Posted by ehme on June 4th, 2009 in Casseroles, Potluck, Quick, Recession Recipes, white trash

• 1 egg
• 2 cans (7 oz) tuna, drained
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 1/2 c. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 2 oz.)
• 1/2 c. snipped parsley
• 1 tsp celery salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups Bisquick baking mix
• 1/2 c. cold water
• Cheese sauce (recipe below)

Heat oven to 375.  Beat egg slightly; set aside 2 T. of the egg.  Stir tuna, onion, cheese, parsley, celery salt and pepper into remaining egg.  Stir baking mix and water to a soft dough; knead five times on floured cloth-covered board.  Roll into rectangle, 15×10 inches.  Spread with tuna mixture.

Roll up, beginning at long side.  With sealed edge down, shape into ring on greased baking sheet; pinch ends together.   With scissors, make cuts 2/3 of the way through ring at one inch intervals.  Turn each section on its side to show filling.  Brush top with reserved egg.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes.  Serve with hot cheese sauce.

Cheese Sauce

• 1/2 c. butter or margarine
• 1/4 c. Bisquick baking mix
• 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or 1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

Melt butter over low heat.  Blend in baking mix, salt and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat; stir in milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Stir in cheese until melted.

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Obviously a Bisquick recipe.  It sounds horrifying.  Why would you go to all the trouble to make a ring, if you are just going to chop it up?  Where is the fun in that?  I bet it is a lot messier than they make it sound.

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Posted by ehme on February 26th, 2009 in Casseroles, Church Cookbooks, Quick, Recession Recipes, funeral food

Worth it for the name alone.

• 4 oz uncooked corkscrew-shaped macaroni (that would be known as “rotini” to most people in the world)
• 1/2 c. finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 T. butter or margarine
• 1 can (12 oz) pork luncheon meat, cut into cubes (this would be your SPAM, which apparently is the the only company in America that is actually making money off the recession.)
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (although Campbells might be giving them a run for their money.  Perhaps they should get together and invent SPAM with the cream of mushroom soup already in it?)
• 1/2 c. catsup (or ketchup)
• 1/3 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat oven to 400. Cook macaroni as directed on package; drain.  In large skillet cook and stir onion and green pepper in butter until onion is tender. Stir in macaroni and remaining ingredients.

Pour into ungreased 1 1/2 qt casserole. Cover; bake 30 minutes.

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The true test of a recession recipe is whether or not it has seasoning in it.  When the only seasoning in your recipe comes from the Cream of Mushroom soup, you know you are at the end of the line.  Add some hot sauce.  It will make you feel rich.

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Posted by ehme on February 23rd, 2009 in Casseroles, Potatoes, Quick, Recession Recipes, white trash

• 1 package of Betty Crocker scalloped potatoes
• 1 can (16 oz) tomatoes
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 package (4 oz) sliced pepperoni
• 1 package (4 oz) mozzarella cheese

Heat oven to 400. Empty potato slices and packet of seasoned sauce mix into ungreased 2 qt casserole. Heat tomatoes, water and oregano to boiling; stir into potatoes. Arrange pepperoni on top and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes.

Hamburger Pizza Potatoes: Substitute 1/2 lb. browned and drained ground beef for pepperoni; stir into potato mixture.

Sausage Pizza Potatoes: Substitute 1/2 lb. bulk pork sausage, browned and drained, for pepperoni; stir into potato mixture.

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This is the kind of food I used to make in college after a night at the bar.  So perhaps before you make this for dinner you should down a six pack and a couple of shots of whiskey.  That wouldn’t make it very economical though, would it?

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Posted by ehme on February 22nd, 2009 in Beef, Recession Recipes, comfort food, funeral food

• 1 pound beef round steak, 1 inch thick
• Flour
• 3 T. shortening
• 3 small onions, thinly sliced
• 3 T. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• dash thyme
• dash garlic salt
• 2 c. water
• 3 med. potatoes, pared and thinly sliced
• salt
• paprika

Heat oven to 350. Cut meat into one inch cubes; coat with flour. Melt shortening in skillet; brown meat. Add onion; cook and stir until onion is tender.

Pour into ungreased 2 qt. casserole; sprinkle with 3 T. flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, the pepper, thyme, and garlic salt. Pour water over mixture. Cover; bake 45 to 60 mins. or until meat is tender.

Increase oven temp to 450. Arrange potatoes on meat; sprinkle with salt and paprika. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender.

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This seems pretty much exactly like the last recipe, but without the cream soup.  What is a casserole without cream soup?

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Posted by ehme on February 21st, 2009 in Beef, Casseroles, Potatoes, Recession Recipes, funeral food, white trash

• 2 T. shortening
• 2 lbs. beef stew meat, cut into 1 in. cubes
• 2 lg. onions, sliced
• 1 c. water
• 2 lg. potatoes, pared and thinly sliced
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1 tsp. salt (if you use regular condensed soup instead of the low sodium kind,  I would just omit this)
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 c. Wheaties cereal, crushed

Melt shortening in large skillet. Cook and stir meat and onion in shortening untill meat is brown and onion is tender. Add water; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 50 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Pour meat mixture into ungreased baking dish, 13×9x2 inches; arrange potato slices on meat. Stir together soup, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper. Bake uncovered 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes and meat are tender.

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I don’t know why this is called Connecticut Beef Supper.  I have never met a person from Connecticut that would eat this.

Your handy dandy cost saving tip from Betty Crocker?  “Non-fat dry milk is nutritious and a good bargain. Mix a quart of it according to package directions and use it in all your cooking-especially in sauces and in casseroles like this one. ”

This actually sounds pretty good for a casserole.  But then again, it is the time of year where all I want to eat is food that involves meat and a cream sauce.  You know, so I can fit into that swimsuit.

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Posted by ehme on February 7th, 2009 in Casseroles, Recession Recipes, funeral food, white trash

A classy name for a very unclassy dish.

• 8 oz. uncooked medium noodles
• 1 1/2 c. creamed cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 c. dairy sour cream (is there un-dairy sour cream?)
• 1/2 c. finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• Dash red pepper sauce or cayenne red pepper
• 1 can salmon (16 oz.) drained, or 2 cans (6 1/2 oz. each) tuna, drained
• 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheese

Heat oven to 325.  Cook noodles as directed on package; drain.

Mix noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, onion and garlic, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper sauce, salt and salmon.  Place about one cup in each of 5 or 6 greased baking shells or individual casseroles.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake uncovered 20-25 mins.

Can also be baked in a 2 qt greased casserole if you are conserving water and don’t want all those dishes.  Bake 40 mins.

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When I first started dating my husband, we came home after a late night out and I made some sort of horrid canned salmon concoction in his cast iron skillet.  Canned salmon is not tasty.  Ten year old canned salmon is even less tasty.  We ended up not eating it and I just left it in the skillet until the next day.  Don’t ever do that.  I spent the next two weeks scrubbing the pan with baking soda and vinegar.  To this day if I am cooking something in that pan, I swear I smell canned salmon.

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Posted by ehme on February 7th, 2009 in Quick, Recession Recipes, things I would never eat, white trash

Yes, I am keeping up this cheap recession recipe theme for a while.  I figure that since the top search on this site went from “Petit Fours” to “cheap food” that is what people want.  This recipe is from my Great Grandma’s collection.  Straight out of the depression!

You probably have a ten year old bottle of cooking sherry sitting around your kitchen.  Unless you already drank it.

Melt butter in pan.

Chop up one onion, one green pepper and a stalk of celery.  Add as many hot dogs as you would like.  Fry until brown.  Add one chopped tomato or one can of diced tomato and 1/4 cup of the sherry.  Add a dash of Lawry’s seasoning salt, or some salt and pepper if you don’t have it.    Simmer for about 15 minutes.  Serve with egg noodles.  Yummers.

Technorati Tags: quick recipes, recession recipes, white trash food, quick food, cheap food

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Posted by ehme on February 6th, 2009 in Casseroles, Recession Recipes, white trash

Another “Recession Recipe” from the 1971 Betty Crocker recipe card library.

• 1 can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 can lima beans, drained (you can use frozen too.  They cost the same and they don’t taste so horrid, so they are easier to choke down as you watch Fox news.)
• 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce with mushrooms (from a tinned can most likely)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I know, shredded cheese is insanely expensive.  Somewhere in your kitchen, probably near your fondue pot, is a thing called a cheese grater.  If you rub the cheese on it, there will magically be shredded cheese!)
• 4 to 6 frankfurters (those are hot dogs.)

Heat the oven to 375.  Mix beans, spaghetti sauce, onion and cheese in an ungreased 1 1/2 qt casserole.  Arrange frankfurters (hot dogs) on top.  Bake uncovered 30 minutes or until bean mixture is bubbly and frankfurters (you get it by now) are light brown.

Betty Crocker recommends serving this with a molded salad.  I will have to dig up some recipes for those.

Technorati Tags: white trash food, casserole recipes, Recession Recipes, quick food

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Posted by ehme on February 5th, 2009 in Casseroles, Quick, Recession Recipes, funeral food, things I would never eat

Times are hard people!  This 1971 Betty Crocker recipe is just the thing you need to save money on food.  Your family probably won’t eat it, but maybe the dog will.

• 1/4 c. sliced onion
• 2 T. shortening
• 2 T. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 1 can (16 oz) tomatoes
• 1/2 lb. bologna (can also use Spam if you aren’t involved in the stock market in any way…or honest to goodness ham if you don’t own a home and still have a job!)
• 3/4 c. cooked diced carrots
• 3/4 c. cooked cut green beans
• Bologna Biscuit dough (recipe below)

Heat oven to 425.  In large skillet, cook and stir onion in shortening until tender.  Remove from heat.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is bubbly.  Remove from heat; stir in tomatoes.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir one minute.  Stir in bologna, carrots and beans.  Heat to boiling.

Pour into ungreased baking pan, 8×8x2 inches; place in oven.  Prepare bologna biscuit dough; drop 8 or 9 tablespoonfuls on hot vegetable mixture.  Bake uncovered 25 to 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.  Season with your own tears.  Serves 5.

Bologna Biscuit Dough

• 1 cup all purpose flour (the recipe calls for Gold Medal flour, but you can’t afford that if you are making this.)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 T. shortening
• 1/4 lb. bologna, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1/4 c. milk

Measure dry ingredients into bowl.  Cut in shortening until mixture looks like meal.  Stir in bologna and milk.

Technorati Tags: easy food, cheap food, recession recipes, casseroles, funeral food

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Posted by ehme on January 6th, 2009 in Uncategorized

• 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers, seeded and deveined
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• vegetable oil
• 2 very ripe mangos, peeled and diced
• 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 oz basil, thinly sliced
• 2 oz cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 oz simple syrup (boil 2 parts water with one part sugar until dissolved)
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• Juice of one lemon or to taste
• 1 c. olive oil
• salt, to taste
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400.

Toss peppers with sugar and enough oil to cause sugar to adhere.  Place in oven until they are roasted but not scorched.  (10-15 mins) Let peppers cool, chop finely and reserve.

Place mango in bowl, add tomato and juice, shallots, red onion, green onion, basil, cilantro, simple syrup, reserved chilies, Old Bay and lemon juice.  Stir in oil; add salt and pepper.  Wrap tightly and refrigerate at least on hour before using.

From El Restaurante Mexicano magazine.  Recipe by Chef Christopher Willis

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I have been living on this stuff.  So good.

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