We were so poor, my Dad would work all day for enough money to buy one little bag of instant mash potato, 8 oz can of tomato sauce to make tomato soup for my Mom that was in a car accident, a carton of milk for the baby. Dad and us 5 kids would eat the mash potato and go in the back yard and pick wild poke salad greens. that's what we had everyday for months. When my Mom was able to travel we went from Missouri to Oklahoma ran out of money lived at the lake and people caught fish and gave to us so we could eat. I was allergic to seafood, so I couldn't eat. Until my grandmother in California could send us some money.Than one time we had no money at all, our landlord let us move into the house with no money and we ate turnips from the landlords fields every day morning, noon and night and nothing else. Cooked those turnips every way you could, baked, boiled and fried and nothing else for months, until my Dad got a job to pay the rent, utilities turned on and finely after a couple of months to be able to buy food.

Poor? I didn’t know we were poor until I grew up. It’s was a normal way of life for us!

This all reminded me of when I was little and didn't realize we were poor. I was friends with this girl who always just brought a banana and a bologna sandwich with mustard every day for lunch. My mother made homemade tortillas most days so that's what I'd bring lunch in. It might have peanut butter, a hot dog, Spam, etc. I was so sad because all my friend had to eat was bologna and white bread. I also felt sorry for her mom because when we'd hang out with her in the kitchen on the weekends we'd watch her make the week's menu. She had all that work and cooking to do all because she didn't know how to make tortillas, I thought. So I asked my mom if she'd pack me an extra tortilla for my "poor" friend. As I got a little older, I found out they were NOT poor, her parents were professors at the local university. She just LIKED bologna and mustard sandwiches.

Dessert would be a slice of white bread, buttered with sugar sprinkled on top.

Having to eat this way really makes you appreciate the "real food" everyone takes for granted.

My daddy always told us when we was kids : "We ain't poor, we're just broke!!" - Dave Chappell

Growing up in my family we very rarely used hotdog 🌭 buns it was almost always a slice of bread 🍞 folded in half

My daughter thinks my husband and I are crazy because we use random buns in place of bread all the time! Ya use what ya got! That’s how we were raised!

I'm in my mid 50s. I remember, our local supermarket had no name boxes of mac and cheese, 5 for $1.00. We had mac and cheese every night for a month(There were 6 in my family), sometimes with tuna, sometimes with chopped up hot dog, sometimes with pork and beans on the side. Sometimes with caramelized onion. We used what we had, and I'm here to tell the tale! Still love Mac and cheese!

Anybody else grow up with Chef Boyardee pizza ? That was our Dominos in the early 70's.

A soup recipe from a friend's grandmother in Lebanon: Cook lentils in water (or broth if you have it), about halfway through add pasta elbows and olive oil, garlic (if you have it), some salt. Simmer until everything is cooked, turn off heat and add lemon juice to taste. The pasta elbows make this soup thick. It is delicious and filling. Of course, you can spice it up, and add onion, carrots, etc. But that is the basic recipe.

I love these videos. Senior living on fixed income. Using food pantries to make ends meet.

Don’t know what is about you and your family…I find you comforting..

Anyone else ever eat mayo sandwhiches when you didn't have anything else? I used to eat them after school when we had nothing else. Sometimes I would get lucky and have lettuce too!

“There’s one cup of water. We’re gonna call it milk…” just like that, I was a kid again. 😂❤

Potato cakes were my Dad's favorite. He's been gone 20 years, and we still make them using leftover mashed potatoes.

A good meal is a piece of toast, a slice of tomato and a slice of American cheese put under the broiler amazing!

We was so poor, when a buzzard flew over the house mamma made stew outta the shadow.

My parents were children of the Depression, born in '29 and '30. When you had four kids, two parents and a grandmother in the house and only four hot dogs, you sliced them up and cooked them in a pot of beans and molasses. Liver and onions was another staple, because not many meats are cheaper than liver. Pasta made any protein go further, so tuna noodle casserole, chicken bits from the wings and legs to make Chicken & Dumplings, etc. And since you bought chickens whole in those days, you used the carcass to make chicken soup. Beef neck bones became soup too. A cheap, delicious way to make food go farther.

I was married in 1974. 1 income. We ate alot of pot pies which were really cheap back then. Baked them in an electric fry pan as stove and oven didn't work and landlord was too cheap to replace. Used a hot plate for regular cooking. We did what we had to do.

"The plastic cheese." 😅

One thing about your meals Brooke is that you keep it real. These tater cakes were what we made out of leftover mashed potatoes

Mama called them potato pancakes. She said that she started feeding them to me when I was a year old. I'll be 67 in November. I still make them once in a while!

Thank you my child is going through cancer. So I will starve myself to take care of my kid. You tend to forget about eating. But thank you mate. Appreciate you.

😂 Brooke, I was so with you on the sandwich bread for burger buns and hot dog rolls...that was a given growing up.

Brooke I find myself in a tight spot today, as I have 2 more days to payday! It’s meant to be that I just saw your latest video today! Luckily I have all of these ingredients on hand to make the basic tater cake! I love this idea and I will be making them tonight thanks to you! Literally trying to make it to payday here in New York and I so appreciate you and all that you do for us folks that need to stretch a dime from time to time. Seems like it’s getting more times often than not! But we’re all in this together and I appreciate you so much!!!! 💗💗💗💐💐💐🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

We didn't grow up quite this poor, but I remember seeing food get lower and lower until my mom got her food stamps at the first of the month. She tried to make things nice for us. We would want to order pizza, but since she could not afford it, she would make dough and let us pick out our own little ingredients from leftovers and make pizza. I was a teenager before I had white meat chicken.

Bless every single one of y’all!!!

Keep those 'Meals When You're Broke' recipes coming. Not only are they affordable, but they're also quick and easy!

Random buns are often garlic bread in our house to help fill out a meal! Spread with Margarine and garlic salt for the most basic version

My husband and I were married in 1978 and he had one son who was still a minor for whom we paid child support of $400 a month. Just to give you a bit of perspective in 1978, $400 was equal to almost $2,000 today. ($1,923.61 to be precise.) We were barely scraping by from one payday to the next. I remember one time when it was the day before payday and both my husband and I were broke and all that was in the house to eat was one can of green beans. I heated up those beans and put some A1 sauce on them to try to make our taste buds think we were having steaks and that is what we had that night for dinner. I am happy to say that this was not a common occurrence, but I will never forget that one terrible time. I guess maybe this is why I enjoy watching your videos about how to feed a family with not much money. And BTW, many of those meals look so good that they are something I would love to have even if I had a LOT of money, so thank you very much.

The best part about this video is how you listed all the things you could substitute for other things. You really made this budget-friendly by giving us ideas to use what we already had in our house. Sending you love from St Louis!

It's a real talent to be someone who can "make somethin' outta nothin'! You're one of those special people, Brooke! 🌟💚💙💜🌟

You need to try bean cakes....open a can or leftover pintos add some flour water salt pepper and whatever else....butter on top lawd they are amazing g

Let me just tell y'all I met this wonderful family as it came into my job a few nights ago let me tell ya Brooke is the real deal she's so sweet and so nice and her family is just as great❤ I've been walking on air for the last few days just replaying it in my head like did this really happen lol this is one of the best days that's ever happened to me I know I have a lame life but it was exciting and I just wanted to let you all know that this family is the best❤

I have a cheap meal that's really nice and filling. What you need is a can of tuna, some cheese and a couple tortillas. Cover the tortilla with cheese, drain the tuna fairly well but not completely, break the tuna apart and put cheese on top, and then the other tortilla. You could also use any other kind of canned meat if you have it, but tuna is the cheapest, and is surprisingly tasty in a quesadilla. You could also add salsa or tomatoes, peppers, onions etc. Heat in oven or toaster oven for 13 minutes on 350. Cut it and enjoy. I used to share it with my dog and he loved it. Here's another one, you buy eggs, English muffins and a package of cheese slices. I like pepper jack. This will make you breakfast for about a week. Toast the English muffin while you cook an egg or two in a tiny pan and then put the cheese on the english muffin so it melts a little and then add the cooked egg. You can also use any kind of bread or any kind of cheese. Homemade pizza. You make a crust from flour, add tomato sauce, cheese and any other random stuff you might have around. You don't need yeast either. Just search for no yeast pizza crust recipes. Pancakes can also be quite cheap as a meal. Eggs are a very good, cheap food, in my opinion.

I never thought we grew up poor. We did it everyday

Mom used to mix tuna and a can of mushroom soup together on buns then broil it. It was good

If you save your bacon grease you could use that in those tater cakes and for frying. Sour cream is good too especially when you get to the smidge at the bottom of the container if you have it. Those are definitely anything goes..imo. love them!

Yes, please more broke . My social security ran out early this month and I have negative $$ right now.

Brooke, never apologize for being goofy. It’s part of what makes you so charming, and it adds so much to your videos. I love watching you and your family interact! Also, you are an amazing cook! Everything I’ve tried of yours, turned out bomb! You rock lady! And, I love how real and down to earth you are, it makes you comforting to watch! I hope that made sense, lol. God bless beautiful you and your beautiful family!

Hi Brooke, I’ve been watching you for about a year now and you and Dusty and the boys just make me smile when I watch your videos. And a lot of your recipes and ideas are just fantastic. I’ve gotten my 82 year-old mother watching you also, anyway I just wanted to tell you how I enjoy your family and your ideas and I’ve recently started watching your husband‘s prepping videos and I love those too. And I nearly forgot I love your blessing box videos keep it up this world needs more families like yours.

This woman is the cutest!!! I sometimes feel bad when I'm broke but need to make a good meal. She NEVER disappoints! She's super relatable and her positive energy is everything!!! Thanks love for your videos!!!

The next day after having mash taters for dinner, we would have tater hot cakes.WE NEVER WASTED ANYTHING

I wonder how many of us she's really helped manage during hard times or just simply learn how to shop? Thank you for making so many of us feel not ashamed of how we get our amazing meals, teaching us how to grow as cooks and reminding us to be kind :)

Thank you , My grandmother who raised me with my veitnam veteran father in Alabama always made homemade tator pancakes but with potatoes from our garden , My potatoes here in Texas arent ready to harvest and I refuse to pay $6.99 for 5 pounds . But I have instant potatoes-i got for $1.00 Great recipe ,thank you . My mamaw served with homemade apple sauce or homemade sourcream . Thank you for an easier way . God bless you Mrs josette Montgomery County ,Texas 🙏 ♥️

My Mammaw used to make those tater cakes for breakfast, supper, & dinner. She did grow her own taters, but she'd take the left-over mashed potatoes & make these. They were amazing with eggs & bacon, spam, ham, etc. for breakfast, but they were equally as good with greens & beans for supper & dinner. LOVE those taters! I also remember that if I wanted a snack, I had a choice of fresh fruit that they grew on the farm (strawberries, blueberries, peaches), sliced veggies (sometimes soaked in vinegar with sugar), OR I could have saltine crackers with peanut butter or cheese on top. I'm over 60 now & I still eat these. It's what I fed my boys & what I'm now feeding my grands. My Mammaw always said that as long as you had a roof over your head, clothes on your back, & Jesus in your heart you would never be poor. Lordy, but I miss that woman. Side note....LEARN HOW TO CAN YOUR OWN FOOD!!! Dehydrate! I know it's called "prepping" these days, but in my day it was just called "common sense"....

Whose broke? I don’t know! 😂😂 You’re so funny. Poor man meals are the best meals. So fulfilling.

That looks absolutely delicious. That's not poor food. That looks like it's food fit for God

I never have much, so I made a cabbage casserole. Omg it's soooo good! All it takes is cabbage, sliced onions, shredded cheddar cheese (optional), for the top a can of cream of chicken soup, mixed with one cup of mayo and a half stick of melted butter spread evenly. For the topping, one sleeve of Ritz crackers and one stick of melted butter. Bake @350* for 45 min. It's so good I couldn't believe it!! 😋 Yum!

Congratulations on your 85,000 subscribers I bet you never thought that was gonna happen in a short period of time that it has I love watching your show you keep doing what you’re doing you and your husband and the boys

👍👍👍👍 Yes Brooke Please show us more “ when we’re broke meals “ ! Those Pattie’s snd the tuna melts looked so delicious , thank you Brooke you should write a “ when your broke cookbook” we woukd all buy it for sure!! God bless ❤️🙏🙋🏻🌈🌈

My daddy used to make potato pancakes out of leftover mashed potato's. He grew up during the depression on a farm so nothing ever went to wastes in our house.

If we have leftover mash potatoes I just press the mash potatoes into a patty and brown them, no egg no flour just mash potatoes.

We never bought convenience food, though. Bought the cheapest potatoes & mashed them, more bang for the scarce buck. Ate the potato skins in a different dish, maybe baked crisp, in soup, or fried with eggs. I thought store bread was a luxury, my mom made tortillas. Spaghetti without meat. The only cheese was Velveeta. Fruit and veggies were either grown in the yard or sometimes from the 'markdown' shelf if they weren't TOO old and were marked down enough. The media always acts like everyone of course grows up eating like an upper-middle- class kid, but so many of us absolutely didn't.

Back in my day we didn't have fancy buns. We always used regular bread for all burgers, hot dogs and such. Shoot the way we had toast back then was mama would butter the bread both sides and toast it in the cast iron skillet. We didn't even have a toaster.

Love your video and your boys! I grew up in a poor family in Alabama. Sometimes dinner was biscuits and gravy--still love that for dinner. People need to learn to cook and be frugal instead of complaining about how much it costs to eat out.

I never have cheese and make a lot of this stuff without cheese.. you make me feel like I need to start keeping cheese on hand 😆

Left over mashed potatoes in a toasty. The sandwich maker way is best. Add cheese if you got it. Or add BBQ sauce or Tom sauce.... That's the best throw together thing we had as a kid. Mayo also works. But anything lying around d would get added. At one stage we were also very broke. We always had potatoes as mum grew them and meat as dads a hunter but milk and bread we had to ration. Mum and dad always made sure we had a good life so we may not have had money but we were very wealthy in everything else.

Potato pancakes are so good with onion, onion powder, onion flakes rehydrated or a green onion. Cornmeal mush or polenta is devine in my book. If you don't have time to let it set up in the fridge you can make patties like the potato cakes. My favorite way to have mush is dip a slice in flour on both sides and brown in butter. Smother in more butter and whatever syrup even sugar and water (add a couple drops of flavoring you have, vanilla, almond, orange, lemon, etc.)

My mom used to make these on Friday during Lent. Bun, spread with mayo , top with tuna, heat until bun gets slightly crispy, top with a slice of tomato and cheese. Melt tthe cheese. Delicious

If I had a hot dog or lunchmeat, I'd cut it small and put that in, or some chives or parsley from my garden, then put some pancake syrup on top! We were poor when I grew up and we always had chicken or hamburg at $ .25 per # and mom would make hamburger gravy and chicken soup. She always added milk/water to our creamed corn to stretch it for 5. The coal train passed behind dad's house and he and the neighbor always went out with an old baby buggy and collected the chunks that fell off to heat their little houses. Dad wore 7 pairs of socks in winter because they didn't have shoes and he had a paper route that went several miles. Grandpa lost his vision but he could find water with a divining rod , then the boys, aged 9-14, drove the old truck to the site and between them, put the well in! And no, we didn't know we were poor, everybody was in the same boat on our side of the river!

This is comfort food for me! My parents were born in 1925(Dad) and 1930(Mom)and they cooked a lot of cheap simple meals like this! Chicken livers and gizzards cooked in chicken broth and egg noodles were common! Beef heart, liver, squirrel and rabbit were common too!'My favorite was and still is Macaroni and Tomatoes with bacon and onions!!!! So good 👍👍👍👍 Great video ❤❤❤❤

When we’ve gone through hard times we’ve found that cheese milk and butter became luxuries. Bread is everywhere, canned foods are everywhere, dried soup mixes too but I remember having my first taste of cheese after months of not being able to afford it. Gosh it taste otherworldly good.

I love this lady’s personality it’s awesome.

You’re so right about the random buns lying around, I always seem to run out sandwich bread but there’s always random buns left over 😂😂❤

I'd love to see more of these kinda videos - they remind me of the kinda stuff my Mum would put together back in the 80s UK. Cheap, simple, but DELICIOUS meals.

1 box Mac n cheese 1 can cream mushroom soup I small can tuna. Make Mac n cheese per directions then add the soup and tuna and mix. Mom’s recipe from the late 1960s. You can “fancy it up” by adding a small can of peas.

in my late teens, we were raised on coffee and potatoes we'd dig in the fall. yes i'm old. and food wasn't exactly the priority for all of us. but we managed and survived and are here to tell the story. i love these family vlogs, you and your guys are great.

You are such a blessing to this world. Thank you for these videos! ❤❤❤ ...and hello from Pennsylvania. 😊

Oh Brooke. My momma had that bowl with the flowers when I was little. Seeing you use it made my heart happy.

Now there were some cheap eats that look mighty delicious! I would eat that, be filled and happy as can be. Your hardships are bringing help to those in need and teaching the rest to save. Thank you for being you, Brooke! Be blessed always, my Southerland Squad! xoxo

From my childhood, butter on saltines and butter on Graham crackers, delish! Chip dip=diced American cheese mixed with sandwich spread, another yum. I can't tell you how many ketchup sandwiches, mayo sandwiches and mustard sandwiches I ate and loved them. Vanilla ice cream, crushed saltines, mix it together, the bomb! That was our ice cream topping. Pork and bean sandwich's on white bread. Our potato pancakes were like a feast to us, made out of leftover mashed potatoes, my mom could make anything taste wonderful.

In Scotland we used leftover mashed potatoes, flour and salt and make potato scones (similar to what you've just made but a little thinner and cut into a round, then quarters. To make these you don't need oil, just a dry pan. When they're cool, we fry them as part of a full Scottish Breakfast with sausage, bacon egg etc. You can also use any leftover potatoes, roasties, potato flakes etc as you've done and add any leftover veg to it, preferrably greens like cabbage or brussel sprouts, We call that bubble and squeak. You can throw anything in it. Great recipes Brooke xxx

You are so awesome Brooke, can you please make some more meals from your childhood? Thank you so much 😊

Back in the 80s, my future sister-in-law and I were living together. She'd grown up pretty poor and taught me how to make "poor man's spaghetti". It was a can of tomato sauce, a packet of cheap pasta, some butter and a little Italian seasoning (if ya had it), and salt & pepper, lol. We were a bit short on cash a whole lot.

You're absolutely right, Brooke. You don't have to be broke to make these. I make potato cakes as a side for my dinners. Love them!

More like these, please. I'm on a fixed income and you know how hard things are getting. Thanks. Love and hugs, me.😂

My great grandson eats a "ham sandwich, with mayo and chips......minus the ham.". That is exactly how he asks. 😂

My mom was really good at making a meal out of very little. I still marvel at that!

Thank you for reminding me how much I like tuna melts! I make them with canned chicken these days since I developed a fish allergy, but it's pretty much the same. These are calling my name for an easy summer lunch!

Growing up my mom never made it feel like we were poor. She's a great cook. ☺

If you only have hot dog bun, it’s called a tuna boat!

Brooke, THANK YOU for all the ideas AND SUBSTITUTES!! Who knew!? YOU DID. Putting these ideas in my arsenal. You are the BEST

Growing up we were poor but rich in food. We had a huge garden. We grew our own potatoes. But Mom always used leftover mashed potatoes to make potato pancakes. I still make them when we have left overs.

I have never put cheese in my potato cakes but I will now. Poor Ryder never to know the deliciousness of onions in them. ❤

A lot of times the food pantry gives out random items that don't seem to go together.These meals of yours are wonderful shows what ingredients can be put together and turn out delicious!

We had potato cakes as a kid too. Another way to make these is in a waffle maker. Crispy and delicious!

I have learned that you always have to have a few basic foods in the house to survive in times of need. Flour, eggs, semolina, milk or milk powder, yeast or dry yeast, sugar and/or honey, potatoes, salt, oil, pepper, maybe paprika and dried spices. You can make pasta from flour and/or semolina, eggs and water. Pancakes or milk soup from flour, eggs and milk. Semolina and milk make semolina porridge. Semolina, dried spices and eggs make a soup, perhaps with fresh herbs from nature or vegetables that grow wild or cultivated. Flour, yeast, maybe milk and a little oil make bread. The countless dishes made from potatoes are legendary. Mother Nature also has a lot in store for us. Dandelions, daisies. If necessary, I also recommend growing carrots and cabbage and herbs in flower pots or sacks. They complement each other well. Nuts and fruit are also available wild. Without electricity, you can run a solar oven and cook rice pudding and stew using a padded wooden box or bedding. It obviously depends on your area what you can use to supplement the basic foodstuffs. That's why I've kept the list neutral. Tea and coffee are optional, as is fruit syrup made from collected, naturally non-toxic berries. There is also sugar/honey. I haven't included salt, sugar, etc. separately. It's hard, but it works. By the way, you can make lots of tasty things from leftovers. Old, non-moldy bread can be used to make a soup, either sweet with milk or savory with water and vegetables. Potato pancakes can be made from potatoes, flour, and eggs. There are hardly any limits to your inventiveness. If possible, have a sack of rice with you. You can do a lot with that too. If possible, try to get a piece of land where you can grow things and keep chickens. If possible, near a stream or river that is not contaminated, or you have to drill a well. That way you are independent. Ask old people if they can help you identify plants. There are many plants that you cannot eat, or parts of them that you cannot eat.

My mom made potato cakes a lot. She never threw food out...she lived on a farm and they used Everything!

My Granny used to make similar potato cakes from time to time when I was little, and I loved them, but had no idea how she made them. I mentioned this to my husband and he Googled how to make them and made me a batch! I think Granny put a little sage in hers, though, but probably whatever seasoning you like would give them a little something special. Gonna have to share this with my daughter. She's good at cooking on a budget. Thanks for reminding me of this delicious taste of my childhood. And yes, food should be a human right, as should healthcare and shelter.

Brooke, have you ever heard or ate bean cakes or we called them bean flitters? I was raised on potatoe cakes with pinto beans. the bean flitters mom would use left over pinto beans, flour or cornmeal or mix of both a egg or not milk or water and a diced onion or green onion if had it fry until golden brown on both sides they are delicious if you like beans. use can beans or leftover fresh pinto beans she always just used salt and pepper in her beans and sometimes a big chunk of meat if we had it . Please keep making these kind of videos they bring back wonderful memories. 🎉 CONGRATULATIONS ON 85,000 SUBSCRIBERS 🎉 NEXT STOP 100,000 PLAY BUTTON 💛

Mom grew up desperately poor after the depression. Dad didn't make a lot of money and still has issues, so we didn't know any different. We often ate meals like this. Beans and toast or eggs with gravy over toast still haunt me. But mayo sandwiches were a normal lunch. Tuna casseroles, tuna salad, tuna cakes... My husband's mother made potato cakes out of leftover potatoes but refuses to eat anything tuna, or chicken livers. But he still loves hot water cornbread, which I make often. (One cup cornmeal, tsp of salt, a cup of hot water. Make into a patty and fry in some grease. For breakfast, dip in honey. For a savory meal, add garlic. Or maybe some cheese? Yum

My mother saved all heels of bread in the freezer. She would make a bread pudding that was fabulous. A couple of people offered money to my mom to make her bread pudding. Also, she made potato cakes with leftover mashed potatoes for breakfast. Yum !!

Just stumbled on this channel and subscribed! My father grew up during the Great Depression. He always said that “hard times are a good education for people.” He was so right!

My mom used to make these tater cakes from leftover mashed potatoes. We called them "latkes." I still make them for my kids, and they love them.

I remember those days and still make tater cakes. My go to broke meal was what my boys called pizza toast. Slices of bread with ketchup spread evenly and sliced cheese torn up on it. Place in the oven until melted and a little browned. The boys loved it and never knew we were poor.

Ma’am the boys have just grown like weeds!!!! Thanks for sharing simple filling meals we preciate ya!

Hi just came across your channel,I'm from 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇬🇧 and I just love how frugal you are,sometimes you just don't know what you can knock up with items which you have in your cupboards ,great channel,new subscriber here.

We grew up with meals like this every night was like an episode of chopped. I still make concoctions to this day.