what's for dinner (and how much did it cost)?

[swamp]

Jun 6, 2013 11:05:28 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

quesadillas are an old stand-by for us, but I make them vegetarian - black bean and corn instead of meat.

Tonight I'm baking a frozen pizza ($3.99 I believe) and serving it with a bagged salad ($2.50).  So easy a Doxie can do it!

If I put black beans on a quesadilla, DH would freak.

[Deleted]

they are seriously delicious, but yeah - they're not for hardcore meat eaters.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Dunno what we're doing tonight for dinner.  There is a meeting that we're going to for the local theater group that is going to announce the new season, and there is supposedly going to be food and music there.

Guess we'll go out after.  There's a really good Italian place down the street from the theater, maybe there.

[wvugurl26]

Last night I did salad and chicken wraps. I have no clue how much the total was. A lot of stuff I already had on hand from previous trips. I still have tortillas and salad left. I also froze the remaining chicken to throw on a salad later.

I got home at 730pm, I wanted something quick. I grilled chicken breast, heated up black beans and microwaved a pack of cheesy broccoli and rice. While that stuff was cooking, I put salads together.

[steff]

Tonight kiddo is taking hubby out for an early Father's Day.  They are going out to eat Mexican food & then to some wrestling show.  So I'm going to order Chinese food for 1.  Shrimp fried rice & Beef & broccoli.  Should be about $10.  That's my splurge for the week.  I'll end up with 2-3 meals out of it, so it's not as bad cost wise as it sounds. 

[The Home 6]

Mongolian Beef!

fresh ginger -20 cents
fresh garlic -free (from my window box, don't tell housing)
soy sauce- $1
brown sugar-50 cents
flank steak -$4 (estimating, due to the fact that we buy our meat in bulk)
cornstarch- 25 cents
green onions- 50 cents

Serving it over rice (50 cents), and with a side of broccoli ($1.80)

Total- $8.75

[Deleted]

ooooh, The Home 6 - that sounds GOOD!

[The Home 6]

Here's the recipe~

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 cup water
1⅓ cup dark brown sugar
2 pounds flank steak, sliced
½ cup cornstarch
Green onions, sliced



Directions

In a small saucepot, over medium heat, add 2 tsp. of vegetable oil and sauté ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, water, and brown sugar and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil and let boil for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss sliced flank steak with cornstarch, shaking off the excess. Place in fridge for 10 minutes to allow coating to stick better on the beef.

After 10 minutes, in a heavy bottom saucepan, over medium high heat, add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and add the beef to the pan, in batches, to sear the outside on all sides, but barely cooked in the middle. Remove and let drain on paper towels as you finish up the rest of the beef. Pour out any excess oil in the saucepan.

Place the saucepan back on the burner, but on medium heat, and pour in the sauce from earlier. It should come to a boil immediately. Add in the steak and coat with the sauce. Continue cooking beef and sauce at a boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken gradually. Add in the scallions.

Serve hot over white or brown rice.


I will probably halve the amount of brown sugar. I don't like super sweet with my main dishes.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I saw a picture of GORGEOUS French Toast recently, with fresh fruit topping it.  So part of me is thinking "French Toast!  French Toast!" for dinner.  The rest of me is going "WTF are we having for dinner?"

[The Home 6]

Why not have French toast for dinner? Life is short.

[chiver78]

to add to my incredibly expensive day (I will be very surprised if I do NOT get a call from American Express to confirm that I am in possession of my card....) I am heading to the Sox game tonight. dinner will be something incredibly unhealthy and overpriced, but that's okay.

[swamp]

Jun 6, 2013 14:50:14 GMT -5 The Home 6 said:

Why not have French toast for dinner? Life is short.

you need bacon with it.

[Bob Ross]

Dinner = crab legs.
Cost = food stamps & taxpayer money for store-trip gas for my Escalade.

[trytofindbalance]

Last nights dinner

Salad
romaine lettuce -  $.65
1/2 onion - $.25
red bell pepper - $ 1.00
cucumber - $ .60
shredded asiago cheese - $.20 (just took some off the block we have)
salad dressing - $ .50

Salad total: $3.20

Pasta with Vodka Sauce
Pasta - $1.00 (1 lb box)
Sauce - $3.99

Pasta total $4.99

Total : $8.19 for 2 people.  We had at least 1/2 the pasta and salad left for another meal

Tonight is probably burgers, fries and salad (from last night)

Rolls - $1.25 (4)
Burgers - $ 4.50 (4 but will probably only eat 3)
Fries - $1.25 (half a bag)
Salad - $0 (included it last night)

 Total:  $6.50

DH and I always try to justify eating out or ordering take out, but this simple exercise showed me that eating at home is much more cost effective. Truth is we normally don't eat much pasta or hamburgers, so our at home meals are usually more expensive. Just so happens that DH (who does most of the cooking) has been working a lot of hours and this is about the "best" I can do in the "cooking" department.
'

[Peace Of Mind]

This thread has great ideas!

I have left over Steff's spicy roast (fabulous!!!) and I was in the mood for mashed potatoes and made extra.

I also will make chicken wings and we can just pick what we are in the mood for. 

I have no clue what anything costs and I'm not going to check because I was up all night with Boo who is feeling much better today!  Thank God!!! 

[Peace Of Mind]

Dessert will be coffee ice cream with Raspberry sauce drizzled on it and topped with whipped cream.   DH is out getting us something to watch tonight since TV sucks. 

[swamp]

Dessert is wine. 

[milee]

Change in plans here.

Youngest son and I picked 3 buckets of u-pick tomatoes Tuesday and I've been canning them yesterday and today.  Partway through the process, I asked older son to take out the skins and stems in the white bowl to the compost pile.  Older son rushes in, grabs a bowl, then rushes out while I'm still skinning tomatoes and my back is turned.  I turn and realize he's just grabbed the wrong bowl and tossed about 1/3 of the already picked, washed and skinned tomatoes in the compost. 

He's 13 and doesn't always listen carefully.  I may have dropped the f-bomb. 

It wasn't really the cost (each 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes is only $5), it was all the work that we'd put in at that point.  So he's paying me back the $5 but more importantly to make up for all the wasted time down the drain, he's making breakfast, lunch and dinner for the family for the next 3 days. 

So tonight he made 1905 salad and it was awesome!  Had yummy salad and a glass of wine without having to do a thing.  Nice. 

[The Home 6]

Okay, if anyone wants to try that Mongolian beef recipe, you MUST use low sodium soy sauce! I didn't have any (salty is the standard around here), and it was REALLY salty. Other than that, the flavor was awesome.

[The Home 6]

Oh, and I made a cheesecake today as well. But it has to sit overnight in the fridge.  

So my dessert is wine, as well.

[Deleted]

Last night we went out...DH had a tomato and mozzarella salad and grouper with rice. I had an apple chevre salad and beef tenderloin. Four glasses of wine and we brought two desserts for our baby sitters. Total bill of about $150 before tip ( I don't know what hubby tipped). Was very, very good......but tonight we will need to do something a bit less expensive....maybe chicken fajitas or stir fry. Or some frozen lasagna.....much more budget friendly!!!

[Deleted]

not sure what's on the menu for tonight.  I'll either make Mexican 3 bean salad and serve it with tortilla chips or spinach enchiladas with salsa verde.  I'm leaning toward the enchiladas, and I think I'll a can of pinto or black beans into the pan as well.

[Wisconsin Beth]

I ended up eating nachos last night.  They were ok.  DS ate chips and then a bit of yogurt and 1/2 a piece of cake.  DD ate 5 meatballs, 3 cheesesticks and a piece of cake.  I don't even think this qualified as a meal in all honesty.  But everyone ate it without complaint so that's something.... 

I think tonight is going to be breakfast for dinner.  With French toast and bacon.  If I don't have bacon, I'm going to fry up the deli ham I have instead.  And maybe hashbrowns too. 

[chiver78]

tonight will be something with a lot of vegetables. what, exactly, I haven't quite decided. dinner last night was a pretzel appetizer at the bar before the game, then a slice of pizza and another pretzel at the game. it's now all sitting in my tummy like a lead weight.

suggestions? right now, I'm leaning toward sauteing whatever veggies are in the crisper drawer and tossing with some chicken stock and a little curly pasta. that will end up lasting the weekend, and I'm okay with that.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

We have tickets to a concert tonight, so not sure what we are going to do tonight.  Either a very early dinner out, or graze at home when the concert is over.

[Deleted]

do YM'ers eat more beans on average than the population as a whole?  you guys are posting recipes right and left that include beans. blech!!!!  the mongolian beef one though looked great!

[swamp]

Jun 7, 2013 11:02:45 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

do YM'ers eat more beans on average than the population as a whole?  you guys are posting recipes right and left that include beans. blech!!!!  the mongolian beef one though looked great!

beans are a cheap source of protein, duh!

[Deleted]

black beans are delicioso!!!!  DH and I discovered beans when we were broke... or more broke than we are now.   They have remained a staple in our diet.  I can't tell you how many beany burritos, quesadillas, soups, and enchiladas I've made over the years - and not a single complaint.

[Deleted]

Jun 7, 2013 11:10:00 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

black beans are delicioso!!!!  DH and I discovered beans when we were broke... or more broke than we are now.   They have remained a staple in our diet.  I can't tell you how many beany burritos, quesadillas, soups, and enchiladas I've made over the years - and not a single complaint.

I do not eat beans....I've never cooked them....have tried them and find them revolting....and luckily I've never felt like I was broke enough to have to eat them...

[lexxy703]

Jun 7, 2013 11:20:21 GMT -5 @singlemominmd said:

Jun 7, 2013 11:10:00 GMT -5 @moneyjenny82 said:

black beans are delicioso!!!!  DH and I discovered beans when we were broke... or more broke than we are now.   They have remained a staple in our diet.  I can't tell you how many beany burritos, quesadillas, soups, and enchiladas I've made over the years - and not a single complaint.

I do not eat beans....I've never cooked them....have tried them and find them revolting....and luckily I've never felt like I was broke enough to have to eat them...

I'm with you on this.  I noticed everyone ate beans too & I also find them revolting.  I don't even put them in chili.