This Poor Man’s Steak Recipe is SO easy to make but is a family favorite! It’s such a budget-friendly way to feed big appetites!
Recipe created by my older sister, Brigette.
Poor Mans Steak — Sure to Be a New Family Favorite!
This stick-to-your-ribs recipe is sure to be a favorite for all those meat-and-potatoes guys out there! Growing up, it was always a meal that the men in our house looked forward to. Now, my little boys gobble up man-size portions of this and still ask for more! Although it requires a little bit of prep work, the ingredient list is simple and short.
What is Poor Mans Steak?
The original recipe came from an old church cookbook, submitted by a long-time family friend.
It’s an easy recipe that uses ground beef instead of a pricier piece of meat (like an actual steak). The ground beef is mixed with several ingredients, similar to meatloaf, except before baking it in the oven, you fry smaller squares of the mixture in a pan (or you could do it on a grill or griddle) then cover the meat in a creamy gravy before baking it fully in the oven.
This hearty recipe is especially delicious during the chilly winter months, but could work any time of the year!
Poor Man Steak Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup cracker crumbs (or bread crumbs)
- 1 cup cold water (or milk)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (you may need more)
- Oil for frying (start with 1/4 cup)
- 1 can (10.5 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup (or homemade equivalent)
How to Make Poor Mans Steak
1. In a very large bowl, mix together the ground beef, cracker crumbs, water, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
2. Press beef mixture into a jelly roll pan (or a 9×13 pan if you’re only using 2 lbs of meat) and chill until the mixture holds together well. You could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
3. Dump flour into a shallow bowl or dish.
4. Cut chilled meat into squares and coat each square with flour. Set aside.
5. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet or frying pan.
6. Working in small batches, fry a few meat squares at a time, just until golden brown on both sides (but not cooked through).
7. Place fried squares in a single layer in a large rimmed baking pan. (There will be a lot of grease, so make sure your pan can handle it!)
8. Once all squares are fried, pour the cream of mushroom soup over them.
9. Bake in a 350º preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked through.
10. Drain grease off meat and serve.
Variations of Poor Man’s Steak Recipe
This recipe is very flexible and can be made to suit your taste buds or whatever foods you have in the house.
- Try ground turkey, ground pork, or a combination of ground meats.
- Use your favorite seasoned breadcrumbs instead of cracker crumbs if you don’t have crackers in the house.
- Use milk, or even buttermilk, instead of water.
- If your meat mixture feels crumbly or like it won’t stick together, try mixing in 2 eggs.
- Add in some fresh or dried herbs for a burst of flavor.
- Mix up the gravy on top — make your own or go with more of a BBQ sauce or spicy sauce. It will totally change the flavor profile!
How to Serve This Poor Man Steak Recipe
My mom has been making Poor Man’s Steak for almost 30 years! She usually served it with some kind of potatoes, a tossed salad, and fresh homemade bread. Yum!
It’s also great with a bunch of roasted vegetables and sweet potato fries.
And any leftover “steak” is great for sandwiches or salads the next day.
Storing This Poor Mans Steak Recipe
If you have leftovers, simply refrigerate them in sealed food storage containers.
You could also freeze individual serving sizes for grab-and-go lunches later on.
How Do You Reheat Poor Man’s Steak?
This is one of those recipes that often tastes even better the next day — so definitely enjoy those leftovers!
Simply reheat the “steak” in the microwave for a minute or so, until it’s heated through.
Poor Man’s Steak Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup cracker crumbs or bread crumbs
- 1 cup cold water or milk
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup all-purpose flour you may need more
- 1/4 cup oil you may need more
- 10.5 ounce cream of mushroom soup canned or make your own
Instructions
- In a very large bowl, mix together the ground beef, cracker crumbs, water, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
- Press beef mixture into a jelly roll pan (or a 9×13 pan if you’re only using 2 lbs of meat) and chill until the mixture holds together well. You could even put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Dump flour into a shallow bowl or dish.
- Cut chilled meat into squares and coat each square with flour. Set aside.
- Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet or frying pan.
- Working in small batches, fry a few meat squares at a time, just until golden brown on both sides (but not cooked through).
- Place fried squares in a single layer on a large rimmed baking pan. (There will be a lot of grease, so make sure your pan can handle it!)
- Once all squares are fried, pour the cream of mushroom soup over them.
- Bake in a 350º preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until meat is fully cooked through.
- Drain grease off the meat and serve.
Notes
- Try ground turkey, ground pork, or a combination of ground meats.
- Use your favorite seasoned breadcrumbs instead of cracker crumbs if you don’t have crackers in the house.
- Use milk, or even buttermilk, instead of water.
- If your meat mixture feels crumbly or like it won’t stick together, try mixing in 2 eggs.
- Add in some fresh or dried herbs for a burst of flavor.
- Mix up the gravy on top — make your own, or go with more of a BBQ sauce or spicy sauce. It will totally change the flavor profile!
Nutrition
Love this recipe?
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy and another on the way. She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Lazy Lasagna Casserole
- Cheeseburger Meatloaf
- Sheet Pan Veggies and Sausage
- Taco Pie with Bisquick
- Healthy Fettuccine Alfredo
- How to Make Homemade Beef Broth
- Brown Bag Beef and Bean Burrito Recipe
FREE DOWNLOAD: 60 Meals To Help You Avoid Takeout!
Meal time just got so much easier!
Reader Tip: How I Turned Facebook into a Money-Maker
Paula emailed in the following tip:
Facebook is usually a time-waster for me… but recently, it has become a money-maker!
One of my things I did to start off the New Year was clean out our closets, get rid of the clothes that no longer fit, and just generally “downsize” all our stuff — so my laundry pile would downsize, and the lid to the toy box would shut.
My original intent was to donate it all to a local thrift store, then I decided since I was ‘throwing’ away money it might be worth posting a few pictures on the local Facebook garage sale site.
The whole process was relatively simple and I made around $50 dollars!
- When I took clothes/ toys out of our closets and rooms, I snapped a quick picture
- Then I posted those pictures to the garage sale site via my smart phone — you can also upload them via your computer
- Finally, I checked the sale a few times, set up meetings with potential buyers, and had cash in hand!
I donated everything else, but I didn’t feel as bad knowing I had recouped some of my expense.
The Facebook garage sale didn’t take near as long as setting up a traditional garage sale — plus, it is freezing here so it was a great thing to do on a cold day!
Should an undisciplined person read Say Goodbye to Survival Mode?
Should an undisciplined person read Say Goodbye to Survival Mode?
I am so very thankful for how many bloggers have taken the time to review my new book on their blog. I especially loved this review from Candace at Mercy is New.
Here’s a snippet:
I’m sure many of my readers have heard of Crystal Paine’s new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: 9 Simple Strategies to Stress Less, Sleep More, and Restore Your Passion for Life
! I was blessed to receive an Advanced Reader’s copy at Allume in October and I finished the book in January, so I thought I’d share my thoughts here with you!
I decided to read this book in January because I’m working on SETTING and KEEPING several goals in several areas of my life right now. I will admit, I am a VERY undisciplined person. The thought of goals and actually keeping them is kind of something I gave up on a long time ago. Ugh. I hate even admitting that…but it’s true.
Want a sneak peek at the contents of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode? Download the introduction and first chapter here.
Stop letting people manipulate you…
What Matters More Than Hitting the New York Times Best Seller’s List
What Matters More Than Hitting the New York Times Best Seller’s List
Last night, something really exciting happened.
Something that YOU all made happen…
My book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, hit #8 on The New York Times Best Seller’s List!!!
If you’re not an author, that might not mean much to you. But as an author, that’s a HUGE honor… and something I still can’t believe actually happened!
It didn’t happen because of me. It happened because of YOU.
You all rallied around this book. You pre-ordered the book. You asked your libraries to carry it.
You celebrated my launch week last week by sharing about my book on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, and word-of-mouth with your friends. You went to your local bookstores and bought the book. You wrote reviews on Amazon.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for believing in this project. Thank you for celebrating with me. Thank you for sharing your excitement with others. Most of all, thank you for being readers here.
I wish that I could invite each and every one of you to my house for coffee and cookies and tell you face-to-face how much you all mean to me. I am humbly grateful for the opportunity I have to write here each day, to learn from your comments and emails, to interact with you all on the MSM Facebook Page, and to get to meet you all at speaking events.
But there’s something that means much more to me than hitting the NYT list… You see, last week, on my Book Launch Day, Kaitlynn (6) brought some brownies and a sign that read:
That sign speaks volumes of what I want for my life.
I’m thrilled to have made The New York Times Best Seller’s List, but what matters much more is that a six-year-old girl calls me “#1 Mom”.
The opportunities that have opened up as a result of this blog in the past few years are exciting. It’s my heart’s desire that I use the platform I’ve been given to influence as many lives as possible. I am passionate about challenging women and families everywhere to live all of their life with intention and purpose.
However, in the midst of this, I don’t lose sight of the opportunities to nurture and love the four people (my husband and three precious children) right in my own home. At the end of my life, those four people matter much, much more than any accolades.
So yes, we celebrated last night with cake and pancakes — two of my very favorite things! We hugged and hollered and called and texted our closest friends.
But it’s back to real life today. Back to the homeschooling and cleaning and cooking and the everyday things of life.
It’s messy, it’s often loud, and it’s sometimes exhausting, but I want to love and savor every minute of the everyday-ness of life in this home with these four wonderful people. Because that’s what’s going to matter most at the end of my life.
Gretchen’s $59 Grocery Shopping Trip and Weekly Menu Plan
Aldi
3 Cucumbers – $0.29 each
1 Honey Wheat Bread – $1.29
2 Chunk Cheese – $1.79 each
1 Cotton Swabs – $1.39
1 Mini Marshmallows – $0.89
1 Italian Dressing – $1.39
1 gallon Milk – $2.88
2 Broccoli Crowns – $0.99 (I only bought one package but they charged me for 2 broccoli crowns and there were 2 inside the package. Does anyone know if they normally charge per broccoli crown that is inside each package?)
Total with tax ($1.02): $15.29
Dillons
I had one of those shopping trips at Dillons this week where you just want to forget ever using coupons again after checking out. They wouldn’t allow me to use the Buy One Get One Free coupon on 4 boxes of Cheerios that I had purchased as part of the Mega Sale (Buy 6, Get $3 off). I didn’t end up buying them, which meant I had to take out 2 more items from my groceries so that it would make the number of Mega items I was buying divisible by 6. In the end, there was a huge line waiting behind me, my cashier didn’t take off all 6 items and I ended up paying $1.99 extra. Oh well…
Items a part of the Mega Sale (Buy 6, Get $3 off instantly):
2 Starkist Tuna – $0.99 each, used $1/2 coupon from the 1/5 SmartSource insert – $0.49 each after coupon
4 Hefty Storage Bags – $1.49 each, used 2 $1/2 coupon from the 1/5 RedPlum insert – $0.99 each after coupons
2 Velveta Cups – $0.49 each, used 2 $0.75/1 printable – Free after coupons
1 can Green Chilies – $0.69
1 can Refried Beans – $0.69
1 Barilla Gluten Free Pasta – $1.99, used $0.75/1 mailer coupon – $1.24 after coupon
1 bag Golden Puffs Cereal – $2.99
2 Jose Ole Nacho/Taquito Bites – $2.50 each, used $3/2 printable – $1 each after coupon
1 Tyson Frozen Chicken Breasts – $7.49
3 Red Baron Frozen Pizza – $2.49 each, used $3/3 printable – $1.49 each after coupon
Other Items
1 Jimmy Dean Sausage – $3.59
1 Dillons Eggs (dozen) – $1.25
2 Rice Dream – $2.19 each, used 2 $2/1 printable – $0.19 each after coupons
2 Angel Soft Bath Tissue – $1.25 each, used 2 $0.45/1 coupon from the 1/5 RedPlum insert – $0.80 each after coupons
1 Kroger Tortilla Chips – $1
2 Ramen Noodles – $0.20 each
1 Kroger Potatoes (5 lbs) – $2.99
1 Kroger band aids – $1
1 Romaine Lettuce – $1.49
Total before coupons and sales: $84.40
Total after coupons and sales: $44.42
Total for all grocery items: $59.71
Menu Plan for this Week
Breakfasts
Cereal, Homemade Granola, Toast
Lunches
Macaroni and Cheese, Tuna Sandwiches, Cheese and Crackers/Fruit and Veggies, Leftovers, Peanut Butter Quesadillas
Dinners
Chicken Enchiladas, Brown Rice, Broccoli
Deer Roast, Potatoes, Carrots
Chicken and Rice Casserole, Broccoli, Tossed Salad
Sausage, Eggs and Biscuits, Fruit Salad
Southwestern Roll Ups, Cornbread, Steamed Cauliflower
Upside Down Pizza, Tossed Salad, Steamed Broccoli
Snacky Dinner (Frozen Pizza/Nacho Bites, Chips and Dip) for Super Bowl Sunday
My interview with Chris LoCurto: Stop Surviving and Start Living
My interview with Chris LoCurto: Stop Surviving and Start Living
Recently, I was honored to get to hang out and record another podcast with my friend, Chris LoCurto. Chris has been a huge inspiration to us and is a wealth of wisdom on business leadership, personal development, and entrepreneurialism.
We first learned about Chris when we attended EntreLeadership a few years back. We then became big fans of the EntreLeadership podcast that he hosted while working with Dave Ramsey.
Chris and I connected on Twitter awhile back and have become great friends. The thing I love most about Chris is that he’s the exact same person on stage and on a podcast as he is in real-life.
We’ve spent time at his home with he and his wife Debbie and they are the real deal. So caring, inspiring, giving, and encouraging (not to mention, Chris is an amazing chef — we still talk about the mouth-watering lamb chops he made for us when they had us over for dinner!)
In my last interview, we ran out of time to talk about my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. Chris was gracious enough to ask for another interview to talk about my 9 simple strategies to stress less, sleep more, and restore your passion for life.
Listen to the full podcast here.
Have you purchased your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode yet? Get the book here!
Living with purpose means wisely choosing…
Sponsor Spotlight: Cents of Style
We’re excited to have Cents of Style as one of our sponsors! We had the opportunity to interview them and get to know their company a little more recently:
Tell us about the history of Cents of Style.
Cents of Style started in early 2007 when Idaho-raised sisters, Courtney Brown and Brennan Lau, took their love of fashion and bargain shopping and began an accessories company. Cents of Style offers the latest fashion accessories, shoes, jewelry, scarves, etc at affordable prices. Cents of Style lives by two guiding principles: one, you don’t have to spend a lot to look good, and two, when you look good you feel good and that tends to make you happier and more energetic about life.
Does Cents of Style have any new products or promotions coming up?
Every Friday, Cents of Style offers an incredible Fashion Friday deal every Friday, make sure to watch for it on Money Saving Mom®.
Does Cents of Style do any charity work that you’d like us to know about?
Cents of Style is always looking to give back through charity work, children’s and women’s charities are especially close to our heart. We have recently worked with Final Salute Inc, that provides housing for homeless female veterans and Children Awaiting Parents, that finds forever families for children in foster care.
Is there anything else you would like for MSM readers to know about Cents of Style?
More than anything here at Cents of Style, we strive to provide affordable and fashionable product that will allow moms, just like us, to feel better about themselves. We try to treat each customer, blogger and brand partner with the respect and kindness we in turn hope to receive.
Interested in becoming a monthly sponsor or advertising with us? Find more details here.
Do It Yourself: No-Sew Super Hero Cape
CreativeGreenLiving.com shows you how to make a homemade no-sew super hero cape.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it here.
OVER-SPENDING EVERY SINGLE MONTH?Grab these FREE Budgeting Sheets!
Click here to download!
52 Different Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Make Your Own Snacks {Week 42}
52 Different Ways to Save $100 Per Year: Make Your Own Snacks {Week 42}
Each week for 52 weeks, I’m sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you’ll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you’re already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
One way to save a lot of money is to make your own snacks. Not only are they often much more delicious than pre-packaged snacks, but they are usually much healthier for you!
8 Quick & Easy Homemade Snack Ideas
- Hard-Boiled Eggs
- Veggies
- Fruit
- Homemade Yogurt in the Crockpot
- Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets
- Popcorn
- Homemade Crockpot Pear or Applesauce Sauce
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
8 Freezer-Friendly Snack Ideas
When you have a free day or a laid-back weekend, use some of that time to make meals and parts of meals to stick in your freezer. Things like homemade popsicles, homemade gogurts, homemade cookie dough, homemade muffins, and homemade smoothie kits are great to have on hand.
- Freezer-Friendly Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches
- Freezer-Friendly Banana Bread
- Easy Morning Glory Muffins
- Homemade Energy Bites
- Brown Bag Burritos
- Homemade Pizza Pockets
- Southwest Roll-ups
- Best Ever Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Check out my list of 5 Freezer-Friendly Snacks + a Printable Grocery List
Bag Your Own Snacks
Tip submitted by Heather from Creative Family Moments
Food goes fast at my house, especially handy to-go snacks. A bag of chips? Forget about it. It’ll be gone before I can sneak a handful.
A baked pan of brownies? The smell lingers but I think I only got a taste test.
Pistachios? The bag is left for me, full of shells.
Part of the problem is that we decided long ago that we wanted our house to be a welcoming place for the kids’ friends. We made that decision when they were preschoolers. It was a no-brainer then.
Now that they are teen, tween, and elementary, these kids and their friends can eat! Afternoons, weekends, and summer means I see many pairs of hopeful eyes looking up at me before they ask, “Is there something I can have for a snack?”
Want to reduce your plastic bag usage? Lucy from Fly Away Home shows you how to make a fabric snack bag.
It was worth it though, for the relationships. Yet, packing cold lunches was my breaking point. Sending three kiddos and one husband off to school and work with a cold lunch meant I needed some handy to-go foods that would actually stick around long enough to make it into the thermal bags!
Snack bags came to the rescue! On sale (and/or with coupon!) I can get a pack of 100 snack bags for under two dollars. So when I bake brownies, I instantly cut them up, set aside a few for dessert, and store them in snack bags (Hide them immediately for later use!).
Find pistachios on sale? Sweet! I split up the serving portions and store them. Any special treat that goes on sale with a handy coupon (like the free Skittles I got awhile ago), I’ve learned to split up immediately so they’ll last.
I have happy kids, and a happy husband, because they have treats and good snacks that are already in serving size bags and inhibit mindless eating. It helps food last much longer and thereby saves me money and sanity!
Create a Snack Bin
If you have a snack time every day, take a little time on the weekends to put together a snack bin. This will save you having to even think about what to serve for snack. In fact, you can just tell your kids to go pick out something from the snack bin!
Best Ever Chocolate Oatmeal Bars
Looking for more snack ideas? Check out this post on Quick & Inexpensive Snack Ideas.
What are some of your family’s favorite homemade snacks?
Reader Tip: Healthier Savings from SavingStar
Challice emailed in the following tip:
I have notice that SavingStar has recently been offering vegetable savings! Each week they have a “healthy savings fruit or vegetable” — and so far it’s been 20% back on however much you buy.
So if you buy $4 worth of broccoli, you would get $0.80 back through SavingStar.
I cash out once a month via SavingStar and it has really been helping me a lot with stretching money even further. 🙂
(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: Not Just for Extroverts & Type-A People!
Say Goodbye to Survival Mode: Not Just for Extroverts & Type-A People!
Thank you to everyone for your AMAZING support of the launch of my new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode. Your encouraging emails, comments, and reviews has blessed me so very much.
I loved this email that I received from a reader:
I thoroughly enjoyed the sample chapter from your new book, Crystal, and I was elated when my copy arrived just one day after the launch! However, over and over I see reviews written from Type A, over-achieving, busy-loving, and chaotic-enduring moms.
I’m not one of them. I am introverted, am constantly turning down “opportunities,” and am already trying to live a minimalist-style schedule. Even so, your book is for people like me, too!
We were hit hard last year with financial strain, three life-changing medical diagnoses, and a new baby (he is a blessing!), all while home schooling, living in a high-cost-of-living area, and sharing a single car despite being a 6-member family. On top of that, we’ve had to squeeze in multiple ER visits, several hospital stays, and numerous doctor’s appointments. To say that we’re in survival mode right now is an understatement!
Your suggestions to develop simple routines, to set goals and evaluate ministry opportunities in light of our future ambitions, and to admit to personal failures in an effort to improve are all very valuable, even to someone like me who is not currently bogged down with sports involvement, Bible study participation, or many other good-but-not-best endeavors.
Thank you for sharing your heart, for being honest with us (LOVED the part where you secretly wanted a pat on the back for your Supermom efforts!), and for your encouragement to thrive instead of survive, no matter what our current stage of life may be. -a reader
If you haven’t ordered your copy yet and want a sneak peek at the contents of the book, you can download a free chapter here. In this chapter, I share:
- A little background on why I wrote this book
- My own personal spiral to hitting rock bottom
- The words my husband said when I was in the pit of despair that changed my life
- Why I stopped using my personal Facebook profile
- The importance of creating a Personal Priorities List
- The four C’s to creating margin
If you haven’t ordered your copy of Say Goodbye to Survival Mode yet, you can order your copy on Amazon or through many other retailers here.
Comparison is one of the biggest traps…
Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $43.80 worth of products for $16.41 out of pocket
Gretchen’s Target Shopping Trip: $43.80 worth of products for $16.41 out of pocket
Target Shopping Trip
2 Pull-Ups – $7.64 each, used 2 $2/1 Target printable AND 2 $2/1 printable – $3.64 each after coupons
2 Babyganics Diapers – $8.49 each, used 2 $4/1 Target printable AND 2 $1.50/1 printable – $2.99 each after coupons (That’s $0.08/diaper!) 🙂
2 Garnier Fructis Cream Gel – $3.49 each, used 2 $2/1 coupon from the 1/12 RedPlum insert AND 2 $0.75/1 Target printable – $0.74 each after coupons (This is my favorite hair gel so I was so excited about this price!)
6 Pillsbury Grands – $0.76 each, used 2 $2/3 Target printable AND 2 $0.40/3 coupon from the 1/26 SmartSource insert – Free after coupons
Total before coupons: $43.80
Total with tax ($1.88) after coupons: $16.41