By Lee Scott
One rainy and chilly Sunday evening recently, I was enjoying a hot chicken and broccoli casserole dinner with my spouse.
After he was finished, he announced that my casserole was much better than “Ring Tum Ditty.”
“What in blazes is ‘Ring Tum Ditty?’ ” I asked, thinking he had just made it up.
“Check the Internet.” he suggested.
I did a search and sure enough, there were multiple recipes for Ring Tum Ditty. How had I never heard of it before? Let me educate those of you who have never heard of Ring Tum Ditty.
The recipe follows: Open a can of Campbell’s tomato soup and pour into sauce pan with a half can of milk (you never use a measuring cup when cooking with Campbell’s soup). Heat it up. Then chop up some of your favorite cheese (my mother-in-law would add Velveeta cheese) and melt it in the hot soup. Once the cheese melts, pour the soup over toast and serve.
Talk about an easy meal to prepare.
We then started to reveal other “favorites” our mothers would put together. My mother’s easy family dinner was called “Glop.”
This was made by browning a pound of ground beef in a frying pan and then adding a can of Campbell’s Onion Soup. It was then served over white bread. “Mmmmm, mmmm, good!”
Another dish his mother made was called “Momma’s Muck.” This delicious (sic) sounding dish consisted of pouring a can of Tomato Soup over browned meat and cooked noodles, topping it with cheese, and heating it for 15 minutes. I’m thinking 25 minutes from walking in the door to sitting down to dinner.
My personal “easy mom” dinners were different. I would come home from work and announce it was time for breakfast. Nobody ever complained about pancakes and sausages at the dinner table. Oh, there was the occasional can of Chef Boyardee Beef Ravioli too.
Let’s face it, we all need a break sometimes.
It seems like young families today do not have dinners like Ring Tum Ditty, Momma’s Muck or Glop anymore.
It is just as easy for them to stop at a fast food restaurant or order a pizza for dinner.
However, as it turns out I still find myself pulling out that old familiar red and white can. You see, the sauce in my chicken and broccoli casserole that night had been made using Campbell’s soups.
Our moms would have loved it.
