You know it’s 1976 when the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s cookbook includes a recipe called “Chicken Breasts Tricia Nixon.” There is nothing in the recipe that leads the reader to gather why it’s named after President Nixon’s daughter – no secret ingredients, nothing hidden. I never did attempt that recipe, but 37 years later, that book remains my resource for childhood comfort food.

Within this cookbook, on the dog-eared and tomato-paste-stained pages, are old hand-typed recipes reflecting a certain Nordic heritage. There are five recipes for lefse, and at least eight for fattigman, all matter-of-factly suggesting that the reader simply whip the lefse or fattigman iron out of the cupboard. If you are Norwegian, you probably already have a lefse grill. For those of you who don’t know what lefse is, imagine mashed potatoes and flour mixed together. Let’s talk about that another day, along with Marshmallow Delight, an iconic dessert consisting of sweetened condensed milk and chow mein noodles.

Besides that standard Swedish or Norwegian fare, a 1970s Lutheran Church cookbook will almost always have casserole recipes created from ground beef or chicken, rice, canned corn or peas, and dinner magic in a can: condensed cream of mushroom soup.

Here are two classics used by my mother, Penny Brewer, in 1976, Tater Tot Casserole and Shipwreck, followed by one of my own:

Tater Tot Casserole

2 pounds ground beef

1 can condensed milk

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 package of frozen Tater Tots

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 8-ounce cans mixed vegetables

Brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Pour the canned milk over the cooked beef and simmer 15 minutes. Pour into a casserole dish and add canned vegetables. Pour over all the condensed cream of mushroom soup and top with Tater Tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Folks, there’s just no way to class this dish up. It is what it is. Therein lies my childhood condensed into six ingredients and baked at 350.

Shipwreck (Mom’s version)

Mashed potatoes

Ground beef (cooked)

1-2 packages frozen corn

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mashed potatoes cooked in quantity to suit your family. Ground beef, cooked in quantity to suit your family. Cook frozen corn. Layer all in a glass casserole: potatoes, meat, corn, repeat. Top with cheese. Bake in oven until cheese melts. A real favorite with the kiddies.

And Mom was right. It was and still is a favorite for the young, young at heart and the grieving. I use my own version of her classic for children’s birthday dinners and to give to those I care for in times of loss and heartache.

Shipwreck (my version)

Garlic mashed potatoes: boil a dozen medium-size red potatoes along with whole, peeled garlic cloves, leaving on a bit of the potato skin for interest if that suits you. When done, drain off water and mash potatoes in the pan, alternating with a package of 1/3 less fat cream cheese and milk until a fluffy consistency has been achieved. Please don’t use an electric hand mixer. Just don’t. Use a hand masher. Trust me.

Season with your favorite stuff. Salt and pepper, truffle oil ... I’m into smoked Hungarian paprika right now.

Ground beef: I use at least a pound and a half of grass-fed ground beef, environmentally responsible and healthy, but that’s up to you. I start with onions sautéed in olive oil and then I add the ground beef.

Corn: You will want a bowl full of it. I like to cut white corn off a steamed cob. It tastes amazing and I admit to being a corn snob, but use whatever you want, canned, frozen or fresh.

Cheese: Tillamook vintage white extra-sharp cheddar cheese. Need I say more? Except that you’ll need to grate a lot of it.

Layer these four ingredients in a glass dish or bowl starting with the mashed potatoes and top with a layer of grated cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees until the cheese is bubbling and you cannot stand to wait another minute.

If you must, if it helps you mitigate the damage you may be doing to yourself with all that saturated fat and pure starch, serve with a kale salad. But you will see: One bite and you will feel better right away.

(Catherine Brewer is marketing director at the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader. She grew up in Port Angeles, and selected her mom’s Shipwreck as her special birthday meal.)