Many of us have probably never made Amish scrapple—but once you’ve had it you’ll want it again and again. In essence, the meal is a kind of combination of sausage and biscuits and gravy, though it’s still completely its own. Best of all? It couldn’t be easier to make. This recipe comes from Mr. Food—here’s how you do it:

1/2 pound of ground pork breakfast sausage
1 3/4 cups of chicken broth
1 3/4 cups of milk
1 cup of cornmeal
1 teaspoon of ground poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
3 tablespoons of butter

1.Spray down a small loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Get out a skillet and cook your sausage over medium-high heat, stirring throughout. Cook for five to seven minutes and drain the excess fat.
3. Add your broth and milk and bring everything up to a boil.
4. Stir in the rest of your ingredients as well except for the butter and cook everything until it thickens.
5. Turn the heat down low, cover it and cook everything for 10 more minutes. Stir occasionally throughout.
6. When it’s done, pour the sausage mix into a loaf pan and let it cool.
7. Refrigerate it for two hours.
8. After that, turn it out onto a cutting board and cut it into one-inch pieces.
9. Finally, melt your butter in the skillet and fry the slices for eight to 10 minutes per side.
10. As a bonus step, keep the fat drippings, add flour and milk and make a gravy to serve with the slices!

Generally when we eat salisbury steak, it’s out of a frozen or pre-made package of some kind. Still, it’s a recipe that dates way to the early 1900s that still tastes incredible—and you can make it yourself pretty easily. Even though it tastes incredible when it’s all combined, it comes out of very simple ingredients. Here’s how you make it:

1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 pound of ground beef
1/3 cup of dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 beaten egg
2 teaspoons of chopped parsley
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/4 cup of milk
1 1/2 cups of mushrooms, sliced

1. Begin by mixing a quarter cup of your soup with your ground beef, bread crumb, onion, egg, fresh parsley, garlic powder and pepper in a large bowl.
2. When it’s well-mixed, press the mixture into small patties.
3. Spray down a skillet and bring it up to a medium-high heat, cooking the patties until they brown on each side.
4. Take them out of the skillet and drain the extra fat.
5. Next, mix the rest of your soup, milk and mushrooms in the same skillet.
6. Add the patties back in as well, turn the heat down, cover it and cook everything for 20 minutes. Turn the patties over occasionally to make sure they’re cooked through.
7. When they’re all done, add parsley and serve.

Potatoes are one of the most versatile cooking ingredients that we have at our disposal. Still, we don’t often use it as a base in a soup even though it works perfectly! Some of us have probably had a creamy soup like this at a restaurant, but this old-fashioned version is simple enough to make at home and has a nice mixture of textures and flavors. Here’s how you make it:

1 1/2 cups of diced onions
1/4 cup of butter
4 cups of diced potatoes
1 grated carrot
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon of dried dillweed
3 cups of milk
2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
1/4 cup of potato flakes

1. Get out a large saucepan and brown your onions in butter.
2. Add your potatoes, carrot, water, salt, pepper and dillweed as well.
3. Cook everything on low heat until the potatoes turn creamy (for about 45 minutes).
4. Stir in the milk and parsley and keep cooking until everything is heated through.
5. At the end, stir in your potato flakes and serve.

Corn may be second only to potatoes when it comes to America’s most popular vegetables. Once again, we have it on the cob or mixed into our mashed potatoes but not always in a soup. Still, corn soups are some of the most delicious soups there are—and this one is a great example. As always, this recipe is so easy to make and it ends up tasting delicious. Here’s how you make it:

2 tablespoons of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
2 cans of cream-style corn
1 1/2 cups of chopped chicken, cooked
1 can of evaporated milk
1 teaspoon of chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
8 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

1. Heat some butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add your onion, celery and red pepper and cook everything for six to eight minutes until everything turns tender.
3. Stir in your corn, chicken, milk, bouillon and pepper and heat everything through. Stir occasionally and don’t bring it to a boil.
4. Top everything with crumbled bacon and serve.

If you go out to eat, fresh biscuits or bread are more likely than not going to be a highlight of the menu. Still, we don’t often make them for ourselves at home even though they’re so simple to throw together. Although fresh biscuits are good no matter what, this old-fashioned version is just like something grandma might make. No matter the occasion, this recipe is sure to be one of your new favorites. Here’s how you make them:

2 cups of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
1/3 cup of shortening
2/3 cup of milk
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Cut in the shortening until the mixture turns the texture of coarse crumbs.
4. Add your milk and stir until everything is just moistened.
5. When it’s ready, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it eight to 10 times. Pat it down into a 10 by four inch rectangle.
6. Cut the rectangle in half and crossways to make 10 squares.
7. Put your squares one inch apart on a baking sheet, brushing the top of each one with butter.
8. Bake everything for eight to 10 minutes until they turn golden brown and serve.

If you like pancakes for breakfast, you owe it to yourself to try this Southern variant that dates all the way back to the Great Depression. In essence, these are fried cornbread in pancake form but served in the same way pancakes are. Needless to say, these are so easy to make and they end up tasting incredible. Here’s how you do it:

1/2 cup of self-rising white cornmeal
1/2 cup of self-rising flour
2 teaspoons of sugar
1/3 cup of buttermilk
1 egg
1/3 cup of water
2 tablespoons of melted fat or bacon grease
butter

1. In a large bowl, mix together all your dry ingredients.
2. Gradually add in your buttermilk before mixing in the egg.
3. Add water and fat and stir everything up again. By the end, the texture should be like thick soup.
4. Get out a skillet or griddle and heat it to medium-high, greasing it up with butter.
5. Fry your batter in it in two-tablespoon dollops. Fry them until they bubble and flip over, cooking to your liking.
6. Dry them off on paper towels and serve.

Due to the economic restrictions of the Great Depression era, home cooks had to get creative to make the ingredients they had stretch. One of the more deliciously inventive recipes from that time is this hot milk cake. Despite it’s simplicity, it has remained popular in some parts of the country due to its simplicity and great flavor. Here’s how you make it:

1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
powdered sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and adjust your oven so that there’s a rack in the middle position. Grease up a Bundt cake pan as well.
2. Melt your butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in milk and vanilla until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan.
3. In an electric mixer with a whisk attached, combine your eggs and sugar on medium-high for five minutes.
4. In a side bowl, sift together your flour, baking powder and salt.
5. When the eggs and sugar have tripled in volume, gradually add your hot milk mix, mixing on low.
6. Add your dry ingredients as well in two parts, mixing after each pour.
7. Pour the resulting batter into the Bundt pan and bake it for an hour, checking five minutes before the time is up. Be sure not to overcook!
8. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out to cool all the way. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Few things are as hearty and delicious as a well-made potato dish—and this one is no exception. Though potatoes are easy to make in many different forms, the additional step of cooking twice in this recipe makes all the difference. As always, it’s cheap and easy and ends up tasting incredible. Here’s how you make it:

8 potatoes, washed and dried
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of salt
3/4 pound of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cups of shredded cheddar
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
3/4 cup of sour cream
5-6 green onions, sliced
salt
pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub your potatoes with olive oil and salt before putting them on a baking sheet.
3. Bake them for 45 to 60 minutes, flipping them halfway through. They’re ready when they’re soft after being poked with a fork.
4. Cool them for 15 minutes before turning your oven down to 350.
5. Cut your potatoes into small chunks and put them in a bowl.
6. Stir in your mayonnaise and sour cream.
7. Set aside a third cup of cheese, three tablespoons of bacon and two tablespoons of sliced green onions. Once that’s done, stir the rest of your ingredients together.
8. Spoon everything into a greased baking dish and top it off with the ingredients you set aside.
9. Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes, taking the foil off for the last 10 minutes.
10. Top it with green onions when it’s done and serve.

To round out the few old-fashioned desserts on this list, we had to include this recipe for chocolate cake that Americans used to make during the Great Depression. What makes this recipe so unique is that it doesn’t use any butter, milk or eggs. Regardless, it still ends up tasting delicious. Here’s how you make it:

3 cups of flour
2 cups of cane sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
6 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
12 tablespoons of coconut oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of coffee
2 cups of room temperature water
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour two nine-inch cake rounds as well.
2. Combine your flour, sugar, salt, cocoa powder, baking soda and ginger in a mixing bowl, stirring everything up.
3. Add your melted coconut oil along with vanilla and lukewarm water, stirring everything up.
4. Add your coffee and apple cider vinegar, stirring it up to break up any lumps.
5. Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake them for 25 minutes.
6. Do the toothpick test when they’re done and enjoy! Add frosting as you wish.

Last but not least, this ham and bean soup is another classic dish that uses the simplest ingredients to the greatest effect. While everything you need to make this meal is probably already in your cupboard (or else cheap to buy at the local store), the end result is a stew that will definitely stick to your ribs and please the whole family. Here’s how you do it:

1 can of navy or cannellini beans
4 cups of chicken stock
4 cups of water
1-2 pound ham hock or ham bone
1-2 pound ham shank
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of dried thyme
1 teaspoon of dry mustard
1-2 teaspoons of black pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 bay leaves
4-6 bacon strips
hot sauce (optional)
chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)
corn bread (optional)

1. Heat two tablespoons of oil and two tablespoons of butter in a Dutch oven or stock pot.
2. Add your carrots, onions and celery and cook until tender.
3. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
4. Add everything else except the beans and bring it all to a boil.
5. Turn the temperature down to low and simmer it for an hour, stirring throughout.
6. Add your beans as well and bring everything to a boil.
7. Next, bring it down to low again and simmer it for two hours, stirring occasionally.
8. Take the meat off the bones and get rid of the bones. Add the meat back to the stock pot.
9. When you’re ready to serve, take out the bacon strips and bay leaves and top with cilantro, parsley or hot sauce!