Oh, yes I remember this too. And yes, I still do the same. I prefer buying bone-in beef roasts too because I turn them into stock. My Mom could turn a roast of pork into about 5 meals, none even slightly resembling the next!
What did your parents do for Budget Friendly Meals?
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Oh, yes I remember this too. And yes, I still do the same. I prefer buying bone-in beef roasts too because I turn them into stock. My Mom could turn a roast of pork into about 5 meals, none even slightly resembling the next!
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
My mom went through that phase too. I wish I had paid attention, you should see what they charge to put in a zipper! DH needed one and it was $17.00 I think! LOL!
I can sew on a button but after that I'm lost!
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My mom went through that phase too. I wish I had paid attention, you should see what they charge to put in a zipper! DH needed one and it was $17.00 I think! LOL!
I learned cooking, sewing, crochet, gardening and food shopping from my Mom. Too bad I wasn't able to grasp her lessons in knitting and house cleaning as well.
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
My mom had a green thumb too. I got skipped over on that one too. She taught me how to crochet too but you know what? I haven't done it in years and the last time I picked up some yarn it was like everything she ever taught me just went right out of my head.
Mom was also big on BOGO. If there was a buy one get one free, she was buying it. Doesn't matter what it was, she said she'd find a use for it.
Mom was also big on BOGO. If there was a buy one get one free, she was buying it. Doesn't matter what it was, she said she'd find a use for it.
That's too cute!
. I had a friend that always bought toothpaste when it was on sale - I'm talking up to 6 tubes at a time! When she got married I helped move her and we had a whole packing box full of unused toothpaste tubes. We allowed her four and took the rest to a food bank!
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
Was she older LP? My mom was an older mom and she was raised in the depression. That's why we always thought she did stuff like that. She must have had 10 cases of Pepsi on her sun porch when she passed. We still laugh about that. 1 little lady and tons of soda.
Dried beans made into bean soup was a staple,usually with fried potatoes /onions on the side.Lots of soups,potato,chili & beef veggie .Mom cooked everything from scratch, made her own noodles & we had chicken most every Sunday.Monday was chicken/noodle soup.We had beenie weenie (baked beans with hot dogs) & loved it.Creamed fresh peas with new potatoes,pot roast when on sale.She used canned milk on cereal & in mashed potatoes & all creamed dishes.
Salad fixings were had only in summer,fresh from Grma's garden.There wasn't room for storing canned food in our house.
As Dad used to say "We never had much money,but we had 4 kids & we all ate good"
Salad fixings were had only in summer,fresh from Grma's garden.There wasn't room for storing canned food in our house.
As Dad used to say "We never had much money,but we had 4 kids & we all ate good"
jabbur
Master Chef
Seeing the posts about overstocking, I just spent the weekend with my in-laws (in their 80's) getting them ready to move to an apartment near my brother-in-law. In the process, I came across about 15 boxes of cereal unopened. They already had about 6 boxes opened. Also had 10 cans of peaches. They are both children of the Depression too and save everything! It was amazing the stuff we came across in the basement.
ChrissyMc
Assistant Cook
I come from a large family, with 8 kids. My dad was a school teacher, and my mom didn't work outside the home when we were little. Now that I have a family of my own, I am amazed how she managed to feed us on so little money. It wasn't until recently, when I was going thru an old amish cookbook, that I realized most of the food we ate was amish/mennonite in origin. We live in Pennsylvania, where there is a large amish community. My grandparents grew up in that area, and I guess they learned to cook the same way.
To make the food last, my mom used to put a lot of meats in a cream sauce, which I hated,,,and still do, lol. Creamed chipped beef, creamed ground beef, and my about most hated dish ever, creamed hard boiled eggs. Most often they would be served over toast. She made eggs for dinner alot too, and spaghetti. Saturday was always soup...either vegetable or bean soup.
All 10 of us ate together. If you didn't like what was for dinner, that was just too bad. You ate it, or went without. I wish I had kept that up with my kids, lol.
Chrissy
To make the food last, my mom used to put a lot of meats in a cream sauce, which I hated,,,and still do, lol. Creamed chipped beef, creamed ground beef, and my about most hated dish ever, creamed hard boiled eggs. Most often they would be served over toast. She made eggs for dinner alot too, and spaghetti. Saturday was always soup...either vegetable or bean soup.
All 10 of us ate together. If you didn't like what was for dinner, that was just too bad. You ate it, or went without. I wish I had kept that up with my kids, lol.
Chrissy
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
Oh Chrissy! That reminds me of some friends of mine when I was growing up. There was 13 kids and then the parents. It AMAZED me the first time I went there for dinner. In our house mom would bake 1 chicken. Not there! It was more like 5, and my mom would boil a hand full of potatoes for mashing. There it was a 10 or 20# bag. (been so long I can't remember)
But it was the same as far as, if you don't like it, get a job and make your own or eat out.lol I was completely wiped out on the amount of gallons of milk they went through.
But it was the same as far as, if you don't like it, get a job and make your own or eat out.lol I was completely wiped out on the amount of gallons of milk they went through.
ChrissyMc
Assistant Cook
Milk! Don't get me started on milk, lol! I really thought that only rich people got to drink real milk, lol. It was my job to 'make' the milk. Half real whole milk, and half powdered instant milk. I was terrible at it, and could never get the lumps out. Nothing like lumpy milk, I always say, lol. I was also in charge of making ice tea, too. I just remember boiling a giant pot of water on the stove and throwing in the teabags. After it cooled, I added lemon juice and sugar. Again, I thought only rich people could have the instant kind, lol.
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
Yeah but you have to admit, those were the days.
I remember the short cuts and doing without somethings but never one time thought we were not like everyone else.
Used to think that homemade noodles were for poor people cause they couldn't afford to "buy". Same with chicken. One of my aunts had a ranch and she used to kill, pluck and fry a chicken all in one day. I felt sorry for her when I was little cause I always thought chickens came from Kroger and poor Auntie had to kill them herself.
(if I knew then what I know now) Her's was the best chicken I have ever ate.(eaten?) LOL.
Same with home grown tomatoes, and other vegs.
I remember the short cuts and doing without somethings but never one time thought we were not like everyone else.
Used to think that homemade noodles were for poor people cause they couldn't afford to "buy". Same with chicken. One of my aunts had a ranch and she used to kill, pluck and fry a chicken all in one day. I felt sorry for her when I was little cause I always thought chickens came from Kroger and poor Auntie had to kill them herself.
(if I knew then what I know now) Her's was the best chicken I have ever ate.(eaten?) LOL.
Same with home grown tomatoes, and other vegs.
Lets see..
Ham and Beans.. fried potatoes, grew vegetables, canned our own veggies, had a garden. Cooked roasts in stead of steaks. We happened to love peanut butter. You get creative.
My mom grew up during the depression.. she knew how to stretch food..
Ham and Beans.. fried potatoes, grew vegetables, canned our own veggies, had a garden. Cooked roasts in stead of steaks. We happened to love peanut butter. You get creative.
My mom grew up during the depression.. she knew how to stretch food..
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
Same with mine Jeff. She was just a kid but she learned from her mom.
Claire
Master Chef
You know, I think we should put in the years we're talking about. In my case it was the 60s. Dad was an Air Force sergeant with three daughters and one on the way. Mom helped the budget by taking care of other peoples' children. So the house was always, and I do mean always, full of children.
The reason I think that you need to tell what years we're talking about is that some foods aren't cheap now, that were then.
We ate so many dishes with ground beef you cannot imagine. One of my sisters hates ground beef to this very day. Daddy wasn't big on hamburgers. We'd eat spagetti with meat sauce, a casserole of hamburger layered with mashed potatoes and a can of creamed corn on top. When life was flush, mom would wrap a slice of bacon around a beef patty and we'd pretend it was "filet mignon". It was years before I had the real thing.
We ate a lot of chicken. Now we take for granted being able to get chicken parts that we like or don't. Mom would roast a chicken, or she'd prepare it and get dad to put it on what we (and everyone else we knew) called the barbecue pit. Mom would collect all of the chicken innerds and make a separate meal of them.
That meal was what I called Lizards and Gizzards. After a few chickens, Mom would pull the innards out of the freezer, boil them, then boil egg noodles in that broth, and toss in whatever veggies were on hand. I loved this meal.
While my sister hated ground beef, guess what? I hated hot dogs. And we had them in every form known to mankind.
On top of that, we were Catholic. Imagine, having to eat fish on Friday when it was pretty grotesque. Seriously, I love good fish, but many of the places we lived, good fish simply wasn't available. I hated fish, really hated it, until I was about 30 and had fish in Hawaii ... yes, I married a military man.
Hot dogs, hamburger (what we called ground beef then), and potatoes in every way, shape and form. Chicken ... not chicken breasts, the most over-rated piece of meat known to mankind, but entire chickens.
I don't think my younger sibs actually "get" the way we lived when I was a child. The food was good, but it was a lot of work for my mother, and I truly appreciate it now.
The reason I think that you need to tell what years we're talking about is that some foods aren't cheap now, that were then.
We ate so many dishes with ground beef you cannot imagine. One of my sisters hates ground beef to this very day. Daddy wasn't big on hamburgers. We'd eat spagetti with meat sauce, a casserole of hamburger layered with mashed potatoes and a can of creamed corn on top. When life was flush, mom would wrap a slice of bacon around a beef patty and we'd pretend it was "filet mignon". It was years before I had the real thing.
We ate a lot of chicken. Now we take for granted being able to get chicken parts that we like or don't. Mom would roast a chicken, or she'd prepare it and get dad to put it on what we (and everyone else we knew) called the barbecue pit. Mom would collect all of the chicken innerds and make a separate meal of them.
That meal was what I called Lizards and Gizzards. After a few chickens, Mom would pull the innards out of the freezer, boil them, then boil egg noodles in that broth, and toss in whatever veggies were on hand. I loved this meal.
While my sister hated ground beef, guess what? I hated hot dogs. And we had them in every form known to mankind.
On top of that, we were Catholic. Imagine, having to eat fish on Friday when it was pretty grotesque. Seriously, I love good fish, but many of the places we lived, good fish simply wasn't available. I hated fish, really hated it, until I was about 30 and had fish in Hawaii ... yes, I married a military man.
Hot dogs, hamburger (what we called ground beef then), and potatoes in every way, shape and form. Chicken ... not chicken breasts, the most over-rated piece of meat known to mankind, but entire chickens.
I don't think my younger sibs actually "get" the way we lived when I was a child. The food was good, but it was a lot of work for my mother, and I truly appreciate it now.
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
When we were at the grocery yesterday I even commented to DH that I couldn't believe what chicken was going for per pound compared to when I was a kid. Same with ground beef. Did see that whole turkeys were on sale for .88 cents per pound though.
ChrissyMc
Assistant Cook
I grew up in the late 60's. early 70's. We're Catholic too, so it was no meat on Fridays too. I still can't eat fish sticks, lol. I think besides turbot poached in a water/butter sauce, we had the dreaded creamed eggs. I don't have much recollection of chicken...mostly ground hamburger meat, which was creamed, in a brown sauce , or in a tomato sauce. Lot's of potatoes too. My mom was an excellent cook, and very creative. I just can't imagine how she fed 8 kids on a catholic school teachers salary.
My mom also sewed our clothes. I remember her making my bathing suits! Also, my winter coats, jackets, dresses. She'd have one pattern, and three of my sisters and I would have the same outfit in different colors. Then they would get handed down. She even made the prom gowns and my sisters wedding dress. I inherited her love of cooking and sewing, but not her energy, lol.
Chrissy
My mom also sewed our clothes. I remember her making my bathing suits! Also, my winter coats, jackets, dresses. She'd have one pattern, and three of my sisters and I would have the same outfit in different colors. Then they would get handed down. She even made the prom gowns and my sisters wedding dress. I inherited her love of cooking and sewing, but not her energy, lol.
Chrissy
Claire
Master Chef
Oh, when I was young, divorced, single myself and could barely make the paycheck cover the rent, my family (Mom, Dad, three sisters, and maybe a nephew) came to DC to visit. I was trying to figure out how to feed them a couple of meals. I lived in an efficiency apartment, so everyone knew that Mom & Dad would get the bed, everyone else on the floor. But food? My wise old boss (John Howard, God bless you wherever you are) told me to buy a turkey, Safeway had them on sale. I think for pennies a pound I fed us all. Even if you don't need it for the main meal, the sandwiches, soups, etc, are to die for. Mom did it when I was a kid, but it never occurred to me to do it aside from holidays. Mom always did a 20+ lb turkey for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, and always had a big chest freezer. So we ate Turkey Everything for months. And, I might add, loved every minute of it.
Claire
Master Chef
Oh, someone mentioned "milk". When we lived in Germany in the mid sixties, we drank milk as is described; half whole milk, half reconstituted dry skim milk. Chef Kathleen, I was astonished as you, only in reverse. I'd go to friends' homes and be astonished that their family could eat, well, four pork chops. One chicken. Most of the families I knew were in the same boat as we were (that is to say, a sergeant with three to five kids), but occasionally I'd have a friend whose father was (a) an officer, (b) a civilian, or (c) was an only child or one of two. The differences would startle me. Even to this day I can't imagine making ONLY enough food for that few people. I keep trying to learn to cook for two, but even after 28 years, I still tend to cook enough that someone could walk in the door and eat. I was surprised that some only cooked enough food for those who were there every day, no seconds. Another thing that astonished me as a child was desert. Desert, every supper. It was a beyond belief luxury. To this day, once again, I tend to forget about desert, and if it is to be potluck, I assign someone else the task. I didn't grow up with it, and when we did have it, it was a special treat, like for someone's birthday.
Claire
Master Chef
Another story you'll like. In the mid-60s the Air Force, in its infinite wisdom, decided my father should be a survival instructor. My dad is an architectural draftsman. But he did his duty, training young officers to survive in the desert of Nevada, when if they were downed in combat, they'd be in the jungles of Vietnam. You figure it out. BUt Daddy would come home Thursday afternoons, and take off to go back in the mountains on Saturday. Thursday night there was always a big, unfrosted (no sweet teeth in my family) cake and New England Boiled Dinner. Friday was our real treat night, so Mom said she had a military dispension and we never ate fish again on Fridays, except during lent. That night she and Daddy would go out dancing after we ate. But those boiled dinners were a bargain and I still love them on occaision.
