This week Family Night Dinner Ideas is featuring another casserole (imagine that) Hamburger Pie. This recipe comes from the Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library (1971), Budget Casseroles. I was really excited the teen picked this card from the batch since this was one my Nana prepared when I was growing up.
The Hamburger Pie recipe comes together easily and is truly a cheap dish. For all it's cheapness it sure is filling. The recipe as written says to use Potato Buds. Well, I went a step cheaper and bought the generic version. It added up to a savings of almost $2. In the end, the potatoes tasted like potatoes and no one seemed disappointed. In fact, my husband went back for seconds.
This Hamburger Pie was not exactly like Nana's. I recall hers having a little more flavor. I think she mixed bell pepper, chopped onion, and carrots in the hamburger. The next time we try this dish I think I'll add a little veggie in the mix and see what we get.
I also think this could be done using left over mashed potatoes. We always have left over mashed potatoes around here. When we prepare mashed potatoes, I leave the skins on and add in green onion, crushed garlic, and sour cream-really yummy.
Though I think the Hamburger Pie recipe needs a little tweaking, it was good and enjoyed by all. Here's a snapshot of the finished product:
This week we decided to try a stew recipe: Brunswick Stew. A few weeks ago we tried Sunday Supper Soup, and found it was so delicious, we wanted to try some other soup options in the collection. Brunswick Stew comes from McCall's Great American Recipe Collection (1973), The Old South.
The teen learned about saving money buying in bulk and freezing. Instead of using a whole chicken, which I would have had to purchase, we used leg quarters I had purchased previously on sale and froze.
With this recipe she also learned how to cut raw bacon. She did not like that too much. I taught her how to brown bacon and onion without burning it: Toss ingredients frequently to avoid scorching.
Cutting raw boned chicken was new to her also. The technique here is to find the joint and cut into the bend and follow the natural line. This always works for me. It worked for her, no mutilated pieces or cut fingers.
We had to buy celery for this dish. We do not use celery as often as we probably should, but in light of the occasion, I introduced her to our trusty FoodSaver. She was stuck cutting an entire bunch of celery for future recipes. I told her this will save money and time later.
These handy pouches are in the freezer ready and waiting for the next recipe! I love my FoodSaver!
The results of the chicken Brunswick Stew were fantastic. For those not akin to Lima beans, you could not even tell they were in there by taste. The okra made the dish almost like a southern gumbo. Take a look at our chicken Brunswick Stew:
We came across this easy Pork Chop Scallop recipe and decided we just had to try it. Pork chops and pork in general has been on sale a lot lately. Having a variety of pork recipes will keep the family from getting burned out on pork chop a la surprise.
This pork chop scallop recipe was so easy the teen could manage it all on her own. Just look, all you need is pork chops, salt, pepper, pimentos, and boxed scallop potatoes. From The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library (1971), American Classics.
For this one we opted to bake the pork chop scallop in the oven instead of cooking it on the stove top. It worked out really well this way. The chops were not as tender as I would have liked them but everyone seemed to like the dish overall.
For a quick and easy pork chop dish, you may want to try it. Here's the results of our efforts:
