Families really had to stretch every penny during the Great Depression. So many were out of work without proper resources to put food on the table, so people had to get creative in the kitchen.

Now, that we’re faced with trying times and even stay-at-home orders, it’s the perfect time to watch some of Clara’s videos and cook with what you have on hand.

Cooking With Clara

Clara Cannucciari lived through the Great Depression firsthand. Her mom made meals that were cheap, but that didn’t mean they weren’t good. Clara continued making those meals for her family long after the Depression ended.

Clara’s grandson Christopher enjoyed her Depression meals so much that he began filming her cooking.

This turned into a very popular YouTube channel called Great Depression Cooking with Clara. Many people wanted to learn how to make delicious and cheap meals and hear her stories about life during the Great Depression.

In the video below, 91-year-old Clara cooks a meal for her grandson and his friends. It consists of potatoes and hot dogs, as both are fairly inexpensive items to purchase, but is a deliciously filling meal.

Making Do With What You Have

You make do with what you have. My grandfather told me how they lived on potatoes and not much else. Potatoes were an important part of Depression-era meals, but women like Clara and her mother worked hard to make them taste good.

Clara was the daughter of immigrants. Shortly after her parents arrived from Sicily, the country was thrown into the Great Depression.

Clara’s recipes give us a window into how people were able to survive. They made do with what they had, and as you can tell by Clara’s demeanor they were grateful for every bite of food.

Tasty Meals

Clara’s mom worked hard to make affordable food taste good.

She stretched her dollars to feed her family, but she still wanted them to enjoy their meals.

It’s an important thing to learn how to do and it’s something Clara passed down to her children and grandchildren.

Clara died in 2013, but her YouTube channel and her recipes live on! Click here to watch Clara make twice-baked potatoes.