Now ya see, though my palate has gotten more sophisticated over the years, I just love a stew like that. Or a casserole, or hot dish. I was blessed, and never realized it way back in grade and high school. Our school district hired older semi-retired farm wives as cooks, and the things they did with government surplus food stuffs and the other bulk commodities were delicious. And bake! Those gals could and did bake. Huge pans of the most divine dinner rolls, the yeasty smell wafting down the halls before lunch. The pans filled with brown domes of rolls about 5" tall, steaming hot, for a kid to slather in butter and wrap around a stick of surplus mild cheddar cheese. With bowls of the blandest, celery and tomato infested, macaroni filled stuff they called chili that I loved back then. And the casseroles that Mitty's stew brought to mind. I've heard it called Slumgullion, Russian Fluff, etc. but I loved it. My wife and her friends on the other hand take a dimmer view of the cuisine they grew up with in school.
We paid 25¢ for a lunch ticket back then and got so much more than our money's worth. When I hear of today's school lunches being catered in crap, tampered with by ideologically corrupted bureaucrats, it just makes me sad. If only I had a magic wand.
Has there been any thought of renaming this thread? We readily drift away from the grill. How 'bout Pot Luck? The members here are scattered all over Hell and gone and the best we can hope for is to digitally dine together.