~patches~ wrote:
>
> biig wrote:
>
> >
> > Goomba38 wrote:
> >
> >>~patches~ wrote:
> >>
> >>>Back in our newlywed days, our fancy but comfort food dinner was shake &
> >>>bake chicken, instant mashed potatoes, and frozen corn niblets.
> >>>
> >>
> >>That is sooooooooooooo sad. It is almost cliche it sounds so dreadful! LOL
> >>I'm so glad to hear you learned to cook and also enjoy better food.
> >>Seriously.
>
> Imagine serving this to my new inlaws! I did. They were very gratious
> but I'm sure it was horrible.
>
> >>Goomba
> >
> > That sounds like the way I cooked in the 70's when our kids were
> > small and we worked two jobs. They seemed to like it though, as long as
> > there was dessert. I often made my simple peach cake, a snack cake
> > (they used to be available in a box that doubled as a baking pan) and
> > ice cream or cookies made from a mix. Today, their palates are more
> > discerning..lol
> > ......Sharon
>
> I'm dating myself but we got married in the late 70's at the ripe age of
> 18 and had baby #1 14 months later. My FM never really taught me how to
> cook even though she was a wonderful cook. After she got sick, she
> simply stopped cooking. I had almost no cooking skills. Thank goodness
> DMIL came to the rescue and taught me how to cook spaghetti sauce and
> lasagne from scratch. DMIL also taught me how to can relish and
> tomatoes. From there along with my previous exposures to canning the
> seeds of home preserving were firmly sown. She gave me my very first
> cookbook - Betty Crocker A wonderful elderly lady by our apartment
> had a cherry tree so taught me how to make cherry pie. I was lucky that
> I had encouragement to cook as it set the pattern for me. I made sure
> my kids were exposed to cooking right from the time they could sit up.

I have a few years on you Patches. We were married in 59 at age 16
(not a typo) My Mom didn't teach me anything about cooking (probably
best that she didn't...she was a terrible cook) and my MIL, though a
good cook didn't teach me anything either. I picked up things from
watching people that I came in contact with, and seeking recipes from a
cookbook. But I didn't do anything adventurous. Meatloaf from an older
friend, Hamburger stew from a friend on a tight budget, etc. The
purchase of a slow cooker helped in my working days, with roasts etc.
It wasn't until we retired 4 years ago that I started reading this group
and picked up a LOT of tips. The best thing I learned here was not to
disturb meat in the pan until it realeases on it's own. Now my breaded
fried stuff still has the coating on when it's served. I also got away
from the onion soup thing for my potroast and stocked up on spices and
herbs so I could do it my way. We yard sale in the good weather, and I
have accumulated a lot of cookbooks. I learn something from almost all
of them and have a large collection of loose recipes printed from the
web and copied from library books. The other day my DH bragged to my
sisters about my culinary endeavours...lol. He's loving it and the deal
we have, is that if he doesn't like something he will say so before I go
and make it again. So far, so good. No Shake and Bake in this house
anymore, but when you don't know any different.......
.........Sharon