheese sauce. We had these at the Texas Motor Speedway years ago and have made them at home ever since. They are disgusting to look at and messy as hell, but so damn good.
Thank you! Guess where I'm going the next time I'm in Fort Worth lol
Load More Replies...Egg noddles with butter and shakey parm. No main dish. No seasoning. Sometimes no bowl and no fork. Ultimate comfort food and ultimate upset tummy food.
So good, but I'd have to use real Parm and black or red pepper.
My nasty little indulgence is a red hot dog, Hormel chili from the can (no beans!), and some nacho cheese sauce, with some diced onion on top. Takes five minutes to make and just hits the spot for me sometimes.
When I was about 8 or 9, my family went on a vacay to W. Virginia and camped in our really old, green canvas pop-up tent. We ended up almost getting washed down the mountain due to torrential rainstorms that lasted ALL night. Next day, dad - who was only about 4 years out of Vietnam - decides to take my little brother and I for a hike to teach us "survival" skills. Well, I'm pretty sure he didn't think he was going to have to try to find dry wood to start a fire with two hungry kids helping him, so the two cans of Chef Boyardee mini raviollis and three little cans of vienna sausage were eaten out of the cans "as is" - at the time, I was a kid and starving after our little death march, so didn't think much of it. Now, every once in a while - I crave those little sausages...lol.
White Wonder bread tuna sandwich, with plain ruffle chips, and a Nuddy Buddy. Nostalgic heaven.
I love a grilled cheese stuffed with tuna salad, but I always have to make it myself. Apparently, there are heathens that don't understand that the tuna salad is added AFTER the grilled cheese has been cooked. Because hot tuna salad is disgusting, but hot melty grilled cheese with ice cold tuna salad is *chef's kiss*.
Barbecue potato chips and chunky Bleu cheese dressing.
This makes perfect sense to me - like wings with celery and blue cheese.
Salami and cream cheese rolled up and into my mouth.
If hard salami, yes! Also smoked turkey, cream cheese, and sweet pickle stick, rolled up.
Hamburger buns fried in the hamburger grease. If my cardiologist saw that he'd throw me out. I only doit once or twice a year but damn, it's just SO good!
That's how we did it as a kid. I'd forgotten about it. Also, plain white bread fried in bacon grease
We have a hamburger joint here that has been around over 70 years. One of Elvis's backup musicians was from here and elvis would request a Penns hamburger whenever the guy came home. Penns stacks their burgers when frying and the bottom burger was the greasiest thing ever. Elvis supposedly loved the bottom burger. They closed down in downtown about 10 years ago and were opened back up within the month because everyone freaked out. I sm in decatur alabama. Elvis also kissed my grandma. But that is another story.
A pull off the soy sauce bottle. So good, so salty.
Torino's frozen pizza. I would never serve or recommend to others, but I love them. Especially when I have had a rough day.
Love me some Ellios pizza; though these days they don't taste the same
Grandma Sycamores super squishy white bread with a slather of best foods mayo....if its summertime I'll add a garden tomato with salt and pepper if I'm feeling fancy. LOL
Ugh, any gloppy cream cheese “appetizer” concoction, so good, and so bad…
Just give me a tub of strawberry cream cheese and a spoon. As a poor college student I would swipe the little tubs of strawberry cream cheese from the dining hall and bring them back to my dorm room to snack on with nothing else
Cold spaghettios right out of the can.
Canned roast beef hash with fried egg over medium and saltines. With Dr Pepper. Maybe I should opt for the low-sodium saltines...
Gotta be Superpretzels with Velveeta cheese sauce for me. So much awful but it gets me in a special way.
Dill pickle chips mixed with ranch chips in a single container.
I discovered the deliciousness of dill pickle chips after moving to the US. They are soooo good.
Sometimes I’ll dump a bunch of hot sauce (usually Louisiana but whatever we have on hand works) and ranch in some ruffles chips and just…devour them. It’s delicious and horrible and I feel no shame.
Ritz crackers and cheese wiz. Please someone tell me that's theirs too!
Chicken in a Biscuit crackers and squirt cheese was always the drunk snack when i was younger
For all the Military Brats: S.O.S but my dad made with sawmill gravy instead of chipped beef. Also poor man's bangers and mash. Instant mashed potatoes with cut up fried hot dogs and jar of beef gravy.
I love SOS!, we had the chipped beef type. I can't bring myself to make it for my family, but given half a chance I'd make it foe myself
I tried making it from scratch a few years ago and didn't like it. But the stuffers frozen isn't so bad if you can still get it.
Load More Replies...Just grew up calling it chipped beef on toast. Never encountered the other dish
In Germany you can buy a really cheap 1kg lasagna in Aldi. I love those things but its literally the cheapest stuff
Frozen lasagne used to be my favourite food. Unfortunately the gluten free ones never taste as good as the real ones did so I don't buy them any more. For some reason they never have a top layer of cheese sauce.
We eat them too - it's a favourite 'holiday' meal - meaning I don't have to cook from scratch. I'd add some garlic bread for scooping too.
Boxed scalloped potatoes with extra cheese (any kind) some cut up ham steak. So creamy, so cheesy, so salty.
Oh those boxed scalloped potatoes have gotten so much better these days; so good
Fishfingers with mayo.
If I’m having a bad day or am overwhelmed at work or sports I love chicken tenders with Japanese Kewpie mayo (Japanese mayo has a much more eggy and umami taste than mayo in the US and salad cream in the UK)
CHEESE DOODLES. ALL OF THEM. EVERY ONE OF THEM. IN THE WHOLE BAG.
Give me the cheeseballs. But they have to be in the canister; though sadly they don't taste the same
I grew up in the Southern US, so gizzards? Liver's cousins only tastier.
I grew up in a Hispanic family (I'm adopted) and we traditionally eat a lot of the random organs that most people think are vomituous. I'm a big fan of gizzards, heart, and beef brain. Many organs have absolutely delicious, wonderful textures, IMO.
My dad was Uruguayan and i'm first gen American; I'm obsessed with beef tongue and sweatbreads because of him. So freaking delicious and I wish more restaurants served them
Load More Replies...Gizzards are good especially fresh there are a couple local chicken places that make them to order and it is the best.
As a kid living in Georgia, we used to buy gizzards at Kentucky Fried Chicken. They were so good
Those little hash brown patties from Trader Joe’s. Though now that I think about it, I have served them and they were very well-received. Everyone loves fried potatoes.
Give me a McDonald's hashbrown with their butter or Burger King hashbrowns with ketchup and I am in heaven
A store bought frozen hamburger pattie microwaved till it looks like it's sitting in a pool of blood and fat, a giant do do do do a dollop of non brand specific sour cream, and enough worcestershire sauce to make the burger f*****g float. Add more salt on top 'cause I'm a monster. I call it Crack Head Salisbury Steak, and it's f*****g delicious!
I'm not gonna lie, this one got to me. It's wonderful you love it, but your description made me gag
Sliced spam cooked with teriyaki sauce, over a bed of rice with sunny-side up eggs and shopped up green onions on top. Teriyaki sauce is homemade with stupid amount of soy sauce and sugar, it's not at all good for you, but I probably eat this once a week and it hits the spot every single time.
I've made some interesting sandwiches in my time that every once in a blue moon I might make for myself. A killer "this is why I'm fat" snack is a nicely toasted crumpet, topped with plenty of salted butter, a layer of boursin or other decent cream cheese, stuffed into a small, dense but very soft bread roll/bap. Bacon or ham optional.
Actually junky: Sweet potato tortilla chips on a plate. Cottage cheese or ricotta blopped on. Shredded smoked Gouda over that. Microwave. Sprinkle with granulated garlic and ancho chile powder. Also some scallion greens or chives if you’re feelin it. Bonus is if you eat it at the right time of day you’ll get reflux so bad you feel like you’ll never be hungry again, so. Pretty healthy but looks junky enough you get weird looks when someone sees you eating it: brown up an onion real good. Caramelize it if you have time. Add black beans. Separate bowl, put in a tablespoon of mayo with turmeric, black pepper and chile powder mixed into it. Plop beans and onions onto the mayo and mix it up when everything’s hot. Maybe add cheese. Stuff the mixture into the hollows of an avocado and eat it out of the shell with a spoon. Apparently to the unsuspecting eye it looks like you’re eating a fistful of bugs and garbage.
When I was dirt broke that's what my son and I would cook, minus the nacho cheese. I'd melt American into the chili (same no beans lol) and turn it orange and top a dog or two with it. No bun of course lol
Red stuff. It’s tomato soup, pastina, American cheese and saltine crackers all broken up. So good.
I don't know about elsewhere but in NY they have discontinued pastina and it's heartbreaking
Butter and pickle sandwich. Wonder Bread, a slab of butter, and lengthwise-sliced dill pickles.
A glop of peanut butter, quick oats, chocolate chips, and honey. Microwaved just long enough for the chocolate chips to melt.
I eat breakfast oatmeal like this. I need to eat oatmeal regularly, and I've switched to whole rolled oats in the tub. 1/2 cup oats, add water salt and a touch of butter. Microwave 2 minutes (in a big bowl.)Add Splenda, touch of brown sugar, lots of cinnamon. Stir. Then add 2-4 Tb peanut butter. Stir. Drop in 1 Tb dark chocolate chips. So so decadent and mostly healthful. It has helped me be able to switch from sugary cereals and milk to oatmeal daily.
Spam omelette. This thing prolly shaves a couple days off my lifespan each time i make it, but oh man i pig out on it.
Chicken fingers and French fries/tots...all from the freezer. Then I either make a Buffalo sauce or honey mustard for dipping. Also gotta have the "secret sauce" which is just ketchup and mayo mixed together with some spices added.
A fried bologna sandwich — but you've gotta go Chicago-style with it. It's just a fried bologna sandwich with alllll the toppings of a Chicago dog: pickle, relish, tomato, mustard, all of it.
Frozen corn mixed with salt and mayonnaise.
I like taking a piece of white bread, putting a Kraft cheese slice on it, then putting some Frenchs mustard on it, and wrapping it around a turkey pepperette.
Canned baked beans with sliced hot dogs, lays potato chips, and a sour cream/cucumber salad. Use the chips to scoop up the beans and hot dogs, and the sour cream will kind of mix with the bean sauce to create this super delicious slurry. You also get the hot/cold contradiction.
Definitely crave, especially now that garlic is not an option for me and husband can't stand the smell of fish. An open faced (canned) tuna melt made in the toaster oven with a thinly sliced layer of fresh garlic between the cheddar and the tuna salad. The raw garlic was definitely in a quantity others would not apreciate, like at least a large clove per slice.
How did the thread even make it to publication without mentioning canned spaghetti-os??????
Definitely a grilled glizzy with relish, sauerkraut, ketchup and mustard. Yum!
I had to look it up too - and it's gLizzy Glizzy Urban Dictionary https://www.urbandictionary.com › define › term=Gliz... Another word for a hotdog in DC. “ damn that glizzy was good moe !” by Dmv_lingo September 24, 2017.
Load More Replies...I am underwhelmed by these guilty pleasures. Most are pretty common recipes. Why would anyone not want to admit to these?
Right? Where’s the people getting inventive with jars of old pickle juice? Or adding canned clams and mussels to their cheap chicken flavored ramen? Where’s the sweet grapes dipped in sour cream and onion dip? Or the crazy fückers who just eat lemons whole, biting into the rind and all? Heck, everything I just listed is something that someone in my family actually eats, and they are all more terrifying than anything listed on this page.
Load More Replies...I put something *crazy* on my bread. It's even more out there than anything on this list. You may need to sit down. It's *butter*. Crazy, right? I only eat it in the middle of the night when no one can see me. My son caught me once and I had to take him out into the woods and leave him there. The police think he ran away to join the circus. I haven't even told my therapist about my bread and butter habit. But it tastes good, I swear!
Thank you for such a brave confession about such an odd food. You’ve given me the courage to reveal my secret vice… Drinking water. From the tap, from a bottle, heck I’ll even drink straight out if a public water fountain. It’s some thing I hide from my spouse and family, but here on the Internet I can proudly declare: I drink water!
Load More Replies...Hear me out: Bush's baked beans, diced green bell pepper (lots!), shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, wrapped into a large warm toasted flour tortilla. Trust me.
Sardines mixed with mayonnaise and chopped onions and hot sauce eat it with crackers.
Brother? Is that you? This is my brother's favorite snack and he's passed it on to two of his three children. The third inherited his obsession with pickles and spicy food.
Load More Replies...People need to stop thinking that "poor food" is something to be ashamed of. Just because it uses processed ingredients doesn't make it bad. Ignore the food snobs.
I have zero desire to eat any of the "when we were poor we ate nothing but" things. I've eaten enough ramen and strange tinned things to last a lifetime.
*standing ovation* I feel those feels. It’s been almost a decade since my hungry days, when four straight years of under- and unemployment meant I was living off the kindness of food banks. A decade is still not long enough to want to get even be *near* canned chicken, anything Chef Boyardee, or canned chili on rice. *shudders*
Load More Replies...I have a deep love for instant mashed potatoes and gravy. I used to make a pot of sidekicks and just eat it at 2 am and watch x files
My mom used to make me honey buns - a stale hotdog bun with honey. As a no-sugar child raised by back-to-land hippies, that s**t was ambrosia.
Potato chip + chocolate sauce. Or popcorn dipped in milk.
I have managed to keep my dipping a stick of butter into the sugar bowl a secret from my mother for 20 years and a secret from my husband for another 15... so good..so shameful. PARENTS- THIS IS WHAT CHILDREN RESORT TO WHEN YOU BAN SWEETS FROM THE HOME
I am underwhelmed by these guilty pleasures. Most are pretty common recipes. Why would anyone not want to admit to these?
Right? Where’s the people getting inventive with jars of old pickle juice? Or adding canned clams and mussels to their cheap chicken flavored ramen? Where’s the sweet grapes dipped in sour cream and onion dip? Or the crazy fückers who just eat lemons whole, biting into the rind and all? Heck, everything I just listed is something that someone in my family actually eats, and they are all more terrifying than anything listed on this page.
Load More Replies...I put something *crazy* on my bread. It's even more out there than anything on this list. You may need to sit down. It's *butter*. Crazy, right? I only eat it in the middle of the night when no one can see me. My son caught me once and I had to take him out into the woods and leave him there. The police think he ran away to join the circus. I haven't even told my therapist about my bread and butter habit. But it tastes good, I swear!
Thank you for such a brave confession about such an odd food. You’ve given me the courage to reveal my secret vice… Drinking water. From the tap, from a bottle, heck I’ll even drink straight out if a public water fountain. It’s some thing I hide from my spouse and family, but here on the Internet I can proudly declare: I drink water!
Load More Replies...Hear me out: Bush's baked beans, diced green bell pepper (lots!), shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, wrapped into a large warm toasted flour tortilla. Trust me.
Sardines mixed with mayonnaise and chopped onions and hot sauce eat it with crackers.
Brother? Is that you? This is my brother's favorite snack and he's passed it on to two of his three children. The third inherited his obsession with pickles and spicy food.
Load More Replies...People need to stop thinking that "poor food" is something to be ashamed of. Just because it uses processed ingredients doesn't make it bad. Ignore the food snobs.
I have zero desire to eat any of the "when we were poor we ate nothing but" things. I've eaten enough ramen and strange tinned things to last a lifetime.
*standing ovation* I feel those feels. It’s been almost a decade since my hungry days, when four straight years of under- and unemployment meant I was living off the kindness of food banks. A decade is still not long enough to want to get even be *near* canned chicken, anything Chef Boyardee, or canned chili on rice. *shudders*
Load More Replies...I have a deep love for instant mashed potatoes and gravy. I used to make a pot of sidekicks and just eat it at 2 am and watch x files
My mom used to make me honey buns - a stale hotdog bun with honey. As a no-sugar child raised by back-to-land hippies, that s**t was ambrosia.
Potato chip + chocolate sauce. Or popcorn dipped in milk.
I have managed to keep my dipping a stick of butter into the sugar bowl a secret from my mother for 20 years and a secret from my husband for another 15... so good..so shameful. PARENTS- THIS IS WHAT CHILDREN RESORT TO WHEN YOU BAN SWEETS FROM THE HOME
