Kraft macaroni and cheese and ice tea. Two different items, not combined. I think I was seven or so. I made what would today be considered sweet tea.
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this may sound a little bit strange (iām avoiding labeling my early food prep attempts as āwierdā at this time 
),
but my first things that i could reliably make for myself, and dear brother, was a version of Fritoā¢ pie taught to me by my papi:
Abuela Deltitaās Fritoā¢ corn chip āpieā
- one bag of original Fritoās brand corn chips
- one can of canned chilli, no beans
- one cup (cooked) white rice (as kids, we were very accustomed to Minute Rice instant rice)
- chopped onion
- grated cheddar cheese
- red chili hot sauce (my first was Louisiana hot sauce - like Frankās or Texas Peteās).
it was how it was plated that was so important, even to a 12yo kid and his little brother:
start with a big scoop of the steamed white rice in the middle of the plate.
follow with a solid ring of corn chips around that scoop.
pour the hot chilli (back then it was Wolf brand ātexasā chilli - we called it āwolfdog chilliā) over the chips, then smother in the chopped onions and cheese.
apply hot sauce to taste.
yes. this was something that i could - and did - make for DB and me when we were home alone and we ate it up!
our breakfast alternate was that same canned chilli (still no beans) on top of scrambled eggs, topped again with cheese and hot sauce and served with flour tortillas.
so, @kentkb , not exactly āSloppy Joesā, more sloppy Jefes, was our comfort food item that we learned to make for ourselves.
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Lemon zest cookies using lemons from our lemon tree, used to make those a lot as a kid which is amusing because as an adult i donāt like to bake but i was more enthusiastic about it as a kid. Though if i want to be totally honest the first thing i ever made as a kid was milk for cereal made from powdered milk, made it in a blender and was maybe 6yo? 
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My first full meal made by myself as a kid
The weekend breakfast:
2 eggs scrambled
Bacon in the microwave
Toast
My go-to weekday thing, toaster oven āgrilledā cheese sandwich.
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Cherry pie. Used the recipe on the back of the canned sour cherries to make pie filling, dumped in a frozen crust. But I did thaw and cut up a second frozen pie crust into strips to weave a lattice top.
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very grown up!
i love that both you and @Grey_Devil were bakers, first! Dear Brother loved to make cookies, as well (still does).
i did not find baking until i learned my first wifeās grandmotherās bread recipe, which informs me today.
ācan she bake a cherry pie/ with a dimple in her chinā¦/
sheās a young girl and cannot leave her mother.ā
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Probably chocolate chip cookies when I was 7 or so. I had been given an easy bake oven, and once mom saw how expensive it would be to keep buying the packages of cake mix for the thing I was taught how to make the real thing. By the time I was nine I could do bacon and eggs by myself, and it went on from there.
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I did greatly enjoy making baked goods, it was mostly cookies and little muffins (they were unfrosted so would not consider them cupcakes). But yeah, my adult brain enjoys cooking meals over baking. In fact tonight i made one of my fave easy recipes, i believe i have posted the recipe before but it was Taiwanese Sesame Noodles. Itās crazy easy to make.
As an aside, and speaking of cherry pies:
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I was the youngest kid, and my mom went back to work when I was in second grade. At first I had to stay at school for the lunch period and eat in the cafeteria. But by age nine or ten I was allowed to walk home and let myself into the house to fix my own lunch, and then walk back to school. I remember cooking hot dogs in a frying pan on the gas stove. For dessert I would have something called āShake-a Puddānāā instant pudding that came in individual packets, with disposable lidded cups to shake it up in, and which set up quickly.
The first thing I ever made from scratch for the whole family was Light-as-a-Feather Gingerbread, the same recipe that my mom used, from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, when I was ten years old. Itās my go-to recipe for gingerbread to this day. My family served it with whipped cream (not real whipped creamāsomething called Dream Whip) but as an adult I serve it with lemon sauce. Always a hit.
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Iām finding the answers to this question really interesting!
I cannot remember a time when I wasnāt cooking for the family, so I have no specific memory that can answer your question. But I will say that your question has made me realize I do the same thing now that the kids are grown and on their own that I used to do as a child: if I donāt HAVE to cook for others, I just cobble stuff together with as little cooking as possible. Didnāt have a microwave as a child or young adult, but even heating something up in one is more effort than I usually want to expend when I donāt have to. Iāll eat an avocado for dinner, say.
So, clearly I need to sit with that a bit to understand how I can value feeding myself well without triggering thoughts of it being work forced on me. Thanks for that glimmer into my psyche!
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I remember those commercials!
You know the drill: recipe, please.
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Maybe Iāll get my popcorn again?
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Thereās a real Private Equity feel about this.
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And the lemon sauce too please.
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I can understand the sentiment, i quite like cooking but often times the barrier that i face is just not having the mental energy to do it. Wish I had a good tip for working through it but I donāt lol. I am trying to be better about cooking more, but trying new recipes does often encourage me to cook.
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Homemade whole wheat tortillas. All that in the background is just leftovers, the tortillas were the star. Growing up, mom used butter and freshly ground whole wheat flour. In the humidity, I feel like olive oil works better and I have yet to spring for the stone flour mill. Maybe someday when I feel rich.
This is the first time I made a batch that I feel are as good as my momās. Woo hoo!
In case you would like to try, itās 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 tsp of salt, 1/4 cup of olive oil, and about 2/3 cup of water.
The dough is a little bit sticky, but shouldnāt be so sticky that it globs on the hands. Knead for about 5 minutes, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes under plastic wrap or a bowl. Knead again for a minute or two, and separate into 16 balls. I prefer them small.
Roll each one out thin, and cook on a hot (but not too hot) griddle. Flip when you can see a few nice large bubbles. Once flipped, and once the bubbles start to re-inflate, use the spatula to press just a little so the bubble spreads and makes a pocket. I hope Iām explaining that OK, itās not pressing all the way down, just manipulating the steam inside and sending it out from the original bubble. They do puff up better when they are more round, but they do not need to be round to be good. They donāt even need to puff to be good.
My childhood delight was momās tortillas with peanut butter and honey. Or, just honey 
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My pleasure! As you can see, theyāre not fancy. Since Iāve made a few minor tweaks over the years, Iāll type it up to reflect my own small changes.
Light-as-a-Feather Gingerbread
(Slightly modified from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, probably 1940s)
Ā½ cup boiling water
Ā½ cup unsalted butter
Ā½ cup light brown sugar
Ā½ cup light molasses
1 egg
1Ā½ cups flour
Ā¼ teaspoon salt
Ā½ teaspoon baking powder
Ā½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Grease and flour pan. Preheat oven to 350ā.
In a large heat-proof mixing bowl, pour boiling water over butter. Add sugar and molasses; blend together. Add egg; beat well.
In a separate container, mix dry ingredients together; add to the wet mixture and beat until smooth.
8-inch square pan: bake 35 minutes
9-inch round pan: bake 35 minutes
9x5-inch loaf pan: bake 55 minutes
[The original recipe called for shortening rather than butter, Ā½ tsp salt, and only Ā¾ tsp each of ginger and cinnamon. And to bake it in a waxed-paper-lined pan.]
Lemon Sauce
Ā½ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
ā
teaspoon salt
ā
teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 cup boiling water
2 Tablespoons butter
1Ā½ Tablespoons lemon juice
In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch, salt, and nutmeg. Gradually stir in the boiling water and cook over low heat until thick and clear. Remove from heat. Add butter and lemon juice; stir in thoroughly.
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