I'm pretty sure the things in the middle were basically just Yorkshire Puddings, which would indeed be dull on their own but with the addition of gravy (and ideally roast beef) become God's own food.

Maybe she left out some ingredients she took for granted? I dunno, or it was all just bland ass food built off of post depression/WWII tastebuds. If her grandma was like my grandma, she was born in the depression, all the men in her family went to WWII, Korean War, she's a product of the Cold War, sons in Vietnam, and on and on -- she's had some rough first world problems shaping her from the get go. Poor ass family and then living off grandpa's Navy pay check.

So it may also be a way to make do with very little. My dad has some stories about my grandma feeding him some nasty concoctions and he declares spam no more. Grandma, despite having money now, still makes some gross ass food made out of random cheap things from the grocer. Campbell's + ANYTHING. Spam + ANYTHING. Saltine crackers, baby. That's the story of one of my grandma's at least.

They just made them wrong. Though that Campbell's Soup one was clearly a 'what can we make up to get people to buy more of our soup' variety.

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I usually eat that type of food since I can't chew due to my disabilities.