Depression-Era Recipes

[Rebel SS]

What with the current food shortages, a look back at some recipes during tough times.


https://www.simplemost.com/depression-recipes-good-enough-to-eat-today/

[Dotch]

Some of those look a lot like some of the stuff we threw together in college, washed down with a Hamms or a Schmidt when we'd splurge. Best of all we lived to tell about it. 

[Rebel SS]

Those days, a 1/2 lb of baloney from the deli for a buck mixed in with a big can of beans over old stale bread slices was a glorious casserole! Supplemented with a fried up pile of bullheads or rock bass, it was a feast!  Even chunked up and ate a big snapping turtle outta Silver Lake...AKA goose sh** lake.
Ya learned how to scrounge and be inventive if ya wanted to eat!

[Rebel SS]

However, there still were two thing I would NOT eat....funny how they're shown together.... van Camps?       

[LPS]

When we were kids and Mom and Dad were going out with friends on Fri or Sat night Mom made us mac and cheese and had hot dogs on the side.  We loved it.  And of course it was with Velvetta cheese and a little milk so it was nice and juicy.  Makes me want some.  We do have a Velveeta mac and cheese box in the pantry.

[Dotch]

Yup. College meant lotsa weenies & frozen veggies combined with rice, potatoes, noodles, especially ramen noodles. Would get some lamb chops from the folks freezer once in a while. Lived in a basement apartment so we'd stick the hibachi out the window and grill them. Friend worked one summer for the DNR netting fish. There was some mortality so he'd come over with expired walleyes and we'd fire up the oven broiler. Man that was livin'! 

[Rebel SS]

Fall was even better..skwirrels, bunnies, and a grouse or two in the cork pot. 

We aren't gonna start talking about the snow we had to walk thru, are we? 

[Dotch]

  Let's not and say we did. 

[Rebel SS]

Don't forget the SOS.....creamed chipped beef mixed with some peas on toast with lotsa pepper. I actually like that, though!

[roony]

Yup. College meant lotsa weenies & frozen veggies combined with rice, potatoes, noodles, especially ramen noodles. Would get some lamb chops from the folks freezer once in a while. Lived in a basement apartment so we'd stick the hibachi out the window and grill them. Friend worked one summer for the DNR netting fish. There was some mortality so he'd come over with expired walleyes and we'd fire up the oven broiler. Man that was livin'! 

Sounds like a recipe for the U flu. 

[Dotch]

Didn't need any of Barry's stool softener that's fer sure...

[Rebel SS]

That's what the bubbles in the beer were for. 

[Dotch]

Don't forget the SOS.....creamed chipped beef mixed with some peas on toast with lotsa pepper. I actually like that, though!

Me too. Kinda miss poached eggs & milk toast as well. Not unlike the Depression era, we had lotsa eggs and when we had the milk cow, lotsa milk. As they said on the farm in those Depression days, we had everything except money.

[mike89]

Don't forget the SOS.....creamed chipped beef mixed with some peas on toast with lotsa pepper. I actually like that, though!

had this for lunch one day while in the hospital...  tasted just like it did back when I was in the service!!!  actually is wasn't bad...  still not going out of my to make.... 

[Rebel SS]

Maybe it WAS from when ya were back in the service....from the freezer! 

[Rebel SS]

During World War II, when meat was rationed and had to be purchased with tokens, this recipe went a long way in feeding a family. To this day, I still reach for it whenever I want something different from regular hamburgers. By the way, children really like these (just as I did when I was a child!).— Gladys Klein, Burlington Wisconsin

Meat and Potato Patties


Makes
4 servings

Ingredients
3/4 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
3/4 cup finely shredded potatoes
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water

Directions

Combine the first six ingredients. Shape into four patties; press to flatten slightly. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown patties on both sides; drain. Add tomato juice. Simmer, covered, until a thermometer inserted into meat reads 160°, 20-25 minutes. Remove patties to a serving platter; keep warm.
Whisk flour into water; gradually add to skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Spoon over patties. Serve immediately.

[Dotch]

Mom used to make potato pancakes. Was never a big fan but she and Dad loved them, guessing because they probably had lots of eggs and potatoes, along with flour being rationed. I could never figure out why she didn't forget about the potatoes and just make pancakes! 

This is not the recipe she used because she didn't use a recipe. Looks like it would yield a similar result. 

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/potato-pancakes/

[Reinhard]

Oh ya, potato pancakes.  Better than any pancake out there.  My mom made a lot of them.  Lot's of prep for her for sure.  When we first came from Germany I remember eating a lot of potatoes with just salt on them.  Then some farmer gave us butter.  So it was boiled potatoes, salt and butter.  Things were a little rough on us back then.  My dad's sister lived where we moved to [Duluth area Lakewood township at the time].  So they helped us out a lot until my dad got on his feet.  He got a job at the salt plant in Duluth and the cement plant also.  Later it was just the salt plant and he retired from there.  He would do all the grocery shopping.  We ate good after that.  Lot's of potato dumplings, gravy, from scratch, meat and kraut or blue cabbage on the side.  We fished a lot and kept what we caught.  Ate lot's of fish that way.  Went rabbit hunting a lot in the fall for snowshoes.  My mom did a great job on those.  so lot's of memories when we didn't have a lot but we ate by hunting, fishing, and the grocery's they could afford at the time.  good luck.

[Rebel SS]

Well, tonite I'm bringing back old memories and havin'"Fake steak", as I used to call it.
Make a nice thick square burger patty, put about a tsp of worcestershire sauce on it, then season well with Lawry's seasoned salt. Sear both sides quick in a dab of butter in the pan, then slow cook covered until med rare. Only difference is will be using good ground chuck instead of the 80/20 or less burger that was floating around in the 70's. Pair up with some peas and pearl onions, a slice of buttered bread to mop up with, and yer good for the nite!

[LPS]

That sounds great Rebs.  We called it a hamburger steak.  The sauce on it is great too. 

[Rebel SS]

Depression dinner. Fake steaks. Peas and pearl onions in my butter-seasoned sauce. Looks like burgers, but much more. Fried in a bit of butter, and ya don't pour grease off, just cover in pan. Keeps ya regular. Guess ya could call 'em sliders.

[Dotch]

Looks fabuliscious Reb! There was a truck stop in Montivideo that served a mean hamburger steak and The Embers did as well. For a growing college lad they were an economy priced luxury that we saved up our shekels for and indulged in from time to time.