If you are a food snob or so-called “gourmet,” you may as well go read the phone book. This blog is not for you.
My husband was one of those trusting souls who loved to bring home extra people for dinner, most often the hungry young bank officers who worked for him. I quickly learned to wait until I had a head count before cooking dinner.
The first time this happened, I’d only been married about a month and knew very little about cooking. One dish I did know how to cook was Tuna Casserole. Tony called and said he was bringing his uncle home with him, to eat lunch. I nearly panicked but made the casserole and Uncle Jake raved over it, said it was the best thing he’d ever eaten. He even told my mother in law how much he’d enjoyed it - most likely because he could chew it. This was 1957 and tuna casserole was still new. That dear man spent lots of time with us over the years and always bragged on my cooking. At one time, he’d been produce buyer for the group of grocery stores my husband was in charge of, when we married. So, though he was older when I met him, he taught me lots about fruit and vegetables.
I picked up some ideas for quick and easy party foods early in my marriage.
In Atlanta, that year, onion dip - made by adding a package of Liptons dry onion soup mix to a pint of sour cream - was quite popular. It was served with chips, at parties. Of course it needed an hour or two, or longer, to combine properly. I had the fun of being the first to serve that to party guests not long after we married. Maybe just because it was something new, everyone devoured it.
Another party food still kind of new that year, was Chex Mix, made with several cereals and nuts, then baked slowly with some seasonings. I’ve probably made a bathtub of this over the last 55 years. I’ve given it for tiny Christmas gifts several times. It is nutritious and fairly cheap. The recipe is on the Chex boxes tho’ I usually jazz mine up a bit with soy sauce, onion powder and garlic salt, etc.
But back to meal stretching - here are some tips and recipes.
Grocery list for emergency meal stretching:
Rice, macaroni, spaghetti, boxed real potato flakes, potatoes, canned cream soups, tuna, canned chicken, Del Monte Blue Lake green beans, Le Seur Party Peas.
We ate lots of tuna back then. When we got tired of tuna, I gave it a good rinse (it was all oil-packed), patted it dry with paper towels, and diced it up fine so we could have chicken salad. (It’s easier than cooking and dicing chicken!)
Our first “home” was in an apartment complex, surrounded by lots of other young couples. We married in February, and I could not get a teaching job that time of year, in Augusta, a town new to me. It was a good situation for me because the other wives were so sweet to me and taught me lots about cooking etc. There was no leash law and there were always dogs and a few cats around, to eat the mistakes I threw out the back door for them.
Since I became an expert at stretching and improvising when I was married, I thought it would be fun to share some of my hard-won knowledge.
Stretch Pork Chops
How to stretch 4 pork chops into dinner for a crowd, at the last minute, with no time for a trip to the store:
2 cups dry rice, cooked in 4 cups water to which 4 chicken bouillon cubes have been added (or cooked in chicken broth)
4 pork chops, cubed into small cubes, browned in vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red or green pepper, chopped, if you have it or a jar of pimentos (drained)
1 can small green peas drained
additional liquid: soup or just plain water. Add after tasting –
Now, fold all together and TASTE! May need salt, pepper, onion powder, a shot of Soy Sauce, Tabasco, or whatever your family likes.
This needs to be slightly soupy. Place in a greased casserole dish and heat at 350 until it bubbles around the edges. Can add bread crumbs, grated cheese, etc. for a topping if desired. Obviously, this can be changed lots of ways but you get the picture. I certainly prefer not to cook this way but someone asked me recently how to stretch something like pork chops .
Another easy dish to have on hand is ---
Frozen Fruit Salad
In a large mixing bowl, combine:
1 can cherry pie filling
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained
8 oz sour cream
1 can condensed milk
large carton thawed Cool Whip
2 cups miniature marshmallows
Freeze in loaf pans or paper muffin cups, placed in regular muffin pans [place in ziplock bags when frozen]. Slice and serve on a lettuce leaf or in the muffin wraps. Actually, I usually doubled this. It is good and convenient to have on hand. Tony and Bruce used to get these out of the freezer and eat them like popsicles.
Hot Dog Chili
(This is supposed to be the Varsity’s Original Recipe but I doubt it. At any rate, it works and is nice when making chili dogs. Freezes well, too.)
2 pounds lean ground beef
1- 2 ½ oz box hot chili powder
1 tsp salt [I use less]
2 cups water
Mix in a saucepan; bring to a boil; simmer on low until slightly thick, about one hour.
Curried Tuna Melts
Prepare your usual tuna salad except add curry powder, starting with about one teaspoon, then taste. Can add more to suit yourself. On a baking sheet, divide the salad between slices of toast, maybe about four. Place a slice of cheese on top of the salad. Place the baking sheet under the broiler, just until the cheese starts to melt. Remove and serve.
Well, there you have a few food bites. I’m sure anyone who has cooked for a while could add lots more and definitely better ideas. However writing this gives me something to do – and keeps me off the streets.
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