Fun recipes needed here to help feed a family when the money runs out

[liz stevens]

Please join me here in compiling inexpensive recipes for people who are struggling to help stretch the family food budget at the end of each month. Living of the land or living urban people everywhere are looking for ways to stretch the family food budget. Together we can all contribute and make the best online resource for the most cost effective yet fun recipes for people living hard times everywhere.

All of us at one time faced tough financial times, many are now facing the most challenging times since the Great Depression. During those times people discovered simple creative and inexpensive recipes to help stretch the family budget towards the end of the month. Some of these recipes have even become family favorites.

For example ham and beans helped many families survive the Great Depression and have since become a favorite for many households even now after several generations.

This topic came to mind as we were trying to figure out what to do with a big bowl of left over mash potatoes. We remembered growing up with fired potato patties, and decided to give them a try again. This is an easy inexpensive recipe that can help those still place a fun tasty dish on the table that the family will dig into and enjoy. It will defiantly be a regular again in our home.

Potato Pattie Recipe
2-cups Mash Potatoes
1-Small chopped onion
2-eggs
1/3-cup of flour
Add a dash of cheese if you would like, or chop a little ham or other left over item (cooked)
Mix and form patties
Fry in a light coating of oil until brown on each side.
Serve with a dab of sour cream

Another one of our fun meals is to hit the garden as the vegetables are winding down. Often there is just not enough of just one thing to make a meal, but a little greens, some cabbage, some corn, some okra, a few green beans, a carrot, a squash, add a little sausage and make a big pot of vegetable stew. It never seems to matter what you put in it always cooks up great. Serve with some corn bread, well it just doesn't get any better.

What recipes do you have to share here?

 

[lorieMN]

OMG! I havent had potatoe patties sense I was a kid,,thanks for bringing them back to me

 

[moolie]

OMG! I havent had potatoe patties sense I was a kid,,thanks for bringing them back to me

Me neither, and they were a total fave of mine when I was little! My Mom also used to make tuna/potato patties and we would eat them in buns with cheese/lettuce/mayo like hamburgers

 

[ORChick]

We had potato cakes just this evening - leftovers from Thanksgiving mixed with the leftover Brussels sprouts. DH proclaimed them a hit.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

I did that many years, as a Navy wife....struggling to feed the 3 kids when the ex was deployed. I used lots of rice, noodles, potatoes, cornmeal, the cheapest packs of meat at the store, and we lived on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. COLA was much better for us.
Anyhoo......good post. I have lots of good cheap and healthy recipes.

 

[BusyBlonde]

I make my own pasta - 2 cups flour, 3 eggs, a dash of salt - what could be easier and cheaper? The noodles are soooo much more tender that the store-bought ones for pennies a pound.

When I buy larger pieces of meat at the grocery store, I 'butcher' them at home to portion out what we will eat for a meal. Even the smaller scraps get saved and packaged for beef tips or stroganoff.

I make soup out of whatever veggies I have - anything can go in minestrone. I use the rinds from parmesan cheese to give the broth a richer flavor, just remove what's left of the rind before you serve it!

You can make a pot-pie out of leftover chicken, turkey, or roast beef and some veggies.

Those are off the top of my head for when we're trying to use up leftovers, or make our dollar stretch a bit. I'll post a couple recipes in a bit.

 

[Living the Simple Life]

At the end of the month, we had streeeetched foods....
1/2# hamburger with an egg, onion and sleeve of crushed saltine crackers mixed in. Form into patties and pan fry.
Fried potatoes and onions with a couple of beaten eggs mixed in, served with toast.
Boxed mac and cheese with a tiny bit of cooked hamburger and a can of mixed veggies (not a personal favorite
Tuna and LOTS of noodles
We also ate a lot of cornbread (fresh for dinner, warmed and served with milk over it for breakfast), biscuits and rice (wonderful warm with milk, sugar and cinnamon)

 

[GardenWeasel]

Hamburger gravy. My dad's mother's recipe adapted by my mom. We called it Gobblety-Goo. Fried hamburger and onions then sprinkled with as much flour as you needed to stretch with gravy. Canned green bean liquid, always green beans on the side, over mashed potatoes so you could use the potato water to extend the gravy. The gourmet secret was to serve raw onion with cider vinegar with salt and pepper in a bowl to spoon over it. My dad is passed but every time I make it I think of him and it is my DH and my favorite comfort food. My own invention is milk gravy with sausage, lima beans and hard boiled egg over whatever bread or biscuit I can find, odd but yummy.

 

[Gypsi]

Fluffed Franks.

Package of hot dogs.
Instant mashed potatoes (not sure how many - couple of cups?)
Mustard
Cheese if you want it.

preheat oven. 350 or thereabouts.
Make mashed potatoes
Split hot dogs most of the way lengthwise
put a line of mustard down center
Fill with mashed potatoes
Put a slice of cheese lengthwise, mostly buried in the potatoes.

Put in oven for about 15-20 minutes, until hot dogs are warm and cheese is melted.

I'd forgotten them, but my kids still make them. We were very poor when they were young.

 

[FarmerChick]

I made the potatoe cakes the other day for hubby for leftover mashed from T-day.

I don't even go that far with the ingredients. I add tad of salt/pepper and form into cake, very light dust of flour to help the crisp and fry very slow in butter. They are fab.


Soup as mentioned before is a great extender and filler. And darn near all combinations can be made from what you own.

Stew. Again this can be made with darn near anything, plus adding any beans is a good form of nutrition and filler.