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It’s Mom Monday.
Mom worked nights as a nurse. Dad became a teacher in 1957-58ish so he worked days. They did this in order to have one parent at home for my brother and me.
Now I am not sure who’s idea it was for the meals but there was a weekly routine. days, we Sundays consisted of a full formal dinner: cooked roast (beef), mashed potatoes, gravy, canned opens or beans, and rolls. Dinnertime was an important event at our house.
Mondays included the left over roast beef sliced thin and warmed in the left over gravy. That was served on white bread. This meal’s title? Gravy bread. And to make sure we got our vegetables, canned vegetable were opened and served.
On Tuesday, Mom chunked the leftover roast beef and combined it with the leftover gravy (there was lots of gravy). She cooked up elbow macaroni and drained it. The beef-gravy then combined with the macaroni and was accompanied (you guessed it) by canned vegetables.
By Wednesday, the beef was finished up so we sometimes had either fish sticks or soup for dinner.
I don’t remember the meals much from Thursday through Saturday. It’s the routine of Sunday through Tuesday that stayed with me. It was a way for Mom and Dad to make the groceries last. Fast food really was not an option when I was young.
Mom wasn’t much of a cook. Story is that Dad had to teach her how to boil water because her mother hadn’t taught that skill to her daughter. But her roasts were delicious.
Another story around food and saving money is that before us kids, when Dad was going to school and money was lean, one of Dad’s friends showed up regularly at dinner time. The Sunday through Tuesday meal plan helped stretch the food they had for the week. One week, this friend came for dinner and darn near ate the whole loaf of bread.
Eating leftovers seems to be a thing of the past. I personally like leftovers especially for work but I feel that my husband and I are guilty of letting food waste at times.
Jone Rush MacCulloch 
Love that you shared this, Jone. We didn’t have the same thing every week, but we did have what was called hot beef sandwiches, white bread, sliced beef & gravy, but also mashed potatoes sometimes. Fun to remember.
Oh I love how you shared this! We often do leftovers, but I know many families that don’t. I always think it is such a shame that good food just gets thrown out. I also like to make a double batch of my taco meat. One night we do tacos. The next night we do enchiladas.
Jone, love these memories of your mom. Sunday was often roast beef for us too, but Dad always got the leftovers for a sandwich to take to work. I plan a leftover night for most things I cook. I skip a night and we have it again. Today it will be chili that hubby made. Tomorrow I’ll make meatloaf and Th. will be leftovers.
Oh I loved reading this, Jone – such a slice of the past! But, we still eat leftovers at our house – as a working mom, I always made more than one serving of some dishes like chili, just so that I knew that dinner would be covered for another night.
OMG! Did your mom know my mom!? Ha! Sounds like my house as well. I also love left overs and loved our Thursday night left overs meal. Samplings from meals earlier in the week. How fun.
What a great way to make it last! I like leftovers, but my husband does not. I have stopped making them intentionally because he won’t eat them (unless it’s pizza.) I need a meal routine like the one you described. It would get me through the week!
Jone, your post called up memories of childhood meals. My family enjoys leftovers so my husband and I make ample servings. I also am writing about my mother today.