Poor Man Steak

Well, havin just read a bunch of news about this rotten economy, I figured we could all use some recipes for food that won't strain the budget, and this one certainly fits the bill both in ingredients and in name. (Note: I am not responsible if you end up needin triple-bypass from eatin a log of fried hamburger and three cans of cream of mushroom soup. If you want "healthy" poor folks' food, try Weiner Water Soup.)

Readin the title of this recipe, I imagined Mike Myers as Linda Richman on the old SNL "Coffee Talk" sketch sayin, "Poor Man Steak is neither made of man nor steak. Discuss."

Ingredients:
3 lbs. hamburger
1 onion, chopped fine
1 c. milk
1 c. dry bread crumbs
Pepper

Oven temp: 350 degrees 1 hour

Pan size: 9x13" glass bakin pan

How to:
Mix together and pat in cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper set in refrigerator overngiht ([sic]). Next day cut in servin pieces (you should totally cut them in shapes like steak-shape, dog bone-shape, hand-shape). Roll in flour and fry brown. Put in 9x13" glass bakin dish. (...and here's the big surprise...) Cover with 3 cans of mushroom soup. (Ta-DAAAAAA! Betcha didn't see that comin! Why didn't Myrtle Johnson include that crucial ingredient in the list? Why? Because silly, of course you, like any good housewife, keep a stock of 6-8 cans of cream of mushroom soup in your pantry at all times. You never know when company is goin to drop in and demand a casserole on the fly! By the way, I assume that this should be baked after you pour the soup over it, but it doesn't actually say - just lists an oven temp and cook time under the ingredients list. SO typical...)

Macaroni and Cheese, Hamburger

Hmmm...I wonder what ingredients could possibly be in this recipe? Macaroni and cheese and hamburger, you say? Why, I never would have guessed!

Ingredients:
1 box macaroni and cheese dinner (go for the Kraft!)
1 lb. hamburger
1 can cream of mushroom soup (but of course!)
1/2 can milk (canned milk? or a random can filled halfway with milk? these are the things that keep me up at night.)
Onion

How to:
Prepare macaroni and cheese accordin to directions. Fry hamburger and onion. Add hamburger to prepared macaroni and cheese dinner; add soup and milk. Season with salt and pepper. Heat and serve. Very easy to make and tastes great. (Gee, I'll have to take your word on that "tastes great" part, Shirley. I think ketchup would make a lovely accompaniment, don't you?)

Hot Dish (Number 2)

As proven by the first recipe for HOT DISH, there is no shortage of mish-mash casseroles that can be tossed together at the last minute to bring as a hot dish for a church potluck or PTA get-together. Callin your casserole a HOT DISH shows that you are no-nonsense. Who needs fancy names when you're just lookin to fix a dish that is hot?

Ingredients:
Hamburger (how much? doesn't say.)
onions (how many? who knows?)
salt (no measurement? is it just me or is this recipe incredibly vague?)
pepper
1 can cream of chicken soup (hooray! I heart "cream of" soups!)
1 can milk (like evaporated milk or somethin?)
1 can vegetable soup
tater tots

Oven temp: ??? (Your guess is as good as mine. 350? 400?)

Pan size: a standard bakin dish will do the trick

How to:
Fry hamburger with onions, salt and pepper. After it's done, add chicken soup, milk, vegetable soup, put in bakin dish. Sprinkle tater tots on top. Bake 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.

From Mrs. Donovan Nash (Well, thanks tons Mrs. Donovan Nash, but the mix of cooked hamburger with milk, cream of chicken soup, and vegetable soup sounds kind of like what you get when you hose out a Dumpster.)

Potluck Casserole

Like "Hot Dish" before it, this casserole smacks of hastily-thrown-togetherness. This recipe comes from the 1975 First Lutheran Church cookbook and the contributor is none other than my own Granny. Why the lima beans, Granny? Why?

Ingredients:
2 lbs. hamburger
1 lg. onion, diced
1 c. celery, diced
1 can green lima beans, undrained
2 cans spaghetti (cans? oh - like the Franco-American kind. I used to actually enjoy that stuff)

Oven temp: 325 degrees

How to:
Fry hamburger, onion and celery. Drain excess grease. Add undrained lima beans and spaghetti. Bake 1 hour at 325 degrees, uncovered. (I presume a standard casserole or bakin dish could be used for this recipe. Overall, this doesn't seem TOO terrible...but the canned lima beans are a total turnoff for me. I love fresh and frozen lima beans, but canned? Blecch.)