Sibling Assignment 2018:1 Dinners When Dad Was Gone

We three siblings decided to get back into writing Sibling Assignments again.

 

Here is my assignment to Bill, Christy and myself:

 

Since we have started doing family dinners, has this created memories of family dinners growing up a 516 West Cameron?  Think of a particular dinner, or kinds of dinners you ate while growing up and share some memories from these family dinners.

 

Dinners When Dad Was Gone

 

I think some of the dinners I remember growing up were the ones when Dad was not at home.  Dad was a big “meat and potatoes” kind of guy, and we ate a lot of roast, steak, chicken, ham with accompanied potatoes, a vegetable and usually a green salad.

 

But when Dad was gone, Mom would fix or buy things Dad did not like, but she did.  And it was always a treat.

 

A popular “Dad’s not home” dinner was Chun King Chow Mein.  Mom would separate the top can from the bottom can, open them up and heat them in the Revere Wear Skillet, and then she would have Chow Mein noodles served with it.  Sometimes she would also get frozen egg rolls and bake those and serve them with the Chow Mein.

 

Sometimes it was T.V. dinners. As an adult, I do not care for T.V. frozen dinners.  But as a kid, they were a special treat.  That fun foil tray that separated the main entrée (maybe turkey and gravy, maybe Salisbury steak (something I had never heard of!!), oar fried chicken, and a vegetable, often peas or corn, and a dessert, like a little piece of cake.  Later, as the frozen dinners became more popular, Mexican frozen dinners were added to the choices.  This meant you could eat enchiladas and refried beans as a possible choice!

I also remember Mom buying tamales occasionally.  I think Stein’s IGA may have had someone who made them, because I think they were fresh, not frozen.  I liked those tamales.

I am an adventurous foodie.  I like eating different kinds of food.  I like preparing different kinds of food.  Maybe I have my “meat and potatoes” dad to thank for that, because maybe my exposure to those frozen dinners and processed ethnic cuisine when dad was gone made me the adventurous foodie I am today.