When you need to save money at meal time, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. Take some clues from lean times in U.S. history. Try these low-cost, stick-to-your-ribs menu ideas.
Vegetables
Mock oysters, named for their oval shape, are low-cost make-do side dishes. Open a can of cream-style corn. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Add 3 to 4 tbsp. white flour and an egg. Blend ingredients. The mixture should have the consistency of pancake batter. Pour canola oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet. Heat oil. Spoon the corn mixture in small ovals. You can cook about four cakes at a time. Fry cakes until ready to flip with a spatula. Fry the other sides until the centers are cooked through. Serve as a side dish.
Main Course
Serve baked beans as a meat substitute. Baked bean sandwiches make a satisfying main dish. Drain a 15-oz. can of baked beans. Pour the beans into a bowl. Add 1 tbsp. of mayonnaise and 2 tsp. of brown mustard. Lay four slices of bread on individual plates. Spoon the bean mixture on the bread. Add one leaf of lettuce, an onion slice and a tomato slice. Spread mayonnaise on four more slices of bread. Place the bread on top of the sandwich fillings.
Dessert
Use canned sweet potatoes as substitutes for pumpkin. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Drain 2 cups canned sweet potatoes. Pour in a large mixing bowl. Add a 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. of vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp. of salt. Mix by hand until smooth. Pour the mixture into a frozen pie shell. Place the pie shell on a baking sheet. Bake one hour or until the center is set.
Tags: baked beans, bowl tbsp, canned sweet, canned sweet potatoes, large mixing, large mixing bowl, mixing bowl