Momma Lessons to Me and Now to You!

 Hello to everyone that has taken the time to check in this little place I call home.  I hope you are all well and safe. I want to take a moment and say how I appreciate people finding this a place that they can come and ask for prayer.  That just makes me happy.

It is a cooler morning at 65* and sunny.  It will get to the mid 80's today.  It is very dewy out there. The windows are open at this time, just enjoying the fresh breeze.

I told you Sunday, that we had sirens go off on Saturday evening with our storm.  I found out yesterday that there was a low-grade tornado just on the other side of the park - that is just a few blocks away!!!  YIKES - I had no idea.

Yep, that is me!  Mom's old kitchen - bright shiny yellow were the walls.  You can't see it, but to the right of me would have been the old Chambers stove.  Oh how I wish I had that today.  That thing was the best.

Mom taught me many lessons in that kitchen and the one that followed when they remodeled.  I learned to cook, and I learned to can, and I learned to "use it up".

Now I realize that a lot of things she did back then, people just would not do today.  Folks like convenience and want things now!  We didn't have fast food, so everything was made at home.  The grocery budget was very tiny, so it was for things that could not be grown or made from home.

So here we go - from Momma to you!

Always save your bacon grease.  That is gold - and it can be added to things and adds a tremendous amount of flavor. (I still save)

Butter was always kept on the counter - never the frig.

There was always coffee on the stove - ALWAYS in that kitchen.

Never put a tomato in the frig.  It changes the chemical compounds and boy; does it change the taste.

Always use up the bread in some way - never waste it.

Soup can be made from anything you have on hand - and cream of soup can be made from any veggie - great way to use leftovers.  Soup was served with crackers or bread - to help fill you up.  Plain old tomato soup often had macaroni or rice added to it to add extra bulk.

SOUPS - potato, broccoli, split pea, cauliflower, veggie, chicken noodle/rice, pozole (pork & hominy), tomato, goodness the list went on and on.

Those leftover veggies also made great fitters.

Chipped beef gravy was a biggy at our house.  Super easy and cheap.  We called it 'dried beef' gravy.  She would use a package of Buddig beef (I still do).  Any kind of gravy was made.  Often it was just white (country) gravy made with bacon grease as a starter.  It was also made with ground beef, sausage or whatever we had.  Served over biscuits (scones) or toasted bread.  Always filled us up and I still love it for comfort food.

Heck, we had baked bean sandwiches, tomato or cuke sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly.  Daddy loved hot peppers on buttered bread!  That was lunch. Mom could make a great meat spread with about any leftover meat we might have - it would sure stretch out a little meat into something to fill a belly.

The kitchen after they remodeled it.  It was this way until we sold it in 2002.  See that old Admiral frig?  That became mine when I got my first home in 1975, and mom upgraded.  I used that frig in my house until it sold many years later.

Oh if that kitchen could talk!!!  So many meals, thousands of dozens of cookies and just a bunch of yummy food and so much canning.  So many people passed through there.

Mom would add tuna to veggies or pasta to have a cheap meat in the dinner.  Maybe add some cheese on top and yum.  I make what I call skillet dinners - mom called them casseroles and they were made in a cast iron skillet in the oven.

Baked potatoes was a nice addition to a meal, as they were really filling.  Mom made potatoes in about every way you could think of - they were cheap.

Jello was a staple in the kitchen.  Mixed flavors or fruit added.  She would sometimes take peach halves, pineapple slices, apricot halves and even watermelon slices and heat on the griddle (we didn't have a grill) - they would char a bit and made for a special dessert! Oh, another was fried apples!

She made all sweets.  Cookies, cakes, pies, sweet breads, you name it.  There was always a sweet bread in the freezer that could be pulled out and sliced for a treat if company stopped by.  She fed everyone!

She made potato chips and French fries at home.  Our baked beans were always 'baked' beans (not from a can).  Macaroni and cheese was made in an oven (still my preferred) - not a pot on the stove.

Other than sweets she made, we had fruit in the summer from the trees and vines out back, and there was popcorn and my favorite treat was syrup and peanut butter mixed together and served with crackers or a slice of bread!

She canned or froze everything that daddy could grow - jams, jellies, veggies, fruit, kraut, even stuffed peppers.

We had simple breakfasts during the week and something hearty on the weekend.

Her words were NEVER waste a thing - it can be used in something else.  Grow and put away all you can and of course everything was made from scratch.

Now I know many don't do these things today - but if we just follow some of her lessons, we can save a lot of money.  It uses what you have and feeds your family.

Buy and grow what you eat and eat what you buy or grow.

I am so glad I had parents that were inventive and hard workers - I learned so much.  We didn't have a lot of money at all - but we never went hungry - mom could make anything a feast!  

Lessons I still use today!

Maybe you will see something that you can use in your kitchen, and just maybe it will help you stretch that food budget a little and fill the bellies of the family!!!!

Have a beautiful day!