Russian Food

21 Old Recipes That Worked Without Measuring

21 Old Recipes That Worked Without Measuring

Cooking did not always rely on spoons and scales to get it right. I think about that whenever a dish turns out right without checking a single number. These 21 meals and treats lean on memory, feel, and familiar ingredients instead of strict rules. They prove that good food often starts with trusting your hands.

21 Old Recipes That Worked Without Measuring
Amish Macaroni Salad. Photo credit: Upstate Ramblings.

Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie

Overhead view of apple pie with apples.
Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie. Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie bakes in about 75 minutes using apples, sugar, cinnamon, and flaky pastry. The flavor is bright with gentle spice and tender fruit. The filling comes together by feel more than precision. It is the kind of pie people learned by watching, not measuring.
Get the Recipe: Old-Fashioned Lattice Top Apple Pie

Homemade Gefilte Fish Recipe With Beet Chrein

Gefilte fish on plate with beet horseradish.
Homemade Gefilte Fish Recipe With Beet Chrein. Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Homemade Gefilte Fish Recipe With Beet Chrein simmers in about 90 minutes using ground fish, onions, carrots, and beets. The flavor is clean with gentle sweetness from the chrein. Seasoning is guided by taste instead of spoons. Recipes like this lived in people’s heads.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Gefilte Fish Recipe With Beet Chrein

Summery Caponata

A bowl of Caponata with diced eggplant, red bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and a basil garnish. A blue and white striped cloth is beside the bowl.
Summery Caponata. Photo credit: The Bite Stuff.

Summery Caponata cooks in about 45 minutes with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, capers, and vinegar. The taste balances sweet and savory without strict ratios. Each batch turns out a little different. That freedom is what made it last.
Get the Recipe: Summery Caponata

Traditional Colombian Patacones (Fried Green Plantains)

A white oval plate showcases several tostones topped with guacamole, diced tomatoes, sour cream, and cilantro, garnished with lime wedges. At the center of this family-style presentation is a small bowl of red salsa. An orange napkin lies underneath, begging for culinary attention and shared recipes.
Traditional Colombian Patacones (Fried Green Plantains). Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Traditional Colombian Patacones fry in about 25 minutes using green plantains and oil. The flavor is savory with crisp edges and soft centers. Thickness changes by hand. These were never about perfect measurements.
Get the Recipe: Traditional Colombian Patacones (Fried Green Plantains)

Carrot Casserole Souffle

A slice of sweet potato soufflé topped with powdered sugar on a black and white plate with a gold spoon.
Carrot Casserole Souffle. Photo credit: Thermocookery.

Carrot Casserole Souffle bakes in about 60 minutes using cooked carrots, eggs, sugar, and butter. The taste is lightly sweet with soft texture. The mixture is judged by look more than numbers. This is how family dishes survived.
Get the Recipe: Carrot Casserole Souffle

Chicken Colombian Tamales (Tamales Colombiano)

Colombian tamales on a plate.
Chicken Colombian Tamales (Tamales Colombiano). Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Chicken Colombian Tamales steam in about 2 hours with masa, chicken, potatoes, and vegetables. The flavor is rich with layers that build naturally. Filling is added by instinct. Recipes like this passed hand to hand.
Get the Recipe: Chicken Colombian Tamales (Tamales Colombiano)

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

A bowl of tomato soup with a spoon, served with two slices of toasted bread on a white plate; a halved tomato and a blue cloth are nearby.
Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese. Photo credit: The Bite Stuff.

Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese is ready in about 30 minutes using tomatoes, broth, bread, and cheese. The flavor is savory with creamy melt in every bite. Salt and spice are adjusted on the fly. This meal never needed a written rule.
Get the Recipe: Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

German Roasted Cauliflower With Curry Cashew Crust

A bowl of cauliflower gratin topped with nuts and herbs.
German Roasted Cauliflower With Curry Cashew Crust. Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

German Roasted Cauliflower With Curry Cashew Crust finishes in about 45 minutes with cauliflower, cashews, curry powder, and oil. The taste is warm with nutty crunch. Seasoning is done by sight and smell. That flexibility kept it alive.
Get the Recipe: German Roasted Cauliflower With Curry Cashew Crust

Cabbage and Sausage

A pan of cabbage and sausage garnished with fresh herbs.
Cabbage and Sausage. Photo credit: Real Balanced.

Cabbage and Sausage cooks in about 35 minutes using sausage, cabbage, onions, and garlic. The flavor is savory with gentle sweetness from the vegetables. Portions change based on what is in the fridge. Meals like this wrote themselves.
Get the Recipe: Cabbage and Sausage

Easy Chilli Con Carne

A bowl of chili topped with shredded cheese, diced avocado, and a dollop of sour cream, with a fork resting in the bowl. The food is served in a light green bowl on a green napkin.
Easy Chilli Con Carne. Photo credit: Thermocookery.

Easy Chilli Con Carne simmers in about 60 minutes with ground meat, beans, tomatoes, and spices. The taste is bold with steady warmth. Heat levels adjust naturally. This pot always turned out fine.
Get the Recipe: Easy Chilli Con Carne

My Grandmother’s Recipe for Carrot Casserole

A delightful slice of carrot cake with a dollop of whipped cream graces a decorative black and white plate. A fork rests invitingly on the cake while a white and blue cup peeks from the background, almost like the perfect ending to a recipe for an unforgettable carrot casserole.
My Grandmother’s Recipe for Carrot Casserole. Photo credit: Thermocookery.

My Grandmother’s Recipe for Carrot Casserole bakes in about 60 minutes using carrots, eggs, sugar, and butter. The flavor is soft and comforting. Amounts were rarely exact. This is how traditions stayed alive.
Get the Recipe: My Grandmother’s Recipe for Carrot Casserole

Classic Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe

A white bowl filled with clear chicken soup, containing pieces of chicken and garnished with a sprig of dill offers a modern twist on retro one-pot classics. The bowl is placed on a white plate with a slice of brown bread resting on the plate's edge. A metal spoon is in the bowl, and a gray napkin is partially visible.
Classic Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe. Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Classic Jewish Chicken Soup simmers in about 90 minutes using chicken, carrots, celery, dill, and onion. The taste is clean and soothing. Salt goes in slowly until it feels right. This soup was taught, not written.
Get the Recipe: Classic Jewish Chicken Soup Recipe

Easy Three Bean Salad

A glass bowl filled with a Three Bean Salad including kidney beans, chickpeas, green beans, and sliced red onion, with a wooden spoon and a striped cloth nearby.
Easy Three Bean Salad. Photo credit: The Bite Stuff.

Easy Three Bean Salad comes together in about 20 minutes using mixed beans, vinegar, sugar, and onion. The flavor balances sweet and tangy without strict ratios. Everyone tweaks it differently. That freedom made it stick.
Get the Recipe: Easy Three Bean Salad

My Grandma’s Russian Jewish Carrot Tzimmes

A white plate filled with cooked sliced carrots and prunes, with a fork on the side.
My Grandma’s Russian Jewish Carrot Tzimmes. Photo credit: At The Immigrants Table.

My Grandma’s Russian Jewish Carrot Tzimmes cooks in about 45 minutes with carrots, honey, raisins, and spices. The taste is sweet with gentle warmth. Sweetness is adjusted by feel. This is how family dishes survived generations.
Get the Recipe: My Grandma’s Russian Jewish Carrot Tzimmes

Ajiaco Colombiano (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup Recipe)

Bowl of chicken Ajiaco soup.
Ajiaco Colombiano (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup Recipe). Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Ajiaco Colombiano simmers in about 75 minutes using chicken, three kinds of potatoes, corn, and herbs. The flavor is hearty with creamy broth from the potatoes. Ingredients are added until it looks right. This soup lives on instinct.
Get the Recipe: Ajiaco Colombiano (Colombian Chicken and Potato Soup Recipe)

Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup

A white bowl of soup with a spoon and basil.
Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup. Photo credit: At the Immigrant’s Table.

Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup cooks in about 90 minutes with white beans, onions, paprika, and tomatoes. The taste is deep and savory. Spices go in by memory. This pot always found its balance.
Get the Recipe: Pasulj Serbian White Bean Soup

Bacon and Egg Salad

Egg salad on a piece of white bread.
Bacon and Egg Salad. Photo credit: Eggs All Ways.

Bacon and Egg Salad is ready in about 25 minutes using hard boiled eggs, bacon, mayonnaise, and mustard. The flavor is creamy with salty crunch. Measurements are rarely exact. People just know when it is right.
Get the Recipe: Bacon and Egg Salad

Jerusalem Kugel

A round baking dish with a brown baked dessert, partially served, sits on a marble countertop. A hand holds the dish with an orange cloth napkin nearby. A fork rests on a patterned plate with crumbs. Cinnamon sticks are scattered around, hinting at the delicious recipe for Jerusalem Kugel.
Jerusalem Kugel. Photo credit: At The Immigrants Table.

Jerusalem Kugel bakes in about 90 minutes using egg noodles, sugar, black pepper, and oil. The taste is sweet with a savory kick. Seasoning comes from habit. This dish never needed a scale.
Get the Recipe: Jerusalem Kugel

Crock Pot Pork Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

A bowl of shredded pot roast with baby potatoes and carrots, garnished with parsley, on a woven placemat.
Crock Pot Pork Roast with Potatoes and Carrots. Photo credit: Thermocookery.

Crock Pot Pork Roast with Potatoes and Carrots cooks in about 8 hours using pork, potatoes, carrots, and broth. The flavor is rich and steady. Ingredients go in based on what fits. It always turns out.
Get the Recipe: Crock Pot Pork Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Pecan Pie Fudge

Squares of nut fudge topped with pecans, stacked on a white plate.
Pecan Pie Fudge. Photo credit: Thermocookery.

Pecan Pie Fudge sets in about 2 hours using brown sugar, butter, cream, and chopped pecans. The taste is sweet with deep nutty notes. Texture is judged by look. This is the kind of treat that lived in people’s heads.
Get the Recipe: Pecan Pie Fudge

Amish Macaroni Salad

21 Old Recipes That Worked Without Measuring
Amish Macaroni Salad. Photo credit: Upstate Ramblings.

Amish Macaroni Salad is ready in about 30 minutes using pasta, eggs, pickles, mayonnaise, and sugar. The taste is creamy with a soft tang that adjusts easily. Portions rarely stay exact. This is the bowl that always came together from memory.
Get the Recipe: Amish Macaroni Salad

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