For the Sake of the Call

For the Sake of the Call

Jan. 25, 2008 - Frugal Fish: Cooking with Canned Salmon

Our dear friend Gayle (of Grace for Gayle) is seeking thrifty recipes at her new blog: The Grocery Cart Challenge.
I don't consider myself to be very frugal; I'm definitely a work in progress, but being the oldest of 5 children myself, there were things that my mom did or taught me that were quite frugal and I continue to do them myself.
Growing up, we couldn't afford to eat fish a lot. Everyone knows how good it is for you, but it's also very expensive. Many people are familiar with the many uses of canned tuna, but not as many eat canned salmon. One of our favorite dinners was Salmon Loaf & Brocolli with cheese sauce. If I hadn't grown up eating it, I might be afraid to try it, but it's truly delicious and has become one of my husband's and kids' favorite meals as well. My mom never served a starch (potatoes, rice, or noodles) with it because she said there was enough starch in the cheese sauce. You can buy a can of salmon for $1.69 or so, making this a very frugal meal!

Salmon Loaf
2 cans Salmon
2 eggs
6-8 (or more) crushed Saltine crackers
ketchup (1/4 c. maybe)
dill weed (to taste)
sautéed onions (optional)

I just mix these together until the consistency is that of meat loaf, adding more ketchup if it's too dry and more crackers if it's too wet. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 F for about 30-45 minutes. Sorry it's not more exact. I don't actually use/have a recipe, nor have I ever measured. Here is another recipe you can compare mine to, but we've never used milk! This recipe feeds 6 with small portions for seconds and leftovers. Using 1 can feeds six, but leaves everyone wanting more! :) Serve with steamed brocolli and cheese sauce (basic white sauce plus Velveeta or shredded cheese). We pour the cheese sauce over the brocolli and the Salmon loaf....yummy!

Another frugal practice is to find something to make from what you have on hand even if it means pancakes for dinner. This saves a tremendous amount of money on eating out, ordering in, or impulse buying which often occurs at more frequent trips to the grocery store. Last week, I had to get clever with the one can of salmon and the few ingredients in my cabinet, so I created a dinner of salmon croquettes, cornbread, and snow peas(frozen). I didn't calculate the price, but the entire meal was certainly less than $5 to make and served 6 people with leftover cornbread. Again, the problem is that I didn't use a recipe, nor did I measure, so this is my best attempt at providing one. Click here for an actual recipe if you'd like to compare. (Mine were kinda crumbly, but they tasted really good!)

Clean out the Cupboard Salmon Croquettes

1 can Salmon
1 egg
1/4 - 1/3 cup bread crumbs
sautéed onions &/or peppers (I didn't add these, but you could)
sliced cheese (optional)

Mix together. Form into 6 patties. Fry in oil until browned on each side. Top with a slice of cheese (I only had 4 slices of American cheese, so I topped each with 2/3 of a slice.)

Serve with cornbread (that's my favorite recipe, but I didn't have buttermilk, so I added milk to 1 TBsp of vinegar to make 1 cup) and green beans (or another green veggie).

Clear as mud, right? Now you know why I don't share recipes more often. For more recipes, and to participate yourself go here.

• Post A Comment!

Jan. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by duckygirl

I'm thinking you must be a good cook. Anytime I try to throw something together, well, lets just say it's not good. I have to at least start with a recipe and maybe alter slightly :)

These sound yummy, thanks for sharing!

~Laura

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Jan. 25, 2008 - Yummo!

Posted by seasonsmom

Girl! That's a 30 min meal, huh? I've been watching at the gym Rachael Ray lately when working out cardio! Can you tell? That was so good to share with us salmon recipes! I love fish of any kind, salmon especially! I need to try yours out this weekend! Mom used to make fish patties very rarely when I was growing up because fish was so expensive. We didn't have salmon available in the communist times but ground fish was sold sometimes in the government owned stores. Mom stayed in line sometimes an hour to just get ground up fish or even summer sausage. But when she shaped them and fried them I was in heaven. Unfortunately, one of the problems in our rich country is that the fish , esp tuna has high levels of mercury. But I could eat fish 3 times a day if I could! Thank you for sharing!

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Jan. 26, 2008 - You've been tagged!

Posted by seasonsmom

You've been tagged. Please, see the rules on my blog, which has been updated 2 today! Ha!

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Jan. 26, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by barbieheart

Look at you--blogger of the week! Congratulations, and I hope oodles of new folks find you, friend.

--Barbara

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About Me

Philosophical musings from the heart of a home-educating mommy of four and wife of ten years. "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer." Psalms 19:14