A Cheap and Healthy Southern Country Dinner
My grandparents were poor, southern country people. They had to be frugal because they had very little money. They never ate out at restaurants and they had to make do with what they had or starve.
There was no microwave dinners, stops by fast food places, or convenience foods. I don’t know if there was a such thing as food stamps back then when they were growing up, but even if there was, they didn’t get any kind of assistance whatsoever. They grew much of their own food.
They grew gardens in the summer and canned food to eat during the winter. They raised chickens which provided them with eggs and killed the chickens for meat. (Yuck!) They also raised hogs. (Yuck! I don’t eat pork)
Apples grew on trees which they ate for snacks or used to bake. There were walnut trees and hickory trees which provided them with nuts.
Basically the only food supplies they purchased in stores were things like salt, sugar, pepper, flour, and cornmeal. Everything else they provided for themselves or did without. They didn’t have a choice.
A regular and staple dinner for all poor country people was pinto beans and cornbread. It was cheap, easy to make, and filling. It didn’t include any meat which they could not afford to eat meat regularly.
Well now things have changed a lot for this generation. I like Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Americanized Chinese food. I like eating out. And I don’t raise my own food.
People today are also cooking a lot healthier than they did back then. Back then they used grease to cook with (Yuck!!!) After frying some kind of pork like sausage or bacon they would save the grease and use it to cook with and fry foods with. Personally to me that’s disgusting, but doctors have been telling their patients for a long time now, especially those with heart disease and diabetes to use canola oil, olive oil, or corn oil to cook with. Don’t use grease, lard, or fat. It’s unhealthy, clogs up your arteries, and makes your heart disease worse.
People today still enjoy their southern country dinners even though they’ve changed somewhat from way back when.
Why are they so good? Because they are healthy (lots of veggies, no meat), filling, comforting, and cheap.
Here is my version of a cheap country dinner. I don’t like pinto beans, so it’s not included.
*Cornbread- A necessity. Fried or pan baked.
*Corn on the cob
*Green beans and potatoes
*Boiled cabbage
*Mashed potatoes
*Macaroni and cheese
In the old days, people would have put in grease with the green beans and cabbage. I don’t use anything when I cook green beans. Just take some green beans and potatoes and boil in water until cooked.
With boiled cabbage add a little olive or canola oil.
Here is the recipe for fried cornbread cakes:
*1 cup of self rising corn mean
*1 egg
*1/3 cup milk
Mix batter. In a skillet heat a tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil and fry.
For people who grow their own vegetables, this is a very cheap meal since the green beans, cabbage, corn and potatoes are free. This filling meal would only cost a few dollars to feed a whole family.