Its sort of a long story, but a good one.

I come from a rather odd family..  part of which is our Ukrainian/Polish heritage and my great-grandmother and grandfather, who spoke very little English and came to the US July 5, 1900.

Great-grandma taught my mom how to make a lot of old world foods not by measure, but by feel, look, smell, and the same tradition was handed down to me, and then to my kids, neices and nephews. None of these old recipes were written down, add to that all the newer recipes we called each other for constantly and you have the makings of one helluva family cookbook.

So.... I wrote 'em down, collected them, and typed em all out on a TYPEWRITER and made this as a Christmas gift for my family in 1994.... problem: what to call it.....

Every day we'd come home from school or play as typical kids do, yelling, "whats for dinner?" and Dad would always growl his reply the same:  Gomenko, you'll eat it and you'll love it"  which usually involved unidentifiable leftovers all dumped in one pot and served over toast!

What else could I possibly name this labor of love but GOMENKO??!  I was so proud to make copies for each family member, including both Grandma on Dad's side, and Irish Granny on Mom's, as their recipes were also an integral part of our very colourful albeit empoverished heritage. Potato  and cabbage recipes are standard fare  LOL.

So Mom and Dad took the cookbook to Grandma and Grandad, who took one look at it and LAUGHED AND LAUGHED AND LAUGHED. Remember: Greatgrandma and greatgrandpa spoke little Englsh and apparently G-grandpa was given to using some rather colourful terms- in Ukrainian- around his impressionable grandson.

It was THEN that our entire family learned that when my Dad was saying, "GOMENKO, you'll eat it and you'll love it", it actually meant, in Ukrainian slang (or so I am told) that GOMENKO was a slang word for SHIT.

Thus, our family cookbook is now a treasured keepsake and in very hot demand by the next generation.  Which brings me to my request:

The kids are grown now, moved out, and as teens find out, eating is expensive!  I would love to add a new chapter to our colourful family cookbook for the next generation, each having expressed LOUDLY that they MUST have a copy.  It is a prize to them they eager await its presentation at Christmas. Hannah has hers already; Sean, Harry, Lee, and Sandra do not hide behind hints.

I'd like to add a section on REALLY cheap eats for young adults, but I need more recipes.  If you have somehting that is almost embarrassing in cheapness but ooooh soooooo good, I would really love to have the recipe to add to GOMENKO, Volume II, The Next Generation.

Laugh, harumph, roll your eyes, or whatever, its a damn good story, and I'd love to add yours to ours.

Thanks
Jen

PS. If the recipe HAS a story, please add that too. And when the next print is done, I'll gladly send you a copy.

PPS... told ya Ray..  ya can't make this shit up!   ROFL

NurseRatched wrote on Sep 16^th, 2008 at 7:11pm:


Hi Chuck! 

Quote:

My contribution is easy and cheap.
One package Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft or store brand, doesn't matter)
One can pizza sauce
One pound hamburger
garlic or garlic powder.

Brown the burger and boil the water to make the mac and cheese.  Set aside browned, drained burger.  Prepare mac and cheese according to package directions.  Add the browned burger, the pizza sauce, and garlic  (or garlic powder to taste) and mix well.  Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese over the top if the budget allows.

Fills you up and is surprisingly tasty.

My teenager's girlfriend's mother made this for him and we've taken to calling it Margo-Mac.

Got a part can of baked beans in the fridge?  Break two eggs in on top and cook it up. By the time the beans have heated through the cackle-berries have poached to perfection and, if you lick the fork properly, there's no dishes to do afterwards.

To really show off your culinary skills, add a couple of drops of tabasco first

Everybody should have a version of this...cheap, tasty, and good after a night at the bars.

Pasta Carbonara

1/2 pound bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 large eggs, beaten
Salt
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Pour off all of the oil except for 3 tablespoons. Add the garlic. Season with black pepper. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the crispy bacon and the pasta. Saute for 1 minute. Season the eggs with salt. Remove the pan from the heat and add the eggs, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble. Add the cheese and re-season with salt and pepper. Mound into serving bowls and garnish with parsley.

No, silly, that's the whole secret.....the pasta cooks the eggs, the eggs coat the pasta....yummy.

tuck wrote on Sep 17^th, 2008 at 8:51pm:


Thats called a walking heart attack these days, I call it Gods gift to man! 

i was down in talladega alabama last week waiting to get unloaded and i parked in a walmart and started walking around looking for a place to eat. i found this mom an pop chicken place with a small sign and a full parking lot. when i walked in i was the only white in the place. i looked at the menu and everything was fried. fried tomatoes, fried squash, fried mushrooms, fried chicken, you name it they had it fried. i ordered a leg and a thigh and some squash. the big lady behind the counter picked up a conversation with me. were ya from..... what brings you down this way..... that kinda stuff. then the conversation turned to food. halfway through my meal she started to bring me samples. by the time i got ready to leave i was friends with everybody there and i left with 2 containers full of food. i ate for 2 days off of that visit and i only spent like $6.00.  i love the south

Cheap and easy?  Try this:

Boil a half-pound of macaroni until done, drain, melt a couple pats of butter in a frying pan, pour the macaroni into the pan, crack a half-dozen eggs into the macaroni, and stir the whole thing until the eggs are scrambled.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Costs a couple of bucks.

Sounds a little weird, but it's tasty and nutritious. 

I practically lived on macaroni and eggs when I was in college.  Beat the heck out of ramen noodles.

Best,

George

My Mom called this  BPD  Casserole, (before payday casserole).

1 lb ground beef
1 large can stewed tomatoes - reserve liquid
1 can whole kernel corn - drained
1 (or 2) large onions - sliced
2 to 4 large potatoes - sliced (I leave the skin on)
salt
pepper
garlic powder - or minced garlic (if using minced, brown it with the beef)

Brown ground beef in skillet - pour off grease

Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with cooking spray (Mom used Crisco - no
   such thing as spray)

LAYER:                      1/2 ground beef
           1/2 corn
           1/2 tomato
                               1/2 onion
           1/2 potato

Season lightly with salt, pepper, garlic

REPEAT LAYERS, ending with potatoes on top.

Pour remaining tomato liquid over all cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Served 4

If you have a little extra money at the end of the month, add layers of grated sharp cheddar cheese - ending with cheese on top.

This was our comfort food!

Sandy

Edited: because I forgot to layer the onions

Here's two:

Sloppy Echo's

Brown 1 LB Hamburger and drain
mix in 3 Tsp  brown sugar
1/4 C Ketsup
1/2 tsp lime juice

simmer for 10 min.

add additional Ketsup if a little dry.


#2 - Echo's thirst quencher.
8 Oz glass filled with ice
add water

serve

(goes really well with whiskey and Hydrocodone)

Other cheap dinners I love are Veggie Pizza, Chili, Chicken Parmigiana and any meat I can toss into the crockpot along with veggies and different cans of soup and seasonings.