The meals you cooked in your twenties.

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Weak_Radish966@reddit

As soon as I got out of the dorms and had a house off campus, and learned how to cook steak in a pan, that’s all I ate. This is back when you could get an ok steak for like $2. I’d add a bunch of beer, onions and garlic. Every single night.

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_TheWolfOfWalmart_@reddit

I still make these Knorr sides. Good stuff.

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ElectricPenguin6712@reddit

This and suddenly pasta salads.

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lucidspoon@reddit

The shells with bacon and ranch never failed to hit the spot.

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agentmkultra666@reddit

My mom used to make those Suddenly Salad pasta salads a lot and I loved them more than a lot of her actual cooking, haha

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PrincessSarahHippo@reddit

I loved those pasta salads. Don't think I would eat them now, but 20ish me thought they were tasty.

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ElectricPenguin6712@reddit

We still have them on a occasion as sides to actual meals lol

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iiooiooi@reddit

gif

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Brokenlinx@reddit

$2.34/case

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cellrdoor2@reddit

This is the real mvp. If I had any extra money I’d buy a bag of frozen veggies to add so that it was marginally healthier.

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Brokenlinx@reddit

That's a great idea!

I'm barely eating healthy these days. So, it was never even a consideration to younger me lol.

I'd crunch them up in the pack, throw some of the seasoning in it, and eat them like a bag of chips. Or dump them into a "salad" (iceberg lettuce and ranch...Rarely had cheese).

Great memories.

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ObligationJumpy6415@reddit

One of my first meals I made in my new apt was cooking up a chicken breast and one of these types of pasta pouches. I was so damn proud of myself LOL

We have enough bags of pasta in the house now and wouldn’t buy these, but they served a purpose once upon a time.

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Dave_Labels@reddit

Gained so much weight eating these.

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thoughtfractals85@reddit

This with mashed potatoes has been my sick/comfort food my whole life. My mom made it when I was a kid, now I make it for myself. Occasionally, I'll make her some when she's sick.

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PIG20@reddit

I'm in my 40's, married, and two grown children. We still make these rice and noodle packs part of our meals.

They're cheap, have flavor, and can be whipped up quickly.

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macklin_sob@reddit

As a side sure. But I remember this being the main dish in my 20s.

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Namasiel@reddit

I always put some meat and veggies in them to spruce it up and make it a full meal (or multiple meals if it was just for me). I still do, but I used to too.

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Codenamehardhat77@reddit

Same here. Late teens, early 20's when I was in college. I used to also eat A LOT of these as we could get them for really cheap (Tina's Pizza Burritos):

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CuriousRiver2558@reddit

This could be good as a colonoscopy prep

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q120@reddit

Ah haha… I’m glad I’m not the only one who calls food that gives you diarrhea “good for colonoscopy prep” 🤣

Dominos pizza and Chikfila are two that do it to me ever single time

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Chick-fil-A_spellbot@reddit

It looks as though you may have spelled "Chick-fil-A" incorrectly. No worries, it happens to the best of us!

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MrNice1983@reddit

Bad bot

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PIG20@reddit

Yeah, we don't make them as a main course. As sides or part of the main by adding other foods to them.

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Awkwardpanda75@reddit

I love the rice boxes still to this day.

I couldn’t get into the noodle packs, they had a weird aftertaste to me but my taste buds are messed up.

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tenderHG@reddit

Just made a Knorr rice side for dinner and added some sliced up kielbasa sausage in it. It's a meal!

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OurHouse20@reddit

Those Knorr sides are so freaking good.

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elphaba00@reddit

My Gen Z kids love it when I make fettuccine alfredo with these. I also grill a chicken breast to make it a little “extra.” I said I can make it from better brands or attempt a more homemade flavor. Nope. They just want the Knorr’s

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Rin_thepixie@reddit

Yes! They're a great base for things too. Add some meat and some veg and you get a pretty good casserole.

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FishyFry84@reddit

No shame in the game, my dude!

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CindyBijouWho@reddit

Same here. Big fan of the Ronis in this house.

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reallyrealest@reddit

RIP Romano flavor.

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odin_the_wiggler@reddit

Just like Vanilla Ice

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LemurCat04@reddit

Chicken Rice-A-Roni is my go to when my Crohn’s Disease is kicking my ass or I just don’t feel like eating. And Pasta-Roni with air fried shake-and-bake chicken and steamed veg is dead-easy but very satisfying meal when you want to eat but don’t actually want to cook.

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Lazy_Mood_4080@reddit

Pasta Roni parmesan cheese!

Almost made some yesterday!

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tugonhiswinkie@reddit

Knorr noodle packets and rice packets are regulars in my reduced-budget diet. Betty Crocker au gratin potatoes are potato packets. I like carbs.

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ferminriii@reddit

Yeah, the Spanish rice one is still awesome.

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Bubbly_Excitement_71@reddit

Throw a can of black beans in and that’s a whole meal for like $3

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PIG20@reddit

They used to have buffalo flavored rice pack but I haven't seen it for a long time. I guess I could always just add some hot sauce but that flavor pack was one of my favorites.

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bh0@reddit

Same here. Regularly cook up some meat, throw in some pasta side for dinner. Quick & easy.

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Doublestack2411@reddit

Same, They're good cheap sides to have in a pinch. I really enjoy the rice packets, and the noodles I'll sometimes add chicken to them and make a meal out of it.

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Frecklefishpants@reddit

I've used them as a side too, but in my 20s this was the meal.

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Quinalla@reddit

Yes, make these often as sides or I will make it and add leftover meat, mustard, spices, etc. Delicious!

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FoppyRETURNS@reddit

I cooked a tuba tuna helper in my teenage years. I pretty much did everything by scratch in my 20s on.

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Awkwardpanda75@reddit

I can immediately remember the aftertaste of these.

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skyciel@reddit

Haha. I used to think I was cooking when I made these

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mprieur@reddit

Yummy

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neo_neanderthal@reddit

What is wrong with the good old grilled cheese sandwich?

I've probably cooked a thousand of those in my life.

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Best-Investigator261@reddit

All. The. Time. Side dish or main. Gained so much weight over 5 or so years 😕

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Global-Jury8810@reddit

Pasta Roni was my shit. Always the angel hair.

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Much-Switch-8244@reddit

Knorr Spanish Rice is still my absolute must-have comfort meal when I really need one. I mix in that cat food-esque canned chicken breast and some shredded Mexican cheese. 🤌

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twilightswimmer@reddit

Rice a Roni and Shake n Bake were always staples abs can still make a meal easy.

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Rodeoqueenyyc@reddit

Don’t forget the Hamburger Helper!!

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King_of_Lunch223@reddit

I'm in my 40s. The cheddar broccoli rice makes an appearance in my family's dinners at least once a week...

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Rodeoqueenyyc@reddit

It is the GOAT of these packets and a magical hangover cure. I once took it on vacation, age 31.

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MLDaffy@reddit

Cheddar Broccoli is the best! Prolly 2x a week here. 99 cents a pack maybe $1.29 if not on sale.

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UnluckyCardiologist9@reddit

I think that was my favorite.

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Inspi@reddit

Am 42, some of these, and the rice ones, still make regular appearances. We toss in meat and a veggie, making a casserole. We basically do that with everything. Fresh pasta, meat, sauce, veggie, done. Mac and Cheese, meat, veggie, done. Rice, onions, green peppers, sausage, sauce, done. Rinse and repeat with all sorts of ingredients, flavors, etc.

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Lightsabermetrics@reddit

I had these all the time as a snack in high school and as a cheap meal in my 20s. There's no way I could have that many carbs and that much sodium at once anymore.

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JudgeJuryEx78@reddit

So much Suddenly Salad.

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FormalDinner7@reddit

When I was 23 and moved out on my own I made a friend who was 9 years older than me, like a big sister who kind of mentored me in adulting. The first time she came to my apartment she was appalled. All I had in the fridge was a wheel of brie and the freezer a bottle of vodka. She was like, “Girl you can’t live like this.”

The next time she came to my place she showed up with a rug for the living room (❤️😂❤️), Rachel Ray’s first cookbook, and the ingredients for a dinner from it. Then she sat in my kitchen drinking wine and talking me through how to cook the meal. I’d never even heard of polenta before that day.

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moissan2nite@reddit

That’s the friend every 23-year-old needs!

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johnvalley86@reddit

You mean things that we Church/jazz up now in our 40s? Got at least four or five packs in the pantry right now

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MegaRadCoolDad@reddit

There was a time when i ate once a day, a can of chunky soup + boil in a bag rice

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fingerling-broccoli@reddit

These used to be Lipton right?

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Waste-Reflection-235@reddit (OP)

Yes.

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Tribe303@reddit

I've started eating them again because 1 pack is cheaper than a large potatoe FFS.

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PrincessSarahHippo@reddit

I'm shocked both at the price and your Dan Quayle spelling (jk). Sad that a freaking potato costs more, but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that the processed food is cheaper than the produce.

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Tribe303@reddit

Ugh! I used spellcheck too! 🤦

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RammyRimRonette@reddit

Anything from M&M meat shop. Usually Chicken Kiev and twice baked potatoes with whatever frozen vegetable I had.

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ezhammer@reddit

I can taste the chewy

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shakeyshake1@reddit

That plus a chicken breast cooked on a George Foreman grill were staple meals for me.

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PrincessSarahHippo@reddit

I had the tiny George Foreman and basically no idea how to cook when I moved out. I ate so much bland grilled chicken.

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shakeyshake1@reddit

Honestly I don’t remember putting anything on the chicken. Like I don’t even think I used salt and pepper!

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HotCharlie@reddit

Holy shit. Yes.

I remember many a sad bachelor meal, just like that. Bag of boneless/skinless in the freezer and a cupboard full of these things. Felt like I was adulting.

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shakeyshake1@reddit

I was honestly proud of myself for those meals though!

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HotCharlie@reddit

Ditto, buddy. Prior to that, it was Bar S hot dogs and Totino’s.

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shakeyshake1@reddit

I hate to admit it, but my first experience living alone, I was a college girl who wanted to lose weight so I lived exclusively on two Slim Fasts and a frozen Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice meal a day. The packet of noodles and a grilled chicken breast was a huge upgrade for me too.

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Mission_Fart9750@reddit

I just made the alfredo side tonight, with sautéed chicken and roasted broccoli. (40's, family of 3)

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mominmo2@reddit

Almost 42 and absolutely could still make this a meal! Now I kind of want to make it now. 😂

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discountcandyman@reddit

Hahaha or now as a 40yo!

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upnytonc@reddit

Too much sodium for me these days! But, yeah in my 20s I would eat stuff like this all the time. My favorite was eating an entire box of Kraft Mac n cheese.

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I_AM_DEATH-INCARNATE@reddit

I remember in my 20's, in my first apartment, buying Velveeta shells and cheese and an extra jar of orange cheese to add to it for extra cheesiness.

No surprise I ballooned to 280 lbs by the time I hit 30, I was too immature for that level of freedom I guess.

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PsionicKitten@reddit

Mac and cheese, Ramen, Pasta Sides, Hamburger Helper, and Taco Bell from my teens through 20s and early 30s probably is the reason I have high blood pressure now.

Fortunately, I've learned to reduce the sodium in my diet.

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Any-Jury3578@reddit

I made one the other night.

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AytumnRain@reddit

I ate a lot of green peppers, onions, and mushrooms mixed together and cooked in my 20's. I still do in my 40's.

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clouds_n_nine@reddit

No because early on I figured out that it was more cost effective to cook things from scratch.

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eastsydebiggs@reddit

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PrincessSarahHippo@reddit

No S.o.S.?

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RhubarbJam1@reddit

I loved the sour cream and chives one so much, it was a college staple. Used to order them from Canada before the tariffs. No more noodles for me 😩

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DireKnife@reddit

We’re sorry about that.

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RhubarbJam1@reddit

It’s not your guys fault, most of us are well aware of that.

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MLDaffy@reddit

Family just ate this tonight.... Are we not supposed to? 99 cents a pack.

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freezingprocess@reddit

I used to eat a lot of those in my early 20s.
By my mid-20s I learned how to cook (Thanks Alton Brown).
However, I have tried many times to replicate the Chicken Flavored noodles.
Sad to report that I haven't even got close.

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nirreskeya@reddit

These were common in my house growing up but after I moved out I phased them out pretty quickly. However I still eat a lot of Top Ramen, rice, and potatoes. I do recall a period in my twenties when I got Vigo Red Beans & Rice a lot after one friend brought some on a hiking trip, but I have also phased that out and just make it and similar meals from scratch these days. I made this version tonight.

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Soggy_Porpoise@reddit

What? No. Not then not now.

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jessek@reddit

I actually knew how to cook in my 20s. My mom taught me the basics and I also took home ec classes in school because you got to make food and the classes were mostly girls. Knowing how to sew is useful too.

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broke_fit_dad@reddit

That’s not Hungry Man nor Raman noodles.

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0sqs@reddit

I mean, dice a chicken breast or 2. Add some onions, and maybe some real broccoli…bada boom, real meal.

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R0botDreamz@reddit

Hamburger helper cheeseburger, stroganoff.

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FormidableMistress@reddit

I got scurvy from eating only ramen for months in my first apartment.

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CatsEqualLife@reddit

Easy mac in my dorm microwave topped with salsa. Chef’s kiss.

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seminarysmooth@reddit

I used these for camping.

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SpiritedSet6472@reddit

I'm glad most of the comments agree with me. I thought I was gonna have to fight about this. I have five grandchildren and I still use these sometimes. I'd say the difference between now and my 20's is that I'll serve a protein and a vegetable with it these days.

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UnluckyCardiologist9@reddit

I’ve always cooked “real” meals but not gonna lie. The cheddar broccoli rice was hella good. I totes would still have some but too much sodium makes my joints hurt like a mofo.

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theovermonkey@reddit

I used to meal prep with this stuff. Make some chicken and broccoli to add and have a meal for work.

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diypizza@reddit

I still love those pasta sides. The broccoli alfredo one is so good.

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Secret-Spinach-3314@reddit

I add bacon and frozen veggie mix to that and just cook it a little longer, it's soo good.

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Yo_momma_so_fat77@reddit

I add can tomatoe and smoked sausage !!

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diypizza@reddit

That sounds like a delicious combo, I am going to try that

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roadrunner_9@reddit

I just lived of off microwave popcorn.

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Yo_momma_so_fat77@reddit

The meals I cook in my 40’s. Hear me outs get the chicken flavor one. Are half can tomatoes. And then add fully cooked sliced smoked sausage. It’s sooooo good

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I_SAY_FUCK_A_LOT__@reddit

Same! Used to live on that shit since it was like $0.99. Add some broccoli or tuna. Nice little meal ya got there.

I could not eat that crap now. Too salty last time I tried it like 20yrs ago

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foxontherox@reddit

In my 20s, my amazing roommates introduced me to Zatarains.

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bohiti@reddit

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whyyoutwofour@reddit

Around here those are called "sidekicks" and I still make them for my family regularly.

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TobylovesPam@reddit

Sidekicks here too. And they used to be Lipton noodles and sauce!

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VampiricCuriosity@reddit

Still making this, one of the few tasty sides we can still afford, tastes like 90's comfort to me. Wish they still had "Chicken Tonight" sauces too!

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Brashear99@reddit

I still make these as a side dish regularly

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jtmann05@reddit

I still eat them from time to time as a quick side, but they don’t taste quite like they used to and the noodles are so fragile. They almost just coagulate into a single noodle mass if you actually follow package instructions. I think they may have even branded as Lipton when I had them as a kid and in college?

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cardie82@reddit

I used to babysit for a family that always had these on hand. I loved them but haven’t had them since I was 18.

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Whatchab@reddit

I take these for backpacking/camping food. They're not terrible (and they're light), even tho they have a lot of salt and other crap. I mix in dehydrated bean flakes and/or tuna because I am a monster.

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melodic-abalone-69@reddit

I'm eating a green giant simply steam veggies pouch + tuna rn 😂

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huggyscolex@reddit

The mexican rice one with shredded cheese and diced hot dogs kept me going for some time in my 20s.

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ThisIsADaydream@reddit

We ate a good amount of aldi boxed stuffing and mashed potatoes....and, of course, ramen.

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DeltaFlyer0525@reddit

I ate so many of these as a starving college student and well into my twenties thanks to the Bush recession that the sight of them turns my stomach.

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CaydeTheCat@reddit

I still make these.

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-Bk7@reddit

Knorr products bring it with the msg(not sure if that's still the case, haven't purchased their products in awhile), chicken bullion powder was a fav of mine for cooking

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Elethuir@reddit

Yes I did that too

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WoodenWeather5931@reddit

This sub is crazy. I lived off those things lol

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burnafter3ading@reddit

I used to have these with rotisserie chicken

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Azcrul@reddit

Man the way the sauce looks on the noodles reminds me of Kraft Egg Noodle Dinners with the squared pasta and chicken flavored sauce. Was absolutely delicious. They had a cheese version that was my favorite as a kid too, and the only Kraft Dinner Classics I think is still around is the Tangy Italian Spaghetti Dinner, which remains a comfort meal

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Not_a_werecat@reddit

My grandma loved these.

They're not great, but sometimes I'll still make one just out of nostalgia.

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therealfetusfajitas@reddit

Too real.

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imhungry4321@reddit

Those Knorr sides are popular in the hiking / camping community. I can't eat that crap.... And I like Taco Bell!