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Recipe for Poorman's Steak

Poorman’s Steak

This is a simple recipe and I’m sure you probably have made it yourself and called it by another name. Simply put- we fry or grill up hamburger patties with a bit of Lowry’s Seasoning. Add a bit of steak sauce and you’ve got Poorman’s Steak. Serve with a salad and baked potato and you’ve got a filling, cheap meal. We like to purchase the frozen hamburger patties (they hold up better for grilling) from Aldi’s for $4.99/doz. [Which comes to 42 cents a patty]. With baked potatoes and salad- this meal comes in at under $5 for a family of 5.
Another great Poorman’s recipe is Poorman’s Lobster. Boil a big pot of water and toss in fish fillets (white fish is best) – skim out when the fish floats in the boiling water. We then squeeze fresh lemon juice on the fillets and serve with a dish of melted butter (with a bit of dried herbs added for extra flavor- use Italian Seasoning). I love to serve this with a fluffy stuffing and seasoned green beans. Very good summer recipe as it isn’t too heavy and doesn’t heat the oven.
Both of these recipes are from my maternal grandfather [the kiddos call him Big Grampa] who grew up in rural upper Wisconsin [born in 1929- left Wisconsin in the early 50’s]. Most of my filling simple (and cheap) recipes come from him. He use to say that in Northern Wisconsin they were about 50 years behind the rest of the United States. He had some of greatest stories to tell about growing up “poor”, the oldest of a family of 5 kids. Oh how I love to tell the stories to the kids. Ten years ago he took my husband and I back to his “old stomping grounds” and shared family history and so much more with us. It was an incredible trip and I am so glad we did it! He now resides in Arizona (with his 2^nd wife- my grandmother died of breast cancer in 1996) and we don’t see him as his wife doesn’t travel long distances (due to health). Grampa still has tons of spunk and we keep in touch thru email and such. He is a man with an opinion on EVERYTHING and he absolutely loves to argue (though he calls it debating). According to my family (and my dear husband) I’ve inherited a bit of that opinionated “stuff”.