Well, they figured out how to do stuff with nothing, and she continued the tradition so I got to learn about these dishes.
Several years back a lady at the office who worked with charitable groups in some of the bad spots in DC needed some recipes.
She asked me for some help ~ I think the Lord led her to me because I whipped up a couple of dozen.
One was for folks with one pot. One large potato. Water. Salt and maybe pepper. They could use cheap hamburger. You cut it all up. Cooked the potato. Crumbled in the hamburger.
The charitable group (a multi-denominational rescue operation for the poorest of the poor) got donors, they got the stuff, they had well over 100 children do just that dish.
I was humbled by the response and in awe of my grandmother who turned that into Sunday dinner every week.
Excellent! I grew up the youngest of a very large family. It sounds exactly like a dish my mom made us at least a couple times a month. Honesty? I liked it :-). Salt and pepper come in handy and the grease was great on those potatoes. Simple stuff when one doesn’t have much and they are HUN-GRYY! :-). Bless you for giving these families recipes to build strong children and parents.
Corn mush made with water and salt for breakfast.
Leftover corn mush fried up in a little lard for supper.
Cooked rice fried up with a little lard for a change.
Add a little squirrel meat if you have it.
Or cooked rice in a bowl with a little milk and sugar when you have it.
Hard times for many didn’t ease off until the 1950’s where I grew up.
For some others, hard times never did ease off.
I still know hard working prideful people who don’t have much but will not take government handouts, food stamps, etc.
slice and boil some potatoes. Fry up some hamburger in a large skillet, with a little bit of onion.
Poor off the grease, add the potatoes to the hamburgerand add a can of cream of mushroom soup. warm up the ingredients together.
Seldom, very seldom, there's left overs.
God bless you.