Another one: gravy. Oxo is far, far better than ‘real’ homemade gravy.
Hmm…I’d say gourmands prefer steaks that have some bite to them, not the mushy stuff. That’s why a lot of foodies will prefer, say, a NY Strip steak (which has flavor and bite) to a filet mignon (which is relatively bland and overly tender). Don’t get me wrong–I like both cuts in certain contexts, but my experience is that the more foodie-types prefer the cuts you do.
I order my steaks medium or medium-well. Which utterly horrifies the foodies. 
OK, you’re on your own there. 
We don’t go as far as Hamburger Helper, but my family’s “stroganoff” recipe is a pound of hamburger, a couple cans of Campbell’s (condensed) cream of mushroom soup, and some sour cream. We usually also put sauteed garlic and spices into it, and sometimes worcestershire sauce, real meat, or real mushrooms, but never wine, which I think is a vital component to real stroganoff.
Kitty litter pizza! There’s some times when only that will do, although normally I prefer the Publix premium thin crust guys for frozen pizza.
And I know I’m supposed to prefer chicken thighs, but I just don’t. I don’t like them. I don’t like how they’re all weird-grained, and have gross parts in them, and all. I like breasts. I want them to taste like whatever I cooked them in. I also don’t like meat on the bone because it’s disgusting, and I know I’m supposed to like it better. So, not more expensive, but more “good”, but I prefer the crappy stuff.
Tacos.
A big chain supermarket sells menudo (a hispanic traditional tripe soup) in a big gaudy plastic tub that I like as much as my mother’s.
My mother’s menudo is very good and she puts a great deal of work into it. I have to say that this product doesn’t really fit the OP because it is not “gross,” it is actually pretty good. However, it appears as if it would be gross and I would be embarrassed and grilled if anyone I knew saw me buy it. "Mesquite, does your mother know that you are buying…uhg…that stuff?
I imagine that Hispanic people that I don’t know who see it in my cart probably think that I am either orphaned or have no taste.
psst- they make some giant sized tamales that aren’t bad either. Don’t tell my mom. She knows about the menudo, but not the tamales, yet
Of all threads to start out on, I have to be foolish and pick the wacko food fetish subject.
It’s 3:30 am and now all I want are some of those waxy chocolate doughnuts that were mentioned above.
sigh
PS
the tougher, more burnt, hockey puck like in texture, the better the steak.
Red is NOT dead in my book.
and oh yum tombstone pizza…
gah I’ll never sleep now!
Every now and then I just gotta get me a sack o’ sliders. Only thing is, I can only do so if Mrs. Wheelz is out of town; and nobody better get near me for the next 24 hours, for their own protection.
Still, I keep eating them, at least a couple times a year.
I prefer the queso dip made with Velveeta and a can of diced tomatoes and chilis over a dip made with real cheese and fresh veggies.
Slim Jims > real beef jerky
I’m with you on this one, plus I LOVE the gelled cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving. mmmm
Can shaped. :d
Canned tomatoes are used by professional chefs, because that way they’re not relying on the appearance of the fruit to tell how it tastes.
I’m with the spaghetti heathens - if I’m going to make spaghetti and red sauce, I’m better off with a jar of Newman’s Own than trying to make it from scratch. And then to top everything off, grated parmesan cheese with cellulose powder to prevent clumping. Not that I don’t use parmigiano reggiano quite often. But sometimes I just want tons of sauce, with mass-produced american parmesan granules to bind it to my spaghetti and make it salty.
Normally processed foods with preservatives and artificial flavorings taste weird and off to me. But when I tried my neighbor’s baked spaghetti, I thought it was fabulous - only to find that the key ingredient is Velveeta. I was surprised, but hey, if it tastes good, it tastes good!
ALDI’s coffee. It’s several$ less for a 39 oz. can than Folger’s or Maxwell House, has a slightly bitter note to its flavor like M.H., which I like, and a rich color,unlike the washed-out tan of Folger’s. The aroma is better than either IMHO.
I love the crumb ones, and my husband mocks me for eating them. When I was a kid there was a store brand packaged donuts that were “apple” flavored. I loved those and still miss them.
Every few years I want a poptart. Normally, if I want a danish I’ll go to a decent bakery and get one, but no danish makes the poptart cravng go away.
Boxed ma’n’cheese, but not Kraft, the store brand. And I will buy margerine ONLY for the purpose of making it, because the “realness” of butter somehow undermines the metallic goodness of the fake cheese flavor.
Yellow mustard. I really hate the brown stuff; the tiniest scrid of it will spoil a sandwich for me.
Miracle whip - especially for lobster salad. There, I said it.
And on the rare occaisions when I put sugar in my coffee I want Brown sugar.
This is absolutely a must at Thanksgiving. Not the stuff with the whole cranberry in it either, just plain gelitanized cranberry sauce in the shape of the can for slicing. I’m happy to experiment with peoples homemade sauce, just make sure you also have the canned stuff.