91-Year-Old Grandma Describes Life During Great Depression, Then Shares Unique Recipe

May 25, 2020

The Great Depression was a time of severe economic hardship for many of our grandparents and great-grandparents and their families. Clara Cannucciaria was just a teenager during this devastating time period, but she still remembers many of the recipes her mother made to feed her family on very little money.

Clara started up a website called GreatDepressionCooking.com where she shared some of her family's favorite frugal meals. Although Clara passed away in 2013 at the age of 98, her recipes and videos are still being shared and loved by many today.

Her budget-friendly recipes are particularly helpful in today's world where many are facing economic hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic.

One of Clara's most popular recipes on her website is called "Poor Man's Meal." It uses inexpensive items like potatoes, onions, hot dogs, and marinara sauce to create a delicious meal that will feed a crowd.

As Clara walks us through preparing the meal in her video, she explains how many of her grandchildren and grandchildren's friends request this special meal when they visit her. Always happy to oblige, Clara has gotten pretty good at making this simple meal over the years.

While Clara peels and dices potatoes, onions, and hot dogs, she describes how it felt growing up during The Great Depression. She shares that she had to quit high school because her family didn't have enough money to buy her clothes to wear.

Clara also shared how her family survived on sacks of potatoes, flour, and other cheap grocery items during this challenging time. They would use the potatoes in other ways like cooked up with pasta and eggs, but the "Poor Man's Meal" was always a family favorite.

Preparing this meal is very easy and it's a great way to stretch a few items to feed several people. We're including the recipe below so you can try it out for yourself at home.

• 5-6 russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 onion, sliced
• 4 hot dogs, sliced into rounds
• 2-3 tbsp marinara sauce
• 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3-4 tbsp water

1. Peel and dice the potatoes. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Place the potatoes in the skillet along with the onions and cook until they start to brown and become tender.

3. Add the sliced hot dogs into the skillet and cook them for a few minutes to brown them up.

4. Stir in some marinara sauce and water to create a nice sauce for the potatoes and hot dogs.

5. Continue cooking over medium-high heat until the potatoes are fork tender and hot dogs are browned.

In addition to the "Poor Man's Meal", Clara shares some of her family's other favorite recipes like the Depression Breakfast, Shepherd's Pie, and Peppers and Eggs.

Although Clara has passed since this video was made, her recipes and traditions live on through her website and family members who have chosen to continue making the dishes in honor of their beloved grandmother.

Let us know what you think after you've given Clara's recipe a try. Do you think it's a good way to make a meal on a budget?

Be sure to pass this recipe along to others who might enjoy giving it a try as well. In times like these, we all need to band together and help each other out and sharing budget-friendly recipes is a great way to do that.