Chipped Beef on Toast and Fried Potatoes

I've been struggling a bit when it comes to our meal planning. I prefer to eat vegan and gluten free. However, I also really enjoy family dinners and sometimes some of the family members just aren't feeling the vegan food. I also struggled to find good recipes with reasonably priced and easy-to-find ingredients. So, we are back to eating a little bit more traditionally, but with the rising cost of food, I was interested in finding more frugal recipes. I found some Great Depression era recipes, but I wasn't sure that they were as cheap in our current economy ($5 eggs, anyone?) as they were previously, so I've been trying a few out. The first one I made was some chipped beef gravy and fried potatoes.

This recipe cost $9.32 to make and serves six.

Chipped Beef Gravy

4 Tbsp. butter ($0.56)

4 Tbsp. flour ($0.04)

3 c. milk ($0.51)

2.5 oz. jar of Hormel dried beef, chopped ($2.92)

a pinch of cayenne pepper ($0.01)

12 slices of bread, toasted ($1.07)

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add flour, whisking to combine. Add the milk slowly, whisking the entire time. Bring to a boil, continuously stirring, and cook until thickened. Add in the dried beef and pinch of pepper. Serve over toasted bread.

Fried Potatoes

6 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced ($3.44)

1/4 c. vegetable oil ($0.14)

1 onion, sliced ($0.58)

1/2 tsp. garlic powder ($0.04)

salt and pepper, to taste ($0.01)

I made this in two batches to ensure the potatoes were cooked well and crispy.

Heat about half the oil in the skillet (I eyeball it). Add three cups of the potatoes and half the onion slices. Sprinkle with half the garlic powder, as well as some salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cook for about 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so. Remove the potatoes and onions from the skillet and repeat with the remaining ingredients.