28 Nostalgic Latchkey Kids Reveal the First Meal They Learned to Cook Solo: 'That chicken cheese broccoli rice that came in a bag'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Sep 13, 2024 12:00 PM EDT

Kraft mac and cheese. 

That was the first meal I ever learned to cook on my own. Blue box in hand, water boiling on the stove, and the ingredients lined up on the countertop made me feel like a queen in my own kitchen, ruler of the spoon, and chef of my own life.

There's a certain empowerment to making your own meals, especially when you're a kid. Although many latchkey kids and Gen X survivors would admit that they always preferred a homemade meal from Mom, just knowing that you COULD feed yourself encouraged independence. So even if you were just microwaving a quesadilla, pouring soup over rice, or eating melted-cheese Doritos by the handful, you could survive our on your own if you wanted to–or had to because your parents worked late. 

Latchkey kids were sort of forced to learn how to cook simple meals at a young age because of this. However, as adults, we can all look fondly at the overly simple home-cooked meals we made when we were youngins, not because they were gourmet or memorable, but because those dishes unlock a core memory and take us on a trip down memory lane. 

Read on for some of the tried-and-true staples from elder millennials and Gen X kids who grew up on English muffin pizzas, canned meats, and Kraft products. 

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