Cookaholics Bulletin Board

JesBelle, I really admire your ability to plan and budget. I am running over budget $20-$30 per week since we moved. Part of that I attribute to having to "stock up" on things again (once I knew we were moving I started using up pantry items), and part of it that we are feeding friends more often. However, I suspect that part of it is that food here is a little more expensive for whatever reason. Also, I've used a lot more meat since we moved, because it is sure easier to fix protein+starch+veg than to make something that uses meat as an ingredient. I have so little time to cook right now that we've eaten out 2-3 times per week vs. 1-2 times per month before.

Tonight we had a great, cheap meal. Crockpot pork shoulder w/Mexican spice, shredded then broiled to get parts of it crispy and served with tortillas and crockpot pinto beans, salad w/homemade blue cheese dressing. I'm sure it wasn't much per serving, and it was easy + tasty.

One of our all time favorites that isn't too expensive (well, the Parm is but sometimes I sub cheaper domestic Parm) is pasta carbonara. Mmmmm, bacon.

Darcie,

Sounds delish. I've been wanting to do a shoulder for a while now. I love to use the leftovers for tamale pie. However, it's one of the few things I make that Geekboy isn't all that on-board with. Oddly enough, I've found that parmiggiano reggiano is actually a pretty affordable luxury. Most recipes don't call for more than half an ounce, which is right around 55 cents. I have to admit, though that I use Pecorino Romano for carbonarra (and most recipes that call for huge amounts of parm), partly because it's cheaper, but mostly because I like it better.

Thanks for admiring, I need the positive reinforcement as I go into March and try to recover from the bacchanal I turned February into.

Your menus are so inspiring. Thanks for sharing them with us. I really enjoying reading them.
Thanks
Kathy

Gorsh! as Goofy used to say.

Really, I'm glad you like them. Thanks.

If I were smart, I would just copy your recipes from last week and use them for next week. However, I am too easily distracted by things on sale at the store that I *must* get...

It's kinda funny, if I spied something like short ribs on sale for $2.99/lb, someone could probably drop a diamond necklace in front of me and I wouldn't notice...

Darcie

Thanks to this thread and some cash flow problems (starting a new company costs a lot) I've been thinking a lot about how much we spend on food. The key really seems to be making stuff from scratch in significant quantities, since prepared foods are ridiculously expensive. Regardless, though I don't think we could manage $10 a day for the household without going all rice-and-beans. For example:

Asparagus and roasted tomato strozzapreti

• 1 lbs strozzapreti high-end pasta $4 (could be 1lbs TJ's fusilli or penette, $1)
• 1.5 lbs asparagus $3 ... Pretty good price
• 1.5 cups oven-roasted tomatoes ... $2 when I bought them, plus cooking time
• 2 oz Santini Olive Oil $0.50
• 1 large red onion, or 2 small ... $0.75
• 3 cloves garlic, $0.10
• Penzey's dried basil, 2 tsp ... $0.30
• 1.5 oz parmigiano, $1.12 (could be US parm, $0.88)
• 1 oz white wine, $0.15

So, that's $11.92 for this one meal, not including drinks, although for the two of us it made both dinner and leftover lunch, so about $3 per person per meal. It could have been $8.68 if I wasn't so fussy about ingredients, which would have been just over $2 per person/meal.

But, if you include breakfast and non-alcoholic beverages, that probably brings us to $18 or so for the day. Wine, of course, adds at least $10 -- cutting down alcohol (in this country) is a great budget-saver.

I've decided to attempt to calculate the costs for most meals. Last night we had Chicken Marsala, mini-farfalle w/peas & pecorino romano, and a salad. That isn't exactly the best meal to use for economizing, is it? Here's how I broke down the costs (gosh this is a lot of work!):

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts $6.50
8 oz. mushrooms $1.49
2 ounces butter $.25 (I buy butter on sale for $2/lb)
1/2 lemon $.15
salt & pepper $.03
1/2 cup flour $.08 (Pillsbury)
1 cup Marsala $3.00 (yikes!)
1/2 pound mini-farfalle $.70
1 cup frozen peas $.45
grated pecorino romano $1.50
more salt $.02

red leaf lettuce $.75
mandarin oranges $.65
walnuts $.25
homemade blue cheese dressing (here's where I gave up trying to estimate how much buttermilk, mayo & sour cream I used..) $1.25-ish

Total: $17.07. Per person (three) $5.69.

That doesn't include beverages of course. And we had leftover salad dressing to use again. Whew, it's tough to do this, but it's a good exercise. I hope this gets easier! It better get cheaper, too...

In a weird way, it's kind of like being on a diet, except you're counting pennies instead of calories. I hate empty food dollars. I could buy soda pretty cheaply, but that means less milk, and so on... I have also almost stopped using my microwave. I'm like, "Hey, I paid good money for those vitamins!"

On the other hand, I'm still clinging pretty stubbornly to the concept that I should enjoy what I eat.

So, what I'm eating this week --

Sun. -- Pierogi, Kielbasa, Braised Cabbage - $2.67/person - Uses up some leftover pierogi from the freezer.

Mon. -- Chicken Burritos, Guacamole - $4.60/ person - It's the guac that always does me in, even though I only make it when avocados are $1 per.

Tue. -- Pan-Seared Salmon with Braised Lentils and Swiss Chard - $3.90/person - Not too bad for salmon, and fish is too nutritious to pass up.

Wed. -- Chicken Risotto, Balsamic Strawberries, Ice Cream - $6.96/person - Yes, well, strawberries are nutritious, too, yeah, that's the ticket. Okay, no more strawberries 'til May.

Thu. -- Manicotti Puttanesca, Caesar Salad - $3.96/person - I put one manicotti puttanesca in the freezer when I made one a few weeks back. I'm not real crazy about the recipe, though. The version from C&B was much better.

Fri. -- Liver and Mushroom Pirozhki, Bibb Salad with Cheddar and Apple - $2.27/person - I see more pirozhki in my future.

Sat. -- K'tiao (Cambodian Shrimp and Pork Soup with Rice Noodles) - about $3/person - This one is problematic to calculate. The pork stock seems quite expensive, but the pork in it can be used for another recipe. So, this is kind of a guesstimate. LC thinks the cost is $4.13 per person, but it can't exactly pro-rate pork. Whatever the cost, I'll probably make it again if only to use up the other dried squid. Apparently they only come in 2-packs around here. Who knew?

I'm seeing a pattern of having 3 really cheap days, 3 kinda cheap days, and the day where I lose my mind. Oh well, I'll just clean less.

I don't mention drinks very often. We mostly drink milk and tea (and water from the filtered tap). I just figure on about $20 per month for tea and $25 for milk. Milk costs more like $35 per month but, some of the milk goes into food, so that gets calculated into those costs. I buy a couple orange or pomegranate juice concentrates each week, too, so another $12 per month. I'm still working on the beers left over from Harry's visit, but I probably won't buy very many after they're gone.

Speaking of beer, someone gave us a bottle of Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier which we had last night with some High-Roast Chicken. Amazing Beer. Great with chicken (especially chicken seasoned with thyme) and great with salad. Not to mention just really great all by itself. I'm awful with flavor profiles, but it was terrific.

I take it you are buying organic milk? Otherwise, how much milk do you guys drink? We buy a gallon per week, and about every 5 weeks we don't buy any. I used to buy organic but haven't been recently due to cost (bad, I know...).

I'm in awe of how precisely you guys are working this, and am convinced grocery prices in Minn. are higher than elsewhere, especially meat. There is no way I can find some of the meat prices you all do. That, or I'm just not trying hard enough.

Darcie, how are you finding the prices here?

trink.