My Thoughts, Reviews and Observations of Last Week's 50's Dinner

I had a lot of thoughts about this meal and the cookbook from which the recipes came. First, I want to say we all commented that the entire meal was really good. Here are my thoughts on the different recipes.

Club Chicken Casserole (all of the full recipes are in this post)

Ingredients:

• butter
• all-purpose flour
• chicken broth
• can of evaporated milk
• water
• salt
• cooked rice
• cooked chicken
• canned mushrooms (I skipped)
• canned pimento (I skipped)
• green pepper
• almonds

The things I liked about this recipe:

1) It used basic ingredients. Many creamy chicken casserole recipes call for a can of creamed soup. This one used a sauce made from butter, flour, chicken broth, and evaporated milk. I made my sauce with homemade chicken stock and soy milk in place of the evaporated. In my opinion, the green pepper is a must in this recipe, but the mushrooms and pimento are optional as far as flavor goes.

2) The recipe used common leftover foods -- rice and chicken. This casserole would be a good one to follow roasting a whole chicken or subbing leftover cooked turkey after the holidays. Rice is a common leftover food in our house. Because half of us like brown rice and half of us prefer white rice, when I make rice to go with dinner, I make a pot of each. For this casserole, I used a combination of leftover brown and white rice.

3) It was fairly fast to put together. Actual hands-on time was under 30 minutes. 

4) The casserole was suitable for making ahead then holding in the fridge until just before baking. The recipe didn't call for covering with foil, but I did anyway. I baked it for an additional 10 minutes to compensate for it being chilled before cooking.

5) The recipe is versatile. I thought of several variations to the vegetables and topping with this casserole. In place of the peppers, mushrooms, and pimento, one could use about 2 cups of chopped broccoli and then top it with shredded cheddar cheese in the last 10 minutes of baking. Other vegetables could also be substituted or used in addition, such as frozen peas, canned green beans, or chopped frozen spinach. Toppings other than almonds would work, too, such as buttered bread crumbs or cracker crumbs. My thought is this recipe could be used as an outline for a basic chicken and rice casserole, modifying according to what one might have on hand.

6) This was comfort food at its best -- creamy and savory. Yet, this could also be a "company" dish to serve for a casual evening with friends or family. I mentioned previously that my mother used this as a luncheon dish. She also served it at bridal and baby showers. This was one of her signature ladies' lunch dishes.

What I didn't like about this recipe:

1) The portion size. The full recipe says it makes 8 to 10 servings. I made a half-recipe (so 4 to 5 servings according to the cookbook). I gave my husband extra and myself less so he would have enough. My daughters are not huge eaters, so they had just a little more than I did. We all cleaned our plates, something that doesn't happen often in our house. A half-recipe just barely gave us 4 servings. Two thoughts -- perhaps in the 1950s, folks ate less, or perhaps families would have had some sort of bread served with this meal.

Cabbage Plate (the hot vegetable side dish for our meal)

Ingredients:

• cabbage
• carrots
• celery
• onion
• sugar
• salt
• vegetable oil
• water

What I liked about this recipe:

1) Again, very basic ingredients -- foods that I have on hand all through winter. And not just basic ingredients, but budget-friendly produce items.

2) This vegetable dish was surprisingly flavorful. I wasn't sure we would like it, but we loved it. One daughter asked me what it was seasoned with, and I told her salt and a bit of sugar. She thought certainly there were other seasonings added. The combination of flavors came together to produce a delicious side dish.

3) Actual hands-on time was under 10 minutes.

4) I was able to make this ahead up until the cook stage. I had it waiting in the saucepan, ready to cook near the last minute.

What I didn't like about this recipe:

Absolutely nothing! It was a budget vegetable dish that was also very easy to make. I'll be making this over and over all winter.

Pickled Beets

Ingredients:

• beets
• water
• vinegar
• brown sugar
• salt
• cinnamon
• ground cloves

What I liked about this recipe:

1) It was very quick to make. I used canned sliced beets. I chose to julienne slice them. I could have just used the slices as they came out of the can and saved myself 4-5 minutes. In total, I had this made and in the refrigerator to chill in about 8-9 minutes. If I had made this with the whole slices, I think I could have made the marinade in about 3-4 minutes, using the microwave to heat it before pouring over the drained, canned beets, then getting it all into the fridge in about 5 to 6 minutes.

2) It made a tasty cold vegetable dish that gave the meal flavor and added color. Pickled beets are always a winner in my book.

3) As far as winter salads go, pickled beets, made from canned beets and scratch dressing ingredients, is a budget-friendly dish. At Walmart currently, a can of Great Value sliced beets is 78 cents. All 4 servings would cost me about 90 cents or less, including spices, sugar and vinegar.

4) This was another make-ahead-and-let-it-sit recipe, so I was able to make this early in the day and it was ready to serve at mealtime.

What I didn't like about this recipe:

Nothing!

Apple Brown Betty

Ingredients:

• stale bread
• butter
• apples
• sugar (brown or white)
• lemon juice
• lemon peel (didn't have this)
• water

What I liked about this recipe:

1) It was delicious without being overly sweet -- a little bit of tang, a little bit of sweet, and a nice crispiness to the top crust. The bread crumb layer on the bottom completely held together, making a soft "crust". 

2) Brown Betty is frugal, using stale bread to make both the crust and the topping. I used bottled lemon juice, which I always keep on hand. And I skipped the lemon peel.

3) It's an easy recipe to put together, easier than a pie or cobbler, perhaps on the same level as making a crisp. Although this recipe called for bread crumbs, I've seen other Brown Betty recipes that just used torn bread. I used a blender to make the crumbs. And I left the peel on the apples.

4) I baked this in the morning and then warmed individual servings in the microwave at serving time.

5) Brown Betty is a versatile dessert. The recipe suggested a couple of alternatives, chopped rhubarb or blueberries. This would be a good way to use any kind of surplus and over-ripening fruit.

What I didn't like about this recipe:

Once again, nothing!

Note: The recipe also called for a homemade lemon sauce topping. I completely spaced that and didn't fully realize until near dinnertime. The dessert was delicious as it was. I think Brown Betty would also be nice topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Key takeaways from this menu:

There are a few recipes in this cookbook that do call for convenience items or more expensive cuts of meat. But on the whole, these recipes focus on simple scratch-cooking techniques using basic, humble ingredients. The recipes are easy to follow and don't take as much time as one might expect, especially if putting together a whole meal. I spent about 2 hours, total, making this entire dinner for my family. 

For being as easy as it was to make, these were all very frugal recipes, some using leftovers, others using the most basic, budget-friendly ingredients. I didn't need to go out and buy anything special to make any part of the meal.

I will be making all of these recipes again in the future. 

If you have access to some old cookbooks, you might enjoy making a meal from a different era. Perhaps you'll be surprised as I was that many of these old recipes are fairly simple and very budget-friendly.