My grandma made this every week during hard times and we still request it at family dinners. The simplest ingredients create something so comforting.

This slow cooker 3-ingredient poor man oleo noodles recipe is straight out of the kind of hard-times cooking my grandma talked about—simple pantry staples turning into something everyone still asks for at family dinners. It’s nothing fancy: just wide egg noodles, margarine (oleo), and a little salty seasoning, but the way they slowly soak up that buttery flavor in the slow cooker makes them extra soft, silky, and nostalgic. This is the kind of comfort food you throw together on a busy workday and let it quietly do its thing while you handle everything else.

Serve these poor man oleo noodles straight from the slow cooker with a big spoon and let everyone help themselves. They’re perfect next to simple comfort foods like roast chicken, meatloaf, ham, or pan-fried pork chops, and they’re great with steamed or frozen veggies on the side. I also like to pile them into a bowl and top with a fried or soft-boiled egg for a super quick, budget-friendly dinner. A green salad or sliced cucumbers with vinegar helps balance the richness if you want something fresh on the table too.

Servings: 6

16 oz (1 pound) wide egg noodles, uncooked

Lightly grease the inside of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with a small dab of margarine to help keep the noodles from sticking.

Add the uncooked wide egg noodles to the slow cooker, spreading them out as evenly as you can. It’s okay if they’re a bit piled; they’ll soften and settle as they cook.

Scatter the chunks of margarine (oleo) evenly over the noodles so they can melt down and coat everything. Sprinkle the salt over the top.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid and set it to LOW. Cook for 1 hour, then open the lid and gently toss the noodles with a large spoon or tongs to help distribute the melted margarine and seasoning.

Continue cooking on LOW for another 30 to 60 minutes, stirring once or twice more, until the noodles are very tender, silky, and evenly coated in the melted margarine. The noodles should look glossy with a pale golden sheen.

Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a pinch more salt if needed. If the noodles seem too dry for your taste, stir in an extra tablespoon or two of margarine until they look nicely coated.

Switch the slow cooker to WARM and serve the noodles straight from the crock. Keep the lid on between servings to prevent them from drying out, and give a quick stir before each scoop to redistribute the buttery coating.

To keep the spirit of grandma’s budget-friendly recipe, I stick to three basic ingredients, but you can still tweak it a little while staying true to the idea. If you like a softer, almost dumpling-like texture, let the noodles go on LOW closer to the full 2 hours, stirring gently so they don’t break apart too much. For a slightly firmer bite, start checking around the 1-hour mark and turn the slow cooker to WARM as soon as they’re tender. If your slow cooker runs hot and the noodles start to stick, you can stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of hot water or broth at a time to loosen everything and help the margarine coat more evenly without burning. To stretch this dish for more people, serve it over mashed potatoes or rice for an ultra-comforting, carb-on-carb plate—something my family did often when money was tight. For a tiny flavor boost that still feels old-fashioned, you can swap half of the salt for seasoned salt or add a pinch of black pepper. Food safety tips: Keep the slow cooker covered as much as possible while cooking so the noodles heat evenly and stay out of the temperature danger zone. Once the noodles are done, don’t leave them on the WARM setting for more than 2 hours; after serving, cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate them within 2 hours. Reheat leftovers thoroughly until steaming hot before eating, adding a small splash of water and a bit more margarine if they’ve dried out in the fridge.