the revenge of jiffy cooking

Back in 2003, I looked at some of the divine dishes to be found in 1960s Better Homes & Gardens cookbooks due to be purged during Christmas housecleaning. I hung onto 1967's Jiffy Cooking for pure novelty value, as well as how much it reveals about its era.

Besides the dishes mentioned in the original entry, consider these for your next shindig. Shockingly, none of today's recipes involve frankfurters.


Canadian Bacon Stack Ups - layers of ginger-infused mashed sweet potatoes between slices of Canadian Bacon, topped with canned cranberry sauce. "...served with crisp relishes and asparagus spears make a picture-pretty dinner for the hungry family."

Dip A La Spaghetti - dry pasta sauce mix, sour cream and green pepper, recommended as a dip for "crisp vegetables" and Fritos.


Tamale Hero Sandwiches - canned tamales tossed on top of sub buns. The picture above is described as "An informal teen-age record party - teen-agers will devour the Tamale Hero Sandwiches, hot from the oven. What better partners than corn chips and pickle-sickles."

Repeat after me: pickle-sickles.

Possibly where my first roomie in university was inspired to make Chef Boyardee sandwiches (unheated ravioli straight out of the can, thrown onto dubious-looking bread).

Boston Beanwich - grilled cheese, but with added baked beans and crispy bacon. Voted Artery-Clogger of the Month by the American Medical Association, September 1967.

Quick Chicken Veronique - "Almost as simple as opening two cans"...the tins being prepackaged chicken a la king, mixed with wine and green grapes!

Yam and Sausage Skillet - "Orange-flavoured gelatin glazes and glamourizes this quick supper of Yam (canned) and Sausage (breakfast link) Skillet. And what it adds to the flavour!"


I dunno, you be the judge as to how glam this dish is.

Quicky Crullers - Pilsbury crescent rolls perforated, deep-fried, then glazed. Did Tim Horton's rediscover this recipe when they moved to pre-baked donuts?

Chef's Salad in a Roll - One should not deeply ponder the implications of this dish.


Chevron Rice Bake - "...features canned luncheon meat in a topnotch way! Clove-studded peaches add flair to the curry-rice mixture - perfect for serving to a group." Note this mishmash also includes eggs, frozen peas and cream of chicken soup. Unconfimed reports indicate the BH&G Test Kichen threw together a week's worth of leftovers for this one.

Scandinavian Sandwich - yes, the combination of Kraft singles, bologna, English muffins and canned green beans conjure Vikings, fjords, little mermaids, Ingmar Bergman and ABBA. The Vikings may have set fire to anyone offering this snack.

Devil's Chowder - consisting of cream of celery soup, creamed corn, deviled ham and milk, the only devilish connection I see is as a fake vomit mixture for a low-budget Satanic possession flick. - JB