Economy Cooking from your pantry

[Tutter]

Jackie, the corn in the muffin mix sounds good! I've had Mexi-corn and cheese in cornbread batter, but not the creamed corn in corn muffins!

EllyMae, you too, eh? lol! I was reading these to my mother (We live almost 800 miles apart, but talk all the time.) and I got to the one you highlighted. I wasn't halfway through when she started filling in the blanks, saying the fried okra before I did! lol!

Darn, just got a phone call. Ds had a 21 yo come around a blind turn on a motorcycle, on his side of the road, and hit him head on.

I gather he was airlifted, and wasn't wearing protective anything. I'd better go; I'll be back tomorrow....

Thought I should add, ds is okay.

 

[EllyMae]

Tutter, I see you are in Ca...are you a transplanted southerner?LOL.

 

[Tutter]

Hi, EllyMae!

I'm a born and bred Californian. I was born and raised in the south part of the state, and have been here, in the north part of the state, for 20 years now.

My mother was here on and off when she was a child, and stayed when she went to HS here, but she wasn't born here.

Her parents were not from here, but came here in the 40's. Growing up I was around them, relatives who visited them from other states, etc. One of my favorite things was my granny's cooking.

She wasn't from the deep south, but she made beans and corn bread, fried potatoes in bacon drippings, greens, fried green tomatoes, and all of the rest that you guys list all the time. Oh, and there was always a pitcher of iced tea on the table. It was good food!!

My taste in foods is pretty eclectic, because of all I was exposed to as a child. Granny's beans and greens; living in S. California, and going to Mexico pretty often: Mexican food; Chinese and Japanese food; real Italian dishes thanks to a neighbor of my grandmothers; basic American cooking, and more. I guess I just appreciate food!

But Granny's food was comfort food. She left us in 1977, so I make her dishes myself. Did I mention bread pudding made with buttered biscuits, and great chocolate pie? lol!

 

[kbarrett]

Quote:

No problem Tutter, I'll have to try yours as my DH is addicted to BBQ lol

 

[EllyMae]

I was pretty hungry when I woke up, now I'm just plain starved!

I'm from here. My ancestors settle here in the Appalachians from Scotland years(and years)ago. Yes I love bluegrass music but I guess that is an inherited trait in my family, lol.

My husband is not southern...born in Sarasota, Fla...and spent a lot of his childhood in Wisconsin because that is where his dad's from. His mom, on the other hand, was born in Hawaii and was Portugese. Talk about getting introduced to a new food culture, lol. He tells me that when we first started dating, he had never even HEARD of some of the things we ate, lol. Of course, I thought the same thing about him. But it makes life interesting.

 

[SterlingAcres]

Quote:
LOL You know, I never even had the stuff until I met my husband. We used to pretty much live at his brother's place in Philadelphia and dh's brother's girlfriend would make it all the time. I just watched her, never asked for a specific recipe. She puts veggies in it too.

I'm not a fan of it, but it's food. When you're hungry, anything tastes good.

 

[Tutter]

What wonderful roots you have, EllyMae.

Some relatives tracked the family once, and found that, on my mom's side, ancestors came here in the 1740's from Ireland, and we worked our way west via the deep south. (I always differentiate, because I used to be corrected when I called the S.E. corner of Okla. the south.)

Oh, we have a good friend from Hawaii, and I really like the Hawaiian food I've had with him, and other places! But I can imagine how new your foods were to him, and vice versa.

ShellieESterling, I actually learned to make that version in home ec., in school. I liked it better than other versions, because of the soup base, I think.

You're right, when you're hungry things look a lot more edible than they usually would!

Thanks for being so kind about it, Kbarrett. I hope he likes it.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Good Morning and happy Mother's Day out there to all you mothers!


Parsonswife, I often think in lines like this. Often when planning my meals, and even grocery shopping, I do the math in my head to see if it is a $5 meal. Most of my meals for my family of four are $5 meals, and sometimes that also includes leftovers. I buy my meat in bulk when on sale and freeze it. I buy 50# bags of potatoes and store it in the bottom of my stairwell. 10# bags of brown rice will last a long time. etc etc

Examples:

Shake n bake chicken legs, roast potatoes, salad, bread pudding for dessert. (I save all the heels of the bread loaves to make the bread pudding.)

spaghetti is a no brainer, at my house it is pretty simple as the kids don't like it all fancied up.--1#gr beef, pasta of choice, two cans of sauce.

mexican rice--equal parts cooked rice, frozen vegetable, and gr beef--mix together in a large frying pan, Season with chicken soup base (powdered form) and chili powder, make as spicy as you like it.

Pan fried fish (your choice of fish) with buttered rice and salad

oven baked fish--your choice of fish in casserole dish, add italian dressing and bake.since your using the oven--do roasted potatoes and green bean casserole (beans, creme of mushrooms soup, topped with french fried onion rings, or onion soup mix

Shepherd's pie, as listed, but I add a can of cream of mushroom soup to the gr beef.

Homemade sloppy joes--ground beef, can of baked beans,ketchup to coat, and garlic powder and onion powder to taste, served on buns

There are so many possibilities.

 

[Karlachix]

Homemade pizzas are one of our pantry dinners. We mix up the dough in our bread machine, and always have mozzerella cheese and a can of Don Pepino Pizza Sauce on hand. Then we add whatever veggies we have on hand and/or pepperoni.

I also brown a pound of ground beef and mix it with a can of cream of mushroom soup, some milk (a little less then 1 can), ground dry mustard (1/2 tsp) and serve it over biscuits made from Jiffy mix.

Other things we make with what we have on hand:
Toasted cheese sandwiches
Tuna fish sandwiches
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Spaghetti (I usually have some Dino's Italian sausage in the freezer to mix with it)
Frozen ravioli
Breakfast for dinner happens at least once a week.


If you haven't had Don Pepino Pizza Sauce you should give it a try! It has a fabulous fresh tomato taste.

Thanks for starting this thread, I'm enjoying hearing what other people are cooking and getting ideas.

 

[Parson's Wife]

We love breakfast for supper. Thank ya'll for submitting that! Glad to know others eat like we'uns...(sorry, couldn't help that word.) Uhmm...

Most of us usually have chicken of some sort in the freezer, there are so many, many things to cook up from chicken! Thaw the night before, boil, bake, fry....chicken....don't ya love it!

Chicken N Dumplings
Chicken N Dressing
Chicken Casseroles
Fried chicken
Baked chicken


Oh, the list is endless. If you have already puchased your chicken, even if not, it's under the $5 limit. Buy some and you can still cook your meals in that range.

Potatoes cooked like ya like'em
Veggies
Salads
You name it. You can cook it.

My chicken N dressing I take to everything, church socials, funerals, gatherin's, etc. When made for the family, you can eat left-overs for lunch.

Dressing is just a pan of cornbread
toasted & buttered bread crumbled
melted butter
broth
celery
onions
milk
sage
salt & pepper

Boil, debone, and dice chicken.
In a Big bowl mix above ingredients, add in chicken, mix well. Place into 2 casserole dishes. Or one large pan. Greased or sprayed. Cook at 375* till golden brown. (I like my edges darker) This will feed several, or just enjoy the leftovers.