This isn't that weird. My mom's beef stroganoff recipe is simply pouring a package of prepared brown gravy over egg noodles. I like it and I occassionally make it for my kids when I'm out of ideas for dinner. I also gaged on my fair share of orange jello with carrots. Yuck!
I remember eating fried bologna sandwiches until poofed up a bit, then melted cheese with potato chips between white bread. Probably not nutritous but sometimes I still crave that.
LOL....long as it still satisfies the craving!
I know my taste buds have changed because foods I used to LOVE I cannot eat anymore!
Still have a few oddball foods I eat. Def cannot eat cheese whiz anymore!
I just remembered - sardine sandwiches, on white bread, with yellow mustard. Gross, but I crave it about once every 5 years.
Same with bologna, American cheese, white bread, mayo, and yellow mustard. I think of it once every 5 years or so, but never have it, because it isn't at all cheap if you have to buy all the ingredients for just one sandwich! We would throw out the rest of the bread, bologna, cheese and even the mustard, because no one around here would ever eat those things.
YoungSon eats dry ramen noodles, then eats the weird little packet of chemicals separately. Licks his finger, dips it in... I can't watch.
I just remembered - sardine sandwiches, on white bread, with yellow mustard. Gross, but I crave it about once every 5 years.
Same with bologna, American cheese, white bread, mayo, and yellow mustard. I think of it once every 5 years or so, but never have it, because it isn't at all cheap if you have to buy all the ingredients for just one sandwich! We would throw out the rest of the bread, bologna, cheese and even the mustard, because no one around here would ever eat those things.
YoungSon eats dry ramen noodles, then eats the weird little packet of chemicals separately. Licks his finger, dips it in... I can't watch.
the beef ramen is actually too spicey for me. I'm sensitive to it and my whole mouth goes numb, which stinks because I like spicey food!
I do have a habit of buying bullion cubes and sitting and nibbling away at one. Started back in HS. I do like me some salt!
OMG! I totally forgot about eating boullion cubes! And I liked to lick out the tomato paste can (had to be paste, not sauce) And the kids only got Hi-C to drink as our "juice"... parents got real orange juice but it was too expensive for the kids.
oh god....do they even make that stuff anymore?
I remember I got a can of hawian punch a couple years ago...must have been a free soda deal, and I about gagged.
my uncle had a huge gameroom basement (in his single days) and my great grandma's old fridge. a 1950s round top, large metal latch deal. he kept HP in there for whatever reason? I assumed us, but we didn't visit ALL that often....
but I remember it being a huge treat to have HP sitting in the basement watching movies.
Makes me shudder to think. that stuff is dreadful! lol.
My husband tells stories of ketchup packet soup (just add it to hot water and mix).
One of my favorite frugal foods growing up was fried noodles - Leftover spaghetti noodles pan fried with butter and topped with parmesan. Mmmm.
We used to have Ramen with frozen spinach and eggs cooked into the soup. A lot. We would also have "Texas Goulash" which was Franco American Spaghetti, canned Kidney beans, and ground beef. American cheese and yellow mustard sandwiches.
Oh man. Gross thread.
I know, right? But it's like a train wreck, I just couldn't stop reading! :P
My brother and I ate white bread, slathered with margarine, and covered with white sugar. As much as we could get to stick. Somehow, we survived childhood.
That reminds me of something my granddad used to make, milk toast. You toast bread, butter it, sprinkle it with sugar in a saucer, and pour milk over it. *so* good.
Mayo sandwiches!
Blargh! My foster mom *made* me eat one once. One slice of bread, and like, three tablespoons of mayo. I tried only putting a little on, she took it from me and put a ton more on, "No! You have to do it like this! Now, look. Poor man's sandwich!"
We actually ate really well at home. But, we use to sleep over at my grandma's, and we always had the same dinner: Kraft Dinner (think it's Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the US), Minute Rice, and hot dogs (no bun)...with Pepsi or 7-Up. She also fed us Frankenberries and Count Chocula for breakfast, and if we ate lunch, it was probably KFC or something similar. She provided an endless stream of cookies, candy and ice cream bars. Blech.
The only real hangover I have from that is that I sometimes really crave Minute Rice. I like real rice. I really love brown rice, and I adore the blends, with multiple kinds in them (don't often buy them, as they're pricey). Minute Rice really isn't very good...but sometimes, it's just what I want.
That. All of that. Sounds really, really good right now. 
Have you seen the mock apple-pie recipe? The apples are actually crackers! 
I want to try that so much! I couldn't believe it, though.
speaking of depression era cooking....have you guys met clara?
http://www.youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking
She totally reminds me of my great grandma....but the sweet version ;)
She'd need some scotch, a pack of smokes and some more colorful language to do great grandma proud!
I *love* Clara! I want to watch some of the episodes again, a lot of the food sounds *really* good. (Can you tell I'm pregnant? :P)
My parents got half a cow as xmas bonus (stepdad worked at a grainery) and only had to pay processing. so for like 200 bucks we got 800+ lbs of beef.
really the only way they managed to feed all of us on next to nothing.
since there were 8 of us and we lived outside chicago, the only way to cook that many steaks was on the grill, and there was only a few choice weeks to cook on the grill before it became bad weather. so for about 2 months of every summer dinner was steak + tots, steak + salad, steak + canned veg, steak + fries, steak, steak, steak, spam and steak....etc.
and there was no "oh, i'll just eat a peanut butter sandwhich" type thing.
so I had to gag down pound after pound of steak. yeacchh....i'm the only poor white kid going "ohhh man....steak? again?" heheheee....
so to this day I think i've had probably 5 steaks in the last 15 years? maybe?
but I love me some a1! I eat it on baked potatoes....I eat it on mac and cheese....
put it on burgers, mix it half and half with ketchup for fries (or half and half with sour cream for tots and such)
I went to local butcher who advertizes freezer packs to ask him about getting something that was more slow cook beef. I want some patties, ground beef, roasts, pork chops and whole fryers, and a ton of stew meat.....and maybe a few steaks for when family visits cuz they like the novelty of grilling year round and I OWN a grill. lol.
I opened with "I'm getting a freezer" to which he started about the freezer packs and I interrupted "well...problem is I really don't care for steak...."
You'd have thought i said I enjoyed eating babies. hahahhaa.....it was funny :)
I love steak. A lot. But even for me, I think that would be a lot of steak. :P The bolded part made me laugh so hard I almost woke DD up.
We played 'build a potato" when I was a kid. We had a potato patch in the backyard and a shovel that lived by the back door. My brother and I would grab the shovel, dig a couple of potatoes for dinner and my mom would bake them. Smother those in a big slice of government cheese and that was dinner many nights a week.
I did this with my kids the other night (no government cheese though, I think that welfare program ended years and years ago) and they loved it!
I still gag a bit at the thought of that awful orange, weird cheese stuff.
Oh! And I remember my grandmother's 'salad' was half a head of iceberg lettuce with a knife stuck in it. You were supposed to slice off a wedge of lettuce and drizzle it with blue cheese dressing. I still go crazy for blue cheese.
That reminded me of a scene from Don't be a Menace to South Central While You're Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
I just remembered - sardine sandwiches, on white bread, with yellow mustard. Gross, but I crave it about once every 5 years.
Same with bologna, American cheese, white bread, mayo, and yellow mustard. I think of it once every 5 years or so, but never have it, because it isn't at all cheap if you have to buy all the ingredients for just one sandwich! We would throw out the rest of the bread, bologna, cheese and even the mustard, because no one around here would ever eat those things.
YoungSon eats dry ramen noodles, then eats the weird little packet of chemicals separately. Licks his finger, dips it in... I can't watch.
I *almost* bought bologna earlier, because I was craving it something fierce. I fought the urge, but this post kind of makes me wish I hadn't.
Also, DS *loves* ramen noodles, but he has dairy allergy, and the seasoning (and maybe noodles, too, can't remember) have some dairy component in them that makes it so he can't eat them. He's taken to eating plain spaghetti noodles.
oh god....do they even make that stuff anymore?
I remember I got a can of hawian punch a couple years ago...must have been a free soda deal, and I about gagged.
my uncle had a huge gameroom basement (in his single days) and my great grandma's old fridge. a 1950s round top, large metal latch deal. he kept HP in there for whatever reason? I assumed us, but we didn't visit ALL that often....
but I remember it being a huge treat to have HP sitting in the basement watching movies.
Makes me shudder to think. that stuff is dreadful! lol.
I really like Hawaiian Punch as of late. All the different flavors... I don't really care for the original red, although, right now that sounds kind of good.
We used to have Ramen with frozen spinach and eggs cooked into the soup. A lot. We would also have "Texas Goulash" which was Franco American Spaghetti, canned Kidney beans, and ground beef. American cheese and yellow mustard sandwiches.
I borrowed a cookbook from the library once called "101 Things to do with Ramen Noodles." While ramen noodles aren't my favorite thing in the world, when that's the only thing you can afford, it's nice to know there are 101 ways to cook it. :P
Also, DS *loves* ramen noodles, but he has dairy allergy, and the seasoning (and maybe noodles, too, can't remember) have some dairy component in them that makes it so he can't eat them. He's taken to eating plain spaghetti noodles.
Thats weird, because I don't think they ought to have any milk in them, but maybe there is some milk powder in them?
You should be able to find straight up rice noodles at even the reg grocery store now, but you'll have better luck if you have any asian grocery stores around. There is a huge one by me and it's crazy!
I buy a stir fry sauce (black label, can't recall exact brand but not the typical lachoy/panda express type) at the reg grocery store that I REALLY like, I use it on ramen noodles in lieu of the packet.
While I will totally eat bullion cubes, the ramen packet flavor (I only buy beef) is generally just salty, lacking in beef flavor, and weird too spicy component for me?
But you should be able to improve upon and mock ramen style easily enough!
I know, right? But it's like a train wreck, I just couldn't stop reading! :P
That reminds me of something my granddad used to make, milk toast. You toast bread, butter it, sprinkle it with sugar in a saucer, and pour milk over it. *so* good.
Blargh! My foster mom *made* me eat one once. One slice of bread, and like, three tablespoons of mayo. I tried only putting a little on, she took it from me and put a ton more on, "No! You have to do it like this! Now, look. Poor man's sandwich!"
That. All of that. Sounds really, really good right now.
I want to try that so much! I couldn't believe it, though.
I *love* Clara! I want to watch some of the episodes again, a lot of the food sounds *really* good. (Can you tell I'm pregnant? :P)
I love steak. A lot. But even for me, I think that would be a lot of steak. :P The bolded part made me laugh so hard I almost woke DD up.
That reminded me of a scene from Don't be a Menace to South Central While You're Drinking Your Juice in the Hood.
I *almost* bought bologna earlier, because I was craving it something fierce. I fought the urge, but this post kind of makes me wish I hadn't.
Also, DS *loves* ramen noodles, but he has dairy allergy, and the seasoning (and maybe noodles, too, can't remember) have some dairy component in them that makes it so he can't eat them. He's taken to eating plain spaghetti noodles.
I really like Hawaiian Punch as of late. All the different flavors... I don't really care for the original red, although, right now that sounds kind of good.
I borrowed a cookbook from the library once called "101 Things to do with Ramen Noodles." While ramen noodles aren't my favorite thing in the world, when that's the only thing you can afford, it's nice to know there are 101 ways to cook it. :P
I love Clara, too!
I bolded the above. Reminds me of what my German grandmother used to make for us kids for breakfast sometimes. She'd heat chocolate milk on the stove then pour it over white bread that we had torn into bite size pieces into our bowls. We loved that! A dinner she made sometimes was creamed spinach, fried eggs and boiled potatoes. Looked disgusting together on the plate but unbelievably, was not bad to my 9 year old taste buds!
My mother made a dish that involved heating together on the stove a can of tomato sauce, can of green beans drained and chopped spam. Pour that concoction over cooked white rice. I was always leary of it before I sat down to eat but it was good when I was really hungry.
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