Sunday, February 17, 2008

1950s budget menu: Sunday breakfast

Coffee cake and oatmeal? No problem. I have a handful of rich recipes I use for brunch.

Wait! This budget menu doesn't include sour cream or cake mix; neither can I spare 4 eggs. Retro Food rescued me with a tasty 1-egg version that calls for shortening instead of butter.

The family approves.

Bonus: I can use this recipe for company without so much expense.

Click here to return to the complete 1950s budget cooking experiment!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Elize looks very sweet at the table but I am amazed that she is not buckled into a booster seat and that her milk and juice are in glass glasses. It is very impressive that she can manage real glasses at 20 months - or was the glasses just for "staging". I am interested because my 20-month-old still uses sippy cups (although he does well with a regular plastic cup, I still give him a sippy cup to lessen accidents) and he has graduated from high chair to booster seat with safety buckle.

Anonymous said...

OK, I think you have answered a question I had about this budget meal planning book...you are using your own recipes. I was wondering because we have found that we have lost our taste for some of the 50's style cooking. For one thing we eat far more truly ethnic food and use a greater variety of seasoning. Also, we almost never use canned soup as a sauce or eat casseroles.

Meredith said...

Yes, this book only gives a menu, not recipes. However, most of them are in keeping with the low-budget nature and are accordingly simple. No casseroles.

Meredith said...

No, Elise decided that she was ready to sit in the big chair this week. We skipped the high chair altogether and instead used a booster seat with tray.

She has just learned to crawl up into chairs, and these metal dining room chairs are so sturdy adn cushioned, we thought, well, why not?

So, yes, the photo is a real one, not staged.

As to sippy cups--

We've never really used them. And I say that not to sound superior. Going straight from breast to small cup worked best for us.

I do mop up the occasional spill, but to me it's a lot easier than keeping up with sippy cup valves, finding spoiled milk cups in the car, and trying to wean them off a plastic spout later.

Anonymous said...

You are right that keeping up with sippy cups is a job! I just find it very convenient for when he is in the car or in the stroller. He always has a drink available. I also keep a sippy cup of water at his level at all times so he just helps himself to a drink when he wants one and I find he drinks about 2 cups per day. I guess I will soon begin the graduation to a cup only - but maybe not until after yard sale season! He really does not do well with bottled water; although I suppose an alternative is to keep a cup in a plastic bag in the diaper bag and pour into that. How do you manage when you are out and about? Thanks!

Crystal said...

We are a family that LOVES breakfast for dinner at least once a week. :) I too am impressed with your little one using a cup! My son is almost 17m and I can't imagine the mess I would be cleaning up. :)

Lisa B. said...

The breakfast change was very frugal. Good job. And I wouldnt bat an eye to serve it to company either.

Rhonda said...

I made almost this exact coffee cake recipe for our breakfast this morning. Except my recipe did not have apples in the batter but did have pecans in the strusel.
We thought it was yummy.

Anonymous said...

When I was about 7 years old, my mom bought me a Better Homes and Gardens "New Junior Cookbook." The coffee cake recipe to which you linked looked almost identical to one that I used to make for my parents all the time. (It remains a family favorite even after 25 yrs.) So I got out the cookbook (I still have it and use it for this and other recipes), and they're pretty much the same except mine has a little sour cream and some chopped nuts. The copyright for this cookbook: 1979 - pretty retro, eh?

Grace in Nashville

Anonymous said...

remember the earlier post re: price of eggs?

The farmer from whom we purchase eggs raised her price today. This morning at church we had an enlightening conversation about why egg prices all over the U.S. are going up.

I'll leave a comment back on that post.

dmeyers

Anonymous said...

This little project of yours is so interesting. I might have to try something similar at our house for fun. I need to vary my routine from time to time to avoid getting into a rut.

Aside from the whole time issue involved with cooking dry beans, I bet finding a recipe that suits your tastes is key. I've had baked beans in the past that tasted clearly more "savory" and some that were "sweet." Everyone has their own idea of what they're supposed to taste like.

Anonymous said...

Oops, I put my comment on the wrong post.

MommyLydia said...

I am REALLY interested in the information on eggs but I can't find the post. Help! :)

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

I'm curious to know how the breakfasts are working out considering your husband is diabetic. I looked at the photo with all the menus listed, and the breakfasts seem pretty high on starch and low on protein. I'm just wondering if you're having to modify the menus for his diet.

MommyLydia said...

Turns out it was on Feb 10

~katie~ said...

I just have to ask ~ what dishes/china do you use? I love that pattern!

If you have the time, drop me a comment! Thanks!