Sunday found us in an unusual dilemma- lots of food in the house, but: A.- What sounds good? B.- What would go together? C.- What would be easy? By discussing the merits of what we had, we came up with a menu... Had to do some grocery shopping first, as something is always missing!
Dinner became ham steak, home made mac n cheese, and fresh, steamed broccoli- followed by a subtly dolled up brownie..
What made the ham special? Nothing, beyond not being too salty..
What made the Mac n cheese special? Evaporated milk, and two kinds of extra sharp cheddar, shredded into the cheese sauce. Old timers used the evaporated milk far more than we do today, and I swear it made it creamier!
What made the brownie special? Fudge brownie mix, out of a box.BUT(that's me and my big but!)I added white chocolate chips for contrast, a touch of almond extract(because it goes with chocolate- ask Peter&Paul!)and a touch of cinnamon, because it works with chocolate, too..
A lot of the retro stuff I'm finding- I never had as a kid... My dad didn't like casseroles, sandwich spreads, trash veggies.. He lived through the Depression and WWII, and had to eat some pretty low budget meals...He swore when the war was over, his family would eat a best as he could afford- and that's what he did...
Next try will be bologna sandwich spread! A 50s staple in brown bags! but of course I'm going to change a few things.....
