Tired of the rising cost of groceries? These frugal tips and recipes from the Great Depression Era will help you stretch your food dollars, increase your food storage, and give you some fun new ideas in the kitchen. I adore old-fashioned recipes and the pie recipe may be my favorite ever. Who would have thought you could use potatoes in a chocolate pie!
Potatoes are often an overlooked frugal meal. They have a bad rap as being just a starchy food, while they are a starch vegetable, it's not like they're bad for us. They have a lot of vitamin C and potassium in them, as well as fiber if we eat the skin.
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This has been on my heart as of late, and I've been guilty of this a time or two, so please don't think I'm pointing fingers. Lately I've seen a lot of this online, if you eat gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, only organic, non-GMO, or any variation there of, people can get really rude and judgmental with others who don't follow the exact same thinking or diet as them. No matter what foods you eat, it's not right for us to condemn someone if they differ from our way of eating. We do try to eat as much organic and unprocessed food as possible, just because someone else might not be at that same point, doesn't give us the right to put them down. I think we can hurt people's feelings and turn them away when they might have been open if we'd broached the subject nicely.
This is for myself as well, there's been many times I've said you shouldn't eat that because… and I might not have presented my case in the best light or as kindly as I should. I believe we should encourage one another, but when we treat people rudely, they're not going to listen to us. I want to share a reminder of kindness, not just to you, but to my own self as well.
Now, back to potatoes!
In our home the food bill is one way I can cut back if I really need to use my funds for something else. Our mortgage and insurance stays the same, and we can cancel cable or do without, but I really have the most control over my food bill. We use cold water to wash most our clothes, turn of lights, use the clothes line, and have our electronics on a surge protector so I can unplug all off them at night and when we're at work to avoid phantom power in effort to save on our utility bill.
We've worked on building up our food storage (here's 8 foods you should be storing and how to get you started) and there have been weeks, almost a month once where I don't go to the grocery store except for milk and cheese. I don't yet produce dairy on our homestead. Organic does usually cost more, though some aren't much more, but there are times I can't afford organic and that's okay. We do the best we can with the funds we have and the same should go for you as well.
I love reading all the recipes and stories you guys have shared with me. You've given me some great recipes and ideas to implement in my kitchen!
Potatoes. Potatoes are a very frugal crop, both today and during the Great Depression Era. It's a fairly easy an inexpensive crop to grow. Potatoes are also very easy to store for a long period of time. We store potatoes (including our own seed potatoes) all winter and into spring. If you can purchase something once and continue to grow it or produce it becoming self-sufficient, well, it doesn't get much better than that.
Want more tips from the Great Depression Era as well as over 100+ recipes and tutorials?In my new book, Hand Made: the Modern Guide to Made-from-Living, passed down from my grandparents, my father (whose earliest years and memories are from the Great Depression), and many other dear friends and family members, that their wisdom may bless you and not be forgotten.
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You plant your seed potatoes in late spring here.
Sometimes potatoes will store in the ground over winter… I discovered in the spring I haven't always gotten all of them harvested and when we went to plant, I discovered more potatoes that had been left behind. They were fine and we ate them up. Talk about easy preserving and food storage! The biggest thing in storing potatoes is to keep them cool and in the dark.
You can purchase a large amount of potatoes (right now at Costco 50 pounds of potatoes is $9.65) inexpensively and store them. You've got lots of varieties, both reds, russets, golden, and our favorite is an a heirloom purple potato. We love it because of it's dark purple color and like any dark colored food, it has more anti-oxidants than a regular potato. Plus, how awesome is having lavender mashed potatoes, right?
There are many ways to use potatoes, but some Depression Era recipes are of course mashed potatoes. They make a side dish topped with gravy.
Resources for Great Depression Frugal Tips and Recipes
A programmable slow cooker is perfect for days when you can't be home to prepare a meal. This keeps me from buying dinner out or buying more quick ready made processed ingredients. Who doesn't want to come home to a perfectly homemade cooked supper ready to eat when they walk through the door?
Instant Potato Flakes in a 1.5 pound can-sometimes you don't have time or have potatoes on hand. These are a great addition to food storage and can be used when you don't have regular potatoes for a thickener, mashed potatoes, or potato water for bread products.
Last week's episode was from my mother's side of the family with cornmeal and wild game.
A recipe she had growing up when money was tight and cupboards were bare was boiled potatoes. She loved the cornmeal mush and bear mince meat pie, but she hates boiled potatoes. My grandmother would just boil potatoes, drain them, and add some salt. They might not have had cream or milk to make mashed potatoes. My mother hated them… but they will fill a belly. Which is what a Great Depression Era meals is about, keeping hunger pains at bay as frugally as possible.
One of our favorite potato recipes is to used leftover mashed potatoes and make potatoes cakes for breakfast. We use the leftover mashed potatoes and add an egg and a dash of milk with some onion and garlic powder. I shape them into a patty. I preheat a cast iron skillet with a small amount of oil and then fry the potato patties. When I pull them out, I grate a little bit of cheese on top. It's a great way to shape your breakfast. You don't have to use an egg, making it even more frugal.
Use a potato for your bread and rolls. The water you use from boiling your potatoes has starch in it. Save the water to use as a replacement for milk in your bread recipes. This is big carry over from the Great Depression Era when cows ran dry or there was no money to purchase dairy. You can put the potato water in the fridge for up to a day before using in your recipe. You could freeze it, but it's best used in a recipe immediately.
A family friend who is in an excellent baker only uses potato water in her cinnamon rolls. These are tips slowly being lost and I'm so glad to be able to share and retain these tips with others. If you have tips I haven't heard of, please share with me! I love learning from you as well.
I came across some old vintage cookbooks. This is from a copy of a 1922 Good House Keeping Book of Menus. It's a chocolate nut pie recipe with mashed potatoes, melted butter, sugar, and melted chocolate for a chocolate pie. What an amazing idea! When I make this I'll share how it turns out and the exact recipe after I have a chance to work with it.
This is a recipe from my dad. One of his favorite recipes is creamed potatoes, peas, and carrots. We were just pulling up carrots from his garden. He said he couldn't wait for a dish of creamed potatoes, peas, and carrots. This is a great way to stretch out a meal. Soups and sauces really make a larger meal and allow it to feed more mouths. Finding ways to make more out of little is a Depression Era tip for sure.
Cube up your potatoes and boil them. You can roast the carrots and peas, or boil them. After the veggies are cooked you'll make a cream sauce (here's my cream sauce tutorial) I don't buy condensed cans of soups, one due to ingredients, and two due to cost. They're not cheap. The brand name was over $1.30 when I stopped buying them about 4 years ago. I can make a 3 minute cream sauce with organic ingredients for about $.50 or less. If you can make it at home from scratch, it's almost always cheaper.
After you've cooked your veggies, you make your cream sauce and add the vegetables to it and serve.
With potatoes you can always make cream of potato soup. My mom likes to add a little bit of bacon to her soup. Can you ever go wrong with bacon?
When cool weather hits I use my slow cooker all the time. When I'm not home I can still prepare food from scratch and serve a home cooked meal, which makes my slow cooker my fave kitchen tool. This is my slow cooker cream of broccoli soup.
Reader Question of the week: Is the All American Pressure canner safer than other brands?
Answer: Any pressure canner is safe if you're following the manufacturer's guidelines. Today's pressure canners have pressure relief valves and are safe. The All American pressure canner has a metal on metal seal and is made in America. I have a cheaper model, but the All American is considered the Cadillac of canners and what I plan on purchasing when I buy a new one. The All American pressure canner is very well made and can be handed down. The All American pressure canner isn't any safer than any other model as long as you follow the manufacturer guidelines.
New features:
What I'm reading this week? I read a huge variety of books, but this week I'm reading Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. It's a devotional with a devotion of every day of the year. It's just a paragraph or two for the day. The first three days I read it, I cried, because it was a message God knew I needed to hear at that moment. I'd love to hear what you're reading as well.
Inspiring Your Faith:
I've been studying the Bible more than usual these last few months. I've been going through some emotional and spiritual things and when stress is high, that's when I cry out and rely on God. I know I don't have it in me to do it on my own and I need Him. Not that i nejoy going through hard times, butt they make me rely on him and are growth times for my faith. Verse of the week- My times are in your hands. (NIV) Psalm 31:15 This hit me the other day when I was reading it. Anything we are going through, anything that happens to us, is in His hands. We might not be able to see what He's going to do with it, but we can rest and be assured He is going to do something with it. He is bigger than any circumstance or anything the enemy or life throws at us, because He is our deliver. Trust our time is in His hands.
I'm so glad you joined us today and learned some new tips. Share your potato recipes or frugal life living tips you have!
I have the Jesus Calling devotionl too. Love it!
I do as much as I can from scratch. We have access to free-range meats, but they are quite expensive: we eat smaller portions and always use the leftovers. For example, a small piece of London broil done on the grill can be the protein in a frsh-picked salad tomorrow. The free-range chicken has plenty of leftovers for chicken salad, and then I pick off all the little bits for the dogs (they are not fed dog food!!!) AND the bones go into a freezer bag for a batch of stock when I have time. No waste!!
In the garden, I make sure to eat my thinning of onions and other salad greens. Even my Buttercrunch lettuce regrows if I cut it an inch or so from the base. If I have too much growing (like my lettuce now!!) I whir it up in the Vitamix and make a smoothie, to which I add all over-ripening fruits as well. Waste not, want not!!!
Melissa, I want to thank you for doing the series on depression era tips. I read a lot on line and off and have a busy life like everyone else. Of all the things I have done or read lately, though, the depression era tips has to be my favorite. It was so great hearing tips from others and family stories and it definitely reconnected me to my beloved grandmother, gone now for many many years. I think about her all the time but it was so great sharing my granny stories with all of you and reading your tips and stories too. I know this is a labor of love for you but it is also work…and I just wanted to thank you for doing this, for taking the time to start this forum and for allowing me to participate. It really means a lot to me. Thanks!
I grew up on boiled poatoes but we did have butter on them. We also made patties out of leftover mashed potatoes! Plus I LOVE corn meal mush! We used to beg my mom to make it. 😉
Sounds like you had a frugal mamma who knew how to cook. 🙂
[…] You might like 6 Great Depression Era Tips to Stretch The Food Budget with Potatoes. […]
Thank you – I so enjoy your blog posts. My husband switched jobs (for the better) but cut our income in half. We are struggling some weeks to have money at all – btw I hate money :). these tips are great and give me ideas and make me feel better about what I’m doing. We garden and I can and freeze. I try to cook most everything from scratch but sometimes I get so tired of doing that! However, so thankful I can and know how! I grew up on a dairy farm with a mom and dad much older and teaching me many things! I too, enjoy Jesus Calling – most always talks to me!!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Sheila,
I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m with you of sometimes wanting a break from all the putting up and work, but I know it’s worth it and most the times I enjoy it, so you’re not alone. Praying you feel God with you through this time and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too!
[…] View the full article at Pioneering Today […]
I’m wondering if you could use sweet potato water in making bread? I hate to buy regular potatoes since they’re on the more pesticide laden list (and organic ones are $1/#) — hoping to grow some of my own next summer 🙂
There is a British show called “The Supersizers Go…” with the premise of eating from different eras in British history. Their first episode featured life in the 1940s in London; included is what steps people took to deal with rationing. Very interesting! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00brpck
My grandma would make mashed potato sandwiches as a treat. it sounds weird but we kids loved it!
Interesting, Christine. Were they served hot or cold?
Hello Melissa,
What great information you are sharing. Thank you. I will look forward to reading your articles. My story is somewhat humorous so I thought I’d share.
My husband is currently in ministry school and he had a rough time in his men’s meeting today. I was just reassuring him of how awesome he is and to not let the negative opinions of others get to his heart. He felt his character and identity in Christ was being attacked.
So i jump on FB and your article is at the top. I started reading and in your words was a message from God. You were talking about being non judgemental about others choices. It was about food for the body but it has dual meaning in regards to what we feed our spirits.
I read to him the beginning of your article and he was touched. It was perfect timing. Tank you and God bless you.
Rachel,
Thanks for sharing. I love hearing stories of God’s timing and how He uses us when we don’t even know it. Blessings to you and your husband. I pray He’ll feel God’s wisdom and comfort during this time.
hi Melissa, thank you for the tips, I love discovering tips like these. I grew up on beans with fried potatoes as well as potato soup. I make a killer potato soup with bacon and cauliflower to get some extra veggies in. My husband and daughter love it. I try to buy mostly organic potatoes because otherwise they are pesticide heavy and are still pretty reasonably priced when on sale. I want to grow my own but we don’t have a cellar for long term storage so I’ll have to investigate other options.
Blessings to you and your family
Toni,
We don’t have a cellar either. A dark corner of a pantry that’s kept fairly cool works well for us. I also use the bath tub of our camper trailer during the winter when we’re not using it much.
In our family we have always used cubed potatoes in chili. Just make your normal recipe and add the potatoes. That way, it not only stretches the amount you make, it’s more filling and it’s a complete meal. My great grandmother started doing this during the Depression.
Great idea, Kim. Thanks for sharing.
I cook an Irish dish called colcannon. You make a well in the middle of bowl of mashed potatoes and add cooked cabbage. My grandmother used to make it. I found it on google.
We really like cabbage, a wonder if you could do sauerkraut…
“Lighthouses don’t run all over an island looking for boats to save. They just stand there shining.” I saw this on FB yesterday and thought about how we are to tell others about Jesus. Yes, he traveled around his neighborhood but the people came to him and he just was there shining his light so they could find him. I think that sometimes we make things too hard for ourselves and God didn’t mean it to be hard to serve him. All we need to do is shine, shine, shine. Don’t put our lights under a basket. And one more thing; I’ve been reading a book by A. W. Tozer called And He Dwelt Among Us. It is amazing.
My mom made boiled potatoes quite often. In the spring we ate them with wilted dandelion greens on them. In the winter we ate them with creamed dried beef or hamburg gravy poured on them.
We also ate a lot of potato soup and mashed potato cakes. These are all some of my favorite foods, still.
I love hamburger gravy, my mom makes it and I always try to finagle an invite to dinner on that day. 🙂
I very much appreciate your opening comments. As a “Paleonean”, I find myself advising clients against certain foods without considering that their income may only allow them to buy certain foods that I don’t eat. You have opened my eyes and reminded me of my duty as a healing practitioner to use more sensitivity and consider the economic diversity of my clients.
Happy and Healthy eating.
Dr. B
Dr. B ,
Thanks for sharing and I think sensitivity to others it always a good thing.
Blessings,
Melissa
[…] Melissa K Norris – Podcast #45 Great Depression Era Money Saving Tips w/ Potatoes […]
I loved reading the info on the potatoes! Ive really been enjoying and learning all about off grid and homestead living, and am working on learning and being proficient by the time we retire (5 years) Ive been following you and the Trayers , and learning SO SO much, I feel so blessed that you all are following the Lord, I got excited when I saw that you had the same reaction to Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, my daughter bought me a copy for Christmas, and Ive been blown away by how EVERY DAY God is speaking to me. thanks again
have a blessed day 😀 and thank you for all that you share
Julie,
Thanks for sharing and I love hearing from another sister in Christ. Isn’t it wonderful to feel Jesus speaking to us?
I love your podcasts! Thanks so much and your recipes. Your just a plethora of information!
Diana,
Thank you! I’m so happy you enjoy the podcasts, they’re fun because I get to talk… and I’ve been known to be a talker. 🙂
Thank you for all your tips. I have been looking for tips about the depression to use in my life. Love to listen to all your little tidbits. While you were talking it brought back alot of memories of my grandparents and how they made it through doing alot of what you talk about.
Angie,
So glad it brought good memories. Our grandparents were super smart!
This article shows an earth bag building that could be a root cellar! I love this project
http://www.motherearthnews.com/~/media/Images/MEN/Editorial/Articles/Magazine%20Articles/2009/08-01/Low%20Cost%20Multipurpose%20Earthbag%20Building/MEN-AS09-earthbag-lead.jpg
I’ve been reading Nicki Koziarz’s new book: “5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit”. She uses the book of Ruth as the basis. It’s great!
I saw that one, but don’t have a copy yet. I’ll have to investigate!
I personally love potatoes! I do so many things with them including using leftovers of them. Leftover mashed potatoes make great potato patties (mold into a patty shape and fry in olive oil) and can top shepherd’s pie or other casseroles. Leftover baked potatoes are great sliced up and used for a scallop potato casserole or for home fries.
My mom always made homemade potato pancakes served with homemade applesauce.
Hi, Melissa! I just found your blog (thanks, Pinterest!) and will bookmark it to keep. Adding it, also, to my Board “Christian Blogs.” Glad I found you 😉 Tricia
Tricia,
I’ve found some gems from PInterest, too! I’m so glad you found me, too. 🙂
did you ever make the chocolate potato pie?
No, I need to do that… I need to purposefully save some of our potatoes.
Interesting article. The Great Depression lasted from 1929-1939.
I came across your site while on Pinterest. I enjoy your ideas about saving money in old fashioned ways. I had a bumper crop of potatoes and rather than just storing them, I canned them. It worked so well that I did it again this past year. So easy to open and heat for mashing, soups, or drained and fried! Next I want to try sweet potatoes! Just make sure to pressure can them not water bath. I too have clung to the book Jesus Calling. Her life story is amazing! God laid on her heart exactly what to write on the days that I needed it. We all, as Christians struggle. He never promised it would be easy, but with Him as our Defender and Savior, we have peace that surpasses ALL understanding! Keep up the good work! Love knowing there are young women that still love home, family, God, and encourage others. Thank you!
Hello Angela,
Canned potatoes are awesome and yes, pressure canned only for vegetables and non-acid foods. Always happy to meet a fellow sister in Christ!
Potato Turbate…make your favorite mashed potato recipe add browned ground meat,use as little or a lot according to your taste and budget (I use beef and 1 lb beef into 5lbs of mashed potatoes fed a family of 6 add a veggie and we still had leftovers) mix meat into mashed potatoes, put into casserole dish…I top with cheese bake 350 till cheese is melted and browning 20 to 30 minutes
Hi Melissa.
I sure enjoyed this podcast.
I often save the potato and vegetable water in my soups, so will freeze it until the day I make soup. Really tastes good.
I have a cookbook that was given to my Parents as a wedding gift in 1936. It is a Watkins cook book. Several of the recipes have a judgement size instead of exact measurements, (ie: butter the size of a walnut, or egg.) Mom always said you had to guess at the heat as well, as they had wood and coal.
In another family book, there is a recipe for cookies (that is over 100 years old) I have made these cookies with a bit of variation and they are great. Part of the directions says to add eggs to dampen. That is quite the guess.
Thanks
Sharon