Dirty Pots & Pans

Posted On: Sunday, April 11 2010

I came across a bag of recipe cards at my local thrift store, when I got home I saw that they were Betty Crocker cards circa 1971. When I think Betty Crocker the first thing that comes to mind is cake and frosting, but inevitably they are a food company and these recipes are proof of that.

Weeks passed and one day I woke up and told myself I'd try these recipes. Cards in hand I struggled to turn them into a weekly plan for meals. Many of the recipes were for baking but at least a third of them weren't. The choices in front of me were plentiful but almost all the main courses were beef recipes. I called my mom and she confirmed to me that in the 70's they ate tons of the stuff. Normally we eat beef no more than once a week, but I made an exception and pushed it to 3 times in one week.

The Good

The recipes were extremely easy to follow and when finished actually looked like the picture on the card. I can't stand when you buy a cookbook and nothing looks as advertised in the photos when you're done making it.

A lot of the recipes were total 70's throwbacks that I hadn't seen since I was a kid. This actually was what made it hard to decide which recipes to try. I just had to keep in mind that I had plenty of time to try other cards.

The Bad

The 70's clearly wasn't about healthy eating at all. I normally don't cook with much salt and I had to really cut the amount of sodium each recipe called for, it seemed excessive especially combined with the sodium from other ingredients in the recipes. Products like beef bouillon or even some broth contain a high amount of sodium already.

The Ugly

I had to make a few substitutions. One of the recipes asked for MSG, I obviously omitted this.

The only oil called for was "salad oil". I've heard the term before and confirmed what I thought with a quick google search; salad oil isn't really an oil, but rather reference to vegetable, canola or another variation along those lines. I stuck with canola oil.

In the end, after making certain substitutions or omissions Betty Crocker got huge applause in our house for these cards. I will definitely make the first round recipes many more times and am now quite encouraged to try new ones. Everything turned out perfect to the recipe, were easy to make and yet the end result would leave people thinking you'd slaved over a hot stove all day.