$avings $aturdays..Stretching One Serving into Two

 Today, facing a little over one serving of good beef stew left over from a company lunch yesterday, and with 2 people to feed, I split it between 2 individual casseroles, topped it with some freezer mashed potatoes and a little grated cheese, and baked it 20 minutes.  Lunch for 2.

It got me thinking about this little World War II leaflet from Betty Crocker – called Your Share.  They gave hundreds of ideas for stretching wartime rations.  In today’s economy, these ideas still apply.  Here are some that I liked.

Stretching one serving into two:

1. Add mashed beans or bread or oatmeal to ground meat for meatballs, meat loaves or patties.
2. Add beans and/or grains like rice or barley to soups.
3. Top leftover stew with mashed potatoes or biscuits or a biscuit or cornbread crust and bake.
4. Turn stew into soup by adding water – perhaps adding a handful of vegetables.
5. Chop meat into smaller pieces – for example, grind ham and moisten it with some salad dressing –you’ll get more sandwiches.
6. Make meat rolls or pies by chopping meat, adding pickles and mayo, then spread on biscuit dough, roll up and bake, or roll up, cut into slices and bake, or shape into pies either with biscuit dough, yeast dough or piecrust dough.
7. Stir-fry – again, cutting meat into smaller pieces and adding vegetables – best if you grew them yourself.
8. Add beans and less meat to casseroles.
9. Stir some tomatoes and a little cooked ground beef into leftover macaroni and cheese; reheat and serve.
10. Bake meat with stuffing – you can serve a smaller portion of meat if you serve it over stuffing or stuffed with stuffing, like a pocket in small pork chops or chicken breasts.
11. Wrap thin ham slices or beef slices around vegetables to make rolls – whole green beans, long carrot strips or asparagus.
12. Scallop meat with potatoes, white sauce and bread crumbs.
13. Cream diced meat and serve over toast, biscuits, rice, noodles or potatoes.
14. Make old-fashioned croquettes; grind cooked meat and add rice or bread crumbs; moisten with thick white sauce.  Fry or bake.
15. Stuff vegetables with cooked, ground meat or poultry – you can add rice, bread crumbs and stuff green peppers, for instance.  Bake.
16. Make soufflé or quiche.  Only the French could turn a couple of eggs and a handful of dry cheese into a gourmet treat.
17. Save bacon fat and use a little to wipe on your pan before frying eggs, etc.
18. Use all of the vegetable:  tough parts of asparagus and broccoli make delicious cream soups; celery leaves are excellent in soups and stews; combine leftovers and peelings in a freezer container and cook and puree for cream soups.
19. Fruits a little past their prime make cooked sauces, upside-down cake, can be used for cobblers, crisps, added to muffins or cakes or quick breads, etc.  
20. Save stale bread and bread heels and let it dry.  Use for bread pudding, or make crumbs from it.