I grew up on dollar-stretching food. Had a full-time Mom.
Goulash, tuna casserole, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salmon patties, Jello salads, sausage & kraut, chicken & dumplings, baked beans, pot roast, rice (then rice pudding tomorrow), stuffed cabbage, Koolaid.
I make molded seafood mousse. Bad-mouthed but actually delicious.
What you listed was more typical of our household growing up - not this fancy stuff in the article! Once in a while during the summer I’ll get two small steaks for my wife and I to grill up.
Every time I think back to growing up, where mom would get one(?) chunk of beef and the kids and her would get 3 slices of it (6”x 1” x 1/3” or so), and the old man would get 4 or 5 slices.
But then filled up on potatoes and vegetables. We never went hungry.
We had all you listed. Plus, what seemed like lots of fried smelt (cheap protein, I expect). Liver & onions.
I was actually jealous of the kids who brought bologna sandwiches to school for lunch; we usually just had a slice of cheese with some mayo and mustard on the bread. I thought the kids with MEAT on their sandwiches were from the “rich” families.