37 Tasty Dinner Recipes From Your Childhood

Sometimes, we all experience the pangs of nostalgia from our childhoods and yearn to return to those bygone days when the most important decision we had to make was which cartoon we wanted to watch on the television on a Saturday morning. Even though time machines don't exist, food does. Food has the incredible capacity to act like a barrier disrupting time and space. How eating a favorite dish etches itself into our memories via our five senses is powerful and capable of defying the linear nature of the passage of time.

If you have been pining to recapture some of your youth, you may want to try whipping up some of the foods you grew up eating as a wee whipper-snapper. From sloppy Joes to chicken tenders to a classic grilled cheese sandwich, our Daily Meal recipe developers will have you feeling youthful again with just one bite of these delectable dishes. Let's walk down memory lane with some tasty dinner recipes from your childhood.

What could be better than a ballpark hot dog at a game? A mini hot dog that you can eat with your hands. And could there be a cuter name for a food than this? Certainly not, which is why it was a favorite for kids growing up.

This recipe could not be any simpler to make. It uses store-bought crescent rolls and comes together in a flash. The only thing missing is a fancy dipping sauce to give it some sophistication. A spicy BBQ sauce, honey mustard, or homemade blue cheese dressing will do the trick.

Recipe: 3-Ingredient Pigs In A Blanket

This recipe combines two of my childhood (and grown-up) favorite comfort foods into a one-dish wonder. It comes together quickly, making it ideal for those looking to feed a hungry family after a long workday. Though the recipe calls for turkey pepperoni, you can use any type or branch out and add other meaty ingredients popular atop a pizza, like sausage or Canadian bacon.

You may consider adding vegetables to this dish for added nutrition. If you plan to use frozen vegetables, thaw them before use, or they won't have time to cook through in the oven.

Recipe: Pizza Pasta With Turkey Pepperoni

Chili is one of those one-dish meals that would warm your bones on a cold winter day after spending the afternoon playing in the snow. Admittedly, as a child, I was less fond of spicy food than I am now, and many classic chili recipes were too seasoned for my palate. For this reason, white chili always seemed more my speed.

What sets white chili apart is its use of cannellini versus kidney beans, chicken versus ground beef, and the omission of tomatoes. While a store-bought rotisserie chicken works great in this dish, this is a stellar opportunity to repurpose that leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

Recipe: Easy White Chicken Chili

This dish had us at the word "spaghetti." It may seem like a simplistic pasta, but we always looked forward to it as kids. This casserole takes the basics and kicks them up by adding chicken and turning it into a cheesy bake.

This recipe is perfect for repurposing leftover roast chicken, turkey, ham, or pork. You could also make it vegetarian by adding sautéed, meaty, umami-rich portabello mushrooms. Do not substitute the panko breadcrumbs with plain ones. They will not have the same crisp, light texture and can absorb too much grease from the cheese, making them soggy.

Recipe: Parm-Style Chicken Spaghetti Casserole

No compilation of childhood recipes would be complete without tomato soup. Canned tomato soup with a grilled cheese sammie was the ultimate powerhouse comfort food duo. This recipe captures the nostalgia of canned tomato soup without all the extra sodium, and with infinitely better flavor.

Since tomatoes are the star, you will want to purchase quality canned tomatoes. If you can find them, authentic Italian San Marzano tomatoes are the way to go. These tomatoes have a distinctive meaty texture, are less watery, have fewer seeds, and are intensely sweet thanks to the volcanic soil of the region of Italy where they're grown, giving this soup a rich, luxurious mouthfeel.

Recipe: 1-Pot Tomato Soup

Sundays were the day the family would often gather and enjoy a nice sit-down meal. These gatherings often featured some iteration of a pot roast on the menu. It's a relatively simple, cost-effective meal that feels fancy, even if it comes together without much fuss.

Since beef is central to this recipe, you want to get the appropriate cut to get the job done. Since the meat simmers for hours, a cut with ample connective tissue that can break down and become tender and juicy is ideal. Though a top sirloin will work well, you can also use a chuck roast, brisket, or bottom round roast.

Recipe: Sunday Beef Pot Roast

When your favorite fast food chicken nuggets from childhood grow up, they morph into these incredibly delicious crispy chicken tenders. These tenders are a play on a classic schnitzel recipe, using pulverized crispy fried onions, à la green bean casserole fame, to coat the chicken before pan-frying it to golden perfection.

To pan-fry the chicken, use a high smoke point cooking oil, like avocado or peanut. Rather than cutting into the chicken to check doneness, which is less accurate and can result in dry meat, I recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit before serving.

Recipe: Crispy French Onion Chicken Tenders

If walking past that blue box of mac and cheese in the grocery store makes you feel warm and fuzzy, this recipe is for you. Few foods are as comforting as a big bowl of piping hot noodles covered in cheese sauce. This bake elevates a good thing into a culinary masterpiece with a homemade sauce combining three kinds of cheese. Feel free to swap out any good melting cheese you like, such as pepper jack and Swiss.

The pièce de résistance is the crunchy topping made from butter and panko breadcrumbs. After baking, this crisp topping perfectly juxtaposes with the luscious cheesy noodles underneath.

Recipe: Baked Mac And Cheese

For many of us who grew up in the Southwestern part of the U.S., Mexican food was a staple of our diets as kids. One dish that featured prominently on our menus was cheesy, meaty enchiladas. Though they seem labor-intensive to assemble, they do not have to be. This recipe comes together from start to finish in just 30 minutes, relying on store-bought enchilada sauce and canned beans for expediency.

To make these more festive, consider using spinach and herb tortilla wraps. They have a nice flavor, and their verdant hue provides added visual appeal.

Recipe: Bean, Beef, And Cheese Enchiladas

Before our palates grew to appreciate the inherent flavors of vegetables, we had ranch dressing. It's still the preferred creamy delight of many Americans for salads, chicken wings, and anything that needs flavor and moisture.

These baked chicken breasts rely on a packet of ranch dressing mix to give the breading its flavor. The other secret ingredient that helps to tenderize the chicken and adhere the breadcrumbs to it is the rich, creamy Greek yogurt. Its inherent acidity gives the final dish a delightful tang to help balance the slightly salty, oniony, and herbaceous ranch dressing mix.

Recipe: Baked Ranch Chicken

Pasta bakes were always a staple growing up. We often viewed them as a way to dump a bunch of leftovers into a single dish and turn them into something new. This baked ziti is a bit more sophisticated than that but retains some of the same flavors and textures we grew to know and love.

Though ziti is a classic noodle for a pasta bake, any tubular pasta works, including macaroni, bucatini, penne, or rigatoni. And don't skip the ricotta. It helps to tame some of the acidity of the tomatoes while adding creaminess. If you cannot find it, try substituting cottage cheese, queso fresco, or Greek yogurt.

Recipe: Cheesy Baked Ziti

While my Hungarian family was more of a goulash crowd, all my friends favored a classic beef stroganoff for a meal you can set and forget on a cold winter day. Dijon mustard adds a hint of zing, while the Worcestershire sauce confers an umami-rich flavor.

Where many stroganoff recipes rely on flour as a thickener, this one uses cornstarch to create a velvety sauce, making it gluten-free if you substitute gluten-free noodles. Whisking the sour cream with some hot broth in a separate bowl before adding it to the final dish will prevent it from curdling and creating a clumpy mess.

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Beef Stroganoff

Despite being classic British comfort food, Shepherd's pie is sure to be enthusiastically received by anyone who loves cheesy potatoes. Depending on the crowd, you may swap the lamb with ground beef, particularly if cooking for kiddos. The taste of lamb can be a touch gamey for the uninitiated. If game meat is your jam though, venison or buffalo work beautifully in this recipe.

When making the mashed potato topping for this pie, you'll want to purchase a starchy potato, like a Russet, rather than a waxy one. These tend to fall apart and become creamy rather than holding their shape and turning into a pasty, gummy mess.

Recipe: Classic Lamb Shepherd's Pie

Chicken and dumplings are another popular Southern comfort food that many enjoyed for Sunday supper growing up. The base of this recipe is a hearty chicken stew. What makes it unique are the tender dumplings. While you typically use water to make dumplings, this recipe utilizes some of the flavorful broth from the stew to give them a richer taste. The finished dumplings are like a large, flat noodle with a slightly al dente texture.

I recommend baking a batch of hearty cornbread to round out this meal. Finish this meal off with peach or apple cobbler, with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe: Comforting Chicken And Dumplings

Beef stew is one of those recipes that tastes even better the next day. We often made a batch of it on a Sunday to reheat throughout the week. This beef stew is flavorful and layered with complexity, even though it comes together rather quickly.

The key is to simmer the beef in the red wine and stock. Before you coat your beef in flour, pat the meat dry with a paper towel to encourage proper browning. When looking for a good red wine, opt for one that's not overly tannic or oaky, and moderately acidic, like a Pinot Noir or a red Zinfandel.

Recipe: Easy Beef Stew

Something that was a regular on the menu for dinner in my home was meatloaf. On occasion, we made it in a loaf pan. That said, it was more frequently made in little patties, closely resembling this Salisbury steak recipe. Season the meat patties in this recipe with an assortment of dried spices, herbs, and umami-rich Worcestershire sauce. To help keep the patties moist, soak the panko breadcrumbs in water for five minutes before adding them to the meat.

A rich mushroom sauce completes this TV dinner-inspired recipe. Consider a combination of mushrooms for added complexity, like cremini, porcini, and chanterelles.

Recipe: 1-Skillet Salisbury Steak

You don't have to grow up in Philadelphia to become a Philly cheesesteak aficionado. This sandwich is beloved all across the country. Though it may seem like a complicated recipe, it's simple, and the homemade version is infinitely more flavorful.

The key is getting the right kind of beef. Though ribeye is classic, the more affordable bottom round can taste equally good. If you can't find pre-shaved, place the ribeye or top round in the freezer just long enough to make it cold but not frozen solid before slicing it. Use a sharp knife and cut the meat against the grain for the most tender final product.

Recipe: At-Home Philly Cheesesteak

This recipe is ideal for the whole family to assemble, and it will make you feel like a kid again by encouraging you to play with your food. The simple recipe relies on store-bought crescent rolls for a de facto pizza crust.

Though you can keep things simple with pepperoni, pizza sauce, cheese, and peppers, feel free to swap out any ingredients. You may want to make some of these with green pesto instead of the red sauce, or use different kinds of cheese like Cheddar, pepper jack, or Swiss. Lastly, you could use any cured meat, including prosciutto, salami, or mortadella.

Recipe: Pepperoni Pizza Pinwheels