Recipes from the 70s

[Carrie12345]

I can and will Google, but I’d also like to hear some tried and true with notes.

We’re doing a 70s themed party for my mom, who’s turning 70. It’s just a small family deal (14-19, including kids) so we’re cooking ourselves, but I’d like to simplify it as much as possible since my clan is driving all day the day before.  I’ll have access to a full kitchen that afternoon, but one I’m not fully accustomed to, and gas vs. my usual electric. I’ll also have access to two kitchenettes the night and morning before.  
Cake is my sister’s job.

I know I’ll make clam oreganata, because that’s a routine dip for us. I’m also hoping I can get one of my sisters to do a jello salad, lol. Otherwise, I’m starting from scratch.

Ideas?

[HomeAgain]

Canned cheese on crackers (or pimento cheese)

CASSEROLES!!  The more outlandish, the better.  And if you can top with Tater Tots or potato chips it's a win.

Deviled ham or salmon mousse needs to be featured

Piped cream cheese into celery logs with olives or other toppings

cocktail weiners

Jello in all forms

 

It sounds like a fun party...but I definitely prefer modern recipes.😄

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by HomeAgain
Edited because I cannot spell first thing in the morning.

[Acorn]

Seven layer salad- iceberg lettuce, peas, onions,  hard boiled eggs, shredded cheese, mayo, and bacon

 

[teachermom2834]

My mom used to make a casserole. We called it hamburger casserole but it was ground beef cooked with cream of mushroom soup and then topped with cheddar cheese, peanuts, and chow mein noodles. Whenever I think about it I am all ewww….yuck…maybe I’ll make that for dinner. Lol.

My family would revolt if I put that on the table. It probably isn’t a famous recognizable 70s food but it is what I always think of as representative of the time. I actually remember it as being good? 

[Faith-manor]

Tuna noodle casserole. The more gross the better. I think my mom's was noodpes, canned tuna, and cream of mushroom soup over it, and crunched potato chips on top. I think I have mental trauma from some of the stuff we were fed in the 70's.

[scholastica]

Fondue. You could do a cheese one as an appetizer.

[Teaching3bears]

No wonder I didn’t eat as a child!  

[Faith-manor]

You also must serve Tang. Don't even think about leaving that out.

[Danae]

Chipped beef, cream cheese, and pickle appetizers.

[gardenmom5]

Most of those suggestions I only saw in pictures as a kid in the 70s.  never saw it on the table.  except or jello (with marshmallows, or dream whip) and tang.  

 

[knitgrl]

Carrot cake was invented in the 70s.

[Starr]

Macaroni and cheese is always a favorite.

[KungFuPanda]

I always think of chicken a la King or seafood newberg as very 70’s dishes, but I could be wrong 🤣

[Spryte]

If you need something green to go with all the potato chip topped casseroles, I can’t remember what it’s called but there was a salad made of broccoli, mushrooms and red onions marinated in Kraft Italian Dressing. Easy to make, just requires a fridge to marinate overnight. That appeared on our table quite a bit.

 

 

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

Tuna noodle casserole. The more gross the better. I think my mom's was noodpes, canned tuna, and cream of mushroom soup over it, and crunched potato chips on top. I think I have mental trauma from some of the stuff we were fed in the 70's.

I have an edible recipe that's really good.

Box of chunky pasta (elbows are fine, but penne or corkscrew pasta is better)--cook it for half the time, then drain
White sauce, whatever your preferred method
Frozen peas
Can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
Black olives, halved
Can of tuna (or two)--also good with canned salmon that's been deboned and crumbled
Top with sliced mushrooms and grated parmesan
Bake until bubbly

The fun part is that the peas migrate to fill in the olive holes, lol! 

[Faith-manor]

18 minutes ago, kbutton said:

I have an edible recipe that's really good.

Box of chunky pasta (elbows are fine, but penne or corkscrew pasta is better)--cook it for half the time, then drain
White sauce, whatever your preferred method
Frozen peas
Can of petite diced tomatoes, drained
Black olives, halved
Can of tuna (or two)--also good with canned salmon that's been deboned and crumbled
Top with sliced mushrooms and grated parmesan
Bake until bubbly

The fun part is that the peas migrate to fill in the olive holes, lol! 

Peas migrating... 😂😂😂

[Carol in Cal.]

[Carol in Cal.]

[Vasha]

 

Kool aid?

Pigs in a blanket or was that a different decade?

[Forget-Me-Not]

I feel like divinity candy is a food from that era. Also punch that involves floating sherbet. 

[busymama7]

My mom made a casserole that was canned pork and beans (like baked beans) and hot dogs sliced part way but not all the ways through. They sat on top and when baked they kinda curled up.    I looked for a picture but can't find it. I do think I saw it in a cookbook at some point but maybe she made it up. 

[Carol in Cal.]

31 minutes ago, Forget-Me-Not said:

 Also punch that involves floating sherbet. 

I know this one!  Orange Blossom Punch.  From that severe looking kitchen green general cookbook--Betty Furness maybe?

A liter or so of ginger ale, equal pineapple juice, and a brick of orange sherbet, plus a ring of ice (you freeze water overnight in a ring pastry mold so it's just one big ring piece and doesn't melt that fast).  Plus some festive marischino cherries floating around if you want to make it prettier.

[Carol in Cal.]

There is also a drink involving Tang and powdered iced tea mix.  I don't remember all the details but it was classic 70s.

[*****]

Or you could make little appetizer sandwiches with liver sausage or spam?🤢

Pot pies.

And if you make a casserole, don't forget the pimentos.  It seemed all the casseroles contained pimentos, and I used to wonder, where do those things come from?  What are they before they get chopped?  Just ewww...

And for dessert, don't forget the 7-layer bars: graham cracker crumbs made with and melted butter, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, nuts and topped with sweetened condensed milk. They were gooey delicious, but whoa, so sweet. I wouldn't be able to stomach those anymore!

 

 

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

27 minutes ago, ***** said:

Or you could make little appetizer sandwiches with liver sausage or spam?🤢

Pot pies.

And if you make a casserole, don't forget the pimentos.  It seemed all the casseroles contained pimentos, and I used to wonder, where do those things come from?  What are they before they get chopped?  Just ewww...

And for dessert, don't forget the 7-layer bars: graham cracker crumbs made with and melted butter, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, nuts and topped with sweetened condensed milk. They were gooey delicious, but whoa, so sweet. I wouldn't be able to stomach those anymore!

 

 

 

Pimentos are tiny peppers.  Nothing ew about the vegetable.  (I have never been a fan of them in cheese, however.)

[VickiMNE]

The one I most remember having is a Chicken Rice Casserole made with cream of xx soups and Lipton's Onion Mix:  this recipe is pretty close.  My mom used 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can cream of celery.  Plus, she mixed in 1/2 pkt of soup mix into the rice and sprinkled the other half on top.

 

[gstharr]

So, are you going to  wear a mini-skirt, hot pants, or wide flares? 

[knitgrl]

If you have Kool Aid, it needs to be served out of a Tupperware pitcher

[history-fan]

This is the tea recipe that was popular @Carol in Cal.

 

2 cups sugar

2 cups Tang

1 cup instant tea powder

1 pkg 3oz lemonade

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Mix together, 3-4 Tablespoons to 1 cup hot or cold water

This was a staple for a long time.

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by history-fan

[cintinative]

This thread is bringing back memories.

Chipped beef over toast

Pimento cheese balls for company

Some sort of casserole involving a cream sauce, egg noodles, and hot dogs. LOL.

Oh and so very many jello salads.

I love the fondue idea. That would be fun and edible, versus some of the other ideas. 😃

[J-rap]

Jello "salads"; Hamburger Helper; any casseroles that have ground beef, tomato sauce, and egg noodles; tuna casserole with peas and chow mein noodles; chipped beef over toast.

@cintinative I see you listed chipped beef above, and that's what reminded me.  🙂  I used to love it as a kid! 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by J-rap

[knitgrl]

You all are so genteel with your "chipped beef on toast." My dad always called it "sh!t on a shingle." 😆

[gstharr]

I liked that Borden canned milk, Philly cream cheese, Graham cracker crust,  cheesecake thing. It was one of aunt's specialities.

 

[Selkie]

Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. I am gagging at the memory. My brother and I used to call it Garbage Salad because the dressing smelled so bad.

[Sneezyone]

If you want one that actually tastes good, the old Betty Crocker cookbook from that era has a recipe for brandy snaps. They are sooooo good! Like these… 

https://artofnaturalliving.com/brandy-snaps/

I second the fondue idea, also chicken cordon bleu, coq au vin…classic Julia Child stuff. My mom usually entertained with beef Wellington.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Sneezyone

[Drama Llama]

Are you sure you don't want to do the 50's?  The 50's had the best recipes!

Liver sausage pineapple

[rebcoola]

You guys are making me really glad I missed the 70's

[Pippen]

17 hours ago, busymama7 said:

My mom made a casserole that was canned pork and beans (like baked beans) and hot dogs sliced part way but not all the ways through. They sat on top and when baked they kinda curled up.    I looked for a picture but can't find it. I do think I saw it in a cookbook at some point but maybe she made it up. 

My mom did that one too. She also sliced hot dogs lengthwise halfway through, stuffed cheese in, wrapped them in bacon and broiled them.

IMO, Watergate Salad is a must for any 70's gathering! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13811/watergate-salad/

My mom always baked a birthday cake for me that was a white or yellow layer cake. Between the layers she'd put a whipped topping and pineapple frosting and I think there were some mandarin oranges in there somewhere. I'm pretty sure it's this one. https://southernhospitalityblog.com/delicious-orange-pineapple-cake/

 

[knitgrl]

One phenomena I am totally on board with, that seemed to be a thing in the 70s and no longer is for some bizarre reason, are bar cookies. One pan, two trips to the oven, done. They are a beautiful thing.

[Drama Llama]

17 minutes ago, Pippen said:

My mom did that one too. She also sliced hot dogs lengthwise halfway through, stuffed cheese in, wrapped them in bacon and broiled them.

IMO, Watergate Salad is a must for any 70's gathering! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13811/watergate-salad/

My mom always baked a birthday cake for me that was a white or yellow layer cake. Between the layers she'd put a whipped topping and pineapple frosting and I think there were some mandarin oranges in there somewhere. I'm pretty sure it's this one. https://southernhospitalityblog.com/delicious-orange-pineapple-cake/

 

That hot dog recipe was a staple of my childhood!  Probably my favorite dinner with a nice side of frozen peas and some of those biscuits you whack on the counter.  

[Sneezyone]

3 hours ago, rebcoola said:

You guys are making me really glad I missed the 70's

Both the fashion and the food were atrocious.

Edited May 27, 2023 by Sneezyone

[knitgrl]

2 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Both the fashion and the food was atrocious.

True, but pantsuits paved the way for women to wear pants in public. My father was a high school teacher in the 70s, and he says that around '72, a girl got sent home for wearing a pantsuit instead of a skirt.

[popmom]

Ambrosia. lol I hated that stuff, but one of my grandmothers made it often.

And any congealed salad would qualify. 

Also, they weren't "wide flares" in the 70s. They were "bell bottoms"!! Or maybe that was just in the south! 😜

Edited May 28, 2023 by popmom

[saraha]

How about some Betty Crocker recipes from 1971? Salmon shortcakes anyone?

[saraha]

Or how about these delicious ideas?!? Did people really eat this stuff?!?

[KatieJ]

2 hours ago, knitgrl said:

True, but pantsuits paved the way for women to wear pants in public. My father was a high school teacher in the 70s, and he says that around '72, a girl got sent home for wearing a pantsuit instead of a skirt.

Exactly this! I graduated in 1973. School dress code didn’t allow girls to wear pants until my 9th grade year, and then it was “no jeans”, dress pants only. . My senior year the dress code changed and jeans were allowed.

I worked for a Doctor right out of Highschool. I was told by the other staff, my uniform was a dress only. Since I did all the filing and spent a considerable amount of time over filing cabinet drawers… I approached the Dr and asked if I could wear a smock and pants. He said yes..and the other gals thanked me profusely! 

 

 

 

 

[KatieJ]

I have a Better Crocker cookbook dated 1969…it was a wedding gift. 
I quote, “ Canned soups , of course, are a more immediate blessing. You can serve them as is, but by adding in a can of this and a little of that, you may invent your own special soup.”

some things I remember making as a newly wed…

Tater tot hot dish 

Watergate salad - pistachio pudding, cool whip, canned pineapple and mini marshmallows

The above mentioned chicken and  rice casserole was quite popular

 

[KatieJ]

1 hour ago, popmom said:

Ambrosia. lol I hated that stuff, but one of my grandmothers made it often.

And any congealed salad would qualify. 

Also, they weren't "wide flares" in the 70s. They were "bell bottoms"!! Or maybe that was just in the south! 😜

Yes, we wore them in the north, along with a Nehru jacket.

[ozarkskye]

I made a beef stir fry in the late 70's that used pimentoes. I forgot how to make it and I cannot find the recipe. Does anyone know the recipe?

It might have had worchsstershire sauce but I am unsure.

Thank you