Last night’s dinner brought me back about 20 years… and now I feel old!

Growing up, my mom usually cooked dinner for our family, but occasionally my dad would too.  His specialty was “Dad’s Dinner”, as we liked to call it.  I suppose this dinner isn’t really much of a recipe but more a combination of foods that resulted in my version of comfort food and a childhood favorite for both me and my brother.

It’s really complicated, are you ready?

Dad’s Dinner

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/2 envelope of Lipton Onion Soup Mix

1 egg

Box of macaroni and cheese

Broccoli florets, fresh or frozen

Directions:

1.  Cook macaroni and cheese according to package directions.

2.  Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix ground beef, onion soup mix, and egg together until combined.  Form into 4 patties (or 6, like I did this time.)  Heat grill pan to about medium heat and cook patties until desired color (medium rare, well-done, etc.)

3.  Steam or microwave broccoli until desired tenderness.

Burgers, mac n’ cheese and broccoli.  That’s it!

It holds a very special place in my heart and that’s why it made the “Family Secrets” section of the cooking scrapbook.

The key ingredient in those burgers is the onion soup mix.  Also, my dad always prepared Kraft brand mac n’ cheese, but I only had Annie’s brand on-hand which is a bit healthier.

I had never tried this brand and it came surprisingly close to Kraft.  Almost but not quite

Breakfast

I met Amy at LA Fitness again this morning and I chose to take the Bootcamp group class at 5:45 am.  Afterwards, I had this waiting in the car for me.

Overnight oats again with bananas, strawberries and Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter.

I found this jar of Peanut Butter & Company’s Dark Chocolate Dreams in the back of my fridge when we moved.  I can’t believe I forgot about this heaven-in-a-jar.  Shame on me!  You can count on it to definitely be making another appearance in the near future.

-Lauren