My grandmother was able to get the Beet greens that grocers would twist off for their customers before they weighed the beets for purchase. Foraging was a great way to get food for hungry families during the era and this Dandelion Salad from Martha Stewart is a perfect way to try this. We ate our share of lettuce sandwiches with miracle whip. Also, I do one month worth of grocery shopping at a time. I just retired, so there is only two of us, but minus my pay is a big deal. Shape and fry up). I picked up 4 loaves and froze them. Usually just quoting the policy is sufficient to get the item price matched. 1930's Potato Soup and Biscuits from Everyday Foodie. Potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, onion, and cumin to flavorthem. Give these recipes from . But, once you stock you then only purchase items when they are on sale. can be a challenge. I never pay full price, I dont care if I stand there for 10 minutes with the line piling up, I am determined to find a coupon that works. To stop eating out, we take cheese and crackers or sandwich makings. It only takes a couple to go a long way. A small potato or other starch and a generous veggie portion. THREE meals out of ONE chicken! Popular dishes included chili, macaroni & cheese, soups, and creamed chicken on biscuits. Ida's Depression Goulash - Goulash is one of those foods that you can make a big pot and feed a LOT. Pasta is always our cheap go-to meal. 1.8 Great Depression Foods - Peanut Butter Stuffed Onions. A small meal during the 1930s, like the diners of the day often served, would have usually cost between 15 and 40 cents, depending on what you ordered and where the restaurant was located. They didnt sell it in the stores and you had to ask for it. Most of the kids in our classes in school, were from middle income homes, who got to eat well. Life is so good! We really enjoyed this when my mom fixed this dish too, not really sure of the recipe but it was prepared in the frying pan and had garlic. Im the owner and editor of Food Storage Moms. And honestly, I use turkey bacon because its cheaper! Eggs and milk (hormone free) are less at Aldis! I was really skimpy on the meat, but Ive always liked that ratio better. 1 1/2 cups flour. Now, this is a roast chicken you make from scratch, not the store-bought pre-cooked ones (which tend to be small). EatingWell - Danielle DeAngelis 8h. I was just reading one for oatmeal patties. Said it tasted like eggs so they ate it. From these, I substitute for chicken in many recipes. To save money while feeding 11 people we make chicken and noodles using turkey instead of chicken. Toast with mayo, sliced onion, pepper, and fried egg over medium. View Recipe. Sign me up to the Food Storage Moms newsletter! Sugar sandwiches - no, but sugar/cinnamon on toast is good. For us, that means buying beef by the 1/4 or 1/2, ordering from Zaycon Foods, using Bountiful Baskets-Co-op,grinding our own grains, and making yogurt when I remember to, and then remembering to freeze or eat leftovers so we arent throwing food away. red wine vinegar. I make noodles as a side dish often. Hot dogs and baked beans - staple at scout camp. The Dime Meal. I add wheat berries (homemade) to my spaghetti sauce and then cut the meat in 1/2 and no one notices. This meal costs less than $3 for four servings. Serving fresh bread and pickles with meals used to be very common. We are trying to use our leftovers before they have to be thrown out. Reuse, Reuse, Reuse. Ham Hocks & Beans - Not just a great Southern recipe but one that you can make on the cheap. One thing I recommend, if it is affordable, is to buy a small freezer. Pinterest is AWESOME for helping with recipes! 66. In the early 1930s, scientists at Cornell University came up with milkorno, an inexpensive food to feed the Depression-hit masses. Its still good either way. Top ramen omelet. Still pricey but so much better. We also CAN our own garden that we grow! You will notice that you begin to have extra money. 56. 11. I raise a steer a year. Using no special ingredients, this cake is delicious and cheap. That certainly doesnt go very far. This cake recipe from A Modern Homestead doesn't require milk or eggs and still has that delectable chocolate flavor. Another Depression-era meal was "creamed chip beef," according to . Linda. Talk about a stretch! This pie is a Hoosier tradition that dates back to the 1800s. Cut back on animal protein and we have a big garden. Then we eat all we can and can or freeze the rest. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the flour and quickly use a whisk to make a roux. 83. If I buy the name brand its a dollar more than the store brand and even less at WalMart. I spent just about $300 for the month of February, which comes to $10.71 per day. What do you think? It is made with a layer of sugar cream, followed by a layer of custard, and then topped with meringue if you wanted to get really fancy. Hope this helps! 1 can of soup with leftovers served 4-5. As each item rings up shell tell the checker the adjusted price, the checker keys it in, no big deal, takes hardly any extra time in line. Shoppers may want to study the price matching policy or even print it out before shopping. I love it! When you cook meats you often find fat at the bottom of the ban. It makes a pretty good taco, etc. My sisters and I would let the flour tortillas sit out and get hard. Two freezers and over 500 quarts (I stopped counting) we eat a lot of veggies so stir fry is big on the list. My grandmother made Top Ramen once a week for dinner with sliced boiled eggs. Alberta Rose. Pinterest is AWESOME for helping with recipes! I can get 10 lbs of potatoes for $2-3 at Aldi. For snacks, because we have grown children that are grazers we eat a ton of popcorn. We ate lots of beans and Mexican rice. Add cocoa and sugar to small pot. Can top with cheese. They didnt sell it in the stores and you had to ask for it. I cannot remember the last time we had ground beef. Ive learned how to cook. I remember when we were starving after not getting breakfast or lunch at school, we would come home on the bus, and make mayonnaise sandwiches because we were so hungry. Blessings to all of you! We actually ate a lot of beans when I was a kid because they were cheap. I love the term soup of the day!! Fried egg sandwich. I cant remember as a child ever going out to a restaurant. I roasted a turkey breast. These were featured in cookbooks and magazines of the time and promoted the use of cheap foods, often consisting of filling items like soups, noodles, and beans. Also, buy meat on sale, we bought 4 turkey s at Thanksgiving. Mix to form a batter. When I shop, I look for bargains. $4.00 savings! My sweeties standby recipe he calls goulash just elbow macaroni, seasoned hamburger, onion, and tomatoes. 36. I think the best way to save is to make more to spend less. Great ideas! I have bought a half gallon of OJ there for 50 cents and a FLAT of strawberries with nothing wrong with them for 2$ (0.25 a quart). We fill up on salads and 2-3 vegetable sides.Did you know you can make your own cheese using dry powdered milk? I love it! They foraged. Great comment! 1 large yellow onion, chopped. She finds amazing deals at some of these different stores. It is a complete meal and easy cleanup. Kool-Aid was cheap, simple to make, and easy to store. I cook some chicken. The best part I discovered is all I do is look at the menu in the morning to see what is on tap for dinner that night. Just freezing fresh foods, chopped, sliced or whatever means never letting it go bad. Yummy soups are always good because they are so filling, homemade tomato with saltines. 1 1/2 cups flour. Keeping enough food on the table for a family of seven (including three teenagers!) Check out NYT Cooking for the full recipe. This makes a roux. Also, weve found that some Walmart checkers dont really know how the policy works and may say no to price matching some items that should be OK. So many ways to make ends meet without being deprived of a good filling meal. "This is because they're rich in omega-3s . I also use the big oven app, it has a search function that allows you to put in an ingredient then it will pull recipes with that item. We do utilize an area butcher, buying packages from them periodically so we dont need to pay the higher prices at the local grocery. We put all sorts of methods into practice to save money some already mentioned others a little specific to our unique situation. 6. I was just talking to my cousin about this today. Beef and rice: From Laurie C. - Ground hamburger, mix in beef Rice a Roni, and add a can of corn. Split pea soup and lentil soups are all super cheap. It's not always kid friendly, but if you start them young or try deconstructing the salad and just giving piles of cut veggies with dip. A nice piece of cornbread on the side. Invite the family over. Fried rice (leftover rice cooked in bacon drippings with whatever veggies need using up). And you dont have to have a paper flyer or ad to prove the sale price! With all the comparisons between the current Recession and the Great Depression of the 1930s, it makes sense that we research Great Depression recipes.. Jobs are shaky and income uncertain for many people right now, so making the most of our household grocery . Hi Shelly, oh how wonderful your daughter is using this article!! I freeze everything I can, including bread, milk, pizza dough. There was only one "R" out of "reduce, reuse, and recycle" during the Depression, when anything you had in your possession could be pressed into duty for a completely different purpose at any time. Wacky Cake is something that came from this time era as well. From being enjoyed as a glass on its own, to making soups, biscuits, and pancakes, buttermilk has remained a staple in American cuisine for its merit and versatility. In Korean recipes, the meat is barbecued or fried or even parboiled and put in the mix with a daikon radish and an onion. They usually added whatever they had on hand: olive oil, hard-boiled eggs, cooked white beans, bacon bits, bacon grease, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Tastes like a burger patty somewhat). We raise all we can. Working to teach DH that leftovers are eaten not thrown out. 52. My dad loved bologna and fried spam. This mean is even better the next day! My friend made it yesterday, Im making it for dinner tonight! So it should come as no surprise that someone figured out how to take a few basic ingredients (cream of chicken soup, onion, butter, etc.) Times were tough in the 1930s and people had to be creative with the few ingredients they could find and afford. Pinch of salt. We eat what we want most of the time because we shop strategically. At that time, cooks measured ingredients in pinches, dashes and dibs. You can add a glaze on top, but this cake is divine on its own. Now, cover everything with a layer of sliced potatoes. Or frozen tubes of ground turkey/beef. They say healthier eating equates to less money spent on medical needs, so I am hoping there is truth to that. Down in Louisiana, there is a Creole version of the dish. If you have the time and want to really make your family feel special you could make a little jello and top it off with a small teaspoon of cool whip. Little greens, a slice of cucumber, few chopped onions, a small grape tomato, and a few carrot curls. Porridge for breakfast oats go a long way! It is appreciated. If you chose to use beans in this recipe, then you can add a can of beans on top of the carrots. I know, and prices just keep going up. Lots of beans, sometimes I have cornbread, or crackers. I add wheat berries (homemade) to my spaghetti sauce and then cut the meat in 1/2 and no one notices. 61. 57. My Mom and Dad grew up during The Great Depression. Lentil patties (lentils cooked until tender, mash up with seasoning and onion, shape and fry or bake. I'm really excited about this one because I actually grew up eating this Great Depression meal. My mother told us about depression meals she remembered and enjoyed growing up. So how do we serve a good meal and save? I guess we are fortunate. A typical hot cocoa beverage from the depression era looked like this: 2 tbsp of cocoa. I am too. 29. I would advise anyone to buy an upright freezer and shop in bulk or even better contact a local farmer. Keep stirring until the mixture is cooked and smooth. I love to cook and can make something out of nothing and its almost always pretty damn good. 81. Yummy soups are always good because they are so filling, homemade tomato with saltines. Linda, cold,snowy day ,minus 1. Found whole chickens for 88 cents a pound and looked up how too cut them up ourselves. . For instance, I have to eat a particular brand of bread for a health problem I have. e are eating a ton of chicken and pork, cant afford beef muchI got a 3-4 lb pork loin on sale and got like 10 meals out of it (its just 2 of us) cut into chops and a small roast found an organic whole chicken cheaper than the regular, several. Navy Bean Soup. Check out some of the seventh day Adventist meals. The other day I reused an 810 manilla envelope. Bread making and canning were normal activities. Its normally $3.57 per loaf. Saving for us has more to do with how we shop than how we cook. My parents were born in 1920 and grew up very differently daddy was a rich boy with no problems but my mom grew up in the country with a garden and my grand doing handy work for people who needed his skills. Roll out and cut into similarly-sized shapes. Hot or cold baked beans on bread or toast. However, they had still had access to meats most of us would now consider offal. The only thing you need are apples, sugar, cinnamon, and some butter. In the stores, the cosmetic counters normally have samples of things. Meat mixed in gravy makes it go farther than chunks of roast for everyone. You can control the salt and other ingredients when you make your own. 72. I still make a lot of beans because they are high in fiber and protein and depending on how you make them, low in fat. This recipe jazzes them up a little bit. I buy a sack of potatoes and stretch it to make meals, etc. Now lets save some money! Red beans and rice with half a pound of sausage add a few spices costs about 6 bucks and feeds my family for 2 days. Hi! Wow! From deer to rabbits and all manner of fish and fowl. Favorite flavors were cherry, grape, lemonade, and tropical punch. Lets share ideas with each other. Shutterstock. If they expire that day or are pre-frozen I cook them and then freeze. This cake is simple and delicious. We keep 40 to 50 hens all the time and have eggs aplenty year around. Next serve a small portion of meat, not the large ones we have grown accustomed to. Cold air sinks, so every time you open that door, your freezer has to work that much harder to reestablish the temperature. I dehydrated my whole garlic crop in slices (other than the ones for replanting) and can use as is or grind up. Excellent article. A hand full of mixed veggies from the freezer and some seasoning along with some onion and a small part of the meat is good, or you can add noodles or barley. Hoover Stew Recipe; 8. 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