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- Thread starter SoapyCy
- Start date
We cook during the week and eat out on the weekends.
Some meals aren't very cost effective for singles or couples, but for families tend to be very reasonable. I spent $30 bucks for 3 at 5 Guys last night and I could make that meal at home with local beef, bakery buns, tots and a veggie for around $10 and it would be way healthier and better tasting.
We probably average $10-20 for dinner each night and we eat some pretty good stuff.
Some meals aren't very cost effective for singles or couples, but for families tend to be very reasonable. I spent $30 bucks for 3 at 5 Guys last night and I could make that meal at home with local beef, bakery buns, tots and a veggie for around $10 and it would be way healthier and better tasting.
We probably average $10-20 for dinner each night and we eat some pretty good stuff.
Need to use the Crockpot more. Both work till 5 and by the time we get kids we aren't home till 5:45. At least during grilling season we can be eating by 6:15 ish.
We cook every meal. It's significantly cheaper for a family and much more healthy. Plus, going out to eat with three little kids is exhausting.
And get a smoker not only for instant food but foodsaver freezing. When we have extra buns to use up we'll thaw a bag of pulled pork. Things like that are easy.
During the week my wife does. I usually order out on the weekends though; it's one of my bad habits
For a family a freezer is a good investment. We get a side of beef from a friend periodically. Also roast a turkey every couple of weeks.
probably everything. how many frozen things and items with the word "kit" on it did you buy?
we cook at home - cheaper and healthier. Though we go out a bit more now than immediately post-grad.
Learn to make sammiches. Seriously, that's like half my repertoire. And it's an easy place to start.
BLTs
Ham and cheese (use fancy cheese and all of a sudden it's "gourmet"!)
Tuna
Lasagna is delicious and a great one. Spaghetti should be on your list if you know how to make lasagna.
Tacos are easy peasy and fajitas are the next step of that.
with any of these, throw together a salad or sautee a green veggie with it. Boom, side dish.
I do need to expand my capabilities though.....I just hate taking a long time and having to think much while cooking.
I'd like some of these crockpot recipes, I've used mine less than a dozen times and a couple attempts have turned out pretty untasty.
Learn to make sammiches. Seriously, that's like half my repertoire. And it's an easy place to start.
BLTs
Ham and cheese (use fancy cheese and all of a sudden it's "gourmet"!)
Tuna
Lasagna is delicious and a great one. Spaghetti should be on your list if you know how to make lasagna.
Tacos are easy peasy and fajitas are the next step of that.
with any of these, throw together a salad or sautee a green veggie with it. Boom, side dish.
I do need to expand my capabilities though.....I just hate taking a long time and having to think much while cooking.
I'd like some of these crockpot recipes, I've used mine less than a dozen times and a couple attempts have turned out pretty untasty.
I like to wing things in the crock pot. It's great to use leftover meat and veggies for soup. We don't really have picky eaters though. Soup and sandwiches are quick and easy. Teenage boys will eat anything and everything.
Freezing is definitely a good idea. I'll spend maybe 35-40$ in one trip to the grocery store just on meat, but I'll freeze it and be able to make it last for a long time. It's also a good idea to avoid beef (in most cases), if you're worried about cost. I got just over three pounds of fresh boneless chicken breast from Fareway last week for $5.64, and that's good for 4 meals if I'm pigging out and just cut them in half (each one was about 1.5 pounds).
Chicken and pork have quickly become my go-to meat, and when I do get steak, I'm typically buying sandwich cuts of ribeye (makes portion control much easier for me and it's still going to taste amazing). For sides, rice, pasta and canned vegetables cost next to nothing. I also tend to get instant potatoes (I do get lazy when it comes to that) for like $1.70 per packet (I get two meals out of one packet).
So a typical dinner might cost me like $2.65 for .75lbs of chicken breast, mashed potatoes and corn or green beans.
The other thing that I'm wondering is what all ingredients you needed. If the recipe called for a lot of spices/sauces that you didn't already have, then yeah, that's going to pad the bill. But those are also purchases that get made with far less frequency. You might spend 10 bucks getting all the spices up front, but then you can make the same meal dozens of times using those same spices and only have to buy the fundamental ingredients (meat, veggies, etc.) for a long time.
Chicken and pork have quickly become my go-to meat, and when I do get steak, I'm typically buying sandwich cuts of ribeye (makes portion control much easier for me and it's still going to taste amazing). For sides, rice, pasta and canned vegetables cost next to nothing. I also tend to get instant potatoes (I do get lazy when it comes to that) for like $1.70 per packet (I get two meals out of one packet).
So a typical dinner might cost me like $2.65 for .75lbs of chicken breast, mashed potatoes and corn or green beans.
The other thing that I'm wondering is what all ingredients you needed. If the recipe called for a lot of spices/sauces that you didn't already have, then yeah, that's going to pad the bill. But those are also purchases that get made with far less frequency. You might spend 10 bucks getting all the spices up front, but then you can make the same meal dozens of times using those same spices and only have to buy the fundamental ingredients (meat, veggies, etc.) for a long time.