9 Boomer Dishes Most Of Us Ate Back in the Day

Every family’s got its go-to dishes, that’s for sure. But let’s be honest, each generation has had its moment in the culinary spotlight, and us boomers? We saw it all. Back in 1953, when Swanson rolled out the very first TV Dinner, it felt like we were stepping into the future. No pots to scrub, no waiting around, it was a hot meal on a little aluminum tray, ready in minutes. For a lot of families, that was a game-changer. Gave Mom a breather, too, which she darn well deserved.

But let’s not sugarcoat it, some of the stuff we considered "trendy" back then? A little... questionable. Gelatin salads with mystery bits suspended inside? Meatloaf that could double as a doorstop? We ate it, sure, but looking back now, I’m not entirely sure why. Still, there’s a certain charm in remembering the foods that filled our dinner tables while we were growing up, quirks and all.

Love it or hate it, every household had a meatloaf recipe that Mom patted out and baked for dinner at least once a week. Bonus points if it was served with mashed potatoes. Points deducted if it was too dry to choke down.

While legend has it that this beauty of a dessert was first created in the 1920s, its popularity was sky-high in the 1950s. Moms everywhere coated the bottom of a pan with sliced pineapple and marachino cherries, dumped some cake batter in and baked it. The name comes from the triumphant finish, when the cake is turned upside-down to reveal an impressive top layers of cooked fruit atop a fluffy cake.

God loves a good casserole, amiright? And so did parents in the mid-1900s. Boomers in particular were subjected to this wildly popular dish made of canned tuna fish, egg noodles, some sort of condensed soup (a casserole staple), green peas, cheese and if you were lucky, some sort of crispy breadcrumb-type topping. It was all thrown together and baked. You were either a fan ... or you had to choke it down to join the Clean Plate Club.

With noodles and some sort of creamy gravy-like sauce being the key players in the 1950s culinary scene, most folks who came of age during that time will recall this dish vividly. The stand-out ingredient was beef. A dish with Russian roots, beef stroganoff was a cornucopia of beef and mushrooms dancing in a creamy sauce and dumped on a bed of egg noodles. Kids! Dinner's ready!

Shifting gears, and perhaps blending a touch of the tropics into meal time, the glazed ham was a special occasion dish that many enjoyed on sacred holidays. Often decorated in a criss-cross design, the swine was then adorned with pineapple slices (again with the pineapple) or some other type of fruit — perhaps something of the citrus variety?

Dragging the pineapple back out of the pantry, it enjoyed another show-stopping run in any ambrosia salad recipes. This sweet side originated in the South, by all accounts, but eventually spread nationwide. Families everywhere enjoyed the taste of mini-marshmallows amidst a see of canned fruit and Cool Whip.

This one hits a little close to home. It was on the nights my own mother made beef stew that I knew I'd be going to bed hungry. It appeared, however, that I was the odd kid out as my siblings enjoyed the dish, which was comprised of cubes of dry (SO, SO dry) beef, cooked (and mushy) carrots, peas, mushroom, and potatoes in a thick, brown, beefy sauce. They wolfed it down while I tried not to dry heave. Perhaps my first lesson in how everyone is unique in their own way.

While beef stew at our house was not my favorite, chicken a la king, on the other hand, was a home run meal. Chicken, mushrooms, carrots and peas in a creamy white sauce was poured atop either egg noodles or toasted bread or other baked good. Yes, it was as yummy as it sounds, and I still make it for my own family today.

If Marcia Brady was ambrosia salad, then Jan was Jell-O salad. The two are similar, but one is slightly more complicated — and perhaps favored — than the other. Yes, Jell-O salad was a chilled gelatinous side, but where it lacked in marshmallows, it made up for in (wait for it) cottage cheese. Yes, a few simple ingredients, which also included whipped cream and gelatin powder, and you could have a side that wowed all who were invited to eat it.