25 Cheap Dinners That Got Us Through the Great Depression!!!

[@Miranda-k4v]

I am so glad these recipes are coming back considering food prices the way they are now and we are going to be at at least the next four years we need all the help we can get❤

[@donnarandall3275]

Oh my. I remember eating bread and sugar at my Nana's when I was a child. Nana didn't toast the bread, she would just dampen it somehow and sprinkle sugar, and sometimes cinnamon sugar, on it. My mother used to make chipped beef on toast. I have made it for my family and, surprisingly, it was and still is a family favorite. My Mom used to make baked beans. My Dad would make baked bean sandwiches. I eat baked bean sandwiches to this day (by the way, I'm 79 yrs. old). My Nana used to make this chocolate cake. I make it to this day. It is the cake my son has always requested for his birthday cake. He loves it with peanut butter icing. Modern day cooks should look into Grandma's, great grandma's old-time recipes. They were certainly some of the best. Thank you for this video and the trip down my memory lane.

[@ndn1958]

My grandma would sprinkle water over the sugar to keep it in place. ❤

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful memories! It’s truly heartwarming to see these recipes passed down and still bringing joy to your family. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@catherinerandall1966]

All favorites!(

[@KarinKraemer-g8d]

Baked beans with chip beef over rice or a slice of bread (open faced). I remember my daddy making it for us on Friday night. He was in the army during Korea. Today, I used canned beans (Bush beans) with a spoon of bbq sauce in it, vegtables- onions, green peppers and a cubed hot dog and I make a version of baked beans. Over a bisquit or a slice of cornbread- awesome. I make mine using the microwave.

[@marjoriesmith4839]

My mother did same

[@calvinguile1315]

Neighbors were communities, and actually shared and helped each other 😮

[@lynn2574]

My parents were born in 1930 and 1934. I grew up eating a lot of these meals, as the meals they grew up eating became what they liked. And my mom could turn any cheap meat or available veggie into a meal by ‘creaming’ it…. Essentially making a country gravy with it and serving it on mashed potatoes, toast, or rice. Creamed tuna, creamed peas, creamed asparagus, creamed cauliflower…… I’ve eaten it all. 😆

[@loisruthstrom8143]

My mother-in-law made the best cream sauce! She made it for her scalloped potatoes and also when she made cauliflower! I never cared for cauliflower before trying hers.

[@kathyschneider4966]

Stilled make creamed veggies and tuna to this day. Most of my greatgrandkids 6 of them dislike most veggies but they all love creamed corn and creamed cauliflower add a bit of cheese to ccaul. And they eat every bit.

[@asdisskagen6487]

I'm nearly 60; when my husband and I were starting our family we were so poor we couldn't afford to buy meat. Fortunately, feral hogs are considered nuisance animals where we live and are allowed to be hunted year 'round. I used ground pork instead of ground beef and we made many variations of dishes with cheap dried pasta and rice along with vegetables we grew and misfits in the grocery bargain bin. Americans are generally so wealthy that many of us have forgotten how to live frugally.

[@AnnemarieDobson]

Bread and dripping..or toasting the bread over the fire with a long fork,the toast was much nicer,with a mug of stewed tea,as the teapot was on the stove 😊all day..... I was 6yrs old,my dad I had that as he came home from night work... I loved that treat. Best ever gravy i❤s BISTO, My mum grew all our potatoes and veg,if we had a few pots over she would send me t😊o neighbours to give them for dinner. We lived on vegetable soup...we would start of with pieces of beef stew,on a Sunday then mum would add to it every day,as the meat was all eaten,on Sunday,but everyday she was amazing as she made that stew taste different every day.... Both my parents were excellent cooks...crunchy golden brown roast potatoes..heavenly..😇 One thing in the 50s and 60s no one had cellulite...not o ne dimple to be found,😂

[@loisruthstrom8143]

Many baby boomers were never taught the depression era dishes, because their parents could afford more in the post war era. Also, many people who grew up during the depression, simply had enough of that type of food in their youth. My dad refused to eat chipped beef on toast! I also heard my parent's stories of ketchup or mayonnaise sandwiches for their only supper. This was usually used as the reason why we should eat all of our vegetables. As kids, we didn't quite get the connection, but we took their word for it and ate the veggies.

[@angelbulldog4934]

I spent the first 10 years of my life on a small family farm in rural North Carolina. Sometimes supper for us was salt pork fried crispy, rich brown gravy, hot homemade biscuits, and maybe sliced tomatoes fresh from the garden. The only cost for us was flour for the gravy and biscuits. The farm supplied everything else. We were very poor, but at the table I thought we were royalty! Simple is beautiful.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your memories! It's incredible how the simple things in life can bring such joy and happiness. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so

[@gloriousjohnson1807]

❤😊

[@asdisskagen6487]

The crazy thing is, your "poor people" meals had more nutrition in them than the processed garbage on today's grocery store shelves that cost 10X as much!

[@icanary64]

I love salt pork, many in my area call it stick o lean.

[@TinaMarie869]

I can make biscuits with water and also gravy with water. Didn't have much milk. I use powder milk just add one teaspoon of sugar to a gallon the night before and put in the fridge. My granddaughters always tell me i have the best milk ever. 😉 Just don't tell them it's powder 🤭

[@ayronsmama05]

I'm 56 and my mama born 1928 and daddy in 1911. They taught me so much from hunting, gardening, canning to building. I was the only girl out of 7 and was taught right along with the boys. And to this day I make alot of these recipes. This past summer I canned hamburger stew and chili for winter. I can practically everything one way or another. I am so appreciative for the things my parents taught me. One of my many favorites that mama taught was Mock oyster stew. It took asparagus, salt, butter, pepper and milk. It taste just like oyster stew.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your story! It’s inspiring to see how you’ve embraced the lessons from your parents. Your appreciation for those recipes really shines through, and I’m sure they would be proud!

[@CeliaMitchell-ot5ir]

I believe. In women being women but they got to also be tough.I love that you were taught along with the boys.How to do everything I love that. I raised my niece to be tough

[@asdisskagen6487]

Growing up poor, stew was a great way to capture every bit of nutrition in the food we had and also make sure we could fill bellies. Last Christmas, I wrote down all of the recipes I got from my mother and grandmothers and passed them on to my daughter as she starts her own family. She has told me how grateful she is that I taught her how to cook from scratch when so many of her peers don't know the first thing about feeding themselves from whole, nutritious food, let alone how to do it frugally.

[@SteveHartman-my9rg]

I love great northern beans and cornbread.

[@njhainsworth4355]

Oh yes

[@gloriousjohnson1807]

@@SteveHartman-my9rg Me too, with a little ham hock!

[@beverlyhardin5350]

😋❤❤❤❤❤

[@swinter2715]

In the 50's my mother made a dish called "Stewed Potatoes" it consisted of a few strips of bacon, as many potatoes as she had, one onion. Render the bacon in the bottom of a large pot, add the onion. When the onions are tender fill the pot with water and add the sliced potatoes. When the potatoes are almost tender make a dumpling mix with flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and one egg. Drop in the boiling liquid and cook until the dumplings are done appx. 10 minutes. The dumplings thicken up soup. If she had carrots or any kind or root vegetable she would add it in. We a family of 4 would eat that soup for lunch and dinner for days. Its still one of my most favorite comfort dished.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

It's amazing how recipes like "Stewed Potatoes" can hold such cherished memories! Comfort food truly has a way of bringing families together. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@sharonlalli1414]

Sounds like potatoes soup. One of my faves. Still make it with Bisquick dumplings.

[@lrajic8281]

Yes, we had that many times! We also had a variation which was finely shredded cabbages added! Yummy!

[@loisruthstrom8143]

I never heard of potato soup with dumplings, before! However, I have thickened cream gravy with instant potato flakes.

[@karynwithers504]

I'm 51 and a lot of these meals were things I ate as a child. My parents had make food & money stretch for a house of 7 people. I'm going to incorporate some of these in my meal plan. I miss my parents cooking.

[@loisruthstrom8143]

My mom used to make cinnamon toast with butter and cinnamon sugar. My husband's mom simply sprinkled the cinnamon sugar on the toast, dry (a little trickier to eat without making a sugary mess). The butter helps the sugar stick to the bread, so I prefer my mom's version. Who needs Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, when you can have the real thing? 😋

[@janeskey5042]

I just turned 62 and I remember toast with butter, sugar & cinnamon when we were kids growing up in New York. We loved it 😊

[@MissDee1222]

I still make this for my kids. They love cinnamon toast!

[@margaretfrew6661]

I did not have a nana, but my friend did and it was such a delight to go and see her. Fresh eggs, bread and butter, I loved just breaking the egg and dipping the fresh bread into that lovely yolk. We had to cycle 28 miles to see her, so you can imagine the feast we were looking forward to.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

It sounds like such a wonderful experience! Those moments shared over fresh food are truly special. Cycling 28 miles for a feast is dedication also If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@BethCatt-jq6xi]

I used to make chipped beef on toast, biscuits, noodles, pancakes

[@BethCatt-jq6xi]

My mother 👩 and I used to make these recipes

[@alohr3491]

Caught a glimpse of Clara in this video

[@suelittle9703]

I wasn't to impressed with her book .I think perhaps she was better of than most .

[@sharonbapp9613]

Yup I saw her! God rest her soul😊

[@Just..Me..]

I love her and her potato soup. I have added sausage or clams so I can get 3 different soups out of 1 pot

[@nanetteyauger5163]

I loved and miss Clara. I wonder how many families could survive now on what the people then had to use. Have a great day everyone!😊

[@sylviaivie7047]

Me too and my eye filled with tears

[@wolfgoddess7300]

Brown sugar sandwiches were good also. Mamma used to fix them for me. It was bread and butter and you put brown sugar on top of the butter and made it a sandwich. Yummy when you’re hungry for something sweet.

[@terryjohnson2093]

A pot of beans, navy, pinto, kidney, with a piece of smoked ham hock is heaven in a bowl. Add some cornbread and it's a feast. If we did not have enough eggs so that everyone could have at least one, we would beat up the eggs with some milk and a little sugar and make french toast. Suryp was always homemade with water, sugar, a few drops of vanilla and this stuff called Maplene. It is maple flavor you can find in the spice aisle. Heat up some apple sauce to serve with it, and we had a tasty breakfast for 6 for less than a $1To this day, I can not stand cold syrup.

[@dorisbrown3622]

Meatloaf goes really good with beans and cornbread 😋👌

[@ladyjusticesusan]

“Depression cake” can be traced back in my family from at least the 1870s and my mom thinks she can get it traced back to the 1860s. It wasn’t new in the depression. We still have the original hand written recipe from an ancestor dated 1880. It is still the most delicious cake I’ve ever had, it’s super easy to make, and I’ve won a ribbon for it in our state fair.

[@elsiebaxter8094]

Care to share? Would love to have it

[@jojoihrke]

Could you please share the recipe?

[@MelindaCalder]

Just Google it​@@elsiebaxter8094

[@pfclemmer]

Where was your family in the 1970's & 1860's? It would be very interesting to know. My family was on the VA & TN border at that time and these recipes sound very familiar long before the depression in Appalachia.

[@pfclemmer]

1870's & 1860's

[@ieatemos]

7:24 About the Dandelion salad is: Great Depression Cooking with Clara. She was a wonderful woman and I still rewatch her videos even all these years later.

[@usualfulful]

Growing up in Germany with most of the females in my family being in service as cooks during two world wars and the depression, I grew up with cheaper eats than this. A lot of these recipes have meat, my family taught me to generate meals with flour, potatoes and the most precious of ingredients - butter. Meat was reserved for Sundays and holidays.

[@maryannstout7600]

I grew up eating cinnamon toast made with cinnamon and sugar on buttered bread and toasted in the oven. The oven was on low broil. I made for my family. I grew up on my mother’s ’Hungarian Ghoulash’ made the way you described it. My dad grew up eating cornmeal mush.. He also had fried mush with molasses poured over it like syrup. He would make it for our family for breakfast sometimes. I also grew up eating cold pork and beans on buttered bread and topped with another slice of buttered bread. Both of my parents were born in 1915 and grew up during the Depression.

[@annajones1396]

My German mother-in-law would butter both sides of the bread, toast it, and then put sugar/cinnamon mix on both sides. Yum:-)

[@robertsmoker8919]

My parents made cinnamon toast many times for us kids in the 60's. It was delicious.

[@tinasears610]

I was raised on fried cornmeal mush. At 60 years old, it's still an absolute favorite of mine. Also, in the summer, my Amish grandmother made milk soup. Grandma would tear a slice of bread into bite size pieces or crush a handful of saltine crackers and put in the bottom of a soup bowl. To this she would add sliced fresh fruit, either bananas or whatever fruit happened to be in season. A teaspoon of sugar was sprinkled over the fruit, then cold milk was poured over everything.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

It’s amazing how food can connect us to our memories and traditions! Fried cornmeal mush and milk soup sound like such comforting dishes. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@ElainePaine-m6m]

I'm 78 and corn meal mush for breakfast or supper was just lovely. Stewed canned tomatoes and bread cooked together. My Grandma called them breaded tomatoes, chipped beef gravy on toast was many of a supper.

[@suewhite6284]

We ate mush too

[@mickikindley7821]

My mom made it

[@Hatbox948]

We ate this mush too. My mom was Cajun. I loved it with milk and sugar.

[@dianabailey5175]

Pickled crab apples !! I still make em today and they’re awesome!!

[@heidimisfeldt5685]

I absolutely 💯 % so ❤ love pickled crabapple. They are a real treat, for me anyway. 😊

[@dianabailey5175]

@ they don’t taste like people would think. They are amazing aren’t they?!

[@suestaley844]

Mock sausage patties. These were made with mashed beans, a couple of pinches of flour, and a teaspoon of sausage seasoning mix. Fried in bacon grease, they were a good imitation in both taste and texture. My grandmother would have them for breakfast and then have "sausage" sandwiches for lunch at school. They were good trading items, too!

[@sharonlalli1414]

To this day I love potato soup. No meat. Just potato. onion & milk Sometimes celery would be added.

[@dougwebster8868]

Me the same, add a pat of butter. Breakfast a bowl of warm rice with milk and a bit of sugar.

[@dawnfansler3965]

@@dougwebster8868 add cinnamon

[@lrajic8281]

We had crepes many times. Made in advance, stored in the refrigerator. Could be sweet with granulated sugar and cinnamon on top or rolled like a burrito. Could be savory with all kinds ch of fillings.

[@Kitty-Velour]

I had someone ask the other day if I could only eat one breakfast food, waffles, pancakes, crepes or French toast for the rest of my life, what would it be. apparently I was the only one to say crepes, but you can literally fill them with anything!!!

[@brendadrew834]

Thank you, my late beloved mother was born in 1908 and lived through the Great Depression though both my late parents had good educations and well paying jobs at the time in Boston. I grew up eating some of these iconic recipes and still make some of them today. I was born in 1948 and baked beans on bread for sandwiches is an old famous Bostonian recipe from "Beantown" as Boston is called! I also make American Chop Suey which is elbow macaroni with ground meat, stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce, I use Classico family sauce and also love that brand because I save the jars to use for other things. I also make cabbages with noodles which also happens to be a famous Ukrainian recipe as well. I'm going to make that chocolate cake because with the more expensive prices of food these days, it's going to be back to making these recipes again. Wish the prices were like they were back then! I also recently made a chicken stew with tomato sauce, carrots, onions and potatoes which was delicious, but with the recent carrot recall due to e.coli I don't think I'll be buying carrots for awhile. I don't remember so many food recalls over the past several decades as there are these days! My late beloved maternal grandfather used to have a huge vegetable garden and a hen house where we would go collect eggs when we visited in the summer months and a pigeon coop, and we used to get fresh fish right off the boat on Cape Cod in the 1950s, those were the good old days! My neighbor in the 1980s in central NJ was an old NJ gardener and also had a huge vegetable garden and he would hand me these huge zucchinis over the fence that were the size of baseball bats, I could make 3 or 4 recipes from them, zucchini cake, muffins, stewed zucchinis and ratatouille with different veggies and zucchinis, fond memories!

[@trierchick]

I still make meatloaf with one third pound of ground beef and textured vegetable protein soaked in warm water to rehydrate it and add diced carrots, onions and salt and pepper. My teen grandkids still haven't figured it out and love it

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

That’s so cool! Your grandkids have no idea they’re getting the healthy version! Keep rocking that meatloaf also If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@user-th5hx7kl1l]

Merci beaucoup pour l'histoire de 25 great dinner that got us through the great depression ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😊❤❤❤❤❤❤ Millions of blessings, Esther St Juste

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for your kind words, If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so

[@scottpeterson7500]

A lot of tasty creativity came from people not wanting to waste stale bread 🥳❤️

[@judithfish4225]

My grandmother used to make navy bean sandwiches period and they were really good

[@ThePyromania13]

Dude, that first dish is just medieval pottage. Like that's the literal description: you keep a couldron going on the edge of your fire for days on end, adding bits and bobs here and there as you get them.

[@naturallyric84]

I'm eating medieval stew through the winter utilizing a large crockpot. It's pretty healthy as well. The broth gets a beautiful dark brown ( almost black).

[@tina00rw]

How people have survived for centuries. Before refrigeration had to keep the food heated

[@lucasgaeta3403]

finally......recipes i never heard of .ty so much...keep em coming.........those women then ......indestructable.

[@rkmugen]

NEVER throw out rendered bacon grease!!!! ❤

[@sourdoughdogs7879]

Has the taste of bacon grease changed over years? My moms seemed so much better then what I store nowadays

[@leejganderson7827]

Odd..lol😅I just thought this when i was making tostones Cus​..the tostones didn't taste as good..😮 peace 😊 11.11.2024@sourdoughdogs7879

[@DeborahThird-og1uo]

Higher water content. Older taste buds.

[@margaretfrew6661]

@@sourdoughdogs7879 Yes the bacon has changed, I can remember going to school passing the bacon factory, It smelled so good. But today I do not think that there is any cured bacon about, we have this packaged bacon that is full of water. I do not throw out any bacon fat and collect it whenever I do cook bacon+ I buy the best that I can afford.

[@VanessaMallia]

​@@sourdoughdogs7879 I live in East Tennessee we have Benton's Bacon. It's heavenly and will bring back your childhood ❤

[@KathyPowell-e4i]

My grannie made pea sausage from dried peas...cooked, mashed and seasoned with sage😊

[@devinatusi5035]

Corton, a pork spread made from hocks that was heavenly for me when my Nana made it every time! It was like a poor man's pate in it's time, better than deviled ham!

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your lovely memories of Corton! It's wonderful to hear how much it meant to you and your Nana. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so

[@DianaRuedin]

My Dad was born in 1942 and my grandmother made him cottage cheese sandwiches for his school lunch. He koved cottage cheese on bread his whole life.

[@priscillasmith2073]

I'm 77 yrs old and I've eaten crazy cake since I was 9 yrs. old.

[@donnarandall3275]

My in-laws used to eat fried salt pork back in the 60's, 70's and 80's. They would also tear up bread, place it in a bowl, sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on it and pour either slightly sour heavy cream or milk (when they didn't have cream on hand) over and eat it. Obviously, they were from the depression era.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

That's such a fascinating glimpse into the past! It's amazing how food traditions can tell us so much about history and resilience. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@jenniferholmes9039]

My family would out a slice of bread in a bowl, cover with cream and then sprinkle with sugar. It sounds weird but it is delicious.

[@BrianJennings-z3n]

Mom and Dad grew up during the Depression…onion sandwich’s, catsup sandwiches. Etc….

[@ummmm....-sd9eb]

I grew up on miracle whip sandwiches ⟵⁠(⁠o⁠_⁠O⁠)

[@Just..Me..]

I still love a mayo sandwich ❤

[@goingcagey5991]

@@ummmm....-sd9eb Double-decker miracle whip sandwiches were my favorite... 3 slices of bread stacked (like a Big Mac) with miracle whip on each layer to hold it all together. 😉

[@ummmm....-sd9eb]

@goingcagey5991 in summer we would have tomatoes, such an excellent sandwich...

[@cindyantonsen1378]

I’ve been making depression cake for years didn’t know the story behind it. Really good😊

[@1951kvk]

My Nana made sandwiches from ground beef bologna, sweet mixed pickles, mayonnaise and yellow mustard. It's still delicious.

[@byronwolfer9706]

While talking about one thinly sliced hotdog, the soup shows many thickly cut hotdogs. This is true throughout the whole video. Realistic pics that match what is being said would be much better!!

[@NatashaKeebler]

Thank-you for sharing depression recipes my gramma had made alot of these recipes especially now days really beneficial to learn these old fashioned meals. Bread puddings were so popular my gramma told me people during depression used what they had to make meals. I am greatful to of gotten opportunity to spend so much time with my gramma

[@Tabatha-x9o]

Am 58 and still eat milk toast it was a favorite of me and my sister

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

That’s awesome! Milk toast is like a warm hug in food form. Keep enjoying those good vibes with your sister! also if you haven't subscribe please consider doing it!

[@brendameyer3055]

Oh my i have eaten almost 90% of these. I still make depression cake. It is so moist and so delicious!

[@deborahchinn-sc8mf]

My Aunt would make us Bologna gravy and biscuits. It was great and didn’t cost a lot to make

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your memories! It’s amazing how certain dishes can create such strong connections to our loved ones. If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@Dr.HolisticHippy]

The meatloaf idea...genius! As a kid, I poked a hole in a leftover biscuit and filled it with sugar. Thanks, Grandmother!❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@AnnemarieDobson]

Bread and dripping...or we would toast over the fire with. Long fork,and dripping on the toast,that is a memory of my father and i was just 6yrs 😊old.with a mug of stewed tea,pasmitnwas on the stove alday, It was only when my auntie mooved ofr

[@lamuriellyman1644]

Fried cornmeal mush and syrup make make a delicious breakfast.

[@kimharding2246]

I had milk toast as a child and years later, as a vegan, I’m recognizing a couple of these recipes used today. Very interesting. This is why Moms should get a Medal of Honor! ❤

[@jnicholson2522]

Dried beans made into soup is still one of the best food deals going. A 1 lb bag will make a pot full you can eat leftovers on all week. Cornbread with it is delicious and cheap too. One of my favorites still.

[@HBADGERBRAD]

We used stale bread in a small plate pore tea over it then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on it, eat with a fork and knife 🍴 to trick your tummy to think it was more than it was. We also would smash up a stewed tomatoe🍅 and pore it on a piece of toast hot made it a warm supper. We also ate tons of macaroni with all kinds of toppings. One crushed stewed tomato and beef fat rendered down ( grandma used to call it beef flavouring) you buy beef fat suet and lamb fat suet slowly meat it then add it to beef bone 🦴 stock. You carefully collect the floating fat when the stock is mostly cooled this has tons of flavour to add meat flavour to a dish with no meat, you also have the added benefit of bone marrow very nutritious. Mom and I thought we’d try the hot tea with cinnamon and sugar on toast. It was disgusting! LOL 😝 Poor Mom couldn’t figure it out when they loved it as poor kids. I said that’s because you were starving! And It might have been your only meal that day. . 😂

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing such a vivid memory! It's amazing how food connects us to our past and the love we shared with family around the table.

[@karenandrew5467]

Grandma made wilted danlion greens with a little bacon grease for flavor.

[@ThorneyRose]

Are you planning on releasing a recipe book with all these recipes? I’d like to buy one if you do…😀

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Maybe one day!

[@munchie3310]

As a child my mom used old bread cubed it fried it in butter then mixed it with home made egg noodles. This was in the 70’s but I loved it! Wouldn’t it be nice if you could feed a family for the cost of food from the depression in 2024.

[@irmawing591]

My grandmother made that. Sometimes she heated leftover noodles with a little mik and then put the fried bread cubes on top.

[@fishrgirl5980]

In school cafeteria I always loved the mock chicken legs, they were so good😊 way back in 3rd grade.....still at 60yrs I love to have one now😂😂😂

[@marilynmcclintock2974]

We had potato soup with rivels, tomato dumplings, dumplings in great northern beans and macaroni and tomatoes. Had our garden and my Dad hunted and fished. We had cornmeal mush with milk and sugar, seldom fried. I was born in 1935. Grandma Sue in Central Indiana

[@neraksenoj2308]

They should take these recipes and put them in a cookbook.

[@jnicholson2522]

Hunt up old cookbooks at garage sales or thrift stores. I have several from the 1930-40s & they're full of recipes like these

[@maxon-m3c]

SOS, a favorite of mine all my life! Was popular in military chow halls when I was in, in the 70s!😃

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

My mum, (born 1929), tought me to mix beef mince with oats soaked in milk. I use a 50/50 blend of milk and beef stock. And a ratio of 60% beef mince to 40% oats. Well, roughly. My paternal grandmother, (born 1898), loved her macaroni milk gruel. With cardamom, sugar, and cinnamon. Dad, (born 1927), loved oat porrige. He'd eat it for breakfast, and had a leftover gruel with extra milk for supper. Love from Norway 😊❤

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your family's cooking traditions! It's amazing to see how recipes and flavors can be passed down through generations. Love from Norway is truly inspiring also If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing for more helpful content like this!

[@madmanmoz6365]

The poor man's stu most of been the reason why we was told the meat was in the gravy 😂

[@MaryannBoatner]

My mom use to make homemade bread and fry it and we would eat it with butter . It was a treat

[@bethpowell6466]

My great grandmother made Bread Pudding with stale bread slices, warm milk, sugar. cinnamon (if available), and just a dash of vanilla. It was squeezed with hands and when “squishy” a small sized box with raisins was added. It was often baked in a bowl (saving dishwashing). It was done when a knife inserted in the center came out clean, Served with maple syrup or sorghum syrup it could be breakfast, lunch or dessert with a frugal dinner. One favorite was baked lentils (seasoned like baked beans) and miners lettuce salad dressed with vinegar, hot pork grease, salt, pepper and dried bread croutons. I am 74 now and my mother passed these on to me and I to my brothers and children

[@robinhood4670]

That cake looks divine. I think I'm going to have to try that.😊

[@crazy8skml]

I made the depression cake. Not because of a trend but because I had no eggs, milk or butter and wanted something sweet. The cake is amazing.

[@libertylady1952]

Very interesting video. Thanks! I actually looked up some of these recipes.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

I'm glad you found the video interesting! Which recipe are you thinking of trying first?

[@libertylady1952]

@@VintageLifeofUSA I thought the mayonnaise biscuits were fascinating. I got Hellman's recipe for them on line. I'm not a big biscuit eater, but they sounded fun. It will be interesting to see if you taste the mayonnaise in the biscuits. Also, I looked up the hot dog soup. There are a lot of different recipes for it out there now. My parents were married in 1937. My dad stayed employed during most of the Depression so they didn't have it as hard as some people, but many working people had their hour and/or wages reduced. My parents would talk about the depression once in a while. I heard stories of things like fried bread with white sauce or lard gravy and dad called ketchup Depression era mayonnaise. My mom always had a garden right through the end of WWII.

[@southerngal7899]

Used to eat lettuce sandwiches. Actually good.

[@annmariedelgrande1339]

I eat and love shredded iceberg lettuce sandwiches with mayppo and onion powder I love it

[@wolchfam]

When I was a child and we had no cold cereal, we tore up bread into a bowl and added sugar and milk.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thank you for sharing your childhood memory! It's always interesting to hear how different experiences shape our tastes also If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so!

[@goingcagey5991]

In the mid 1940s through mid 1950s, our mom had 8 babies in 10 years, with each childbirth requiring 5 days hospitalization. Dad couldn't cook, but we older children always looked forward to the "Milk Toast" he made. He toasted bread, spread it with oleomargarine, put it into a bowl, sprinkled it with sugar, and finally poured milk over it all. It was a real treat when there was still some warmth left to the toast when it was ready to be eaten. 😊

[@dinadedona1813]

My father was from Italy and would nake this for us. He called it "Italian Cereal" 😊

[@elsiedeleon4484]

I live i. SOUTH Texas. Sometimes, we eat tender cactus. "nopalitos". These days, nopalitos are a delicacy eaten mostly during Lent, as a substitute to meat. It can be eaten raw in a salad with.chopped tomatoes, cilantro, diced cucumber, and lime/lemon juice, or cooked, scrambled with eggs. I hope you get yo try it sometime!

[@KarlieSolomon]

I like cabbage in soups and stews ❤

[@bridgettorres4683]

I have one recipe that I loved that’s my mother made. She had one can of whole potatoes, one green pepper and an onion. She cut it all up and fried it in a little oil and that was so good. She seasoned it with salt and pepper

[@audreycasassa1683]

Excellent video!!!

[@suebrown8775]

I usually don't comment. But the bacon macaroni and tomatoes. My mom grew up eating it. I grew up in the 60s and 70s eating it. My children in the 80s and 90s eating it. My grandchildren who are now 22 and 20 will ask me to make it for them. We all know it as Nana's spaghetti

[@lucyhare5799]

Not a depression era recipe that l know of, but l was taught to use Jiffee Cornbread mix. Mix it up with milk to make it oatmeal consistency, then add raisins, cinnamon, fruit.

[@lrajic8281]

We had cornbread pudding baked in coffee mugs. Was savory, with farmers cheese, which kind of like ricotta, or cottage cheese drained well. The whey from the cottage cheese goes into bread for protein:

[@Wheelchairspeeder]

These are interesting and I'm getting ideas for how to stretch my food budget today so thank you and ah yes ghoulash i think my mom used a can of beef broth..my grandma was eastern european and German and she made really good food and on the cheap..but a product of the big one..( ww2) and her ma a product of the depression a teen then they both made these foods and every penny stretch and mayo in biscuits isn't a depression thing thats a old pioneer thing and well known in the south especially where I'm from and coffee in food not as odd as you'd think ..red eye gravy ( coffee gravy) and acorn bread isn't as odd as you'd think either im also part native American and my Cherokee kin have a soup made from acorns..and Crap on toast..one of our family favorites i cook it whenever we can splurge for some of that buddig beef lunch meat to replace the chipped beef we make country gravy with it and serve it over day old bread ..haha your meat loaf recipe sounds like my mom's sans coffee..and oats but it's definitely cheap...we call it recession meat loaf .if anyone can use it here ya go and be blessed.. Recession meatloaf 1. One pound of ground beef 2. One cup of cooked diced treet ( poor mans spam )..drained 3. 2 eggs 4. one can of beef gravy.. 5. 3 cups bread crumbs 6. Cup of corn flakes 7. one can of v8 juice ( the kind you get at 1$ tree) 8 1/2 cup diced onions and peppers and you mix it up and form it in a loaf and bake it for 35 minutes on 350 and it's not that shabby and can feed 2-3 people and is still pretty cheap to make.this is my grandmas recipe so I'm sure its from the depression & ..have a blessed day everyone and happy Thanksgiving everyone 😊

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your family’s recipes and memories! It’s clear that food is a beautiful way to connect with our past. Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

[@lrajic8281]

We ate a lot of boiled whole potatoes, with butter. If we didn’t have butter, it was sausage grease with little bits of sausage scrapings. If we didn’t have that, we had warmed lard with paprika or some minced garlic.

[@egwthe1]

Rice with vienna sausage. Was a great one for a famly of 9. This Puerto Rican dish is called arroz con salchicha.

[@wendyvermette9095]

I have the same recipe for that chocolate cake but in my old cookbook it's called poor man's cake. Something else that I learned about was called water pie and I tried it and it's actually very delicious and yes I do remember having the sugar sandwiches from my mother.. She grew up in the depression with her 9 siblings on a farm. She always had a way of making food spread for a family of 8. She also had a recipe that she passed on to me called goulash but it was made with hamburger and canned vegetable soup and that was the recipe that my paternal grandmother had given her. That was hands done one of our favorite meals.

[@velocityakaslothmom8083]

My mom‘s favorite thing was beef and noodles. She would take about a pound of roast put it in the crockpot and then when we got back from church she put noodles in it she could take that 1 pound of beef and feed 13 people with two bags of 1 pound noodles and 1 pound of roast onion, and carrots . Beef is so expensive now I do it with pork roast that I can get for $1.50 a pound and Gary Indiana.

[@deannayoung5311]

Your forgetting the famous Tuna casserole.... Made with any pasta With Peas adding the Cream of mushroom soup Or cream chicken soup Fed a family of 9 Left overs were made to Stretch with adding breadcrumbs...

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

There were many, that we can't cover in a single video but coming but stay tuned for part two coming soon!

[@Just..Me..]

Cream tuna with peas over toast mmmmmmm

[@MmmHuggles]

lol the pizza. As a kid growing up in a poor family, we had our own version of poor person pizza. Slices of bread. Cheapest marinara or spaghetti sauce. Garlic powder. American cheese. And, if we could afford it, some kind of meat like pepperoni or fried bologna or fried ham or fried spam or similar. Throw it in the oven to toast up good.

[@maryshimp2664]

My grandmother would make us milk toast when we weren’t feeling well.

[@robertabray-enhus3198]

I would love the recipes for a lot of these dishes. It’s spelt bologna but pronounced baloney.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thanks for your interest! I’ll definitely consider sharing the recipes in a future video.

[@madelinetanner6159]

Me too

[@madelinetanner6159]

​@@VintageLifeofUSAplease do

[@TinaMarie869]

I can make biscuits with water just use flour bacon grease and water. Do the same for gravy. Salt and pepper in the gravy and no one will ever know. The bacon grease is the trick 😊

[@sharonblair907]

What would be really interesting Is the contrast of what that used to cost as you say and compared to what the real cost is today In grocery stores, not in high end restaurants, thank you.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

That's a great point! I'll definitely consider that for future videos!

[@brendamoote7304]

All those recipes were passed down to us baby boomers who often had to use them, whether it be from single parenthood or unemployment. We grew up with twice the amount of vegetables and potatoes as meat,. Which proved more than likely why we were so healthy. The hamburger gravy was known as hamburger, hash slipped over mashed potatoes, or you could get fancy and make a shepherds pie

[@dorisbrown3622]

Baked Beans sandwich... ... Don't they eat those in England 😮??

[@cocogomez2278]

Looks gourmet to me

[@KathyPowell-e4i]

My husband still eats spaghetti sandwiches

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Haha, love that! Spaghetti sandwiches sound like a fun way to mix things up at dinner! If you haven’t subscribed yet, please consider doing so

[@robertnervi57]

I do.

[@aletageer6911]

I really do not understand these videos! These foods are a special treat to me. I can’t afford such foods. Thanksgiving will be nothing to me! Thankful I will still be alive anyway and my kitty who is very special.

[@barbaraness4507]

25:38 Hey! I thought I came up with that! I just put baked beans on bread, and gobble it up!

[@tgfitzgerald]

Also delicious on a baked potato!

[@lindajimmerson8542]

These meals sound so good and interesting. How do we get the actual recipes?😊

[@jaycristoval6155]

My grandparents kept rabbits their whole lives. Two females and one male provided about 30 rabbits per year. Very inexpensive to feed them..... my grandmother told me that during the war, the Germans sent all of the food back to Germany. Rabbits saved their lives. ...

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

That's super cool! Your grandparents were total rabbit pros! Must've been like a fluffy little farm in their backyard! If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing for more helpful content like this!

[@LorieAnnGreer]

What country were your grandparents in?

[@KathyPowell-e4i]

Scrapple is made from corn meal, cooked in meat broth

[@nadinesawtell3267]

We’d mix sugar and cinnamon with butter or margarine and spread on toast

[@madelinetanner6159]

I really like this video. Even though there's a lot in it, it was slow enough. I could get some of the recipes or the gist of them for later. It wouldn't be nice. Have less but recipe using it

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

Thanks for watching! Glad you liked it! I’ll think about keeping it more chill with the recipes in the future-can’t rush good food, right?

[@robertahardy4215]

My mother grew up on the dish of macaroni, stewed tomatoes (home-canned), and cheese, which her mother called “gorge”-I guess because you could gorge on it without breaking the bank.

[@annbritton1714]

I'm saddened that so many find this a source of good memories. Hunger and malnutrition are very real problems for many all over the world. Today in Gaza the families are being deliberately starved, while Americans send the munitions and money to murder them. They won't be recalling any nostalgic memories ever even if they survive. Poverty and hunger are not something that can even be understood by people who have known nothing but plenty.

[@VintageLifeofUSA]

You’re absolutely right. What’s happening in G@z@ is a deliberate gen0cide-families are being st@rved and b0mbed with support from abro@d. This isn’t something they’ll look back on with nostalgia; it’s pure tr@uma

[@loveisall5520]

Perhaps I'm just weird, but such things as 'SOS' don't bother me at all. I survived in college a half century ago not on junk food like ramen noodles (I never saw them until maybe the 90's), but staples such as beans and rice. Pinto beans, blackeyed peas, all sorts of beans, really. White rice usually, as brown rice wasn't cheap and available in stores like now. What average Americans are still not understanding is that huge corporations are processing food with chemicals, killing so many nutrients, then making huge profits off of being the 'middle man' between what the Lord grew and us. Why is anyone surprised that we have such obesity, and even worse, colon cancer exploding among young people? No one wants to address this, least of all our Congressmen, because they count on that funding. My mother was one of 13 children raised in the South during the Great Depression, all in great health, no one going hungry ever. The secret for that was simply some planning, a coop filled with chickens, and a large garden. But--my grandmother worked like women today wouldn't work at home; and she had no electricity in their country home until 1950! Thank you for educating younger generations, showing them the way out of the industrial food trap.

[@Rust-g7y]

We use to give a peace of bread with sugar and bit olive oil give to little children to eat as snacks