Poor man's Hamburger Helper? Seriously?

[ccmom]

Because we all know HH is the quintessential food of the upper classes. :lol:

 

Sheesh. What an awkward grocery store moment.

 

:iagree:

[unsinkable]

I don't know what SOS is (other than a help signal) nor chipped beef.

 

When I was a single Mom, working 3 jobs, HH was a godsend. Quick, cheap and easy. Kids loved it.

 

When you don't have your kitchen set up w/spices, etc, it can be very expensive to undertake any sort of 'recipe'. You do what you can to keep a roof over the head, clothes on the back, and tummies fed.

 

HH, hot dogs, whatever.

 

Although I admit to never eating Spam. Might have, if I'd known what the heck to do with it.

 

SOS is creamed chipped beef on toast. You make a white sauce and add a jar of chipped beef and serve it on toast. Or rice. Or leftover potatoes.

 

SOS means $hit on a Shingle.

[Sherry in OH]

I don't know what SOS is (other than a help signal) nor chipped beef.

 

When I was a single Mom, working 3 jobs, HH was a godsend. Quick, cheap and easy. Kids loved it.

 

When you don't have your kitchen set up w/spices, etc, it can be very expensive to undertake any sort of 'recipe'. You do what you can to keep a roof over the head, clothes on the back, and tummies fed.

 

HH, hot dogs, whatever.

 

Although I admit to never eating Spam. Might have, if I'd known what the heck to do with it.

 

Does ... on a shingle help? Chipped beef is finely chopped or shredded cooked beef. If you don't have beef, you can get the same effect by pouring cream of mushroom soup over a slice of toast.

 

Spam - you slice and fry it or you cube it and add it to bean soup.

 

Boxed mixes have gone down in price since I was a child. My mother's reasons for not making HH were that 1) it was expensive and 2) it was too spicy to suit my father. She made plenty of spam and scrapple. If you have never had scrapple -- if you put enough syrup on it, you can ALMOST not taste it.

[unsinkable]

Does ... on a shingle help? Chipped beef is finely chopped or shredded cooked beef. If you don't have beef, you can get the same effect by pouring cream of mushroom soup over a slice of toast.

Spam - you slice and fry it or you cube it and add it to bean soup.

 

Boxed mixes have gone down in price since I was a child. My mother's reasons for not making HH were that 1) it was expensive and 2) it was too spicy to suit my father. She made plenty of spam and scrapple. If you have never had scrapple -- if you put enough syrup on it, you can ALMOST not taste it.

 

But you don't get the same thrill of seeing the slices of chipped beef in the little jar. :lol:

 

ETA: Scrapple --- there are some bad childhood memories!!

[Impish]

Thanks for the explanations. I've never seen beef in a jar...perhaps its not in Canada?

 

Scrapple here is a drink company.

[Nakia]

LOL! James Bond loves Spam and I think it is the most vile thing in the world. I refuse to buy it, but or Christmas this past year I put 3 cans of it in his stocking and you would have thought they were cans of gold. He was so excited and fried some up for breakfast that morning. Yuck!

 

We went to the Luxembourg Military Museum last Dec. when we did the Battle of the Bulge Memorial Walk and they have a huge display of the foods soldiers had from WWII. There were several unopened cans of Spam and the tour guide told us they could still be eaten and taste the same if opened today. ICK!

 

That is kinda funny and pretty gross.

 

Food snobbery makes me so uncomfortable. My dad grew up hungry and one of my best friends in high school did, too. Both my dad and friend stole food to feed their younger brothers and sisters. I know both of them would have made and served HH with joy to their siblings if they could have gotten their hands on it.

 

I hope I didn't come across as a food snob. My mother never cooked a thing from scratch, and we all made it out just fine. I think that's why I love cooking and baking so much. I am still far from cooking all meals from scratch. We still eat Kraft mac-n-cheese, frozen nuggets, and I still use canned creamed soups in recipes. We all just have to do the best we can.

[anneofalamo]

HH is a delight for my kids! I actually picked up about $10 worth of mystery HH for 25cents last year...the envelope and noodles taped together...the boxes were destroyed.

The kids know the magic formula of milk and water..boil to make gooey mass of starch, and make it with or without hamburger, for lunches. To top it off they add cheese on top and eat with tortillas! My children are beyond skinny!

 

fun to read all your likes and dislikes! ya'll really are a great group!!

[Cheryl in NM]

I haven't read the previous posts, but actually HH from scratch is TONS cheaper. All you need is hamburger, potatoes or pasta, a little butter, flour, water or milk (or mix them half & half) and bouillon, sometimes cheese. It's super easy to make and so much better for you.

[goldberry]

We eat HH sometimes when time is tight. But I do consider it "fake food". There are things we eat that are processed and corn-syrupy, but I have explained to my DD why those things don't really give you what you need, and what would happen if we eat too much of them.

 

IE, I let her have sugary cereal once in awhile, but she has it for a snack, since I have explained it is not really "food" and therefore isn't a meal!

 

So yeah, I do know better, but will occasionally scarf down the junk like everybody else! (And enjoy it, too!)

 

PS - It is indeed sad that it costs so much more to eat healthy foods. I know people say it doesn't for them, but it sure does for us.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

We eat HH sometimes when time is tight. But I do consider it "fake food". There are things we eat that are processed and corn-syrupy, but I have explained to my DD why those things don't really give you what you need, and what would happen if we eat too much of them.

 

IE, I let her have sugary cereal once in awhile, but she has it for a snack, since I have explained it is not really "food" and therefore isn't a meal!

 

So yeah, I do know better, but will occasionally scarf down the junk like everybody else! (And enjoy it, too!)

 

PS - It is indeed sad that it costs so much more to eat healthy foods. I know people say it doesn't for them, but it sure does for us.

 

That is a serious peeve of mine! Why in the world should it be less expensive to buy a box of twinkies and a coke than an organic apple and a wedge of good cheese? WHY?

 

It seems so wrong that good, wholesome, whole, and natural foods are more expensive than junk food. I tell you, it borders on conspiracy theory kind of thinking with me.

 

There is a rant on this topic inside me wanting to get out so I better stop there. But boy am I with you on that one.

[mrsrevmeg]

We eat HH sometimes when time is tight. But I do consider it "fake food". There are things we eat that are processed and corn-syrupy, but I have explained to my DD why those things don't really give you what you need, and what would happen if we eat too much of them.

 

IE, I let her have sugary cereal once in awhile, but she has it for a snack, since I have explained it is not really "food" and therefore isn't a meal!

 

So yeah, I do know better, but will occasionally scarf down the junk like everybody else! (And enjoy it, too!)

 

PS - It is indeed sad that it costs so much more to eat healthy foods. I know people say it doesn't for them, but it sure does for us.

 

My husband and I have talked about this so many times. Produce adds so much to our grocery bills. (even from a farmer's market) Why does the hormone/antibiotic added meat cost less than the natural meat? Should the more natural (nothing injected) meat cost less???? A loaf of white bread costs $1.00. The ingredients to make bread cost more.

[Impish]

 

PS - It is indeed sad that it costs so much more to eat healthy foods. I know people say it doesn't for them, but it sure does for us.

 

That is a serious peeve of mine! Why in the world should it be less expensive to buy a box of twinkies and a coke than an organic apple and a wedge of good cheese? WHY?

 

It seems so wrong that good, wholesome, whole, and natural foods are more expensive than junk food. I tell you, it borders on conspiracy theory kind of thinking with me.

 

There is a rant on this topic inside me wanting to get out so I better stop there. But boy am I with you on that one.

:iagree::iagree:

I tried explaining this to my mom once...she, who never has had to struggle financially. She reminded me she had been a single parent...yeah, for less than a month...she lived with her mother, and did nothing to actually support anyone. Then moved in w/her new boyfriend after less than a month of dating (he did become my stepdad, but still, hardly qualifies her to have a clue about single parenting/poverty!).

 

A bag of pasta is cheaper than whole wheat pasta. And has more in it. More you can do with it. Juice is cheaper and lasts longer than 5 apples. 2 loaves of white bread are a smidge more than 1 loaf of brown (not so here where I live now, its all ridiculously expensive...we stick to the instore bakery though. Not paying $3 for a flippin loaf of bread!). Cheddar is expensive. Forget organics. I start to hyperventilate and get dizzy pricing those. Once in a while they're on sale for the price of normal, and I'll buy them then...but full price? :svengo:

 

I'm looking forward to raising our own. Save money and eat better. Yes, there's work involved, but still...

[vonfirmath]

We had Stouffer's Lasagna last night and my son LOVED it. He came back for thirds!

 

Anyone have a good recipe for easy homemade lasagna? (I'm not a very good cook and my husband, who is, does not have time to cook right now)