@@MoonFairy11 Those aren't even Whole Foods prices. Where do you live because that can't be in US dollars. I just bought 18 brown, cage free eggs at Sprouts for 5.99.
@@littleme3597 I have so far, harvested 30 pounds of potatoes out of 10" diameter(10" deep) pots. I still have some Russian Banana Fingerlings to harvest. Pots can work quite well(see Home Grown Veg here on TH-cam). Also, many in cities have a small yard. You'd be surprised what one can get out of a 5'x7' space. Some folks in the UK, who have no yard at all, seek out somebody with a yard and share fresh produce with them out of the garden planted.
Worked at a restaurant 3 years ago(still do new location) and an older, very older obviously homeless, or really down on luck guy, came in asking for a garbage plate. Now we a heat and eat place, as in I take the cold meat, cook it hot then and there, each order, so we don't have "scraps" we a small business, one location, very niche clients that love us. I didn't know what he meant, and he explained. I said no we didn't have anything like that, but I still ended up making him a hot dog for them, a pork sandwich for later, and since it was cold out I gave him a quart of our stew, a pint of slaw, a pint of beans, and then gave him some canned goods we haven't used. That man came back 5 days later and legit emptied his collection can into my tip jar, I refused, he refused, I gave him more food for weeks
You're a kind and compassionate person. God bless you. And thank you from me. Your kindness and generosity will come back to you in ways you will never expect.
Sounds good, it's like a cheesy tuna casserole. I moved my bro and mom into my house and found out how fussy they are. It sucks. They only like chicken pork and beef. No seafood, no spicy, no funky salty or gamey cheeses. One or the other doesn't like garlic, onions, mushrooms, peas, beets, cauliflower, asparagus, squash, radish.
Growing up our parent's schooled us kids how to get the most out of what you had from food to clothing. My brother, and when we got hungry would take all the leftover meats, potatoes, and added onion salt pepper, and fry it. Dad called it hobo hash. He went through 2 WWars, the great depression, and other challenges we never new anyone as smart, and clever than him. There will never be another greatest generation....
My grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and they used to eat a lot of this stuff! They were married for 68 years and died exactly one week apart from each other in 2015. I miss them dearly. They had the most incredible stories. My grandma’s neighborhood friend’s mother was a bootlegger in the 1920s. She told me about when her friend’s mom would hide them in the heating vent whenever the police would try to bust her or take bribes of booze. My grandpa was a ww2 veteran and had a wild life. They taught me so much about frugality and living and thriving through tough times. I was a teenager during the Great Recession and I think millennials and my grandparent’s generation have so much more in common with each other than people realize. Now that I have a family of my own, my wife and I are trying some of these depression era recipes to stretch our money a bit due to inflation. Thank you for this video!
This reminds me of my mom’s homemade soup! A couple of times a year, she fixed it for us when our dad went hunting for a weekend. When there were leftovers, she put them in cottage Cleese containers with lids, labeled them and put them in the freezer. If there was a turkey carcass, she wrapped it securely and put it in the freezer,along with any leftover meat. When she made soup, she would put soup bones ir bird carcasses in a big pot of water, along with whatever seasonings she started with. After stock started, she would add whatever meat was in the freezer. Then she went through kitchen cabinets, and throw in a handful of rice, a handful of spaghetti noodles broken up. Then she pulled all of the cartons from the freezer and added them. If she needed more bulk, she opened cans of vegetables and added them. Season to taste and enjoy. Served with cornbread or biscuits! Amazing!
We have a "garbage plate" at least once a week, eating up left overs any food we don't want to waste. They are a way of life to ensure we got the most out of our groceries. ONLY one drawback - darn hard to repeat a combo that tasted really good lol!
@@p1dru2art People had leftovers on purpose to stretch what they had. If you made a roast on Sunday, you made that meat last for three or four days. Stew, soup, adding ingredients from your garden or what was cheap at the shops. Potatoes, turnips, things like that when added to that meat, would make another meal. Women were constantly thinking of how to fill the stomachs of their husband and children and sometimes their parents, too.
@@m0r0ns20 make a roast on Sunday, then use the leftovers for sandwiches (Po boys), loaded baked potatoes, nachos, etc until you have used up the rest of the roast. If you have a lot of leftover roast, freeze some of it so you can have a quick meal later on in the week.
I’m from the greater rochester (NY, Rochester MN gets confused a lot) area, garbage plates are specific not as casual and NeVER heard of these other names, I’m not some 20-something or teenager I’m like 40. So yeah they need to get their stuff together.
I always knew that I was poor in the 1960's and 70's. I often ate grass, and acorns. My father who I always hated ate pork chops while I had grease gravy on a slice of white bread.
Almost every dish portrayed appeared on my paternal grandparents' table. Even though granddad had a good job, they took in several relatives who would have otherwise been homeless. Families taking care of other relatives was fairly common back then. Dad said that as many as six relatives boarded with my grandparents at any one time, so grandma had to be thrifty with the food budget.
64 now. When I was growing up my Hungarian grandmother lived with us. She was born in 1894. She used to make me really sticky rice with milk and spread it on a plate. She'd brown butter and have me make little wells all over the rice, then pour the butter in the wells. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I guess its just rice pudding but it still seems so much better than anything you'd buy.
@@christiansgrandma6812 I can't do hot dogs anymore. I worked in the convenience store industry for far too long (at a various stores that sold hot dogs) and got burned out on hot dogs. Sausage dogs (smoked sausage, that is) are what I use now in the place of hot dogs. Added bonus is that smoked sausage is way more versatile than hot dogs - just think about all of those Cajun/Creole foods (red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, etcetera).
We will soon be heading for our own depression era here in 2024 not only in the United States but in many other countries! Living on a Social Security check I have only enough money for a week and a half worth of groceries out of the month and even these meals that you’re showing are too expensive for me to put together! So many of us are struggling!
@@cheriehawthorne9246 Thank you for your kindness in that reply! I try to ignore some of these comments because people have no idea what goes on in the lives of other people and they just make ignorant remarks.
I'm 67 and can remember my grandmother taking potatoes, slicing then 1/4 inch thick and slicing onions, placing them in enough grease, lard or bacon grease to keep it from sticking to the pan, adding salt and pepper to taste and then smother frying them until tender. I still make it to this day. My grandmother was born in 1890, and her mother would make this dish. I love making sandwiches with it. Slap some mayo on sliced bread, add the potatoes and onions and you have some great comfort food.
@@sandrataylor3723 there was a lady that helped my granddaddy, then my uncle, on the farm. She made this quite frequently from what I understand. My mom made this when I was growing up, and then when my kids were growing up. We called them Barbara potatoes (because her name was Barbara). We also made french fries like she used to make.
I grew up eating cabbage stew. I cook it often. Only I start with boiling 3 to 4 chicken legs with skin, onions, garlic, and carrots boiling about 35 minutes before adding anything of your choice. I also added some cumin . The chicken legs make a wonderful stock.😊 If you have a couple very ripe tomatoes add that too, gives a refreshing taste or add a can of tomato sauce.
I make a cabbage dish, too. Ground turkey, onion, green pepper, chili powder, fresh garlic, red pepper paprika, tomato paste and washyoursister sauce. When that's simmering in the pan, I add mounds of sliced cabbage, turn off the heat and cover until it cools.
The narration is spot on for Description of the food but?One tip for you! Make sure the video accompanying the narration matches the foof being described for that time! Im 58 now and still eat lots of these food dishes! As a side note! Al Capone had Soup Kitchens!
Growing up poor in the 60s & 70s, I had a lot of rice. Often with some mushrooms or peas, sometimes with a small amount of ground beef and the grease from browning it for extra flavor. Or a box of chicken rice-a-roni, and instead of adding water, add a can of meatball soup with veggies. Still a good option for tight budgets. And of course, boxed mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs and frozen mixed veggies.
and I had a 1960 recipe for Spanish rice made with a small amount of ground beef, Heinz tomato sauce and instant rice. Ground beef cost 49 cents a pound.
My father and mother were children during the depression and they each had a very different experience. My dad's worst memory from the time was that growing up on a very small farm food was always scarce. He had one year that he told us about during which the only plentiful crops on the place were tomatoes. So for a full year he and his family ate tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cold tomatoes for breakfast, tomato and lard sandwiches for lunch, and hot tomato casseroles, fried tomatoes, etc for dinner. To the day he died he HATED tomatoes. Couldn't eat them, couldn't stand the smell of their cooking, and couldn't be around them. During the WWII he was the head of the kitchens for the entire Aleutian Islands campaign. His troops couldn't stand green beans, and canned soup. So he kept storing it whenever they got it sent to them. At the end of the campaign the US had taken Kiska and my dad said that they had a storm hit that lasted 2 weeks. It was the time of the salmon spawn. They ran out of food, so my dad organized teams soldiers to go out and take as many salmon as they could. They ate green beans and salmon breakfast lunch and dinner for 3 weeks until new supplies could be landed. My father could take a piece of fish and make any kind of meal that he wanted because of this experience. People do not understand the real meaning of being deprived and having the strengths to live through a time period that would test anyone. My mother had a brother who got polio and she and her mom took care of him night and day for 2 years. Times were truly tough back then.
hobo stews and garbage plates have been a regular part of our rotation for a while now lol, im also a big fan of simple things like beans tomatoes and bacon, goes great with a salad, season to taste
My dad spent 20 years in the Marine Corps, and they used to serve him SOS every weekend in the mess hall. he makes it at least twice a month in his retirement years. As a result, it's something I grew up eating. 😅
😂 my mom called that creamed or chipped beef. When she described it to me, I was like "Oh. SoS". She was quick to tell me that sh*t on a shingle was not a very appetizing name for it.😂😂😂
The depression era were also known as the Hungry 30"s, my parents told me. Both of my parents, aunts and uncles lived through those times.Seeing some of those meals,were even a luxury. I remember my mother saying they were lucky to have bread and butter on the table to eat,as well as potatoes, molasses was a big thing to have at that time too for either for dinner time or breakfast.Hard living and unfortunately we are seeing those hungry times again.😢😞So many people struggling to have food,as well as a roof over their head,it's pretty sad !
I'm 59 and grew up in the 70's and 80's here in Oklahoma but my parents, grandparents and other kinfolk had foods like this and they had gardens filled with vegetables for meals as well as fruit trees a lot of different meals especially during the depression era here in Oklahoma at the time another great look at great delicious meals from the past and as always thanks for the delicious memories.😋🥗🥘🍛🥗😋
@@robertagabor9128 That's what my great uncles said. I asked about the Depression and as far as food went, they saw no difference. Everything else was tight but they ate like kings due to them living on a farm.
As a kid we lived in a very small town by railroad tracks. I remember guys, one at a time only, coming for a plate of food. Mom never turned any away. With 4 kids it wasn’t fancy but it filled their bellies. I recognize many of the foods in this video.
Today I live on frozen baked French fries and bean soup. It's something I can afford and like. When I want a change, I eat pasta with chili beans and cheese. Canned fruit and veggies about 3 times a week.
@@saltator1802 Thank you. I very much agree with you and would love to oblige you. Fresh vegetables are much more expensive than canned so I have to get what I can. I'm blessed with the ones I'm able to get. 🙏❤️
You need to cook beans before adding tomatoes. If you cook beans & tomatoes together, the beans will stay tough. You can make mock apple pie using zucchini. If you peel the zucchini & add the right seasoning, you can't even tell it isn't apple. Zucchini is easy to grow. I bet a lot of people grew it back in the day.
We ate these up through the early 60s and we loved them! i still make some of them I'm 81. My daughter make poor mans soup for her children. They love it!
The first time I had Cold Milk Soup was in 1965 at my friends house. I was 8 years old. She fixed us a bowl. I remember liking it, but didn't know it had a name until now.
This is one of the most interesting of these "historic eating" videos I've seen in that just about every dish was unknown to me, and I'm 72! The idea of using dandelion greens is a gob smacker. Of the dishes mentioned, I'd heard of peanut butter mayo sandwiches but never tried them. And chipped beef was a household staple of my family because my father, a WWII veteran, had eaten lots of it while in service.
My grandfather worked as a tool-and-die maker for Caterpiller at that time, and was the last man working on the production floor, since the company execs figured that they would need to retool after the hard times were over. As a result, he and granny had as many as 30 relatives to cook for, and it was often only a plate of fried potatoes for everyone - but they did it anyway.
@@michelleboyle6497 My dads folks were from Terre Haute, moms family from around Casey Il. Our names are so close it just made me ask. Thanks Michael Boyll
@@attra91 Boyle is a very widespread name, it turns out, with roots in Scotland and Ireland. There are two noble houses by that name which were both in Ireland, no relation. There is also an Irish city called Boyle, from which some folks derive their name. My understanding is that it is the sixth most popular name in Ireland, much like Brown or Johnson. In a way we’re all related, of course, since we all got off the boat with Mr and Mrs Noah 😁
Cornstarch pudding is a popular dessert in Spanish homes it's very inexpensive and tasty. my grandmother also made us homemade ice cream by using the vintage ice trays. mixing milk sugar and vanilla pouring it in the trays and then once it froze we put a few squares on our plate and that was our ice cream
It really depended upon where someone lived. My mom was from the East Coast, and when she moved to the West Coast, was surprised at my dad's family who were in California's Bay Area, and worked crabbing and as gleaners for packing houses, so lots of canning done.
My grandma born 1884 and mom born 1912 even in the Fifties when they were no longer poor still made various stews and something they called slumgullion which was macaroni with tomato sauce or chili. Grandma served jello with fruit cocktail in it. They knew a dozen ways to make potatoes. And you better clean your plate, NO wasting food!
I’ve tried pb & banana before,maybe added honey I can’t remember. Once in awhile I’ll eat tomato & mayonnaise on toast. Can’t say we’ll have any electricity or water this time around. Definitely stock up on water-if you can get a rain barrel with a mosquito net. I have one which right now is an upside down table basically bc the ‘hose’ doesn’t work to get any water out,also I’m in a middle apt unit that doesn’t have a spout so I had to rely on rain to just make it in. I’ll have to get a new one one day-also a water purifier that’s of course non electric. Think of it like camping rather than relying on modern technology. Even if electric stays I’m unplugging my fridge & freezer,I don’t want anyone knowing I have enough food to run it,so stick to foods they don’t need it. You’d be very fortunate to find a home with a cellar & can insulate it to keep perishable foods cold. I wish I could take over my grandparents home (both have passed) but it needs so much work I wouldn’t be able to afford it. 😭
When I was growing up old folks would crumble their biscuits in their coffee and eat it with a spoon. My great aunt would make squirrel dumplings. I'm not brave enough to eat that😂
My parents grew up during the Great Depression. I've eaten these types of meals off and on all my life. I'm back to them now. One half lb ground beef, 1 package of frozen vegetables, 1 package gravy mix. Add water for gravy, salt and pepper. Serve over mashed potatoes.
Chipped beef on toast is still a staple in my family with mashed potatoes. If you do it correctly, it is actually good, and you can flavor it with whatever makes you happy.
@sandib4234 Yes, some have bad health internally, and some (a lot) are obese. Then, they turn to FDA approved weight management drugs or surgeries. They haven't figured out the healthy diet yet that doesn't consist of junk. The way our economy is looking, real food is getting harder or expensive to purchase. We have to keep putting in those gardens and preserving what survives with this constant crazy weather 😊🇺🇸
I grew up on many of these dishes, my parents having been raised in the Great Depression. Then I became a frugal college student, a frugal bachelor, a frugal teaveler, and now I'm a frugal old timer. Still practicing simplicity and good sense shopping. Gardening too.
My Dad kept a journal during the depression while riding the rails to find work. His meals for a day, if he was lucky was a half loaf of bread that someone gave him when they saw how hungry he was. Sometimes he split firewood for that bread. But bread is pretty much what got him through the day. My Mom mentioned crying she was so hungry. So these "recipes" seem pretty modern full meals compared to the Depression.
Friday night was ALWAYS soup night. Meat and veggies left over from the week. My favorite night of the week. I loved soup night...........I still love it. NEVER throw food away, MAKE SOUP!
My grandfather told me stories when he was a child that he came from Oklahoma to California in 1914 on a covered wagon with horses drawn it and they survived on beans and potatoes and the occasional rabbit😅
Well my mother's family was very poor. My grandfathers check for two 40 hour weeks in the mine came to 42.00 and in 1933 he was 78 years old. It was five years before he died and before Social Security; Though mom married my dad, a country doctor, her roots showed up in some of her favorite foods and snacks- like Miracle Whip ( no peanut butter) sandwiches. cheddar and onion sandwiches. Honey on toast, rice pudding with raisins. radish and butter sandwiches. She would hollow onions and steam them but fill them with cream cheese and sour cream with dill or paprika. Both my grandmothers were frugal cooks. My mother's mom was noted for her milk gravy that was a perfect pairing with the fried chicken from those that she raised. It flowed like velvet and always the hit at Thanksgiving. She wasn't above baking a racoon or possum for meat, My dad's mother also had her specialties. A soup made with chicken necks, backs, wings. and giblets with celery, onion and carrot, with barley for thickness known as Social Security soup, Dandelion salad has been a family tradition every spring. My youngest took some to school for "Show and Tell" and the kids loved it. She also canned tomatoes, green peppers, dilled green tomatoes. apples, spiced peaches, and home made antipasto. We also foraged for mushrooms like morels and hens of the wood, which she would either fry in butter and garlic, add to gravy, or can and fry in strips with bacon. We also scavenged hedgerows for blackberries and dewberries. and woods for hickory and walnuts. They made great additions to simple baked goods. Every year my great uncle Julius would get money from all the family for salami orders, He would then buy the pork and beef in the amounts ordered and paid for and in the fall he would show up with everyone's share ready for hanging in a cool , dry place-a pantry or unused closet. That salami would be eaten all year long
that's a great story, and I laughed about the 'social security soup'. Your people obviously had a great sense of humour. I'm from a similar background with grandparents and parents eking out a living in NZ. They used to forage, shoot rabbits, catch fish and generally prepare and eat a lot of things that are now unusual in today's world. I grew up at the tail end of it, but still enjoy these 'olde worlde' recipes. There was no assistance whatsoever back then. Often there was nothing much to buy. So you had to grow it, find it or shoot it yourself. And of course, after the 20's and 30's it got into the war years and there was rationing for anything was any good, or imported. So the 'depression' actually lasted for decades over here.
@@colonelfustercluck486 Well I live in Illinois coal country and the Depression lasted into the 60's for us. Our coal was used for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad and for home heating After the war the railroad completed dieselization and home heating went from the old coal furnaces that were a pain in the ass to maintain to electric. But it took awhile for electric companies to retool and provide for demand that brought coal back to life as a source of power to the electric plants. There is a story about :Social Security soup that was made when there was too much month left at the end of the money. Nona could be a bit of a con artist if she could save a dime and she didn't want to look lke she was asking for charity. So she told the butcher that she found a poor dog that was half starved and would like some scraps tp make it some broth. The butcher being generous would give her the necks and backs for free. Well it must have done the tirck because that dog lived for over 50 years on a diet of broth made from the necks and backs of chlckens provided at least once a month by a kindle but hardly gullible butcher. The thing was, my grandparents were hardly poor. My grandfather quit the coal mines before WWI and opened a bar for the dozens of miners that would stop for a beer and a shot before and after shift changes. He built a tavern with an apartment upstairs that is still in operation though no longer in the family and was able to three boys through college and graduate school, two in the midst of the Depression and Prohibition. But they never changed their frugal ways from the poverty they faced as youngsters. My mon's mother was genuinely poor though. My grandfather died in 1938 leaving only a small union pension for my grandmother. Since Social Security only went into effect in 1936, she got nothing from it. She lived in a four room house and raised chickens to survive, The house had running water but no bathroom but an outhouse, She had electricity but used her coal stove in the dining room for heat.
My dad's parents had 7 kids back in the 40's/50's, lots of country cooking and she made a meal that she referred to as 'poor man stew' but very different from the version in this video. It had few basic staples but would feed and fill the family and you can make a single, double or any serving amount you need. I'll share the recipe with ya's, if I may? __________________________________ 1 or 2 packs of bacon fried up and crunched in you hands (throw it in) 2 large cans whole stewed tomatoes (cut up to whatever sizes) - it has to be the whole stewed tomatoes or the flavor will not come out the same as chopped tomatoes in a can. 1 large onion chopped or diced box of boiled shell noodles, very al dente - drained (they will cook more as you heat everything) Half or more of plain white bread peeled apart in chunks and throw in (this absorbs most of the juice from the tomatoes and it's filling to eat) salt and pepper to taste OR no salt because the bacon has plenty. Your preference. (THIS RECIPE IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR ANYONE ON A SODIUM RESTRICTED OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DIET - unless you use low sodium bacon and no extra salt at all) Just slightly heat as your stirring it all together. _________________________________ This should feed a family of 4-6. Ma (dad's mom) would make a lot more to accommodate the family. You could also just do a small single can of stewed tomatoes for a single serving. It's a very forgiving recipe. Last time I made this was for my dad's birthday several years back and just thinking about it again, I think I might make some in the next week. You can eat it cold or heated up and it really tastes better the next day. Thank you for letting me share this with all of you.
In Dublin, Ireland many poor working class people grew up on Coddle. Its a stew made with chicken soup veg and any cheap meat you could get, usually sausages. Still very popular in parts of Dublin.
in NZ, we have a variant or two.... very similar... a chicken based thick soup/stew with your choice of veges, your choice of meat or sausages.... over, or with rice or potatoes. 2nd variant, fry onions and curry power first... then do your variation (above) to make the curried Chicken or Sausage with Vege's stew. It is a nice winter comfort food / filler upper.
I have actually had peanut butter and mayo.. Its interesting not quite my cup of tea but I can see why some like it.. Personally I like peanut butter and cream cheese on a bagel .. This combo is tasty and actually keep you full for quite some time.. This pared with a cup of tasty black coffee makes for a grate lunch or breakfast..I say lunch as I normally only eat dinner and lunch.. I'm Not ever hungry when I get up at 4am for breakfast so I skip it and have coffee instead.. Anyways this was some interesting recipes .. I may come back one day and give one or two of them a shot... Thank you for sharing this and creating this ..
My dad and grandparents told me all about that time but the most obvious clue was my meals growing up in the 50's and 60's with my dad in his parent's home after his divorce. Calf brain soup, Koudla (tripe in a sweet raisin sauce), liver and onions, beef organ stew, Ochenmalsalad ( thinly sliced beef tongue with red onion in a vinaigrette dressing) and liver dumpling soup. You know, I still enjoy them all today except for the Koudla.
I hate offal on principle, however there is one exception called 'Lambs Fry', which is thinly sliced liver (from lamb/sheep) with small squares of bacon..... then make a flour based sauce with whatever is left in the pan. The whole name of the recipe is "Lambs Fry n Bacon". This used to be common in Australian and NZ farms /ranches, before heading out for the day (a hard day). Full menu would be lambs fry with bacon, a fried or poached egg, maybe two, stewed tomatoes, maybe baked beans and toast. Tea or coffee. (And porridge or other cereals if wanted, with farm milk and/or cream) And a take away lunch and snacks to eat out there at lunch time. If you didn't work your arse off, that would be way too much food. You'd get fat. The young guys could eat at a seemingly competitive level, but not put weight on. They were as physically fit as you could get from hard work.
Mexicans have eaten weeds since prehispanic times. We call them quelites (Keh-lee-tays). These include flowes like zucchini blossoms, palm blossoms and many others.
Lots of folks here forage as well, they are just in the small minority. I grew up using wild foods as we found them especially picking berries. I do dandelions and other greens as well. Folks here are kinda inflexible when it comes to foraging. They won't eat what doesn't come from a store, apparently.
"Weeds" is one of the biggest lies we have been told about our food. Many of them are very healthy and they grow all over the place by themselves without us having to water them or tend to them in any way.
We ate PB & mayo sandwiches, PB & Kayro syrup sandwiches, and butter & sliced radish sandwiches. Also, if you were late to supper on hamburger night, you might have to eat a slice of bread covered with the grease from the hamburger skillet and your choice of toppings. Our version of Goulash was browned ground beef with canned tomatoes added...period. We had potatoes any which way...mashed, fried, deep fried, baked, and made into soup which Mom would sometimes add chunks of hot dogs or bulk bologna to. We were "poor," but happy. 😊
Young people that don't know how to cook better start learning some of these dishes because the day will come that they will not be able to afford doordash grubhub and Uber eats...
Tomato sauce with mashed potatoes, one of my comfort foods growing up in Maine. My dad made it for us. A bottle of spaghetti sause, chopped onions toss in thinly sliced hot dogs, and pour over mashed potatoes. Yummy! We also had mashed potatoes with tuna whipped in. Form it into a little mountain with a dollup of butter on top. I still eat these meals today. My wife is from the Philippines and she makes spaghetti with hotdogs. It was had to get used to, Philippine spaghetti is sweet. I asked why the hotdogs instead of meatballs, and she said beef and pork were to expensive for poor families. Hotdogs were cheaper for them. I've gotten used to it.
By the way did you know the word "" Hobo "" is a short form for "" HOmeward BOund "" as many of these men went far from home to find work and did not want to spend the little they had made on room and board as they made their way back home , rode the rails , slept outside and ate what simple meals they could make over a fire !
Snefflee, chip beef on toast, we grew up poor but my parents grew up in the depression my mom learned to cook with hardly nothing . They never let on that we had nothing
Sometimes I used to get prunes regularly and had them as a delicious snack or add them in recipes.I noticed prunes as far as I can take them and gave them in my shopping bag.Besides I like very much meatballs in tomato sauce with many side dishes myself.As someone who doesn’t know anything about living in the depression times and not from that too.
My grandmother made her own dog food at her farm , they had 5 dogs, she made cornmeal with milk, I guess like the milk corn 😂, plus she added some eggs, or she used broth and bones with oats instead. Whole Foods sells dandelion greens.
PB and mayo actually sounds good to me. When my husband was a Marine he invented tuna salad and PB sandwiches. I thought that sounded gross but it was pretty good!
@@constancefaulkner9002 On a dare, many years ago, I made just half of a peanut butter and mayo sandwich. It sounded gross to me, even though I love both peanut butter and mayo. But together? What? So I made the half sandwich. I reluctantly took a bite. It was so damn good I ended up eating the entire half of the sandwich, even though I was convinced I would probably take one bite and toss the rest of it out.
My dad cleaned out the fridge every Saturday while mom was in town shopping and doing laundry. Whatever was in there went into his stew. That was the only meal he ever cooked.
I still prefer these foods to modern foods, and there is no denying that folks back then were healthier than folks are now. We would all be better off if we went back to growing gardens and cooking simple meals from scratch, rather than living on fast food. Old timers used to say that dandelion greens thinned your blood after being stuck indoors all winter. Go figure, now we know that they contain Vitamin K, and they are one of the few sources of that vitamin. Vitamin K is necessary to use Vitamin D. Dandelions being one of the first greens available in spring, it would have given you a dose of Vitamin K just as the sun was getting high enough to start making Vitamin D. Keep in mind that for most people, these meals would have been eaten with homemade bread, not the white fluff full of chemicals that you are showing here. My grandmother always talked about being embarrassed to have thick slices of homemade bread in her lunch box, when the rich kids had store bought sliced bread, but that would have been a handful of kids in the school. Most of the country kids would have had those thick hearty slices, and were better nourished for it. There are plenty of other Depression era meals than these. Schnitz und knepp was a common weekly meal for my grandmother, which she hated but I kinda like. It was ham and dried apples stewed together, rather like ham and applesauce. Dutch turkey was another, which was stuffed and roasted pig stomach (sausage from the clean end of the casing).
Crepes were also popular, made with eggs for protein. Cracked eggs were cheap, and were the biggest source of protein for my ancestors during the 1930's.
My mom’s family made what they called “Garbage Stew”. Pinto beans made up the sauce and main ingredient. The rest was everything in the fridge that could be used. It never tasted the same way twice. But it used any leftovers and was cheap. Beans/rice/and the garbage from the fridge. Salt, pepper, chili spice, and any spice that tasted good. I make it even now. It’s basically chili with everything you have left over.
Let me update with knowledge from actual survivors of the great depression. My grandparents lives were so impacted by it, they continued to shop and cook similar foods for us kids into the 50s. I found out why we ate a lot of cabbage and grandma would get these soup bones from the butchers for pennies and cook them down till they disintegrated making broth she used in soups. My Irish grandpa would say I could always get my hand on a cabbage and survive.
What Great Depression dish sounds the best to you ?
@VintageLifestyleUSA Hey, just a heads up, you added the wrong clip for Cold Milk Soup.
Peanut butter mayo butt with banana.
Everything is so expensive now. We pay $12 for 18 eggs. A bag of onions $8. Today food has quadrupled in price.
Ffs it’s like that now
@@MoonFairy11 Those aren't even Whole Foods prices. Where do you live because that can't be in US dollars. I just bought 18 brown, cage free eggs at Sprouts for 5.99.
Watching this in 2024 to get an idea for meals to make because I can no longer afford my usual groceries...
Plant a garden. It will help feed you...
@@gregzeigler3850 Not everyone has ground. Not even containers work that well.
@@littleme3597 I have so far, harvested 30 pounds of potatoes out of 10" diameter(10" deep) pots. I still have some Russian Banana Fingerlings to harvest. Pots can work quite well(see Home Grown Veg here on TH-cam). Also, many in cities have a small yard. You'd be surprised what one can get out of a 5'x7' space. Some folks in the UK, who have no yard at all, seek out somebody with a yard and share fresh produce with them out of the garden planted.
I stopped at my local Mom & Pop deli to pick up a gallon of milk and decided to get a 12oz bottle of Hanks Birch Beer, came to almost $9 ...
Plants grow great in planters
The people of the depression era’s were such strong n resilient people. I admire them so much. 💜
and they were creative.
Another 4 yrs of the Biden adm. and we'll all have to be just as resilient! Maybe our grandchildren will sing our praises!
@@lorrainevassallo8168 I, like you, am scared it’s coming
@@lorrainevassallo8168 Funny, I have more money now than 4 years ago. What are you doing wrong?
@@ritagreene8376 I dont work for the government.
Worked at a restaurant 3 years ago(still do new location) and an older, very older obviously homeless, or really down on luck guy, came in asking for a garbage plate. Now we a heat and eat place, as in I take the cold meat, cook it hot then and there, each order, so we don't have "scraps" we a small business, one location, very niche clients that love us. I didn't know what he meant, and he explained. I said no we didn't have anything like that, but I still ended up making him a hot dog for them, a pork sandwich for later, and since it was cold out I gave him a quart of our stew, a pint of slaw, a pint of beans, and then gave him some canned goods we haven't used. That man came back 5 days later and legit emptied his collection can into my tip jar, I refused, he refused, I gave him more food for weeks
@@Gary-e4h What a dear, sweet soul you are! Storing up rewards in Heaven! God bless you always!
That was a beautiful gift you gave him. ❤
GOD BLESS YOU ❤
Thanks man!
You're a kind and compassionate person. God bless you. And thank you from me. Your kindness and generosity will come back to you in ways you will never expect.
I mix macaroni and cheese, tuna, and peas together. I learned this from my mom who was born during the Depression.
Sounds good, it's like a cheesy tuna casserole. I moved my bro and mom into my house and found out how fussy they are. It sucks. They only like chicken pork and beef. No seafood, no spicy, no funky salty or gamey cheeses. One or the other doesn't like garlic, onions, mushrooms, peas, beets, cauliflower, asparagus, squash, radish.
Couple fried eggs mixed in to the mac and cheese gives you that needed protein and tastes amazing
@@woodstream6137 😮
@@notsure2430 I use the tuna for protein, but I’ll try that.
Been making this my whole life lol
i wish there were more depression style cookbooks and cooking shows out there. as a poor guy these are a treasure for me.
Daniel..there are. MANY.
I remember one called Struggle Meals
Google WW2 Oatmeal Sausage Patties. Not too hard to make and tastes just like real meat! Several videos on YT how to make them.
Look up grandma Clara depression cooking channel.
VA has cookbook of inexpensive dishes. Look for free PDF.
Growing up our parent's schooled us kids how to get the most out of what you had from food to clothing. My brother, and when we got hungry would take all the leftover meats, potatoes, and added onion salt pepper, and fry it. Dad called it hobo hash. He went through 2 WWars, the great depression, and other challenges we never new anyone as smart, and clever than him. There will never be another greatest generation....
Amen to another greatest. My parents were that.
My grandparents grew up during the Great Depression and they used to eat a lot of this stuff! They were married for 68 years and died exactly one week apart from each other in 2015.
I miss them dearly. They had the most incredible stories. My grandma’s neighborhood friend’s mother was a bootlegger in the 1920s. She told me about when her friend’s mom would hide them in the heating vent whenever the police would try to bust her or take bribes of booze. My grandpa was a ww2 veteran and had a wild life.
They taught me so much about frugality and living and thriving through tough times. I was a teenager during the Great Recession and I think millennials and my grandparent’s generation have so much more in common with each other than people realize.
Now that I have a family of my own, my wife and I are trying some of these depression era recipes to stretch our money a bit due to inflation.
Thank you for this video!
My grandmother used to cook navy beans and homemade canned tomatoes in the 70s. It was really good and filling.
and pinto beans, fried potatoes and cabbage slaw....and cornbread.
This reminds me of my mom’s homemade soup! A couple of times a year, she fixed it for us when our dad went hunting for a weekend. When there were leftovers, she put them in cottage Cleese containers with lids, labeled them and put them in the freezer. If there was a turkey carcass, she wrapped it securely and put it in the freezer,along with any leftover meat. When she made soup, she would put soup bones ir bird carcasses in a big pot of water, along with whatever seasonings she started with. After stock started, she would add whatever meat was in the freezer. Then she went through kitchen cabinets, and throw in a handful of rice, a handful of spaghetti noodles broken up. Then she pulled all of the cartons from the freezer and added them. If she needed more bulk, she opened cans of vegetables and added them. Season to taste and enjoy. Served with cornbread or biscuits! Amazing!
We have a "garbage plate" at least once a week, eating up left overs any food we don't want to waste. They are a way of life to ensure we got the most out of our groceries. ONLY one drawback - darn hard to repeat a combo that tasted really good lol!
This video is stupid because in the depression people didn't have these ingredients and they sure as hell didn't have leftovers
@@p1dru2art People had leftovers on purpose to stretch what they had. If you made a roast on Sunday, you made that meat last for three or four days. Stew, soup, adding ingredients from your garden or what was cheap at the shops. Potatoes, turnips, things like that when added to that meat, would make another meal. Women were constantly thinking of how to fill the stomachs of their husband and children and sometimes their parents, too.
@@m0r0ns20 make a roast on Sunday, then use the leftovers for sandwiches (Po boys), loaded baked potatoes, nachos, etc until you have used up the rest of the roast. If you have a lot of leftover roast, freeze some of it so you can have a quick meal later on in the week.
I’m from the greater rochester (NY, Rochester MN gets confused a lot) area, garbage plates are specific not as casual and NeVER heard of these other names, I’m not some 20-something or teenager I’m like 40. So yeah they need to get their stuff together.
I use up leftovers each week as I combine them together and call it, "This n' That.
It never occurred to me that my family was so poor when I was growing up. I didn't realize it until I started watching TH-cam videos like this one.
when you're poor, and a depression happens, ya don't fall much at all.
I always knew that I was poor in the 1960's and 70's.
I often ate grass, and acorns.
My father who I always hated ate pork chops
while I had grease gravy on a slice of white bread.
I love dandelion greens! So healthy and delicious! What a great video I grew up in the 60’s so I remember some of these!
@@davidglenn6219 so sorry your childhood was like that.
I grew up eating a lot of these things and never felt poor because they were always filled with love
We all need to have this kind of knowledge. We're going to need it.
My depression ere happens every month. Particularly at the end of month.
😂😂😂I know what you mean.
Amen!
true
When at the end of your money there’s still a bit of month left.😅
"Hunger far but always near, End of Month we never fear!"
Almost every dish portrayed appeared on my paternal grandparents' table. Even though granddad had a good job, they took in several relatives who would have otherwise been homeless. Families taking care of other relatives was fairly common back then. Dad said that as many as six relatives boarded with my grandparents at any one time, so grandma had to be thrifty with the food budget.
Your Grandma was a heck of a woman as was mine, and everyone else who held it together during the Great Depression.
Back when ppl were poor and cared about others. Those days are gone
We ate these meals in the 50's when I was growing up. There was 7 of us and money was still no where to be found.
64 now. When I was growing up my Hungarian grandmother lived with us. She was born in 1894. She used to make me really sticky rice with milk and spread it on a plate. She'd brown butter and have me make little wells all over the rice, then pour the butter in the wells. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. I guess its just rice pudding but it still seems so much better than anything you'd buy.
Oh and under the sink was always washed and folded aluminum foil. 😁
Don't forget the scrambled eggs with rice, potatoes with onions, and if possible sausage or hot dog.
Hot dog and eggs are fucking amazing
@@christiansgrandma6812 I can't do hot dogs anymore. I worked in the convenience store industry for far too long (at a various stores that sold hot dogs) and got burned out on hot dogs. Sausage dogs (smoked sausage, that is) are what I use now in the place of hot dogs. Added bonus is that smoked sausage is way more versatile than hot dogs - just think about all of those Cajun/Creole foods (red beans and rice, gumbo, jambalaya, etcetera).
We did scrambled eggs and spaghetti with a side of applesauce
I still cook bean and tomatoes sauce it's yummy served on rice
@@constancefaulkner9002 The Cheddar Brats sold at Aldi are a weekly buy at our house.
We will soon be heading for our own depression era here in 2024 not only in the United States but in many other countries! Living on a Social Security check I have only enough money for a week and a half worth of groceries out of the month and even these meals that you’re showing are too expensive for me to put together!
So many of us are struggling!
Should have budgeted better
More reason to get out and vote Trump 2024!!!
@@sandib4234 Amen to that!!👍🏼🙏🇺🇸
@@brianfuller9565Please have a bit more empathy. His situation can happen to anyone at any time.
@@cheriehawthorne9246 Thank you for your kindness in that reply!
I try to ignore some of these comments because people have no idea what goes on in the lives of other people and they just make ignorant remarks.
I'm 67 and can remember my grandmother taking potatoes, slicing then 1/4 inch thick and slicing onions, placing them in enough grease, lard or bacon grease to keep it from sticking to the pan, adding salt and pepper to taste and then smother frying them until tender. I still make it to this day. My grandmother was born in 1890, and her mother would make this dish. I love making sandwiches with it. Slap some mayo on sliced bread, add the potatoes and onions and you have some great comfort food.
I made this last week. I love potatoes and onions cooked this way!
Man, that's some SERIOUS eatin' right there!
I started making this in college. My boyfriend at the time was impressed by my cooking skills. He still is. We call it Southside Potatoes.
I call them "raw fries" and make them all the time. One of my favorites!
@@sandrataylor3723 there was a lady that helped my granddaddy, then my uncle, on the farm. She made this quite frequently from what I understand. My mom made this when I was growing up, and then when my kids were growing up. We called them Barbara potatoes (because her name was Barbara). We also made french fries like she used to make.
I am from Rochester, the garbage plate here is ubiquitous. Love it!
once a week in my trailer =)
Aso poplar baked beans over brown bread, sometimes they would put hotdog slices in the beans.
My dad loved that!
Franks and beans!
Oh my 😊 such beautiful Channel and delicious food.... America 🇺🇸.... Greetings from Africa 🌍 Cairo Egypt River Nile ☪️❤️.... God Bless You 🙌 🙏
I grew up eating cabbage stew. I cook it often. Only I start with boiling 3 to 4 chicken legs with skin, onions, garlic, and carrots boiling about 35 minutes before adding anything of your choice. I also added some cumin . The chicken legs make a wonderful stock.😊 If you have a couple very ripe tomatoes add that too, gives a refreshing taste or add a can of tomato sauce.
I make a cabbage dish, too. Ground turkey, onion, green pepper, chili powder, fresh garlic, red pepper paprika, tomato paste and washyoursister sauce. When that's simmering in the pan, I add mounds of sliced cabbage, turn off the heat and cover until it cools.
The narration is spot on for Description of the food but?One tip for you! Make sure the video accompanying the narration matches the foof being described for that time! Im 58 now and still eat lots of these food dishes!
As a side note!
Al Capone had Soup Kitchens!
Growing up poor in the 60s & 70s, I had a lot of rice. Often with some mushrooms or peas, sometimes with a small amount of ground beef and the grease from browning it for extra flavor.
Or a box of chicken rice-a-roni, and instead of adding water, add a can of meatball soup with veggies. Still a good option for tight budgets.
And of course, boxed mac and cheese with cut up hot dogs and frozen mixed veggies.
oooooooooooooooo rice-a-roni, the san francisco treat
That grease from browning the meat makes the best gravy.
and I had a 1960 recipe for Spanish rice made with a small amount of ground beef, Heinz tomato sauce and instant rice. Ground beef cost 49 cents a pound.
My father and mother were children during the depression and they each had a very different experience. My dad's worst memory from the time was that growing up on a very small farm food was always scarce. He had one year that he told us about during which the only plentiful crops on the place were tomatoes. So for a full year he and his family ate tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cold tomatoes for breakfast, tomato and lard sandwiches for lunch, and hot tomato casseroles, fried tomatoes, etc for dinner. To the day he died he HATED tomatoes. Couldn't eat them, couldn't stand the smell of their cooking, and couldn't be around them. During the WWII he was the head of the kitchens for the entire Aleutian Islands campaign. His troops couldn't stand green beans, and canned soup. So he kept storing it whenever they got it sent to them. At the end of the campaign the US had taken Kiska and my dad said that they had a storm hit that lasted 2 weeks. It was the time of the salmon spawn. They ran out of food, so my dad organized teams soldiers to go out and take as many salmon as they could. They ate green beans and salmon breakfast lunch and dinner for 3 weeks until new supplies could be landed. My father could take a piece of fish and make any kind of meal that he wanted because of this experience. People do not understand the real meaning of being deprived and having the strengths to live through a time period that would test anyone. My mother had a brother who got polio and she and her mom took care of him night and day for 2 years. Times were truly tough back then.
hobo stews and garbage plates have been a regular part of our rotation for a while now lol, im also a big fan of simple things like beans tomatoes and bacon, goes great with a salad, season to taste
My dad spent 20 years in the Marine Corps, and they used to serve him SOS every weekend in the mess hall. he makes it at least twice a month in his retirement years. As a result, it's something I grew up eating. 😅
😂 my mom called that creamed or chipped beef. When she described it to me, I was like "Oh. SoS". She was quick to tell me that sh*t on a shingle was not a very appetizing name for it.😂😂😂
still like SOS decades later 🤣
I eat it SOS regularly but use ground beef instead of dried beef due to the high cost and salt content of the latter.
Love SOS!
I love SOS. It was my favorite food in the Air Force. I've talked to other vets and they all said the same thing.
Depression era stew reminds me of Stone Soup.
i watched that show =)
That was my first thought too!
I've always loved that story.
Thought no one ouse could rember
That.was a good teaching.
Of sharing and the out come of friends
Grilled Cheese sandwich was a depression sandwich. ❤
withy a bowl of tomato soup,
@@robertagabor9128 yes geat combination . it's my comfort dish
yes, I make these often. I like them and its not so expensive to make. Love a can of tomato soup with it, If I have it.
My grandma made bread pudding, just stale bread and raisins with a little cinnamon.
And milk I remember this.
@@explorer0213 yum!
The depression era were also known as the Hungry 30"s, my parents told me. Both of my parents, aunts and uncles lived through those times.Seeing some of those meals,were even a luxury. I remember my mother saying they were lucky to have bread and butter on the table to eat,as well as potatoes, molasses was a big thing to have at that time too for either for dinner time or breakfast.Hard living and unfortunately we are seeing those hungry times again.😢😞So many people struggling to have food,as well as a roof over their head,it's pretty sad !
hard living didn't mean we were sad, tho 🙂
@@JR-tr1df I didn't mean the people were sad,I meant the situation was sad,.
I'm 59 and grew up in the 70's and 80's here in Oklahoma but my parents, grandparents and other kinfolk had foods like this and they had gardens filled with vegetables for meals as well as fruit trees a lot of different meals especially during the depression era here in Oklahoma at the time
another great look at great delicious meals from the past and as always
thanks for the delicious memories.😋🥗🥘🍛🥗😋
People who lived on farms and areas where they could have a garden were very blessed.
@@robertagabor9128 That's what my great uncles said. I asked about the Depression and as far as food went, they saw no difference. Everything else was tight but they ate like kings due to them living on a farm.
As a kid we lived in a very small town by railroad tracks. I remember guys, one at a time only, coming for a plate of food. Mom never turned any away. With 4 kids it wasn’t fancy but it filled their bellies. I recognize many of the foods in this video.
Today I live on frozen baked French fries and bean soup. It's something I can afford and like. When I want a change, I eat pasta with chili beans and cheese. Canned fruit and veggies about 3 times a week.
I really think you need more fresh vegetables in your diet...
@@saltator1802 Thank you. I very much agree with you and would love to oblige you. Fresh vegetables are much more expensive than canned so I have to get what I can. I'm blessed with the ones I'm able to get. 🙏❤️
@@faegrrrlfrozen veg more nutrition than canned and no waste.
My great-grandfather never stopped loving crumbled saltines with sugar and milk. :/
My grandfather put it on vanilla ice cream when I was young. Kind of the same
and how about Uneeda crackers. I never see them anymore.
You need to cook beans before adding tomatoes. If you cook beans & tomatoes together, the beans will stay tough. You can make mock apple pie using zucchini. If you peel the zucchini & add the right seasoning, you can't even tell it isn't apple. Zucchini is easy to grow. I bet a lot of people grew it back in the day.
Now that sounds very interesting. Do you have the recipe?
We ate these up through the early 60s and we loved them! i still make some of them I'm 81. My daughter make poor mans soup for her children. They love it!
My Mom fed us Chipped beef on toast when I was growing up in the 50's. I still make it once and a while.
Every home had a garden in the depression,,,, my mother talked about tomato soup and a slice of homemade bread was served a lot
The first time I had Cold Milk Soup was in 1965 at my friends house. I was 8 years old.
She fixed us a bowl. I remember liking it, but didn't know it had a name until now.
This is one of the most interesting of these "historic eating" videos I've seen in that just about every dish was unknown to me, and I'm 72! The idea of using dandelion greens is a gob smacker. Of the dishes mentioned, I'd heard of peanut butter mayo sandwiches but never tried them. And chipped beef was a household staple of my family because my father, a WWII veteran, had eaten lots of it while in service.
some of those look pretty tasty, might make them and try them out....in the Great Depression and even now,,,do your best with what you do have
My grandfather worked as a tool-and-die maker for Caterpiller at that time, and was the last man working on the production floor, since the company execs figured that they would need to retool after the hard times were over. As a result, he and granny had as many as 30 relatives to cook for, and it was often only a plate of fried potatoes for everyone - but they did it anyway.
I have to ask, are you from Indiana?
@@attra91 No, sorry. They were living in Illinois
@@michelleboyle6497 My dads folks were from Terre Haute, moms family from around Casey Il. Our names are so close it just made me ask. Thanks Michael Boyll
@@attra91 Boyle is a very widespread name, it turns out, with roots in Scotland and Ireland. There are two noble houses by that name which were both in Ireland, no relation. There is also an Irish city called Boyle, from which some folks derive their name. My understanding is that it is the sixth most popular name in Ireland, much like Brown or Johnson. In a way we’re all related, of course, since we all got off the boat with Mr and Mrs Noah 😁
Cornstarch pudding is a popular dessert in Spanish homes it's very inexpensive and tasty. my grandmother also made us homemade ice cream by using the vintage ice trays. mixing milk sugar and vanilla pouring it in the trays and then once it froze we put a few squares on our plate and that was our ice cream
It really depended upon where someone lived. My mom was from the East Coast, and when she moved to the West Coast, was surprised at my dad's family who were in California's Bay Area, and worked crabbing and as gleaners for packing houses, so lots of canning done.
We don't have garbage plates in the midwest. Instead we have CORN. Clean Out Refrigerator Night. That's when we try to use all our leftovers.
Beans with hamhocks, cornbread. My grandmother liked both dandelion greens and would forage for both them and wild watercress.
My grandma born 1884 and mom born 1912 even in the Fifties when they were no longer poor still made various stews and something they called slumgullion which was macaroni with tomato sauce or chili. Grandma served jello with fruit cocktail in it. They knew a dozen ways to make potatoes. And you better clean your plate, NO wasting food!
Prune pudding, dandelion greens, mac n' cheese, creamed chipped beef on toast! Ate them all growing up.
I grew up eating creamed chipped beef and PB and mayo. It's excellent. I was born in 59. Grandparents lived thru the depression.
Love peanutbutter and mayo, but I add a leaf of lettuce.
@@sandytaylor3404 That's the way we did it too.
My mom used to fry up a big skillet of fried potatoes, onions, and chopped up hotdogs. She fed 6 kids with that
I’ve tried pb & banana before,maybe added honey I can’t remember.
Once in awhile I’ll eat tomato & mayonnaise on toast.
Can’t say we’ll have any electricity or water this time around. Definitely stock up on water-if you can get a rain barrel with a mosquito net. I have one which right now is an upside down table basically bc the ‘hose’ doesn’t work to get any water out,also I’m in a middle apt unit that doesn’t have a spout so I had to rely on rain to just make it in. I’ll have to get a new one one day-also a water purifier that’s of course non electric.
Think of it like camping rather than relying on modern technology. Even if electric stays I’m unplugging my fridge & freezer,I don’t want anyone knowing I have enough food to run it,so stick to foods they don’t need it. You’d be very fortunate to find a home with a cellar & can insulate it to keep perishable foods cold.
I wish I could take over my grandparents home (both have passed) but it needs so much work I wouldn’t be able to afford it. 😭
Mom said she had almost only potatoes cooked with whatever was available. Dad said he had crackers crumbled into coffee with milk for breakfast.
Yes this is reality of this era. Surely so many things for preparing a meals were missed...Cracker in Coffee for breakfast. That's how it was. 15:14 !
@@gerhildkähs Sounds like a version of hard tack. Anything to give some calories.
😟😦🥴
In the 1940s/50s ny Dad would sometimes have leftover potatoes for breakfast or leftover porridge for dinner
When I was growing up old folks would crumble their biscuits in their coffee and eat it with a spoon. My great aunt would make squirrel dumplings. I'm not brave enough to eat that😂
Bad times are coming, people will need to eat these food to survive again, the stock markets are really crazy.
Great scare tactics
😢
Plant a garden. It will help feed you...
Bad times are _always_ coming. Especially since the advent of youtube channel metric
@@semigoth299how is that a scare tactic . It's the truth.
My parents grew up during the Great Depression. I've eaten these types of meals off and on all my life. I'm back to them now.
One half lb ground beef, 1 package of frozen vegetables, 1 package gravy mix. Add water for gravy, salt and pepper. Serve over mashed potatoes.
This is uk cottage pie ground beef and onion with gravy mix mash potatoes on top.
Chipped beef on toast is still a staple in my family with mashed potatoes. If you do it correctly, it is actually good, and you can flavor it with whatever makes you happy.
made with a white sauce.
@robertagabor9128 Yes, that is why around here we call it dried meat and milk gravy
To be fair, lots of people eat trash and junk today. We never actually left the depression.
The junk of today's meals, we never ate...processed box or frozen meals didn't exist in my growing up years
To survive?
@@homegrown1015right and my Parents lived to be way up in their 90's, today's youths will be lucky if they live to be 40 because of their diets!
@sandib4234 Yes, some have bad health internally, and some (a lot) are obese. Then, they turn to FDA approved weight management drugs or surgeries. They haven't figured out the healthy diet yet that doesn't consist of junk. The way our economy is looking, real food is getting harder or expensive to purchase. We have to keep putting in those gardens and preserving what survives with this constant crazy weather 😊🇺🇸
Those days are here again
I grew up on many of these dishes, my parents having been raised in the Great Depression. Then I became a frugal college student, a frugal bachelor, a frugal teaveler, and now I'm a frugal old timer. Still practicing simplicity and good sense shopping. Gardening too.
Spaghetti "O"s in aspic, served cold with frankfurters and spinach? what a delightful treat ;)
My Dad kept a journal during the depression while riding the rails to find work. His meals for a day, if he was lucky was a half loaf of bread that someone gave him when they saw how hungry he was. Sometimes he split firewood for that bread. But bread is pretty much what got him through the day. My Mom mentioned crying she was so hungry.
So these "recipes" seem pretty modern full meals compared to the Depression.
My grandma would make the stew and call it veggie soup. She added canned stewed tomatoes so it tasted amazing as a kid.
Friday night was ALWAYS soup night. Meat and veggies left over from the week. My favorite night of the week. I loved soup night...........I still love it. NEVER throw food away, MAKE SOUP!
You forgot about Hash! As popularized in the Little Rascals
My grandfather told me stories when he was a child that he came from Oklahoma to California in 1914 on a covered wagon with horses drawn it and they survived on beans and potatoes and the occasional rabbit😅
Well my mother's family was very poor. My grandfathers check for two 40 hour weeks in the mine came to 42.00 and in 1933 he was 78 years old. It was five years before he died and before Social Security; Though mom married my dad, a country doctor, her roots showed up in some of her favorite foods and snacks- like Miracle Whip ( no peanut butter) sandwiches. cheddar and onion sandwiches. Honey on toast, rice pudding with raisins. radish and butter sandwiches. She would hollow onions and steam them but fill them with cream cheese and sour cream with dill or paprika.
Both my grandmothers were frugal cooks. My mother's mom was noted for her milk gravy that was a perfect pairing with the fried chicken from those that she raised. It flowed like velvet and always the hit at Thanksgiving. She wasn't above baking a racoon or possum for meat,
My dad's mother also had her specialties. A soup made with chicken necks, backs, wings. and giblets with celery, onion and carrot, with barley for thickness known as Social Security soup,
Dandelion salad has been a family tradition every spring. My youngest took some to school for "Show and Tell" and the kids loved it. She also canned tomatoes, green peppers, dilled green tomatoes. apples, spiced peaches, and home made antipasto. We also foraged for mushrooms like morels and hens of the wood, which she would either fry in butter and garlic, add to gravy, or can and fry in strips with bacon. We also scavenged hedgerows for blackberries and dewberries. and woods for hickory and walnuts. They made great additions to simple baked goods. Every year my great uncle Julius would get money from all the family for salami orders, He would then buy the pork and beef in the amounts ordered and paid for and in the fall he would show up with everyone's share ready for hanging in a cool , dry place-a pantry or unused closet. That salami would be eaten all year long
that's a great story, and I laughed about the 'social security soup'. Your people obviously had a great sense of humour. I'm from a similar background with grandparents and parents eking out a living in NZ. They used to forage, shoot rabbits, catch fish and generally prepare and eat a lot of things that are now unusual in today's world. I grew up at the tail end of it, but still enjoy these 'olde worlde' recipes. There was no assistance whatsoever back then. Often there was nothing much to buy. So you had to grow it, find it or shoot it yourself. And of course, after the 20's and 30's it got into the war years and there was rationing for anything was any good, or imported. So the 'depression' actually lasted for decades over here.
@@colonelfustercluck486 Well I live in Illinois coal country and the Depression lasted into the 60's for us. Our coal was used for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad and for home heating After the war the railroad completed dieselization and home heating went from the old coal furnaces that were a pain in the ass to maintain to electric. But it took awhile for electric companies to retool and provide for demand that brought coal back to life as a source of power to the electric plants.
There is a story about :Social Security soup that was made when there was too much month left at the end of the money. Nona could be a bit of a con artist if she could save a dime and she didn't want to look lke she was asking for charity. So she told the butcher that she found a poor dog that was half starved and would like some scraps tp make it some broth. The butcher being generous would give her the necks and backs for free. Well it must have done the tirck because that dog lived for over 50 years on a diet of broth made from the necks and backs of chlckens provided at least once a month by a kindle but hardly gullible butcher.
The thing was, my grandparents were hardly poor. My grandfather quit the coal mines before WWI and opened a bar for the dozens of miners that would stop for a beer and a shot before and after shift changes. He built a tavern with an apartment upstairs that is still in operation though no longer in the family and was able to three boys through college and graduate school, two in the midst of the Depression and Prohibition. But they never changed their frugal ways from the poverty they faced as youngsters.
My mon's mother was genuinely poor though. My grandfather died in 1938 leaving only a small union pension for my grandmother. Since Social Security only went into effect in 1936, she got nothing from it. She lived in a four room house and raised chickens to survive, The house had running water but no bathroom but an outhouse, She had electricity but used her coal stove in the dining room for heat.
My dad's parents had 7 kids back in the 40's/50's, lots of country cooking and she made a meal that she referred to as 'poor man stew' but very different from the version in this video. It had few basic staples but would feed and fill the family and you can make a single, double or any serving amount you need. I'll share the recipe with ya's, if I may?
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1 or 2 packs of bacon fried up and crunched in you hands (throw it in)
2 large cans whole stewed tomatoes (cut up to whatever sizes) - it has to be the whole stewed tomatoes or the flavor will not come out the same as chopped tomatoes in a can.
1 large onion chopped or diced
box of boiled shell noodles, very al dente - drained (they will cook more as you heat everything)
Half or more of plain white bread peeled apart in chunks and throw in (this absorbs most of the juice from the tomatoes and it's filling to eat)
salt and pepper to taste OR no salt because the bacon has plenty. Your preference.
(THIS RECIPE IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR ANYONE ON A SODIUM RESTRICTED OR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DIET - unless you use low sodium bacon and no extra salt at all)
Just slightly heat as your stirring it all together.
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This should feed a family of 4-6. Ma (dad's mom) would make a lot more to accommodate the family. You could also just do a small single can of stewed tomatoes for a single serving. It's a very forgiving recipe.
Last time I made this was for my dad's birthday several years back and just thinking about it again, I think I might make some in the next week. You can eat it cold or heated up and it really tastes better the next day.
Thank you for letting me share this with all of you.
Thank you for your recipe 😊
Sounds awesome, thanks , but bacon is ridiculously expensive now , any substitutes she used besides bacon? Thanks .
My grandma told me once, all they had at one time was lard, onions and bread. So they had lard and onions sandwiches...
In Dublin, Ireland many poor working class people grew up on Coddle. Its a stew made with chicken soup veg and any cheap meat you could get, usually sausages. Still very popular in parts of Dublin.
in NZ, we have a variant or two.... very similar... a chicken based thick soup/stew with your choice of veges, your choice of meat or sausages.... over, or with rice or potatoes.
2nd variant, fry onions and curry power first... then do your variation (above) to make the curried Chicken or Sausage with Vege's stew.
It is a nice winter comfort food / filler upper.
I love watching this. So tired of recipes with expensive difficult to find ingredients.
I really want to try the Ritz mock apple pie.
My mom made it when I was little. Couldn't tell the difference.
Look up ration Britain lots of mock this and that. In and after ww2
It is good. I had it a few times growing up and made it once for my in laws to try.
I have actually had peanut butter and mayo.. Its interesting not quite my cup of tea but I can see why some like it.. Personally I like peanut butter and cream cheese on a bagel .. This combo is tasty and actually keep you full for quite some time.. This pared with a cup of tasty black coffee makes for a grate lunch or breakfast..I say lunch as I normally only eat dinner and lunch.. I'm Not ever hungry when I get up at 4am for breakfast so I skip it and have coffee instead.. Anyways this was some interesting recipes .. I may come back one day and give one or two of them a shot... Thank you for sharing this and creating this ..
Many of these dishes actually i am gonna try out ) This video made me hungry, and that is not a bad thing :)))) Thank you for this video/upload :)
Hey I still make chocolate or vanilla cornstarch pudding, tastes better than the boxed ones from the store that taste like chemicals.
My dad and grandparents told me all about that time but the most obvious clue was my meals growing up in the 50's and 60's with my dad in his parent's home after his divorce. Calf brain soup, Koudla (tripe in a sweet raisin sauce), liver and onions, beef organ stew, Ochenmalsalad ( thinly sliced beef tongue with red onion in a vinaigrette dressing) and liver dumpling soup. You know, I still enjoy them all today except for the Koudla.
I hate offal on principle, however there is one exception called 'Lambs Fry', which is thinly sliced liver (from lamb/sheep) with small squares of bacon..... then make a flour based sauce with whatever is left in the pan. The whole name of the recipe is "Lambs Fry n Bacon".
This used to be common in Australian and NZ farms /ranches, before heading out for the day (a hard day).
Full menu would be lambs fry with bacon, a fried or poached egg, maybe two, stewed tomatoes, maybe baked beans and toast. Tea or coffee. (And porridge or other cereals if wanted, with farm milk and/or cream)
And a take away lunch and snacks to eat out there at lunch time.
If you didn't work your arse off, that would be way too much food. You'd get fat.
The young guys could eat at a seemingly competitive level, but not put weight on. They were as physically fit as you could get from hard work.
Mexicans have eaten weeds since prehispanic times. We call them quelites (Keh-lee-tays). These include flowes like zucchini blossoms, palm blossoms and many others.
Lots of folks here forage as well, they are just in the small minority. I grew up using wild foods as we found them especially picking berries. I do dandelions and other greens as well. Folks here are kinda inflexible when it comes to foraging. They won't eat what doesn't come from a store, apparently.
"Weeds" is one of the biggest lies we have been told about our food. Many of them are very healthy and they grow all over the place by themselves without us having to water them or tend to them in any way.
I'm very fortunate to be able to grow many vegetables.
Very blessed indeed. I can only dream of that right now.
Nothing like vegetables from your own garden and fruit from your own trees.
and can, and preserve.
@@robertagabor9128 Always!
Eaten these foods in my life. Although peanut butter mayo was not one. Just can't bring myself to see me eating it. It sounds so wrong.
We ate PB & mayo sandwiches, PB & Kayro syrup sandwiches, and butter & sliced radish sandwiches. Also, if you were late to supper on hamburger night, you might have to eat a slice of bread covered with the grease from the hamburger skillet and your choice of toppings. Our version of Goulash was browned ground beef with canned tomatoes added...period. We had potatoes any which way...mashed, fried, deep fried, baked, and made into soup which Mom would sometimes add chunks of hot dogs or bulk bologna to. We were "poor," but happy. 😊
Young people that don't know how to cook better start learning some of these dishes because the day will come that they will not be able to afford doordash grubhub and Uber eats...
Isn't that the truth and it would be a lot healthier too!
Tomato sauce with mashed potatoes, one of my comfort foods growing up in Maine. My dad made it for us. A bottle of spaghetti sause, chopped onions toss in thinly sliced hot dogs, and pour over mashed potatoes. Yummy! We also had mashed potatoes with tuna whipped in. Form it into a little mountain with a dollup of butter on top. I still eat these meals today.
My wife is from the Philippines and she makes spaghetti with hotdogs. It was had to get used to, Philippine spaghetti is sweet. I asked why the hotdogs instead of meatballs, and she said beef and pork were to expensive for poor families. Hotdogs were cheaper for them. I've gotten used to it.
Try it with little smokies...
Today i keep a stash of dryed foods beans,rice , macaronni i just cant seem to forget the hard times.
Mac and cheese with hamburger, bacon, ham, sausage and English peas and corn. And you can't forget the Creole seasoning. Yummy!!
By the way did you know the word "" Hobo "" is a short form for "" HOmeward BOund "" as many of these men went far from home to find work and did not want to spend the little they had made on room and board as they made their way back home , rode the rails , slept outside and ate what simple meals they could make over a fire !
Oh wow! I never knew that's where the term came from! Thanks😊
That was very enjoyable. I'm on to that bacon wrapped, peanut butter stuffed onion concoction.
Snefflee, chip beef on toast, we grew up poor but my parents grew up in the depression my mom learned to cook with hardly nothing . They never let on that we had nothing
SOS
@@melindatarnow5713 yup lol
What is chipped beef??
@@explorer0213 thin slices of beef in gravy.
Sometimes I used to get prunes regularly and had them as a delicious snack or add them in recipes.I noticed prunes as far as I can take them and gave them in my shopping bag.Besides I like very much meatballs in tomato sauce with many side dishes myself.As someone who doesn’t know anything about living in the depression times and not from that too.
If you don’t want to call it PRUNE pudding, you could just call it dried plum pudding.
My grandmother made her own dog food at her farm , they had 5 dogs, she made cornmeal with milk, I guess like the milk corn 😂, plus she added some eggs, or she used broth and bones with oats instead. Whole Foods sells dandelion greens.
PB and mayo actually sounds good to me. When my husband was a Marine he invented tuna salad and PB sandwiches. I thought that sounded gross but it was pretty good!
I make a high protein sandwich with PB, mayo & cheese all the time. It's tasty.
Peanut butter, Mayo, and banana's! We ate it all the time growing up in the 60s and 70s! It was quite good... although it sounds kinda gross now. 😂
Peanut butter and bananas - yes. I've never even heard of putting mayo on a peanut butter sandwich
@constancefaulkner9002 I don't know. You may have had to grow up with it, or you may find it too unusual to try, but as kids, we loved it
@@constancefaulkner9002 On a dare, many years ago, I made just half of a peanut butter and mayo sandwich. It sounded gross to me, even though I love both peanut butter and mayo. But together? What? So I made the half sandwich. I reluctantly took a bite. It was so damn good I ended up eating the entire half of the sandwich, even though I was convinced I would probably take one bite and toss the rest of it out.
I'm gonna try that.
Mayo is very expensive now.
And..who thought that today you could sell half these plates at a vegetarian restaurant for $30 or more😂😂
My dad cleaned out the fridge every Saturday while mom was in town shopping and doing laundry. Whatever was in there went into his stew. That was the only meal he ever cooked.
I still prefer these foods to modern foods, and there is no denying that folks back then were healthier than folks are now. We would all be better off if we went back to growing gardens and cooking simple meals from scratch, rather than living on fast food. Old timers used to say that dandelion greens thinned your blood after being stuck indoors all winter. Go figure, now we know that they contain Vitamin K, and they are one of the few sources of that vitamin. Vitamin K is necessary to use Vitamin D. Dandelions being one of the first greens available in spring, it would have given you a dose of Vitamin K just as the sun was getting high enough to start making Vitamin D. Keep in mind that for most people, these meals would have been eaten with homemade bread, not the white fluff full of chemicals that you are showing here. My grandmother always talked about being embarrassed to have thick slices of homemade bread in her lunch box, when the rich kids had store bought sliced bread, but that would have been a handful of kids in the school. Most of the country kids would have had those thick hearty slices, and were better nourished for it. There are plenty of other Depression era meals than these. Schnitz und knepp was a common weekly meal for my grandmother, which she hated but I kinda like. It was ham and dried apples stewed together, rather like ham and applesauce. Dutch turkey was another, which was stuffed and roasted pig stomach (sausage from the clean end of the casing).
Yup dandelion tea was used as a spring tonic. Got the sluggish winter blood flowing!
You are right they were healthier then!
@@nannag5801 Yes. Vitamin K is a blood thinner.
Learned the other day cinnamon is good for high blood pressure.
My dad loved peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches. He was born in 1931
Iam 65 and i use to eat Pent Butter with moy
What is moy?
@@katehenry2718....I'm guessing they meant to say Mayo.
Crepes were also popular, made with eggs for protein. Cracked eggs were cheap, and were the biggest source of protein for my ancestors during the 1930's.
My mom’s family made what they called “Garbage Stew”. Pinto beans made up the sauce and main ingredient. The rest was everything in the fridge that could be used. It never tasted the same way twice. But it used any leftovers and was cheap. Beans/rice/and the garbage from the fridge. Salt, pepper, chili spice, and any spice that tasted good. I make it even now. It’s basically chili with everything you have left over.
Let me update with knowledge from actual survivors of the great depression. My grandparents lives were so impacted by it, they continued to shop and cook similar foods for us kids into the 50s. I found out why we ate a lot of cabbage and grandma would get these soup bones from the butchers for pennies and cook them down till they disintegrated making broth she used in soups. My Irish grandpa would say I could always get my hand on a cabbage and survive.