20 CHEAP Recipes That We Ate To Survive the Great Depression!

[@lindanizamoff7981]

When my mother and her siblings were growing up in the 30's and 40's, every Sunday morning my grandmother would make baked beans, uncooked, put them in a crock and bring it to the local bakery on her way to church. Since the bakery did not work on Sundays the ovens had to be kept warm. All the neighbors would bring their crocks of beans than pick them up on Monday and get their cooked beans pots. One time when my uncle, who was a small child, came to pick up the beans, he dropped the pot and spilled them. The baker had him come back in and he took several spoonful's out of everybody's pots to help fill my uncle's pot.

[@lisalaufenberg6002]

Lovely story, I did not know this went on, so grateful for communities helping each other in times of need!

[@marianbuller265]

Not in Britain

[@anitam.924]

That was a warm kind gesture. 👍🤗

[@michelegrice4938]

What a beautiful story

[@dianebeier8379]

Very interesting😊😊

[@OkieJammer2736]

At 73, I now realize just how - as a kid - many of these dishes were often on our family's table, and STILL beloved today. Wow. Thanks again, Mom. Ya did good.

[@Icanya69]

At 74 I was having the same realization. My Mom and grandmothers cooked many dishes in these ways. I still make my Grandmother's molasses cookies with ginger. Yum.

[@dross24MA]

I added similar comment before reading down to this point...I guess we in our 70s had the best of all worlds, eh?

[@theresefournier3269]

​@@dross24MAIt was indeed a whole different world.🤷 No doubt about that! 🤔

[@user-mx9th2fx8r]

Same. While making meatloaf way my mom did, I got curious and looked it up. It was from the Great Depression. Putting bread in it, fed more with less meat. Also, potato patties shaped into a hamburger, piece of bread with a scoop of mashed potatoes on it and white sauce with peas poured over the top. Oh, and being Irish, she would make Mulligan stew. I still cook these today.

[@theresefournier3269]

@user-mx9th2fx8r Exciting Times 🌞❤️🔥

[@bjfitzpatrick671]

I grew up on this type of food. Now, it's November, 2024, and I still to this day, rely on many of these dishes to stretch my food budget. In truth, quite a few of them are comfort food to me. I am 85.

[@dross24MA]

Congrats and bless you from a 77 year old spring chicken =;^)

[@irenecontreras3247]

I’m 82 and many times I run out of $$$. Today I have only $3.00 in the bank. I will make a very large pot of steamed rice. I add chicken broth to a cup of rice if I happen to have a chicken thigh in the freezer, or beef broth if I have a frozen beef paddy to go with it. Then for desert I add raisins and a spoon of sugar and cinnamon and I have my rendition of rice pudding. My family doesn’t know how to make regular rice pudding they make it like I do. LOL!

[@irenecontreras3247]

I’m 82 and many times I run out of $$$. Today I have only $3.00 in the bank. I will make a very large pot of steamed rice. I add chicken broth to a cup of rice if I happen to have a chicken thigh in the freezer, or beef broth if I have a frozen beef paddy to go with it. Then for desert I add raisins and a spoon of sugar and cinnamon and I have my rendition of rice pudding. My family doesn’t know how to make regular rice pudding they make it like I do. LOL!

[@theresefournier3269]

​@@irenecontreras3247You sound like such a lovely lady.❤

[@r.o2938]

I cook them too, and I am in my 40s...they are family comfort food recipes as well as a great way to save money :)

[@sharroncalundan7794]

These are “peasant foods”. Am 75, this is the way I have always cooked, good nutritious food. Stews, soups, casseroles. Love to cook for my family and friends. Always took lunch to work, leftovers. People were amazed. Live in condo now, husband passed 7 years ago. Sometimes I make soup or casserole and call few neighbors to rec room. I waste very little. Now kids order Door Dash, Uber eats. Love to eat out 1-2 times a week. People waste so much money and eat food that is not nutritious.

[@Vinniegret]

And the poor kids don’t know how to put a filling, nutritious meal together.

[@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123]

And they complain they have no money and can’t afford to eat !

[@sharroncalundan7794]

@@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 they spend all their money on Door Dash and Uber Eats!

[@kittybeck151]

They have lost a skill & now are dependent on others. I encourage them to learn how to cook - it is fun & anyone can learn! They should try some of the dishes in this video! I am inspired to go in the kitchen & make them myself.

[@sharroncalundan7794]

@@kittybeck151Saturday we have International Night at the church. Making ham & cheese strata. Simple. Made it several months ago for a church dinner, people raved about it. Asked me to make for Saturday. Sautéing onions, mushrooms & celery today. Saturday cut up baguette, place in large buttered pan, take sautéed veggies out of fridge, get to room temp, beat 10 eggs, milk, ham & season. Add to veggies, stir, then pour over bread. Leave in fridge for few hours covered & bake at 350. Add shredded cheddar & mozzarella toward end. Delicious. Keep foil on & wrap in large towel to keep warm for transport.

[@wandamauldin3061]

My grandmother and grandfather lived to 98 years old. No diabetes. No high blood pressure. Sharp as a tack until they left this earth. Pawpaw grew a garden in his flower bed every year until he died. A few of this and that. They ate lots of pickled items. Canned all their own foods. During the depression they were in their 20’s they had two kids no fed them and others with the milk and butter from his cow that the neighbors all used to cut their grass. They had a victory garden on an empty lot that everyone worked. I know it was a hard time but they all came together to get through.

[@DianeLake-sw3ym]

The fresh food is why your grandparents, etc were healthier. Now we have a ton of chemicals and everything seems to be loaded down with high fructose corn syrup. People who moved from this country elsewhere are always surprised by how flavorful and juicy fruit is overseas and how much better the food is.

[@auberjean6873]

@wandamauldin3061 Sadly, I think it will take something awful, once again, to get people to see that we are all one and act like it. I wish I could have met them--and you!

[@Foxeknighton-beatty3438]

Bread pudding was a sweet treat for us! My mom lived to be 96 1/2 years old. Still had all of her teeth and her mental faculties. We never went hungry because she used her imagination to make sure that we had healthy meals and never went hungry.

[@joyceclark8163]

😊❤😊❤

[@nanhand99]

Down South breast pudding is served in lots of restaurants Good eating ❤

[@dross24MA]

Same age as my mom who was born in 1911.

[@songofruth]

Did you put a sauce on it? I think sometimes my mom would put a sauce on it but I don't remember what it was and I can no longer ask her. Though I could be confusing it with a lemon pudding sauce she put on spice cake.

[@karlaknighton2852]

@@songofruth Yes, she made a lemon sauce from scratch. I buy the Lemon Curd from grocery stores. It's where the pie fillings and baking supplies are. I wish I could ask my mom so many questions. She and my husband both died 5 years ago. I thank God for memories!

[@beverlydwyer5162]

I’ve got a funny feeling we’re going to need these recipes again.

[@ashleycnossen3157]

Been needing them these past few years

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

I think so too. Might be the reason for them posting a variety of such videos, always good to know stuff. For us who are not quite as young as we used to be, this also does bring back some food memories. 😋 ❤

[@lindaroberts2297]

that's what made me look :))

[@rmp7400]

Except that the quality of food today is not so good....much industrial created food & water has been poisoned.

[@richliberati2692]

Ha ha yes

[@SoberOKMoments]

My Mom was a Depression Bride (they married in 1929) and one of the recipes that lived on with us was called "Day Before Payday Pie," where all the leftovers in the fridge - meat and veg, or eggs,or beans, or cheese, or whatever - went into a pie crust and baked! Mom was a good and creative cook and those pies were always delicious!

[@auberjean6873]

@SoberOKMoments Knowing what ingredients would be delicious together is the Art!

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

A friend was born during the Depression to a large family running a truck farm on Long Island. They grew potatoes, cauliflower and broccoli and kept their own cows and chickens. So he and his sisters grew up on potato soup. Not fancy but nourishing. I told him thats why he was living into his 90s and keeping his physical and mental health.

[@cathyheston3029]

Love to make homemade potato soup 🤤

[@irenecontreras3247]

@@serahloeffelroberts9901 I had a Great Grandma that lived to be 110. I asked her for her secret, she said that she didn’t eat anything out of a can, had chickens, and only married younger me. I lol and said that because anyone your age is DEAD. Ha, ha! She was 90ish at the time and her husband was 75. He loved her dearly. She would sleep on the sofa because he snored, I said sleep in the 2nd bedroom. She said when I sleep in our bed I want to feel a man, she gestured to his crotch. I however, she’s 90+ for God sake. I want to be just like her when I get to be 90. Well I married 1 man 12 years younger than me and another 17 years younger than me. I left them when they gave up sex. 😧

[@andreafong9952]

@@irenecontreras3247You we’re blessed that she only told you the truth. Do take her dietary advice seriously as well as her love life advice which I think is great as mine was 4 years younger! I wish you to outlive her and I think you will since your off to a good start.

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

@@irenecontreras3247 I'm dying!!!

[@SoberOKMoments]

I made potato soup just yesterday (I'm 80). It's still my favorite soup and one I make often. All the recipes in this video are familiar to me and I still cook many of them.

[@heathergaal7179]

My grandmother was a depression child and she never wasted anything..cornmeal mush..homemade chocolate pudding.."shit on a shingle"..she even saved all the ends of bars of soap and would put them in a Tupperware dish with water and make homemade bubble bath..I miss her every single day and her recipes and just good practices have stayed with me❤

[@geribentley]

@@heathergaal7179 I still make shit on a shingle!

[@tmo.48]

Yup. One of our FAVORITES. Many versions I make.

[@lulaporter6080]

I still save soap! My parents never had paper towels either. When Mama started using baggies, she would wash each one and reuse them until they fell apart.

[@LindaCoffee-e3k]

I still eat these, and yes soap ends, I make laundry soap from them and hand soap.

[@Loveveggies]

​@@geribentley shit on a shingle ??

[@dewuknowofHyMn]

In my 70s....my mother made alot of those dishes ....we NEVER went hungry.....love bread pudding....💖😉💖 I miss u mom ! I make it now....

[@theresefournier3269]

@@dewuknowofHyMn Mum's homemade cooking is still my favorite. She's 93 in April❤️🔥💯

[@DiamondDee7622]

My Grandma and mother never made it for us I came across it in a little dinner while I was waiting for my next train to catch I was in my early 20's then fell in love with it and I make it every year around Christmas time for my family and friends.

[@jamietanksley3113]

​@@theresefournier3269Happy Birthday to your mom, Blessings always to her and to you too ❤️

[@theresefournier3269]

@jamietanksley3113 🌞❤️🔥🌹😘

[@seantlewis376]

My grandmother was a teen during the Great Depression. Her classic recipes were the things that we were raised on, and dishes that I made for my children in the 1980s and 90s. Good stuff, and I still make them for the family.

[@sharibasse6130]

My mom, God Bless her, cooked and taught me all of these dishes. I'm 67 and still so grateful! Potato pancakes and meatloaf were my favorites.

[@Bewilderdashed11]

mine too the potato soup I put sour cream and chives in to jazz it up I love all these recipes but never ate rice till I was in my pre teens. I thought it was just rice pudding that my dad always got

[@patweldon5880]

Would you enclose your potato pancake recipe, please and thanks.

[@PAL-CAN]

As a young person I lived with my great grandma who lived through the depression. One day she put torn up bread bread and a lttle butter in a bowl. Then she poured a little boiling water over top snd salt and pepper. She told me me this is what they ate during the depression.Maybe she was feeling nostslgic that day but I understood why she wouldnt let me leave anything on my plate.

[@MoPurnell]

My nan used to make herself a bowl of this most nights for supper, my sisters and I used to call it her duck food. Nan lived independently until she was 96, often making meals and delivering them to the 'old' folk in the village - usually people younger than herself. Her attitude and spirit was amazing !

[@brendaking737]

We ate something similar. Milk toast. Toasted bread, cut up or torn, mom would heat the milk and pour it over our toast. Then salt and pepper. It's good when you're hungry

[@peachykeen8504]

My Dad grew up in a large family during the Depression. They had an ice box. Probably the ice box didn't have as controlled temperature as a modern refrigerator, so they didn't leave food in the ice box all week. Slumgullion was frequently served for breakfast, often with a meaty gravy from leftover grease. It was probably a more filling breakfast than the frosted corn and rice cereals that the kids get now.

[@lulaporter6080]

My parents left vegetables on the table and they never went bad. I would pile peas, butterbeans and corn on my plate with a generous helping of Mama's pepper jelly in the middle and a slice of cornbread in my hand. That was the best tasting food.

[@KathrynTrubey]

At age 67, I didn't realize how many of the foods I grew up with were depression-era meals. I still make corn meal mush, potato soup, eggless pancakes, and biscuits and gravy. So do my kids and now grandkids. How wonderful to pass down such frugal foods :)

[@anitabellefeuille7362]

My mom grew up during the Great Depression. Her dad was a pig farmer. Mom said every Saturday her mom would make 7 loaves of bread for the week. They would spread lard on that bread and sprinkle it with sugar. That’s what she and her brothers and sisters (8) took to school for lunch. She said they often shared this with other kids who had nothing.

[@lisalaufenberg6002]

What a wonderful, dear story! TFS

[@geribentley]

My mom said lard and sugar on their bread was their dessert. People now are in for a reality check. Good luck. I grew up in those times and lived through it. The Americans are going to wish for their good old days.Good luck!'

[@joyceclark8163]

My Dad at 85 still talks about taking lard and sugar sandwiches to school in his pail

[@geribentley]

@@joyceclark8163 Yes I'm 81 and going strong. Had the best childhood any person could ask for. Not rich but remember how I could find out where all my friends were by the pile of bikes in a yard. Sounds corny but the best days of my life. Maybe this is a wakeup call to treasure each day. Peace and Love.

[@peggymcgrath9773]

My dad talked about his lard sandwiches. His brothers got in trouble selling eggs that were apparently rotten to the local grocery store. They didn't know and trade exchange was sweet treats!

[@elviscobb5922]

I’m 65,and my mother would cook up some pasta. Into the pot she would put in a few jars of stewed tomatoes and some butter. We would sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top and it made a warm filling meal. We simply called it Macaroni and Tomato’s.

[@joycef8443]

My mother called it “slumgullion”. It was pretty tasty.

[@tammywooley2635]

Mom was born in 1929, she learned how to cook from an old cook book that she modified the recipes to what she ate when she was little

[@marlenegreyling8620]

​@@tammywooley2635My mom was born 10 November 1929. She passed away in 2021.

[@suelittle9703]

Thank you for these recipes ,my mother made most of these .Times are hard for families today ,and they may be able to use these .

[@3catmom]

I'm 70 and my mom did same thing. We ate lots of beans cornbread and taters.

[@shirleyackerman-bethel1073]

Mom grandmothers and parents are depression survivors. Both luckily had farms but they supported surrounding homeless, ppl.

[@DonnaShort-i5u]

Both sides of families had gardens & cattle.

[@seantlewis376]

My grandmother was one of those people. The family across the street was not as fortunate, and they helped them a lot. My gran wanted to marry the boy of that house, Terry. Her parents wouldn't allow it. They eventually married it up 40 years later, and had eight very happy years together before he passed away.

[@happydays1336]

My husband's grandmother used to make fried egg sandwiches for "hoboes" who dropped by. She said they were very gentlemanly and always did some work to earn the meal.

[@pinkiesue849]

They helped the homeless,even in the Depression.now that is amazing

[@Prezlsc]

My mom, (91), was a depression baby, raised on a farm. We ate many of these dishes growing up in the 60’s - 70’s! Wacky devils food cake, oatmeal meatloaf, fried cornmeal mush, potato soup with cornbread, baked beans, etc. Still love them all! My kids and husband don’t think it’s a real meal 🙄 They have never really been hungry, though 😉

[@salauerman7082]

Spoiled… Food poisoning is no fun, for those who only eat meat and sweets. (Shortage on sweets goes with shortage on meats)

[@SoberOKMoments]

Sounds like real meals to me, but then🙂 I grew up on them, too.

[@AriesRising4444]

2 slices of bacon cut up and cook in a pot with a small amount of chopped onion. Add canned stewed tomatoes and homemade egg noodles. Cook until noodles are done. You just made Tomato Noodles for supper. Enjoy!

[@loridyson569]

My mom was born in 1920 & i remember her making Corn Meal Mush. She would cook up a simple batch to pour in a 9x11 cake pan to cool, then slice off strips to fry up in butter & serve with some syrup for weekend breakfasts. I miss that & may try to make up a small pan of it.

[@SusanR.Daniel]

Do it! Make yourself happy. 🥰

[@myazstar]

My parents came out of the Great Depression era and I still make the crazy cake, which is very moist, and my dad would add the oatmeal into the hamburgers and meatloaf up until his passing in 1999. So far I’ve saved this video and shared it with my sister. Thank you for sharing.😊

[@tesyward9544]

Thank you for sharing your memories. Would you be so kind as to share your recipe for crazy cake? 🥰🙏🏽💯

[@52msgrandma]

If possible I would love the cake recipe...tyia

[@MrScottsearles]

I have lived between New Hampshire and Vermont all of my life. To hear New England mentioned, made me happy.

[@joycef8443]

I live in Vermont now!

[@donchoq]

My grandmother made "Depression Days Casserole" when I was a kid in the 60's. Basically, it's made with leftovers from the week so no food was wasted. Lots of vegetables in it!

[@bethenecampbell6463]

We had "fridge soup." If we'd had spaghetti during the week mom would sprinkle in some Italian seasoning and maybe some other pasta. If we'd had tacos then it was more Mexican and there were potatoes. No matter what it's always tasty!

[@krystalcook1317]

My grandmother was born in 1918. There were 7 girls and 1 boy in her family. They were very poor. She said her mom would take a potato just 1, cut it into 8 slices. She would fry them until brown. She would them make biscuits and put the potato into the biscuits. This is what they would take to school. She said they would use them to keep their hands warm while walking to school. She said the rich kids, ones with sandwiches made from bread and meat, would trade their sandwiches for potato biscuits. My mom made several of these dishes. I still make some of these. Molasses cookies are so good and it's a cookie that most don't like. Mom made mayonnaise cake to because you didn't need oil or eggs. Mom also made cakes and iced them with powdered sugar and a package of unsweetened Kool-aid with a touch of milk. She would pour this glaze over hot single layer cakes. It was sweet and tart.

[@emilyhadley8168]

My nana made the best molasses cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies. My sister is continuing the Christmas tradition of making them for the family ☺️❤️

[@sureiseeyou]

I grew up with all of these dishes in the video. Makes me miss my grandparents and great Aunt so much. Loved my grams many different bread puddings. Loved her homemade apple butter and biscuits n bacon gravy too b

[@sseptember6301]

When I was growing up, we made Kool aid pies with a can of chilled evaporated milk and sugar. It whipped up like whipping cream and just added a pack of Kool aid and pour it into a crust... usually vanilla wafers...and refrigerate until it set up. I loved them!

[@salauerman7082]

@@krystalcook1317 great ideas! 😋

[@hazel555]

Do they still sell unsweetened Koolaide? If so, I'm going to buy some and try it in a frosting on a vanilla cake, great idea, thanks to your mom!

[@confusedwhynot]

So I'm 64 years old. I ate most of these as a child growing up. My mom and dad lived through the depression. I'm sure that there are a lot of other foods that came from the Great Depression.

[@geribentley]

To all the people posting their stories. Thankyou! Enjoying each post. We are all survivors and have one thing in common. Tough as nails. Peace and Love to all. ♥ 😊

[@GroovyWitch]

Me too was just think what you said

[@leilasutton8233]

In Mississippi...what this calls "slum gullion" is simmering on my stove, hot water cornbread is sitting on the side lol. I was just telling the manperson to put the ends of the bread loaf in the freezer for bread pudding on Sunday. Glad to have been raised by the Silent Generation. Mama had 11 brothers and sisters. Daddy spent time as a hobo on the trains as a child, and both picked cotton.

[@shortperson781]

In the South West it's called Goulash.

[@lulaporter6080]

My parents picked cotton, too, when an uncle was short on help. When I was in college I heard a young man on his soapbox talking about his 'oppressed' people. I asked him if his parents ever picked cotton. They hadn't. Then I told him my white parents had. My parents survived the Great Depression and chose to save everything all their lives. We will need it one day. And they did.

[@DGibsonxio]

Manperson?

[@auberjean6873]

@leilasutton8233 I'll bet you were raised to be self-sufficient and creative. That's an education you can't buy! Wishing you wellness and safety.

[@Soifdesang9]

@@lulaporter6080 Now if you save everything they call it hoarding, I call it being prepared. When the shelves were bare during Covid I was ready. And I'm ready for this go round, since we were told by the tesla king that the next few years were going to be full of hardship.

[@Vinniegret]

My dad, who grew up in a large family during the great depression, said they used every part of the pig except the squeal.

[@lyndioli]

🤣🤣🤣

[@katherinegranger1995]

❤😂😂❤

[@CathFletch]

Oink

[@lindagates9150]

I remember my grammie and Mum making head cheese out of the pigs head on the wood stove in our kitchen. Mum was fond of saying no recipe is carved in stone they are guide lines use what you have . Bully Beef recipe a can of corned beef mixed with potatoes and onions gotta go supper time 😅❤🎉❤🎉❤

[@InessaBeach-jv2ex]

I remember reading Michener and he described the Pennsylvanian scrapple in a very delicious way 😊❤😊 Folks, I love reading your comments. Thank you all and Happy Thanksgiving to all!❤

[@BRIDINC1972]

55yr old Irish. We grew up here from the 40s onwards with bread pudding. Still love it

[@alisonbarratt3772]

I am Canadian with British parents I grew up with bread pudding it is still my favorite

[@marigail9234]

My mom was born in 1926. I came along in the late 50’s. I remember many of these dishes. My favorite was hot cakes! She also made the best gravy I ever had. Oh yes, & bread pudding.

[@dwhitman3092]

Potato pancakes and biscuits and gravy are still very popular dishes.

[@theresefournier3269]

Hot or cold? They're in-DEED my absolute favorite

[@editfazekas3854]

@@theresefournier3269 Potato pancakes are only good hot. In East Europe we love them still. We had a longer depression era than the US, so they have become part of our everyday recipes. I will try biscuits and gravy as they are new to me but look good.

[@theresefournier3269]

@@editfazekas3854 it's all good🤷

[@champagnjethersiahdduvenag6078]

A Stone in those times was also a amount of money on the book, sometimes. For a Stone you could buy some essentials for the next week or so. I was told the story of axe soups. It was about a man who fixed pots, pans and stoves as he went on his way from town to town. Sometimes he was payed in raw ingredients, like veggies from his client's gardens. Then he would contribute his vegies to this pot of soup or stew. He would go on to tel his story of the richer and more poor people and he would then refer to the meals they prepared together as supper storys at his visits. The idea was to have at least one ingredient from every househould to go in to the soup or stew. Like Pot Luck kooking. As a child we sometimes had very little to eat.

[@patweldon5880]

They called a man like that a "tinker."

[@Goldieforeverisme]

It would be nice if you had these recipes available to print !

[@theresefournier3269]

They truly all sound delicious. Going back to basics ❤sounds good to me🤔

[@Tam.I.am.]

A lot of those meatloafs were made with stale breadcrumbs instead of oatmeal. Flavoured with ketchup.

[@PAMELAJOHN24]

From the South, my mom was a child in the Great Depression, and I, now 78, was raised to never waste food. Mom was great cook, and biscuits & sausage gravy weren't strangers to our breakfast table. Until this video, I never before heard "slum gullion" referred to other than in mom's kitchen! We had it fairly often, usually when dad was attending an evening meeting and not home for dinner. My sister, mom & I loved it, and I now recognize it as an easy, economical meal. Our version always incorporated ground meat, canned tomatoes, elbow macaroni, onions & garlic, served with a big green salad. Haven't made it in some time now, but I will soon. Thanks for the memories!

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

I've always thought that slumgullion was the inspiration for Beef A Roni. We grew up on a similar dish we called American goulash which we seasoned with paprika. I still like Hungarian Goulash better.

[@joycef8443]

@@PAMELAJOHN24 my mother was from Ohio. We had “ slum gullion”, too, and sometimes canned stewed tomatoes and torn up bread in a pot.

[@sseptember6301]

I've never heard of it. We had squirrel mulligan with macaroni, potatoes and tomatoes... like a stew. I ALWAYS hated it!!!!

[@Jaylf3]

I've always called Johnny cakes Mush.. still love it. In my fridge now.

[@Jaylf3]

Still love potato pancakes. Used to make as a snack after school.

[@pamczech5984]

I remember hot water corn bread but the best part is when grandma Rhode saved bacon grease and pork sausage patty grease and fried the corn bread in bacon grease my favorite

[@billgrandone3552]

My grandmother had a favorite soup she called "Social Security Soup" made when there was too much month at the end of the money. Back when she was shopping you didn't buy chicken pieces like we do today. You bought the whole chicken and cooked it whole, unless you wanted the chicken "dressed". in which case the butcher would cut off the neck and split the chicken in two cutting out the backbone. Grandma would cut her chicken at home that way but also asked the butcher for those necks and backbones that he normally threw away, saying that she used them to make a broth for her dog, not wanting to let the real reason out so he wouldn't think she needed charity, or worse, use them for himself to make soup for his family. She then bought a box of barley fo 20 cents, some carrots and celery for 15 cents a bunch, and 2 large onions for a dime. She would cut up the vegetables and necks, backs, and giblets from a chicken and boil with the cut- up veggies, adding and a can of chicken broth and some chicken broth and butter. Then add 1/2 box of barley. She would garnish with cut up celery leaves and parsley, salt, and pepper. I made this for my kids when they were little, and it became a family favorite that they now make for their families.

[@alun5903]

im 72 yrs old. this is the frst time i've ever heard the word "slum gullion" ouside my mothers home. she raised 5 kids alone, working in a factory and leaving large pots of slum gullion and homemade biscuits for us kids when she went off to work.

[@missiestricklin3364]

Oh my! Slumgullion with biscuits sounds delicious!

[@alun5903]

@missiestricklin3364 it is

[@pinkiesue849]

I don’t know how she managed.

[@Carol-rm3mt]

I am 69 and grew up eating all of this. Unbeknownst to me it was depression era food. 😊

[@roxannevan1503]

Ate Scrabble, Mush & beans from dried on toast. Didn’t know from Depression but both parents went through it. One of my favorites was left over mash potatoes into a patty & fried. Usually a fried egg went with it.

[@danielmcdonnell6837]

I offered to make my Mom some potato pancakes. It was the only time she ever turned her nose up at food! She was born in 1935 and said she never wanted to eat those again. Her family had them every day for breakfast with leftover mashed potatoes!

[@lindmarcella]

My parents were born in 1929 and both of them passed in 2003. Neither of them went to high school because they had to quit to help their family raise younger children. The both worked in either the mill or factory, but the mill closed every year the week before Christmas and didn’t open up until the mud dried in the spring, usually end of March. From mid-Jan til then, we had almost no meat so it was potatoes any way you could make them, pancakes sometimes three times a day. We sometimes got govt surplus once a month which often had a block of cheese and a canned meat of some kind. We always had beans of some kind and my dad loved bean sandwiches on homemade bread with mayonnaise. He also always had a dish of johnny cake with milk and sugar on it. Butter and sugar on pancakes too if we ran out of maple syrup, though we usually made some in January when the sap ran. We usually ran out of vegetables from the cellar and didn’t have vegetables or greens until we foraged in the spring. We always baked our bread for as long as I can remember. We made butter from cream on the top of the milk. One of me favorite sandwiches still is dandelion greens (blanched 3 or 4 times) sauteed with garlic and oil or bacon grease (save all your bacon grease) on homemade bread with a scrambled egg. That sandwich is practically for free. It’s important to put away 50# potatoes, several bags of onions (plant those that start sprouting in a pot and cut the greens to cook with.) Get 25 or 50 pounds of rice and 15-20# minimum beans. Save your bacon grease and buy several gallons of oil. Put a # of yeast in the fridge and buy some bulk flour, some containers of salt, several bags of sugar, several cans of coffee or a couple hundred tea bags and a box of instant milk. With these things you can make most of what the posters here have talked about. Remember to put bay leaves in the flour (preferably in gallon jugs or 5 gallon buckets. Beans should go in the freezer for several days to kill any bugs in them and can also do the same thing with flour.) I can’t stress enough the importance of learning to make bread. It’s SO simple. For a large loaf of artisan bread put 1 1/2 c wrist warm water in a bowl. Add 2 tsp instant yeast and a tsp sugar, then let it sit a few minutes. (keep your yeast in the refrigerator). Measure 3 c flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Pour into bowl of yeast/water. Mix very well with a mixing spoon. Dough should be shaggy but no dry flour showing. If there is, add a LITTLE more water. This has taken you all of 5 min! Put plate or plastic on it and let it raise for around an hour. Then remove cover and with a wet hand pull the edge of dough up and push down in the middle. Do that all the way around. Replace the plate and do it again 20-30 minutes later. Do that about 4 times. Then sprinkle some flour on the counter or another flat surface. Sprinkle a little on top and shape it into a loaf. Don’t play with too much or squash it down. Set it on a piece of parchment paper and set it in a dutch oven, cast iron pot or other large covered oven-proof bowl. Slash the top, cover it and set it on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees. Set timer and bake 30 min. With oven mitts CAREFULLY take off top and continue baking another 15 min. Remove from oven and turn bread out onto a rack. Let cool a while before cutting.(if you can!). Great fresh with butter, makes super toast with butter and peanut butter and makes phenominal grilled sandwiches at a cost of about 60 cents a loaf. You can use the same dough for pizza by adding an additional 1/4 cup of water. Or make cinnamon rolls by increasing sugar to 1/4 c and substituting milk for the water. Stretch the dough out to a rectangle and no more than 1/2 inch thick. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Roll up like a jelly roll. Cut into 12 rolls and place on or in a greased pan. Let them raise about 15 minutes, then bake about 20 min at 375 degrees until golden brown. Brush or drizzle a sugar glaze and enjoy. Trust me, you can handle hard times better if you don’t have to rely on others for a simple necessity like a loaf of bread. One thing no one has mentioned is pet food. They also need to be prepared for. Wishing everyone a peaceful and safe life. We’ll get thru it, with God’s help.

[@salauerman7082]

Thank you! I really appreciate the quantities and storage tips. The only question I have - are the quantities per person, to get through the winter, until crops begin producing?

[@msjulsfl]

Mine were born in 27 and 29!

[@msjulsfl]

You are a bevey of information!❤

[@salauerman7082]

@@msjulsfl your comment reflects why most of my friends are significantly older than me, because I really appreciate their experience, which usually is combined with understanding and compassion. It’s too bad that older people are treated so poorly in society, as if they are useless, when they just have different strengths than us. Their knowledge is quickly becoming lost, unfortunately.

[@Soifdesang9]

Absolutely what everyone should be doing. Thank you for common sense advice. I've been telling people to get ready, the next few years are going to be hard, stock up on those staples. You may get bored with your food, but you won't be hungry. If possible, I'd add canned tomatoes, peanut butter, oatmeal, bouillon cubes, honey, syrup, cocoa powder, mayonnaise, Crisco, unrefined coconut oil as it can be used for cooking, skin & hair moisturizer and on skin irritations and rashes, dried spices like pepper, garlic, red pepper, cinnamon, soup mix seasonings, add any spice blends you would miss to the list also. I'd stock up on first aid supplies, soap. toothpaste, vinegar, TP & toweling too.

[@RobertHowe-zv7gs]

My grandparents were poor in the 1930's but always had good food on the table and never felt deprived.

[@mindfulgratitude3041]

When the family got sick- mom, dad, 14 kids...dad braised the raisins in bourbon and fed us buttered, raisins n rice. We all slept better aand gaave mom some time to rest too.

[@auberjean6873]

@mindfulgratitude3041 14 Kids! Holy Moly! That was nice of him!

[@leekoss7083]

Wow! I never imagined. I did rub just a bit of whisky on my babies' gums when they were fretful from teething (they're 34 and 42 now). Lol!❤

[@dorothyingram9518]

Who needs big pharma when we have Bourbon/whiskey and honey it's the best universal treatment

[@leekoss7083]

@@mindfulgratitude3041 I've just learned a bit more about the health benefits of cereals, bread, and pasta with added vitamins and minerals. Niacin prevents a really bad disease previously in the southern US and placed where not enough some fruit and vegetable (asparagus, avocado, broccoli), and meat, was consumed~~pellagra.

[@shelleyamos5842]

Nice to know he could afford alcohol but not food

[@lindayarger9183]

During the depression all bacon grease was saved and poured into a can. This was a very tasty fat used for cooking. I was surprised that creamed chipped beef served on toast was not mentioned.

[@leisure057blank3]

My grandparents and mother saved the bacon drippings in the can on the stove. My mother made creamed chipped beef on toast. I live it, a big jar of the beef which is maybe 5 oz is like almost $7 now. I know because I stocked up on some during pandemic. In case they stopped making it.

[@Larryw-o2k]

ww2 food

[@daughterofpb]

SOS...served to military. My mom made it many times for us 6 kids. I was just thinking about it earlier today. 😂😅 Fast, cheap and good!

[@SusanR.Daniel]

My grandmother would save children fat or the extra skin. She would make gribbennis. Fried chicken skins till the fat was rendered out and put it on rye bread.🥰

[@robertcook9264]

That was more of a ww2 thing.

[@darlenechadwick375]

Rice & raisins was called Rice Pudding!❤

[@Farmergirl7]

Love rice pudding .

[@margueritarotcas9539]

My dad (RIP) loved rice pudding.

[@TheAislynnRose]

Yepper!!

[@ANNEMARGARET0319]

My mom was born during the great depression… She was one of the silent generation… Born in 1939 so near the end of it… Anyway, the only things I can remember her making that depression the meatloaf oatmeal (which I just didn’t like the taste of the oatmeal) and bread with butter and sugar sprinkled on it… Also cinnamon toast… We never did have fresh vegetables much though… You know we did have a garden… I don’t remember other than having corn on the cob, and potatoes… It was always canned green beans and such. Both my parents worked different shifts so my dad ended up doing a lot of the cooking because he was for a shift. I remember eating in the kitchen at 5 PM every day with Perry Mason on the black-and-white TV… Eating loose hamburger and potatoes. A lot so much I got sick of it, but he did eventually learn to cook more things and he became a really great cook! I love the recipes people are giving on here and I will try them!

[@lulaporter6080]

We had supper at the same time! But Daddy was as good a cook as Mama. He had been chief cook during WWII. Said he fed two presidents with one of them out of the back of his truck. Mama had been a home ec teacher. So you know their food was always good.

[@DawnGreen-wn4hr]

Yep. My grandma gave us bread with butter and sugar.

[@alisonbarratt3772]

Beans on toast was often a dinner or lunch when I was a child in the 60s from my British mom here in Canada

[@sandraogborn5681]

My Mom was from England. We would have beans on toast with a fried egg on top.

[@carolinebrown9693]

@@sandraogborn5681One of my husband’s favourites 🇬🇧😊

[@4dogs999]

We had fried bread. It was basically flour fried in lard and then put some jelly on it. Everything was homemade if it was a special occasion we got powdered sugar.

[@lisalaufenberg6002]

My mother was a child of the depression, I remember being fed many of these dishes in the 60s and 70s. My mother made the best bread pudding.

[@barbaralankford8859]

😂😂😂 no she didn't, my mom did🤗

[@lisalaufenberg6002]

@@barbaralankford8859 LOL, this sounds exactly how everyone loves their mom’s chili!

[@tmo.48]

Chocolate bread pudding with lemon sauce is PHENOMENAL ❤❤❤

[@lisalaufenberg6002]

@@tmo.48 that does sound lovely!

[@barbaralankford8859]

​@@tmo.48never had that, however, mom did make gingerbread with lemon sauce😋

[@gregoryfrolov2537]

biscuits, n gravy is still a morning breakfast staple all over the world.

[@robertcook9264]

Nope, people in the UK dont typically even have biscuits. They have scones, and many are disgusted someone would put meat gravy on a scone.

[@Slewfy]

Not in my part of Canada. I had not heard of it until I was in my forties when I met a couple from Indiana.

[@heatherhoward2513]

Not in Australia. I can hear aussies gagging from here! And we'd call 'em scones!

[@annekstrom3930]

I have made biscuits and scones. Scones are considered special and biscuits are every day staples in my world. They are not the same thing. Like you, I can’t imagine gravy on a scone.

[@Desertflower725]

I would say all over the US. Very odd that he would say no one eats them anymore. We have them for dinner since they are quite heavy for breakfast but they are definitely still a thing

[@kittybeck151]

I grew up in the 1950s. My mom made a lot of these! I miss her cooking.

[@ruthbowman5928]

Me too. Mom was a school cook. Tables had vinegar cruets for the spinach. We were served whole Whiting with the bones, glass milk bottles, baguette slices with melted butter, perfection salad (orange jello/shredded carrots, sometimes with pineapple). Lots of Spanish rice, tuna salad sandwiches with chips to crush in them. Just about everything homemade except what came in #10 cans. The cooks changed into frilly aprons with matching hankies to serve. I miss those days and the home and school meals.

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

In the South among the black community i became acquainted with older black women tending gardens where greens were prominently cultivated. They taught me how to make collard greens and black eye peas. They seasoned it with smoked ham hocks or saved bacon grease. The most savory part was the pot likker where you dipped your leftover corn bread. Delicious, nourishing and cheap.

[@cathyheston3029]

Southern girl here almost 69 and that is delicious ❤ Haven't had fresh greens in awhile but really love the mustards!

[@joycef8443]

@@serahloeffelroberts9901 my one daughter loves this food! I sometimes volunteered at a soup kitchen in MS. Whenever the cook, Mr. Ray would cook collards he would tell me to get my daughter over for some greens. That man could really cook! I know the community misses him R.I.P, Mr. Ray.

[@lulaporter6080]

That's not just for Black folks! I just canned 24 quarts of collards and Eugene asked if I could can the leftover liquid. I would have, but I've nearly run out of jars! I put them in the pantry beside my home canned sweet potatoes. My favorite meal is greens, sweet potatoes and cornbread. Also I would rather clean freshly picked collards than turnip greens.

[@happydays1336]

@@lulaporter6080 You would have to plant a lot of greens to have enough to can. My hat is off to you!

[@sureiseeyou]

Yes!! Hamhocks or fatback. It's hard for me to find hamhocks around here but fatback I can usually find. I use it for greens, beans and veggies. So much flavor!!

[@DramaDude-ub4ir]

Now I understand why my sweet mother always loved rice pudding so much.

[@Goldstar2110]

It was my mom’s favorite!

[@SusanR.Daniel]

I’m 61 and I love rice pudding with raisins and cinnamon. Good stuff. 🥰💕

[@MargoWoodmansee]

My parents grew up during the depression so i may not have lived then,but grew up eating a lot of these things. Especially potatoes. My mother made the best potato soup I've ever had

[@RoseBud-fk4qg]

My aunt onion ,water and potatoes salt and pepper they had $ 20 a week to pay all the bill for a family of 5

[@DonnaShort-i5u]

My mom could make food stretch. One day she had left over rice, hamburger & bell pepper. She called it junk. I still eat it & so good.

[@MrScottsearles]

That I believe ,would be called a stuffed pepper?

[@rachelstratman8901]

My mom made a similar dish and we called it. Concoction! People came from far and wide to eat her concoction, and would always ask for the recipe…🫢🤭 When my brother went to college and made concoction for his roommates, they didn’t believe him when he told him there was no recipe you just took whatever was left over during the week and put it together and made a gravy out of either a canned soup or pan gravy. One of the guys even went so far as to call my mother to confirm that that was how you made it. 😂

[@conniebaughman9894]

Baked beans,rice or fried potatoes and corn bread one of my favorite comfort food. All as a meal

[@rubysmirh3639]

I was born 1935 In alabama I ate lot of potatoes chicken & dumplings chicken & rice ham hock & beans grits eggs & biscuits for breakfast a lot rice pudding rice custard blackberry cooler huckleberry cooler all kinds of pudding potatoe pancakes cornbread & buttermilk lot of fried southern chi cken we raised alot of chickens. Cabbage & ham alot of turnip greens ne ver went to bed hungry. I will be 90 in jan. I grew up in country lots of fresh air & in log house went back to my home last year my school is there & in use in good condition.rs.

[@ronwells5375]

I make a lot of these dishes. Stone soup, meatloaf, Johnny cakes, potato cakes, fried potatoes & onions, carrot & apple salad, etc. better than fast food! Grow your own vegetables and herbs, fruits. You can have a feast!

[@texasnurse]

My grandmother made hot water cornbread, or "corn pones" as she called them. They remain one of my favorite things to eat.

[@sseptember6301]

We still make them in the summertime with fresh vegetables here in Louisiana!

[@MarieJackson-sp3be]

My father's family made slumgullion. Dad would have Mom make on into the 1970s. I loved it. Cooked a lot of it in graduate school!

[@janetshaffer423]

From my dad and one brother, who were born in the early 1930’s, stories of the molasses cookies never mentioned them lasting for more than a few days. Those were his favorite cookies his entire life. If I needed a special favor from dad, mom would suggest I make a batch of molasses cookies for him. Miss you dad!

[@geribentley]

@@janetshaffer423 My mom's all time favorite at Easter time was peeps. The marshmallow coated with sugar. Every Easter I buy a box and after every peep I say here's to you mom! By the time I'm done my stomach doesn't feel too good but think of her every peep. ☺

[@catg714]

I'm in my late 50's.. my grandmother who's long since passed was born in1900 and I remember her making at least a few of these things.. and many not on this list that are considered old fashioned classics.. particularly French Canadian dishes... that I still have her original recipes for.. baked beans, tourtiere, crouton.. and many others.

[@paulw.harvey3093]

I still have my grandmothers' baked bean recipes. I also have many bean soup recipes, and I still cook them. One of my grandmothers was lactose-intolerant, so she made custard pies to get some calcium. My mother, who grew up during the depression, would use leftover fruit salad by mixing it with batter and making a cake out of it. Celery isn't supposed to go in a cake, but it worked surprisingly well. She also mixed fruit cocktail with jello, which could be topped with whipped cream. What I miss the most was her garden salad sandwiches, which were slices of bread topped with bacon, cucumber, mayonnaise, celery or lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes, and then broiled. Our garden had tomatoes and lettuce, so we didn't have to buy some of the ingredients.

[@AmericanWoman-rh2xm]

Sounds delicious ! 😊

[@sseptember6301]

My mom would make red jello and put fruit cocktail in half of it and whip Cool Whip into the other half and make a layered parfait. Loved it!!!!

[@salauerman7082]

@@paulw.harvey3093 😋

[@heatherhoward2513]

I assume broiled is what we call grilled?

[@salauerman7082]

@ I associate broiled with an oven, but grill with an open flame and cooked outside. The cooking methods are very similar.

[@Hankyjane]

We went through hard times in east TX in the 80's. We ate beans and corn bread, stews, bean burritos, grill cheese sandwichs, and homemade deserts ,,we went to the woods for our fruit. Sand plums. We almost starved. I declined food many times so my kids would have enough. The neighborhood noticed our weight loss. They started helping out. Bless them God... wherever they are.

[@sincityyy73]

I'll be 70 next week when I was a little kid we would have homemade Boston baked beans with boiled hot dogs. Along with brown bread with butter. This was our meal every Saturday night. ❤. Still love this meal. Oh yeah, and our dessert would be white bread with butter and sugar on top.❤

[@rosalielindley3583]

I love that meal. Had it many times as a kid!

[@michaelbeggs2013]

I am from Maine and beans and hot dogs was a popular Saturday dinner there too. It's a New England thing.

[@sincityyy73]

@@michaelbeggs2013 absolutely 💯

[@roberta9833]

❤😊 I want to start cooking these foods again. - Thank you for reminding me. I love them all.

[@realong2506]

My dad used to make what he calles Spawny Hoss. Basically corn meal mush made with leftover pork broth and then cut thin and fried with a little salt on top. It tastes like fritos. I still make this whenever I cook a pork roast.

[@victoriakidd-cromis1124]

My maternal grandma taught me to make meatloaf using oats instead of breadcrumbs. I have modified the recipe. I use 2lbs of lean hamburger, One lbs of lean ground pork (I do NOT use sausage due to the spices but you can easily use it in place of the ground pork) To that I add two eggs, some oats ( I have no set amount. I just estimate the amount),& cheese chunks plus shredded cheese. I put on a pair of throw-away medical gloves and mix it together with my hands. I make two loaf shapes on my oven broiler pan. That way the meat doesn't sit in grease while it is baking. If you wash it right away or at least soak the broiler it cleans up easily. I often freeze the second loaf.

[@Jesse-gr2xo]

My mother's family lived on corn meal mush, and my father's family had some land for growing vegetables but had no $ for 3 years so parents went without eating so their children could eat. It was a terrible time for both, little food and much fear. When things get rough, I hope we will help each other.

[@davidweaver9373]

At 78 I well remember my late mother making bread pudding for us as a child served with custard and any leftovers eaten cold .She also made baked rice pudding in milk with sugar although I let my sister have the skin that formed on the top...Things were a lot simpler then and a lot happier

[@patriciaeddishaw9244]

I'm 82 and remember my mother's baked rice pudding. You had to cook it for a long time low temperature and periodically stir in the brown crust that formed. Yummy

[@firequeen2194]

I made rice pudding tonight. I absolutely adore it and I’m almost 58. I will try some more of these recipes. 😋

[@Athena-g712]

I want to try the Depression Cake - 4:30 - please leave ideas, if you make it: I think I'll put the butter back in, to replace the oil

[@xToniMichellex]

⁠@@Athena-g712there’s KZbin videos on how to make it

[@pttpforever]

My mother made me bread pudding when I was sick. Oftentimes, it was the only thing I could keep down and so good tasting! Like a lot of folks here, my mom grew up during the Great Depression, too. Here are the lessons I learned from her about feeding a family in hard times: 1. Grow/Raise your own food as much as possible. Find local sources for what you can't. 2. Home grown or purchased, buy fruits and vegetables in quantity and can or dehydrate it for use when it's no longer in season. Freezers are handy, but expensive to run. 3. Make your own bread. 4. Waste nothing. Fruit and vegetable scraps can be part of compost for the garden. 5. Budget! Set an amount you can afford to pay for food and never, ever go over it. 6. Learn to figure portion amounts for each meal and stick to that, too. No overeating! 7. Learn to make your own clothes as much as possible. 8. Club up with your friends and neighbors who are doing the same. Trading and bartering is a lost art that needs to be revived. I know all too well how much time it takes to get a garden going, keep it growing and safe, and then pick and process the harvest! So get the kids involved. All you age-peers of mine here will remember that CSNY song, 'Teach Your Children Well.' They're going to need it.

[@delgraven3624]

My brother and I like "Wayside Chapel Casserole": Macaroni & Cheese with chunks of cubed spam; add canned vegetables if desired, and enjoy, as we did at our church picnics in the 1960s and 70s.

[@barbarasigler4993]

I remember my mom making dried beef gravy and boiled potatoes or rivels.. one of my favorite meals when I was a kid.

[@sassydontpm]

We always put rivels in our potato soup. My grandma, mom, me, and now my daughter-in-laws do as well.

[@widowswatch6610]

Simple delicious foods without tons of pesticides. I love these foods. Thanks

[@selah71]

When a very, very young toddler my mom made rice with milk and sugar. She said after I ate it sll I asked, "Can I have some more of that bird seed?" Lol.

[@DawnGreen-wn4hr]

My grandma made this too. I loved it.

[@lmoughterson6702]

I can't eat most of these dishes because of medical reasons, but in my youth eating biscuits and gravy or Northern corn bread with a little milk and sugar were breakfast treats. When money was tight, to feed our family, I used to make ranch meatloaf with cubed bread, instead of oatmeal. I have to skip the bread and add two extra eggs for the binder these days. I also used to make rice with leftover chicken, corn, onions, black beans, all cooked in water, chicken broth, or a mix of the two. It was more than enough to feed our family.

[@lauriewittges9021]

I am 63, and my mom made a lot of these- as a diabetic I can't indulge in the sweets or carby food much. But I am saving these recipes. FYI Hot Water Cornbread- is fried mush or Fried Polenta and restaurants charge $$ for it!

[@alisonmeeks5580]

My parents were depression era kids and at 64 I still make many of these. Looks like some lean times coming and will be pulling out the recipes again. Stock up on your shelf stable basics.

[@msjulsfl]

Absolutely, I heard many a day of zero food...

[@CharlesGann1]

Wacky cake was a staple through the riral 60 and 70's

[@judithglavas9030]

I still make it.

[@MarieJackson-sp3be]

Biscuits and gravy is still very popular in the south, now including Florida.

[@serahloeffelroberts9901]

My grandfather grew up on a farm. Fried mush fried in bacon fat were a favorite dish especially on cold dark winter mornings. Nothing was off the table even pie left from the day before.

[@linden5576]

My mom made bread pudding for us when we were children. I’m 64, so it’s been a while. My mom said she had bread pudding growing up and her mother had bread pudding quite often. My mom made her bread pudding with cinnamon and raisins, and we all loved it. I still make it today on occasions. What a fascinating video this is!

[@erroleabrown4317]

The way history is told it’s apparent that a lot was left out. The plight of the poor is not what is documented here” here we hear of people that had a dwelling that was stable because food was there, where as the poor had no roof and no food of any sort. It is also apparent that history has been politely woven so the past looks as though people had a chance. History is nothing like these sweet buns and custard tarts when war raged through Europe so many people died that a great deal of the houses are still left empty. And why are the bomb holes called something else? Everyone can see that the wars are a lot more foul than we’re ever told, the war machine doesn’t tell real history and paints it “we’re coping” when in reality millions of civilians died in every country.

[@MargaretKolosky]

As meat and eggs get more expensive people are turning to the old recipies to stretch their food budget as a senior on a fixed income I get my food from the food bank and have to make a weeks worth of food last for a month. some of these foods can make a little go a long way as I only recieve 6 eggs once a month this is very helpful. the chance of having meat is scarce and this helps.

[@leisure057blank3]

I come from a canned baked beans people. But it was used as a side. I lived with my grandparents till I was 8 and my mother was born in 1918 so they all went through the depression, but they never spoke of being starving. You should leave the skins on the potato because that is where the vitamins are. I want to make to learn to make a very rich egg drop soup. Some Chinese restaurants have the most delish egg drop soup, but it’s hit or miss, that’s why I want to learn to make it. I love my scrapple, but only the Philadelphia kind in the red and grey package. I just discovered biscuits and gravy. I think Wendy’s has the best. When I was a kid, I was at a friends house and they had potato soup. Omg it was the best. Wish I could make it exactly like that.

[@BarBeeHoney]

Try making it with baked potatoes as it improves the potato flavor.

[@charlene-allgood]

Although not a depression baby my mother made many of these dishes I’m sure remembered from childhood hard times. Ty

[@ethc2867]

Thank you for bringing back so many memories of what we, or our parents or grandparents went through. We as a people can do it if we stand together. Great presentation. Again..Thank you.

[@lindawatkin9667]

My mother was a young woman during the depression.She said eggs,potatoes and eggs were standard meals

[@aligalad9907]

I started making bread and butter pudding this year - I have fond memories of this

[@JackFelker]

I talked extensively to my father and mother about their growing up in the depression. They still cooked the same meals they grew up with and I still cooked and enjoy that food today. My family loves it also. I’m 75 years old now and am asked by young people about growing up. What we ate, hand me down clothes gardening, preserving food and everything else we did.

[@debbydeberardinis8221]

1 onion diced and fried in a little oil and butter 1 small can tomato paste into the onion stir until you smell the paste Add 1 lb of pasta to salted boiling water for 8 to 9 minutes Laddle a little pasta water into onions and tomato paste to make a sauce. Add 5 to 6 teaspoons of sugar and stir Add spaghetti into sauce. Enjoy. Cheap eats

[@babala5760]

I watched this and realized my mom often made these recipes for us growing up. We were Boomers

[@trujustice8628]

Choclate Bread Pudding with raisins and brown sugar was a staple in the house I grew up in.

[@JSS-e1h]

If u take the left over goulash and add broth u got the best souo put on slow cooler to stretch food farther..almost any dish u can make into soup. Just add chixken or box of ...broth of u choice! Yummy ams. Smells good cooking in kitchen ..when it gets low add more veggies..

[@shericontrary2535]

My grandmother survived by fishing and digging for clams and oysters and eating dandelions

[@andreafong9952]

Did she live a long life? I hope so! She ate so healthily but I bet she missed many foods that weren’t available.

[@sharonlesley901]

That's untrue Biscuits and Gravy are a staple in Appalachia, in the southern states all over. We also eat potato soup. Where are you from?

[@jodyporter6086]

@sharonlexley901. I live in Colorado and we still eat Biscuits and Gravy. It is served in restaurants also. Potato soup is great and eaten here. We eat Hamburger Gravy over rice, which is very good. Stuffed peppers are eaten here. Do you eat them in Appalachia? My mom use to make a recipe that was baked beans in an oven baking dish. Top the beans with a package of hot dogs. Cover them with cheddar cheese. Bake for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees. My mom was born in 1930 but when she grew up she wasn’t frugal. I was born in 1951 and I am frugal. My grandmother taught me how to use your money wisely. Bless her heart. I miss her. ❤

[@willyjimmy8881]

​@@jodyporter6086stuffed peppers are very common here.

[@joycef8443]

That hot water corn bread sounds like hush puppies. Boy, there are no hush puppies up here in New England…I should make some! Yes!

[@sylviacaldwell2139]

Here In Georgia We Always Have Hushpuppies With Fried Fish, Slaw And Sliced Onion.

[@judielise]

Hot Water Cornbread and Hush Puppies are two separate things. Both taste good! 😊

[@basured9795]

What are hush puppies? (I'm a New Englander)

[@joycef8443]

@ cornmeal, eggs, finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, mixed rolled into meatball sized balls and DEEP FRIED! The myth says they got the name from tossing bits of fried fish breading to a begging dog and saying “hush puppy”. You can buy hush puppy mix…so easy.

[@basured9795]

​@@joycef8443 Thank you so much Joyce very kind of you. Very kind of you. Bless you. Happy holiday season dear.