Popular brands from yesteryear

Many brand foods and drinks practically scream out to be remembered. Some have been discontinued, but others are still around. Previously, I’ve mentioned some retro cereals and retro candy.

What popular food brands do you remember fondly? Which do you still buy?

I’m sharing some classic brands and including some recipes that use these products. I substitute for a similar product if the product has been discontinued. Old school brands survive and thrive the foodie age.

Maxwell House coffee and Sanka Instant coffee:

OK maybe you preferred Brim, Folgers or Chase and Sanborn. I remember Maxwell House and Sanka the most from when I was really young. They both offered so many promotional items. I collected the coffee jars for a while.

Honey Cake Recipe

Ovaltine:

Mmm mmm mmm. Can’t think Ovaltine without thinking about A Christmas Story.

Ovaltine Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe

Full sized Big Biscuit Shredded Wheat:

Hard to find full-sized shredded wheat biscuits these days. Try crumbling it and adding it to yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, cookies, breads, muffins and on salad. It would be good in apple crisp and meatloaf, too.

Shredded Wheat Bread Recipe

Tang:

I still buy Tang, but hadn’t had it in years. It’s great as a hot or cold drink. You can use citric acid to clean your dishwasher, too. Fill the soap dispenser with either powdered Tang or lemonade-flavored Kool-Aid and run a full cycle.

Tropical Creamy Dessert Recipe

Good Seasons Italian dressing:

I remember my mom mixing this up often. She bought this mix over other dressings for years. There were a lot of Good Seasons Italian Mix recipes. I still love the flavor of it, but thankfully I’ve broadened my horizons. haha.

Good Seasons Grilled Vegetables Recipe

Chef Boyardee:

I loved the ravioli and the beefaroni. I tried it in the last 10 years and can’t even eat a mouthful. I can’t believe I loved it as a kid. haha

Homemade Beefaroni Recipe

Keebler Tato skins:

Man, I loved these. They’re repackaged as TGIF Potato Skins.

Hires rootbeer:

While I’m a fan of A & W, IBC and Barq’s, I had a lot of Hires rootbeer growing up. I still love the taste of rootbeer and buy it every year during the holidays. But Hires is very hard to find.

Rootbeer Cupcakes Recipe

http://www.monthsofediblecelebrations.com/2009/08/mr-hires-and-black-cow.html

Best ways to fill your life with rootbeer

Libby’s tomato juice:

Maybe all you can think about is V8 and don’t even remember Libby’s tomato juice.
But When it says Libby’s Libby’s Libby’s on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it, on your table, table, table.”
Part of Libby’s was sold to Nestle and part to Seneca Foods. I don’t see anything about what happened to Libby’s tomato juice, but I see it listed on a few discontinued product sites.

Here’s some uses for tomato juice.

I’ll add a V8 recipe to substitute.

Chili Recipe

Campbell’s soups:

Their soups all remind me of being in elementary school. I enjoyed many bowls of Chicken and Stars, Chicken Noodle and Tomato Soup growing up. I still buy the tomato soup. It’s the perfect soup with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Campbell’s cream soups are used often in casserole recipes. I used to use cream of chicken to make my version of chicken and dumplings and pot pies and sometimes would add cream of mushroom soup to my pot roasts. But I haven’t used any cream soups in my cooking for a long time now.

Cream Soup Recipe

And here’s a recipe for Crockpot Chicken and Rice that includes not only cream soup, but the Good Seasons Italian mix, as well.

Pepperidge Farm 3-layer cakes:

These cakes are tasty considering they’re frozen. I really like the coconut cake. You can use a Pepperidge Farm cake to make your own Festivus Cake.

CHOCOLATE PIROUETTE-CRUSTED CAKE

Death by Chocolate Trifle

Pepperidge Farms Coconut Cake Copycat

Velveeta:

Velveeta melts so smooth. I mostly use it for dips and macaroni and cheese. And who can resist reusing the Velveeta boxes? Velveeta boxes are sturdy and just the right size to use to hold small items such as tea bags, pens, batteries, Scotch tape and scissors. Or wrap some of the boxes with contact paper and use them as utensil organizers in your kitchen drawer. Four boxes fit perfectly.

Velveeta Spicy Cheeseburger Dip Recipe

Accent flavor:

Good Ole msg
I remember Accent in everyone’s pantry. What are your thoughts on using Accent Flavor Enhancer? I’m not a fan.

Zesty Orange Grilled Chicken

Hamburger helper:

I have to admit, I made Hamburger Helper at least once a week when I was first on my own. Occasionally, I’ll still buy a box to have on hand. The kids like it on snow days from school. haha.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

Ready crust:

My family used the graham cracker ready crusts to make cheesecakes for the holidays. Graham crusts aren’t hard to make, but grabbing off the shelf is pretty easy, too. I remember having different types of Jello pudding types of pies using ready crusts.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

Cherry Cheese Cake

Bisquick:

I used to have Bisquick in my pantry a lot. I liked it for pain free pancakes and waffles and easy biscuits. But I haven’t bought it in a long time. But I fondly remember it in my grandmother’s pantry when I was a kid. And of course we always used it for strawberry shortcake.