Meals for the Coming Hard Times

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:00 pm

I fully expect that we will be having hard times like most of you have never experienced and that it will last longer than anyone can presently imagine.

During WW 2 with food rationing and scarcity of many foodstuffs, mothers became quite inventive with meal preparation. Here are a few of the meals I remember-----------tuna casserole, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Spam with powdered eggs, chipped beef on toast, ham hocks and lima beans, Campbell Soups, stews with questionable ingredients, horsemeat.

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:03 pm

Lon;1011866 wrote: I fully expect that we will be having hard times like most of you have never experienced and that it will last longer than anyone can presently imagine.

During WW 2 with food rationing and scarcity of many foodstuffs, mothers became quite inventive with meal preparation. Here are a few of the meals I remember-----------tuna casserole, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Spam with powdered eggs, chipped beef on toast, ham hocks and lima beans, Campbell Soups, stews with questionable ingredients, horsemeat.

Only things i would eat without barfing are:

scalloped potatoes

campbells soups:wah::wah:

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:04 pm

PB & J

Kraft dinner and brown beans

spagetti

eggs and toast

mac & cheese

home made stews and soups

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:08 pm

Lon;1011866 wrote: I fully expect that we will be having hard times like most of you have never experienced and that it will last longer than anyone can presently imagine.

During WW 2 with food rationing and scarcity of many foodstuffs, mothers became quite inventive with meal preparation. Here are a few of the meals I remember-----------tuna casserole, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Spam with powdered eggs, chipped beef on toast, ham hocks and lima beans, Campbell Soups, stews with questionable ingredients, horsemeat.sadly i grew up eating that... omg I love spam!!! i miss spam!

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:12 pm

Hey, there are some comfort foods on that list.

Wow... someone that loves Spam who doesn't live in Hawai'i!

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:14 pm

I have been eating most of those foods all my life. The "coming" hard times? :-2

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:16 pm

Spam ewwwwwwww :yh_sick:yh_sick:yh_sick:yh_beatup

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:17 pm

Chezzie;1011885 wrote: Spam ewwwwwwww :yh_sick:yh_sick:yh_sick:yh_beatup

You said eww to Spam before "stews with questionable ingredients" (one of which could be Spam)? :wah:

Omni_Skittles · Post by **Omni_Skittles** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:17 pm

G-man;1011878 wrote: Hey, there are some comfort foods on that list.

Wow... someone that loves Spam who doesn't live in Hawai'i!
omg Spam!!! Spam with fried potatoes... spam and eggs.. spam and eggs and potatoes wrapped in a fried bread mmmmmm

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:18 pm

ribeyes

cup of noodles

tuna patties

powdered milk

biscuits... buscuits and gravy with everything.:wah:

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:19 pm

Chezzie;1011871 wrote: Only things i would eat without barfing are:

scalloped potatoes

campbells soups:wah::wah:

Wazzup with Macaroni Cheese?

Favourites included corned beef hash (more baked beans than corned beef) and Lancashire Hot Pot (how else do you use scrag end of mutton).

Nowadays the cheepo meal is what I fondly call Spaghetti Neopolitain (a finger of spaghetti with a tin of tomatoes and some herbs) or a jacket spud with a couple of ounces of cheese.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:19 pm

Anyone who grew up in the 50's and 60's remember these meals I loved them. I passed them on to my Daughter and now they love them, my Granddaughter will pass them on I'm sure as she loves them as well. What was great about these is they were homemade from scratch, well except the powered egg and potatoes. Yummy..

[QUOTE]tuna casserole, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese, Spam with powdered eggs, chipped beef on toast, ham hocks and lima beans, Campbell Soups, stews with questionable ingredients, horsemeat.[/QUOTE]

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:20 pm

Ok tell me whats a biscuit that you have with gravy made out of?

YZGI · Post by **YZGI** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:39 pm

Chezzie;1011895 wrote: Ok tell me whats a biscuit that you have with gravy made out of?

FLour, eggs etc

YZGI · Post by **YZGI** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:41 pm

Split em up, butter them and slather cream gravy on them. I love to eat fresh tomatoes with mine.

guppy · Post by **guppy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 2:41 pm

lima beans and cornbread is a FEAST!!! yummy

pinto beans and cornbread

rice and tomatoes and limas with cornbread..

Bridget · Post by **Bridget** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:07 pm

I would like to know the ages of you who think you went to the "great depression as my older sisters did. They start at eighty and come down to 77. The stories they tell are nothing like you are all telling. What you are talking about is the 1940's during the war. I remember that. My sisters tell about bread and flour and grease biscults smeared with gravy made from flour and water and the grease of the remains of a rabbit. Blackberries spread on biscults. No seasoning but grease. Rabbits, squirrells, fish, fowl, chickens,where the meat of my family. I grew up on pancakes made of cornmeal as it was cheaper than flour,and that was the way Mom had aways made them. Greens were the veggie of the day in the spring gathered while gathered new, again wilted with grease. All fruit was picked in the woods or from some ones apple tree. They raised a big garden each spring and canned anything they could stick in a jar. Kids would spend the day in the winter hunting for rabbits and then walk the streets trying to sell them. My mother would buy one for 25 to 75 cents. According to the size. Mom was a excellent pie maker and that supplied the sweets. She told me about the winter they did not have the money for her any shoes so she wore old galoshes over lots of socks. They didn't have electricity because the town did not have electricity, heat was from a heating stove and coal or wood which ever they could buy. Water was to an out side hydrant, brought in by bucket. The bathroom was at the end of a very long and cold lane. :-5:-5

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:08 pm

Odie;1011872 wrote: PB & J

Kraft dinner and brown beans

spagetti

eggs and toast

mac & cheese

home made stews and soups

eggs, cheese. jam, tea and milk were just a few of the rationed items during WW2

You would probably have to settle on powdered eggs and toast.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:10 pm

along-for-the-ride;1011881 wrote: I have been eating most of those foods all my life. The "coming" hard times? :-2

If that's the case, you will adapt better than most.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:16 pm

flopstock;1011891 wrote: ribeyes

cup of noodles

tuna patties

powdered milk

biscuits... buscuits and gravy with everything.:wah:

Ribeyes???? Not unless you lived on a farm and had your own animals. From 1941 to 1945 if you had a rib eye steak it was probably horsemeat.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:18 pm

YZGI;1011923 wrote:

FLour, eggs etc

Both were rationed during WW2

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:18 pm

Bridget;1011969 wrote: I would like to know the ages of you who think you went to the "great depression as my older sisters did. They start at eighty and come down to 77. The stories they tell are nothing like you are all telling. What you are talking about is the 1940's during the war. I remember that. My sisters tell about bread and flour and grease biscults smeared with gravy made from flour and water and the grease of the remains of a rabbit. Blackberries spread on biscults. No seasoning but grease. Rabbits, squirrells, fish, fowl, chickens,where the meat of my family. I grew up on pancakes made of cornmeal as it was cheaper than flour,and that was the way Mom had aways made them. Greens were the veggie of the day in the spring gathered while gathered new, again wilted with grease. All fruit was picked in the woods or from some ones apple tree. They raised a big garden each spring and canned anything they could stick in a jar. Kids would spend the day in the winter hunting for rabbits and then walk the streets trying to sell them. My mother would buy one for 25 to 75 cents. According to the size. Mom was a excellent pie maker and that supplied the sweets. She told me about the winter they did not have the money for her any shoes so she wore old galoshes over lots of socks. They didn't have electricity because the town did not have electricity, heat was from a heating stove and coal or wood which ever they could buy. Water was to an out side hydrant, brought in by bucket. The bathroom was at the end of a very long and cold lane. :-5:-5

The Great Depression in the US is well outside my experience, I joined with the mention of WW2 and rationing and I do not think that it bares comparison - you need to go farther back in British history to find conditions like that.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:19 pm

YZGI;1011927 wrote: Split em up, butter them and slather cream gravy on them. I love to eat fresh tomatoes with mine.

Butter???? that was also rationed.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:24 pm

Bridget;1011969 wrote: I would like to know the ages of you who think you went to the "great depression as my older sisters did. They start at eighty and come down to 77. The stories they tell are nothing like you are all telling. What you are talking about is the 1940's during the war. I remember that. My sisters tell about bread and flour and grease biscults smeared with gravy made from flour and water and the grease of the remains of a rabbit. Blackberries spread on biscults. No seasoning but grease. Rabbits, squirrells, fish, fowl, chickens,where the meat of my family. I grew up on pancakes made of cornmeal as it was cheaper than flour,and that was the way Mom had aways made them. Greens were the veggie of the day in the spring gathered while gathered new, again wilted with grease. All fruit was picked in the woods or from some ones apple tree. They raised a big garden each spring and canned anything they could stick in a jar. Kids would spend the day in the winter hunting for rabbits and then walk the streets trying to sell them. My mother would buy one for 25 to 75 cents. According to the size. Mom was a excellent pie maker and that supplied the sweets. She told me about the winter they did not have the money for her any shoes so she wore old galoshes over lots of socks. They didn't have electricity because the town did not have electricity, heat was from a heating stove and coal or wood which ever they could buy. Water was to an out side hydrant, brought in by bucket. The bathroom was at the end of a very long and cold lane. :-5:-5

My original post was talking about WW2 years not the Great Depression. Having been born in 1934, I remember both quite well. I think our coming hard times will be closer to the 1941 to 1946 era than the GD.

Odie · Post by **Odie** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:26 pm

Lon;1011971 wrote: eggs, cheese. jam, tea and milk were just a few of the rationed items during WW2

You would probably have to settle on powdered eggs and toast.

we are discussing hard times now, not back inWW2.

Bridget · Post by **Bridget** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:33 pm

Lon I am sorry if i took your idea out of context. When you said that they might be eating worse meals than they ever had it sounded like most of your contribritors were not too upset at mac and cheese and spam. I too have eaten all of that but not during the WW2. We were rationed on so many things. We did not have mac and cheese but did get spam. May no mac and cheese was forthcoming because my folks just could not afford it. Sorry i interrupted your chain. It is very funny.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:57 pm

Bridget;1012004 wrote: Lon I am sorry if i took your idea out of context. When you said that they might be eating worse meals than they ever had it sounded like most of your contribritors were not too upset at mac and cheese and spam. I too have eaten all of that but not during the WW2. We were rationed on so many things. We did not have mac and cheese but did get spam. May no mac and cheese was forthcoming because my folks just could not afford it. Sorry i interrupted your chain. It is very funny.

No problem:)

Galbally · Post by **Galbally** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:15 pm

That sounds better than the crap we had in Ireland in the 1980s. I quite like macaroni and cheese, nowt wrong with that, thats actually kinda fancy food. :p

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 4:53 pm

Galbally;1012042 wrote: That sounds better than the crap we had in Ireland in the 1980s. I quite like macaroni and cheese, nowt wrong with that, thats actually kinda fancy food. :p

I love it too--------and that's what I am having for dinner tonight, with tomatoes and fresh asparagus. I like real sharp cheddar cheese, so sharp it makes your teeth tingle.:wah:

Patsy Warnick · Post by **Patsy Warnick** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 5:19 pm

My Parents lived thru the depression - and having a large family, my Dad kept with his staples he was raised on.

S.O.S. - which you've pictured

Hash - made from leftovers

Toasted cheese sandwiches & soup

Don't forget the Powdered Milk,, just add water & add to your

eggs - stretch your scrambled eggs

Who gets Ribeye's ?

Pork Chops will be a treat.

Patsy

guppy · Post by **guppy** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:17 pm

My mom was raised in the early forties..she said that they often had grits with tomatoes for breakfast..it fed a large family..which they were..

and rice was always on the table..at supper...:-6

flopstock · Post by **flopstock** » Tue Oct 07, 2008 7:26 pm

Lon;1011980 wrote: Ribeyes???? Not unless you lived on a farm and had your own animals. From 1941 to 1945 if you had a rib eye steak it was probably horsemeat.

Ya know... we were kinda suspicious because all of our steaks were shaped like that empty spam can...you don't suppose they lied to us, do you?:-2

:D

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 3:33 am

Bridget;1011969 wrote: I would like to know the ages of you who think you went to the "great depression as my older sisters did. They start at eighty and come down to 77. The stories they tell are nothing like you are all telling. What you are talking about is the 1940's during the war. I remember that. My sisters tell about bread and flour and grease biscults smeared with gravy made from flour and water and the grease of the remains of a rabbit. Blackberries spread on biscults. No seasoning but grease. Rabbits, squirrells, fish, fowl, chickens,where the meat of my family. I grew up on pancakes made of cornmeal as it was cheaper than flour,and that was the way Mom had aways made them. Greens were the veggie of the day in the spring gathered while gathered new, again wilted with grease. All fruit was picked in the woods or from some ones apple tree. They raised a big garden each spring and canned anything they could stick in a jar. Kids would spend the day in the winter hunting for rabbits and then walk the streets trying to sell them. My mother would buy one for 25 to 75 cents. According to the size. Mom was a excellent pie maker and that supplied the sweets. She told me about the winter they did not have the money for her any shoes so she wore old galoshes over lots of socks. They didn't have electricity because the town did not have electricity, heat was from a heating stove and coal or wood which ever they could buy. Water was to an out side hydrant, brought in by bucket. The bathroom was at the end of a very long and cold lane. :-5:-5
I'm too young to remember the times (I was born in '61) but I definitely remember the food! :yh_drool As a small child, grease biscuits and tomato gravy was our family popcorn. Cornmeal pancakes and potato pancakes (made from leftover instant mashed potatoes) were neat treats I only got to eat sometimes and considered them special occassion dishes.

evening family activities always included shelling beans, shucking corn, or some such activity while sitting in a circle on the front porch.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 5:52 am

Ill dumpster dive in the McDonalds trash bins.

Due to the modern marvels of chemical carcinogen additives theyre food doesnt deteriorate. :-6

sunny104 · Post by **sunny104** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:12 am

I still like tuna casserole and Campbell's soup. :wah:

homemade mac and cheese is the best! :yh_drool

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:21 am

Tuna casserole sounds so vile I would barf at trying to make it???

I dont like tuna bake either or tuna on pizza..ewwww

I love casseroles but not with bloomin horsemeat

To be fair ive not had mac n cheese:o

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 6:26 am

chezzie;1012477 wrote:

i love casseroles but not with bloomin horsemeat

freak !

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:38 am

Well I made my own bread the other day because of the cost. The bread I like is £1.05 for a small loaf. The bread I made cost £0.40.....trouble is it was so deliciious I ate the lot....most of it while it was still hot.!!!

For a lot of us NOT buying so much convenience food will save money....ready meals etc. are so convenient specially when you're cooking for 1.

As for SPAM....love it .....although the stuff I bought from TESCO the other day was rather 'rubbery'.

I vaguely remember rationing but never felt deprived of good food as my mum anad grandad grew loads of veg and reared chicken....plenty of fresh eggs. Think my mum kept the powdered stuff for baking.

My biggest concern is the price of energy and therefore the cost of keeping warm this winter. Got lots of warm jumpers etc and have turned down the thermostat on the central heating......will have to see what happens.

Anything cooked with rice or pasta is filling and with veg and really nutricious and liver is still really cheap.....mmmm....love it with mushrooms, onions and bacon.

Maybe people could post their 'hard time' recipes....

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:42 am

Chezzie;1012477 wrote: Tuna casserole sounds so vile I would barf at trying to make it???

I dont like tuna bake either or tuna on pizza..ewwww

I love casseroles but not with bloomin horsemeat

To be fair ive not had mac n cheese:o

Agree about the tuna casserole....I only eat tuna with salad or in sandwiches.

Beef, lamb or chicken in casseroles for me.

Mac/cheese ....yum...put some sliced tomatoe or onion on the top....not exactly a slimmers meal though

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:44 am

Any kind of thick soup with some crusty bread....that'll keep you going !

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:54 am

Bez;1012619 wrote: Any kind of thick soup with some crusty bread....that'll keep you going !

You cant go far wrong with a soup can you Bez.

I used to make all my own soups, had a great recipe for spicy curried lentil.

You can make a soup out of a couple of ingredients too, like celery, onion and carrot, stock cube, blend it all together with a touch of milk and plenty of pepper:p

Pan of scouse ( sorry love) can last a few days and is so warming and filling, served with pickled red cabbage or beetroot and crusty bread.

An authentic production of Scouse should allow the spoon to stand straight up in the bowl! For veggies, simply remove the meat from the recipe and cook as normal and you have ‘Blind Scouse’ .

Scouse

900g/2lb neck of lamb, cubed (remove fat first)

450g/1lb stewing or braising steak, cubed (remove fat first)

600ml/1pt beef stock, plus extra hot water for topping up

Oil for frying

3 onions, peeled and sliced

900g/2lb potatoes, peeled and sliced

900g/2lb carrots or parsnips or swede, peeled and cubed (or a mixture)

seasoning to taste

1 tbsp fresh thyme

Serves: 6 People

Preheat the oven to gas 3/325F/170C. Melt a small amount of oil in a large heavy-based pan (or, alternatively, use a metal casserole dish). Seal the lamb and beef cubes quickly in the hot oil, turning often. When the meat begins to brown, add the onions, and cook for 5 minutes stirring often. Pour into a casserole and add all other ingredients except the salt. With cheap cuts of meat it’s always best to add the salt towards the end of the cooking time, otherwise it will make the meat too tough. Add enough hot water to just cover all the ingredients. Cover with a lid and cook in the centre of the oven for 4 hours until the vegetables are cooked through and the ingredients are softer and mixed together. Taste, adjust the seasoning.

The longer this sits in the pan the nicer it tastes, one of those dishes that tastes better the next day.:p

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:55 am

Tuna casserole made with White Albacore in water instead of the regular tuna in oil, makes a much better casserole.

YZGI · Post by **YZGI** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:57 am

Lon;1012631 wrote: Tuna casserole made with White Albacore in water instead of the regular tuna in oil, makes a much better casserole.
I use Salmon instead. I like it a lot better than Tuna.

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:59 am

When we were younger and mum didn't have much money, she would give us enough money to buy a family sized bag of chips and then we would ask for fish bits which were free.:p:p:p

Chezzie · Post by **Chezzie** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:02 am

YZGI;1012633 wrote: I use Salmon instead. I like it a lot better than Tuna.

I shall not be converted Ok:D

Dont want to give you the op-perch-tuna-ty to try either:D

Carolly · Post by **Carolly** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:55 am

jimbo;1012679 wrote: meals for coming hard times ...... why do you people name threads like this you just know i'll get banned :-5:-5:-5Now theres an idea

:rolleyes::sneaky:

Post by **Bryn Mawr** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 11:49 am

Bez;1012610 wrote: Well I made my own bread the other day because of the cost. The bread I like is £1.05 for a small loaf. The bread I made cost £0.40.....trouble is it was so deliciious I ate the lot....most of it while it was still hot.!!!

For a lot of us NOT buying so much convenience food will save money....ready meals etc. are so convenient specially when you're cooking for 1.

As for SPAM....love it .....although the stuff I bought from TESCO the other day was rather 'rubbery'.

I vaguely remember rationing but never felt deprived of good food as my mum anad grandad grew loads of veg and reared chicken....plenty of fresh eggs. Think my mum kept the powdered stuff for baking.

My biggest concern is the price of energy and therefore the cost of keeping warm this winter. Got lots of warm jumpers etc and have turned down the thermostat on the central heating......will have to see what happens.

Anything cooked with rice or pasta is filling and with veg and really nutricious and liver is still really cheap.....mmmm....love it with mushrooms, onions and bacon.

Maybe people could post their 'hard time' recipes....

Easier to cook for four and freeze three of them - quicker too.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Oct 08, 2008 1:45 pm

Bryn Mawr;1012868 wrote: Easier to cook for four and freeze three of them - quicker too.

I haven't got a freezer Bryn otherwise I would freeze. I do sometimes cook enough for 2 days and then vary with different veg the 2nd day. My flat's very small ....no room for too many 'mod cons'.