NDR: ISO classic, unfancy recipes

[tarheels]

I'm visiting my 90 yo grandparents for a week at Thanksgiving. I may have the only grandmother in America who can't cook Grandma knows how to make 3 things: dry meatloaf, Stauffer's lasagna, and Shake n Bake lol. (How she fed a family of 6 in the '50s is beyond me!) It's getting hard for them to do things in the kitchen, so I'm planning on cooking for them all week.

The trouble is, they like pretty classic American food, and all my trusted recipes are things with lots of personality like General Tso's chicken, chili, southwest corn chowder, etc. They don't mind flavor, per say, they just like things simpler.

Any ideas? So far, I'm kicking around the ideas of chicken tetrazzini, quiche, and ham & potato soup. Specific recipes or general ideas welcome

[thewop]

chicken cordon blue, spaghetti and meatballs, cheese enchiladas/quesadillas, goulash, steak and potatoes

[Deleted]

How about crock pot meals? I have tried all of thses and they are really good. Not culinary masterpieces, but good.
Pot Roast-
Chunk of meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef broth
1 packet lipton (or generic) dry onion soup mix
Diced potatoes and carrot
cook on low 6-8 hours depending on amount of meat

Or maybe some of these
www.food.com/recipe/simple-crock-pot-chicken-167491
forkinit.blogspot.com/2008/01/dinner-reality-check.html
crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/02/original-taco-soup-crockpot-recipe.html

These are mostly just stuff from cans. It doesn't get much easier than that.

[thewop]

This recipe is simple and easy to modify to taste:
allrecipes.com/recipe/kielbasa-and-cabbage-ii/detail.aspx
Sloppy joes? I double this recipe:
allrecipes.com/My/RecipeBox/Default.aspx?Page=4

What about a bag of frozen cheese ravioli and sauce with garlic bread?

[thewop]

You also can't go wrong with ham steaks and mashed potatoes.

[peach]

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans
Spaghetti and salad
a roast in the crock pot with potatoes and carrots, add some bread and a salad

roasted whole chicken

[peach]

soup too. Chicken noodle, or a nice stew...with some crusty bread.

[wawa]

chicken pot pie!
Also shepherds pie.
Chicken and dumplings.

OMG I want to eat chicken and dumplings so bad right now.

This recipe popped up in my reader this morning and it it making me hungry.
smells-like-home.com/2012/11/chicken-and-biscuits-pot-pie

[mrs.jacinthe]

My dad likes classic and occasionally bland food. (sigh) His favorite is tuna noodle casserole, but done the way my mom makes it - which is to say not baked. She sweats onions in butter, then makes a roux with the onions included. Use garlic powder, salt, and pepper to flavor the roux (apparently this is an important step - I forgot once and it didn't taste right). Add milk to the right consistency. Put in a can of drained tuna. Pour the whole thing over cooked egg noodles.

Honestly, it's sorta bland but it's YUMMY and perfect for a cold, blustery day.

[sierramist03]

Goulash is a favorite around here that just about all families make

[magdala9]

My 89 yo grandmother broke her arm, so the family stocked her refrigerator. She prefers soft meals because of her teeth and has to avoid grapefruit juice and greens (lettuces spinach etc) because they interact badly with her medecines. She also likes simple foods.

The family stocked her fridge this week with shepherds pie, chicken noodle soup, spaghetti and meatballs.
orange spiced pot roast www.yummly.com/recipe/Spiced-Orange-Pot-Roast-Recipezaar, sweet potato soup www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Harvest-Sweet-Potato-Soup, chicken cassoulet
www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chicken_cassoulet.html, fruit salad, lemon squares, and hermits. We packed things in individual containers so that she can just heat and eat from the microwave.

[Deleted]

What about:

broiled/grilled boneless porkchops in a sweeter marinade (they also freeze great so they can cook later)
stuffed chicken breasts
soup is always good (cheesey vegetable, chicken noodle esp)
fish of some sort..tilapia and the like is usually pretty safe as is shrimp
shredded beef buns
DIY Subs is a big hit around here
meatballs with mushroom gravy
quiche of some sort

[pamela]

Since you'll be there for Thanksgiving, I have a great crockpot stuffing recipe. It's in my file at home, but the one at this link looks really close. Add some leftover chicken/turkey/ham and call it a entree.
www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cornbread-dressing-50400000107589/

[tarheels]

Thanks everybody! There are some great ideas here

Pamela, I'm not cooking Thanksgiving. An aunt lives in town and under no circumstances is anyone allowed to contribute anything to her perfectly orchestrated (but in desperate need of seasoning) feast.

[floridakat]

Just as a thought, what about doubling the recipes as you make them, then freezing half so they can bake and enjoy them again later? Obviously not everything will freeze, but it would probably work for a lot of the recipes mentioned above.