What did your parents do for Budget Friendly Meals?

[Addie]

Haven't had boiled dinner for ages. Mom used to make it a few times during the winter and family would just happen to show up!

My mom always used the smoked shoulder (ham) and dad always made a hash out of the leftovers the next day.

I hear that some use corned beef, but we never had it that way.

Neither did we. For St Paddy's Day in March all the barrooms make it with the corn beef.

I found an easy way to peel the turnips. Cut it in half at the equator. Then slice off the ends. The slice it into 1-2 inch slices. Peel the slices. Works like a charm. Just under the peel is a very thin light colored strip. That is very bitter. Peel just below that lighter strip.

Funny how a boiled dinner draws people in. If I was sitting on the front stoop with some friends, they could smell it cooking. All of a sudden they would want to go into my house and play cards or the piano. And it always happened just when dinner was ready. But there was always enough. My mother would always make Flannel Hash with the left overs.

 

[justplainbill]

I remember my ,mother telling me to never pay more than fifty cents a pound for meat. She would tell me that we could wait until it went on sale.

According to the USDA, the average prices for beef received by farmers per live weight pound went from 9 cents in 1941 to 22 cents in 1948 and 27 cents in 1970.
The cheaper retail cuts sold for about 4 times prices received by farmers.

 

[Kevin86]

My mom did pastas soups and stews a lot. I remember pasta 1 pound of hamburg half a bag of frozen veg 1 chopped onion and a can of spaghetti sauce or at grandmas it would be canned tomatoes and a can of brown beans. Fed 8 people no problem often with bread.

Now I do tree work which is often seasonal in Ontario. So I spend my busy seasons filling our chest freezer with fruit and veg in season in the fall I stock up on squash at $1 each you get a good deal.
We also split chicken and beef orders raised at my parents and pig from my sister.
So when I get laid if and money is tight I make sure there’s still good food on the table for my wife and I.
I take extra beef soup bones my sister doesn’t care to bother with them as well as the pork hocks they have 7 people per house we have 2 so hock pork and beans I take the time to make is just fine with us.

We love soups all sorts and can eat a pot for a week sometimes lol.
We usually make a roast start of the week and base our meals around the cooked meet and veg we have on hand.

I enjoy the task of taking the cheap, tough, overlooked, unwanted cuts and making something delicious out of them.

I started roasting my beef soup bones like pot roast makes a whole pot of soup but needs less stock to be added then stove top so easier to stretch out

 

[JustJoel]

My mom was not a chef. She was barely even a cook. I don’t think I ever even knew that veggies didn’t come from a can! Dad liked to broil steaks on special occasions, and loved to make chocolate chip pancakes for us on selected Sundays.

We were never “poor,” but my folks grew up during the depression, so they were always frugal when it came to food (or anything else). When I repatriated, though, with a lot of cooking under my belt (as they say), they were more than happy to fund my shopping trips and kitchen bacchanals.

The thing I remember most clearly is Mom serving up canned green beans doused in Bob’s Big Boy Rouquefort Dressing. That dressing was her go-to; she would dump it on anything we kids didn’t like.

Mom and Dad were the best parents a kid could ever want. I miss them both so very much. Every day. But neither of them were great in the kitchen!

 

[di reston]

My father was a very well-to-do attorney. Economy wasn't in his vocabulary. All that changed when I got married, but I was quite happy with what I had. I already had a keen interest in food and all that pertains to it. I'd also learned to do budget friendly dishes when I was there. It was great. I felt like a real human being. I immediately interested in cooking on a budget. I learned not to cook too much, to use cheaper cuts of meat, and all those things that I still practise. But the most important thing I learned was portian control. I've stayed that way ever since.

di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

 

[Steve Kroll]

My mom was not a chef. She was barely even a cook. I don’t think I ever even knew that veggies didn’t come from a can! Dad liked to broil steaks on special occasions, and loved to make chocolate chip pancakes for us on selected Sundays.

We were never “poor,” but my folks grew up during the depression, so they were always frugal when it came to food (or anything else). When I repatriated, though, with a lot of cooking under my belt (as they say), they were more than happy to fund my shopping trips and kitchen bacchanals.

The thing I remember most clearly is Mom serving up canned green beans doused in Bob’s Big Boy Rouquefort Dressing. That dressing was her go-to; she would dump it on anything we kids didn’t like.

Mom and Dad were the best parents a kid could ever want. I miss them both so very much. Every day. But neither of them were great in the kitchen!

This sounds so much like my childhood, I almost could've written it.

I grew up in the sixties. Both my parents worked full time, my mom as a schoolteacher, and dad a butcher at the local IGA store. Mom grew up in a family where her mother did all the cooking, but she decided early on that kind of life wasn't for her, and so she never really learned to cook. She knew how to open cans and boxes, so that's where a lot of our meals came.

Dad would sometimes bring home meat and other goodies from the store, but it was often odds and ends that they couldn't sell. I remember one time he brought home a huge slab of blue cheese. The store couldn't sell it because it had gotten a little too "blue." And so we had blue cheese on almost everything for the better part of two weeks. My brother and I still refer to this as dad's "blue period."

In the seventies, dad left his grocery job and went on the road as a farm supply salesman. He made pretty good money, but was gone for days at a time. He always made it home on weekends, though, which was when he did the cooking. We had a lot of grilled steaks and burgers then.

During the week, mom was busy teaching, and when she got home at night she was understandably tired, so we'd either go out to eat or order a pizza. This was when my brother and I both started learning to cook. Mom (and my grandmother, to some extent) showed us how to use the stove and cook a few basics. We picked up a lot from cookbooks and television, too. By the time I was around 15, I was making the grocery lists and doing most of the cooking during the week.

Although mom wasn't a great cook herself, I probably wouldn't have taken as much of an interest in it, had it not been for her.

 

[Vinylhanger]

Creamed tuna and peas on toast, or to use the vernacular Sh*t on a shingle.

I loved the stuff though. It wasnt until I was in my late 30's that I realized it was probably served during the slow times. I just thought it was a yummy treat.

 

[Kayelle]

My Mom and Dad, worked from home in their Mom & Pop grocery/meat market.
We often ate what Dad couldn't sell, such as dark steaks (yumm) and bottom of the box stemless grapes. We ate very well and they were good cooks, who did lots of crock pot type cooking on top of the stove, long before crock pots were invented. They were generous but frugal and Dad would often ask me if I knew how many loaves of bread he had to sell to buy what I wanted. Guilt trips unlimited. Truth told, they spoiled me to no end and were extraordinary parents.

 

[JustJoel]

Mom grew up in a family where her mother did all the cooking, but she decided early on that kind of life wasn't for her, and so she never really learned to cook. She knew how to open cans and boxes, so that's where a lot of our meals came.

My mom was raised mostly by her Bubbe, and she literally grew up in the kitchen. Her family kept strict kosher. So she had an old country Jewish grandma cooking for her (and feeding her), and she was never a fan of keeping kosher; “too much a fuss over nothing,” she’d say. Maybe that’s why she never really learned to cook. I never had the privilege of meeting my great grandmother, my mom’s Bubbe, but how I wish I could have spent some time with her, listening to her story, and eating her food! I was lucky to know Grandpa, though, but that’s a story for another forum!

 

[jd_1138]

My southern mom always made a huge pot of beans with a ham hock and a side of corn bread. Along with a vegetable on the side. Yummy.

 

[blissful]

Steve Kroll

Dad would sometimes bring home meat and other goodies from the store, but it was often odds and ends that they couldn't sell. I remember one time he brought home a huge slab of blue cheese. The store couldn't sell it because it had gotten a little too "blue." And so we had blue cheese on almost everything for the better part of two weeks. My brother and I still refer to this as dad's "blue period."

That really happens! Yours is a funny story.

Once I made blue cheese this year, and it's strong you know, really strong flavored. So even a couple lbs is a lot. The only way to stop the blue from growing is to vacuum pack it, the rest of it blues up and gets even stronger. Sometimes it gets a little overwhelming, so it is a cheese best shared!

My mom kind of liked cooking. She liked it best to cook when she could be creative, all different cuisines, different spices, different textures. Dad didn't like creative, he liked meat, potatoes, vegetable (not salad) and bread, that is it. Everything needed to be covered in butter.
She hated cooking when he was home. For many years he worked 2nd shift so that wasn't a problem but once he was back on 1st shift, we all suffered. She got depressed once he was on 1st shift but I helped slapping that crap on the table, and fast, then cleaning it up. (I'm not saying I don't enjoy a good steak or burger and salad either!)

So when I got married and cooked (like now), I just bought a husband that enjoyed the creativity part of cooking and because he was so nice about trying new things, I make him steaks and burgers and pizza too.

 

[Smokeydoke]

So when I got married and cooked (like now), I just bought a husband that enjoyed the creativity part of cooking and because he was so nice about trying new things, I make him steaks and burgers and pizza too.

 

[Smokeydoke]

I hope my husband likes my cooking and isn't just faking it so I'll cook all the time. That would be awful. LOL.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

Kevin, thanks for bumping this thread btw!

Budget Friendly Meals?

Growing up in Hawaii sounds like its all palm trees and puffy clouds ...
IT'S TOUGH! Life in general is very expensive there.

My younger sister and I were very fortunate in that the school
that we attended from Kindergarten through are Senior Year of
High School was not only a fabulous education paid for by the last
Princess of The Kamehameha dynasty, but we were fed a hot meal every school day.

At home, a typical breakfast was leftover steamed white rice (cold) with watered down powdered milk and some sugar over the top ("Eat it, there's starving children in China" was the mantra in our house )

Dinner at home was, like many others have mentioned, whatever Mom found on sale. Eggs were always cheap or free, but the one that I truly disliked was Watercress Soup
It was just a pot of water that Mom had boiled some cheap cut of meat to death in, and then add a handful of fresh Watercress from the nice family down the street. Lots of folks would share whatever extra produce they had from their gardens... you'd always see boxes of whatnot out front of peoples homes with a handmade sign, "Please take some". Mangos, Papayas, Lychee, Cucumbers, Greens, etc.

Oh, and ground Beef (who knew what cut it was ) was 25¢ per pound from the small butcher next to the Fire Station, I remember vividly! But I still enjoy ground Beef today.

 

[JustJoel]

Starving kids

At home, a typical breakfast was leftover steamed white rice (cold) with watered down powdered milk and some sugar over the top ("Eat it, there's starving children in China" was the mantra in our house )

Is there a parent in America who hasn’t used this line to get their kids to eat? And is there anyone in America who didn’t answer “Well, mail to them, then?”

 

[caseydog]

Is there a parent in America who hasn’t used this line to get their kids to eat? And is there anyone in America who didn’t answer “Well, mail to them, then?”

Yeah, I never understood how my cleaning my plate could possibly benefit a starving kid in China. Mom didn't much appreciate a kid challenging that logic.

CD

 

[RPCookin]

As far as I can recall, mostly Mom just made everything stretch for our family of 5. She would buy a whole chicken, part it out and fry it for one meal. Then leftovers would come back a couple of days later as chicken a la king or chicken croquettes. That was a whole chicken that cost less than $2 became at least 2 meals, and sometimes enough for a chicken sandwich for lunch one day too.

That was pretty typical. With leftover pot roast, an inexpensive cut to start out, some would come back as soup, some would be hash. 3 meals from one roast. A ham would be Sunday dinner, but would also be several ham sandwiches, ham and macaroni salad, scalloped potatoes with ham. Mom was an expert at getting the most of a cut of most meats, and that was typically the most costly part of the grocery bill.

I remember after my biological father deserted us (I was 9 years old) and in the 5 years before Mom married the man I came to love and call my father, we were living with my grandmother. Back in the 50's believe it or not, frozen breaded, fried shrimp was dirt cheap. We had deep fried shrimp a couple of times each month, both because it was good and because it was cheap. It always seemed like that was a special meal, but I also know that Mom only splurged for special days - holidays and birthdays. The rest of the time we ate quite comfortably, but we definitely were frugal.

Is there a parent in America who hasn’t used this line to get their kids to eat? And is there anyone in America who didn’t answer “Well, mail to them, then?”

Never had to worry about that with me. Anything that came near my face got sucked into the insatiable hole that was my mouth. I even ate the pap they served in the school cafeteria without complaining. When you don't have much, you don't refuse anything.

 

[buckytom]

I've been thinking about my answer to this one for quite a while now...

Lol, actually, I was lurker surfing and thought that this was a good read. So many great people have posted here.

Like Rock and Aunt B, my mom used to make crepes served with either jelly or butter and sugar about once or twice a month for dinner on Thursday nights. Two of my sisters and I were reminiscing recently about our "breakfast for dinner" nights, and how much we enjoyed them.
It never occured to my sisters that the reason we had crepes was that it was all our parents could afford before dad got his paycheck every other Friday. The fridge and pantry were almost empty, and they had to feed 6 of us. So mom learned to make fantastic, thin crepes on the smallest amount of flour, water, an egg, and salt. Then we'd fight over a jar of cheap grape jelly to fill them. Being the youngest I often got stuck with butter and sugar, or honey if I was lucky.

And somehow there was enough for all of us.

You know you had great parents when you grew up relatively poor, but didn't know it because of your parents love and sacrifice.

 

[emilymh2018]

Hotdishes are what I remember the most. I'm Minnesotan. The standard formula for a hotdish is protein of choice + a carb + a can of Campbell's Cream of soup + some canned or frozen mixed veggies. Specifics will depend upon the hotdish.

For example, chicken and rice is a pretty standard hotdish. So you cook a couple cups of the rice, add about 2 cups of diced chicken, the cream of mushroom/celery/chicken/whatever soup, and some veggies to make it sort of healthy. Then it goes into the oven. You could use brown rice instead of white or even wild rice, or a combo of brown + white if you really can't stand the flavor, and that would make it healthier also. Leftovers can easily be partitioned out and frozen.

I generally don't make hotdishes during the summer months, as baking in the oven will increase the heat in the room. They're a cool/cold weather food for me.

 

[Marlingardener]

My mother billed herself as a "great cook." Not.
I remember her barbecued chicken, which was a cut-up baked chicken drowned in Kraft barbecue sauce. She also made goulash, which was ground beef, elbow macaroni, and ketchup.

When I got out on my own and found small restaurants, I found out what I'd been missing all those years. I started to cook, with mixed results, but eventually hit my stride and now I am a true good cook (if you overlook the garlic shrimp dish I totally ruined!).