What is the ultimate White Suburban Dinner?

[Anonymous]

The 70's and 80's suburban foods were still all about convenience. Casseroles made with cream of whatever soup, minute rice, rice-a-roni, shake-n-bake, hamburger or tuna helper, canned vegetables. Folks would spread margarine on their dinner roll, not butter. This is also when chinese and mexican went mainstream outside of major cities and the southwest. So you would see those weird "salads" made with uncooked ramen noodles and tons of sugar. The "La Choy" chow mein kits, with the weird canned vegetables in gloop. Ground beef crunchy shell tacos seasoned with the seasoning envelope and topped with shredded iceberg, shredded yellow cheese, and chopped tomatoes.

[Anonymous]

Baked chicken, mashed potato, salad, buns, gravy, hot veggie like peas and carrots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 70's and 80's suburban foods were still all about convenience. Casseroles made with cream of whatever soup, minute rice, rice-a-roni, shake-n-bake, hamburger or tuna helper, canned vegetables. Folks would spread margarine on their dinner roll, not butter. This is also when chinese and mexican went mainstream outside of major cities and the southwest. So you would see those weird "salads" made with uncooked ramen noodles and tons of sugar. The "La Choy" chow mein kits, with the weird canned vegetables in gloop. Ground beef crunchy shell tacos seasoned with the seasoning envelope and topped with shredded iceberg, shredded yellow cheese, and chopped tomatoes.

Don't forget the Chef Boyardee pizza kits!

[Anonymous]

whatever you usually eat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 70's and 80's suburban foods were still all about convenience. Casseroles made with cream of whatever soup, minute rice, rice-a-roni, shake-n-bake, hamburger or tuna helper, canned vegetables. Folks would spread margarine on their dinner roll, not butter. This is also when chinese and mexican went mainstream outside of major cities and the southwest. So you would see those weird "salads" made with uncooked ramen noodles and tons of sugar. The "La Choy" chow mein kits, with the weird canned vegetables in gloop. Ground beef crunchy shell tacos seasoned with the seasoning envelope and topped with shredded iceberg, shredded yellow cheese, and chopped tomatoes.

Don't forget the Chef Boyardee pizza kits!

YES

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

NP. Takeout.

Takeaway fried chicken poster here. All I can say is, the bucket (box, actually) of fried chicken needs to be from Roy Rogers, or you are not really in the suburbs of DC in the 1980s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

NP. Takeout.

Why is it funny to say takeaway but not takeout or carryout as another poster suggested? They all mean the same to me, I assumed it was just a regional affectation (like hero versus submarine sandwich).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

NP. Takeout.

Why is it funny to say takeaway but not takeout or carryout as another poster suggested? They all mean the same to me, I assumed it was just a regional affectation (like hero versus submarine sandwich).

“Takeaway” tends to be a foreign phrase. It’s like when Americans affect the British “u” in favourite. Just stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have a lot of options!

Hamburger Helper, served with some kind of vegetable like canned corn, those take-and-bake rolls, giant glasses of milk for the kids, jug of wine for adults.

If it's tuesday, you can do taco tuesday. Buy the taco shell kit from old el paso but don't add the spices to your ground beef. Put out some mild salsa, daisy sour cream, shredded lettuce, black olives, and chopped tomatoes for topping.

I also think a giant bucket of takeaway fried chicken along with the sides (mashed potatoes, red beans and rice, corn) might work, too.

Takeaway?

dying…. 😂

Shhh that poster needs to use the word 'takeaway" to emphasize that she's not like those people whose food she's talking about...

what other word would you use? or are you saying just use “fried chicken” without the qualifier? genuinely confused (and am a NP)

NP. Takeout.

Why is it funny to say takeaway but not takeout or carryout as another poster suggested? They all mean the same to me, I assumed it was just a regional affectation (like hero versus submarine sandwich).

“Takeaway” tends to be a foreign phrase. It’s like when Americans affect the British “u” in favourite. Just stop.

+1 My friends who call it that spent ten years in the Netherlands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our city friends are leaving DC to come have dinner with us. I promise not to serve anything you mention, but what is the ultimate 1970s/80s White Folks dinner?

Meatloaf and jello salad?

why?

I don't understand. Are you attempting to be. . tacky?

[Anonymous]

Tab and cottage cheese if your mom had an eating disorder

[Anonymous]

FYI - Nobody invites friends over for meatloaf. Not in the 70s, 80s, or today.

In the 80s, when guests came, we would have nice dinners like chicken caccitore, prime rib, MD crabs, turkey, lamb.

[Anonymous]

Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, salad, dinner rolls. Basically, what's on the table in every family dinner for white families on TV.

[Anonymous]

Fondue, if you’re fancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI - Nobody invites friends over for meatloaf. Not in the 70s, 80s, or today.

In the 80s, when guests came, we would have nice dinners like chicken caccitore, prime rib, MD crabs, turkey, lamb.

This is just all over the map lol

OP isn’t asking for “guest-worthy” dinners. I think she’s asking for common family dinners from back then.