I’d like to ask your forgiveness for the fact that I haven’t posted in the last few days; I’ve been out of town visiting family, where many kitchen goodies were made and consumed with gusto. I can’t vouch for their exact per-person price, but I have full confidence that frugality was in play for the majority of meals.
Ramen Lo Mein With Egg Rolls.
You know, the first few times I cooked with ramen noodles as a college graduate, I really didn’t know what to do with them. I had a hard time figuring out how best to pair them with the foods I’d grown so familiar with in my postgraduate life, and I couldn’t remember for the life of me what I used to do to them to make them tasty back in the day.
But after several experiments and even more Web searches, the ideas and recipes began to come. One of the most successful dishes I’ve concocted so far is ramen lo mein, served with an egg roll on the side. It’s filling, hearty, and – OK, I’ll say it – pretty healthy, too. AND we were able to use the green bell pepper and more carrots from LeeLee’s Eastern Market excursion last weekend.
While I’m on the subject, the first fresh bell pepper of the season? Bliss.
The stats:
Ramen noodles: $0.29 ($0.15/person)
Trader Joe’s “beef” strips: $2.99 ($1.50/person)
Green bell pepper: $0.50 ($0.25/person)
Onion: $0.25 ($0.12/person)
Carrots: $0.25 ($0.12/person)
Egg rolls: $3.00/four ($0.75/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $5.78 … or $2.89 per person.
:)
Hamburger Helper With Fresh Salad.
Talk about comfort food. You can’t get more comforting than Safeway’s own version of Hamburger Helper.
OK, I know, totally not high-brow. But a long week of triathlon training looms, and I could stand the extra protein and carbs. Personally, I embrace the Helper – it’s one of my favorite go-to meals, as I’m sure you’ll see as time goes by. Plus, I sorta feel like the farm-fresh salad on the side makes up for any nutritional deficiencies inherent in this evening’s entrée.
The salad ingredients came from a farmer at DC’s Eastern Market. LeeLee chose a grab bag of a variety of vegetables, most of which ended up in tonight’s salad. There’s nothing like having the season’s first fresh head of lettuce. Ahhh … spring is here!
The stats:
Safeway Hamburger Helper: $1.50 ($0.75/person)
Lightlife Smart Ground: $4.69 ($2.35/person)
Soy Dream: $0.37/cup ($0.19/person)
Salad grab bag: $2.00 ($1.00/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $8.56 … or $4.29 per person.
And because I couldn’t resist, here’s a photo of the salad all by itself!
:)
Barbecue Chili With Fritos and Salad.
I can’t believe it’s taken this long to get to my favorite kind of dish – a Crock-Pot creation!
I confess to always feeling so smug once I’ve put dinner in the Crock-Pot. I go through the whole day smiling to myself, knowing dinner is ready before lunch is even served. And on one of the last rainy and chilly weekends I think (or perhaps just hope) that the DC area is going to have this spring, I felt the time had come for a transition-to-spring dish – a Backyard Barbecue Chili, to be exact!
This recipe, from Robin Robertson’s Vegan Planet, is one of my favorites. Hearty yet not heavy, festive yet homey, it’s a fantastic dish for any season. (I’ve even been known to cook it in the summertime, with cole slaw on the side!) Serve it with some Fritos, top it with some leftover cheese from the other night’s lasagna, and you’ve got yourself a great one-dish meal that takes very little time (or money!) to create.
The stats:
Ground “beef”: $4.69 ($1.17/person)
Diced tomatoes: $1.89 ($0.47person)
Kidney beans: $2.00 ($0.50/person)
Barbecue sauce: Pennies
GRAND TOTAL: $8.58 … or $2.14 per person.
(Note: Some of these items, such as the Fritos, I’ve already purchased prior to these itemizations. I’ll pick ‘em up in the grand total next time around!)
Mama’s Spinach Lasagna With Salad and Garlic Bread.
When you are entertaining guests — as we have been this weekend, which explains my lack of posting over the last several days — you really ought to put your best foot forward, even (or perhaps especially) if said guests are your relatives. Thankfully, I have a recipe in my arsenal that will do just that — and not break the bank.
Out comes Mama’s Spinach Lasagna, a true crowd-pleaser that takes a minimum of fuss.
You know you can rely on Mama’s Spinach Lasagna to make a splash just when you need it the most, when you need something showier than the standard ramen-or-rice fare to welcome your guests into your home. It encompasses all the key ingredients — good lasagna noodles, a zesty tomato sauce, and, of course, an abundance of melty cheese. In totality, this lasagna will tide any hungry diner over for the evening.
The stats:
Lasagna noodles: $1.69 ($0.43/person)
Tomato sauce: $1.74 ($0.44/person)
Onion: $1.00 ($0.25/person)
Spinach: $1.99 ($0.50/person)
Mozzarella cheese: $5.00 ($1.25/person)
Cottage cheese: $2.09 ($0.53/person)
Garlic bread: $1.99 ($0.50/person)
Lettuce: $3.00 ($0.74/person)
Cherry tomatoes: $2.49/package ($0.63 per person)
Garbanzo beans: $0.89 ($0.23 per person)
Croutons: $1.50 ($0.38 per person)
GRAND TOTAL: $23.38 … or $5.88 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes one hefty or two smaller leftover servings. So the per-person price goes down even more. Enjoy.
:)
Cuban Sandwiches With Rice.
In keeping with the Cuban theme from last night, tonight we served one of LeeLee’s specialties — Cuban sandwiches! Rice was served alongside the Cubans, but it really wasn’t necessary; with three kinds of “meat,” not to mention cheese and pickles and mustard, these sandwiches are a meal in themselves!
Another great thing about this dish is the copious amount of leftovers it makes. I for one am looking VERY forward to dining on these for the rest of the week!
Today’s photo was taken by LeeLee. Enjoy! :)
Sub rolls: $2.69/six ($0.45/person)
Pepperoni: $4.29 ($2.15/person)
“Turkey” slices: $3.49 ($1.75/person)
“Steak” slices: $2.79 ($1.40/person)
Swiss cheese: $2.99 ($1.50/person)
Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice: $1.75 ($0.88/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $18.00 … or $8.13 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal makes at least two additional servings for leftovers. So the cost goes down further.
:)
Black Beans and Rice With Chik’n Patty.
There are some certainties in life, some tangibles that, at the end of the day, you know you can rely on.
Black beans and rice? One of those certainties. Throw in a Boca chik’n patty for good measure (and additional protein), and you’re good to go.
Black beans and rice has been a go-to staple in our household for as long as I can remember. I can’t speak for LeeLee, but I know it was also a staple in my home growing up. Whenever we’re short on time or energy — tonight, LeeLee had to be at a meeting in 25 minutes, so we were definitely short on time — I am comforted to know that I can serve a healthy meal very, very quickly. In seven minutes, to be exact.
It’s all a matter of timing. On very rushed nights, like tonight, I don’t even cook the chik’n patties in the oven; I microwave them for a few minutes while the black beans are cooking. And when they’re done, I put old Uncle Ben into the microwave (“I’m feeling sorry for our rice cooker,” LeeLee lamented recently, but one must do what one must do when the clock is a’ticking!) while I chop an onion and some cherry tomatoes for garnish. By the time the microwave dings its final ding, dinner is served!
The stats:
Black beans: $1.00 ($0.50/person)
Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice: $1.75 ($0.88/person)
Boca Original Chik’n Patty: $3.50/four ($0.88/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $6.25 … or $2.26 per person.
:)
Ramen With Tofu and Green Onions.
I can hear your chiding already:
“Three meals in, and you’ve already resorted to ramen?”
But let’s not get all judgmental so early in this blog’s little life! I stand proudly by my ramen roots – so much so that I feel like I have a very strong case for the lowly noodle.
The great thing about ramen is that it can be so easily dressed-up, contouring to a multitude of meals in a multitude of genres. Combined with tofu, as it was in today’s dinner, it’s got infinite possibilities. Think about it: Ramen and tofu are like the Barbie and Ken of the food world. You can dress them up and send them out on the town in a plethora of clothing, from a day at the beach to eveningwear.
And, on top of its masquerade quality, let’s face it: Ramen is cheap. Ain’t nothing wrong with cheap, people.
Today, our Barbie and Ken visited Asia. I paired the sautéed tofu and noodles with some green onions and soy sauce to create an Asian flair, topping the meal off with a vegetable egg roll on the side. Add a little duck sauce, and you’re good to go!
The stats:
Oriental ramen noodles: $0.29 ($0.15/person)
Firm tofu: $1.50 ($0.75/person)
Green onions: $0.79 ($0.40/person)
Egg rolls: $3.00/four ($0.75/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $5.58 … or $2.05 per person.
:)
Pizza With Salad.
I’ve gotta tell you, I’ve been looking forward to this meal all weekend long. There’s just something about homemade pizza that is so comforting to me, probably because it reminds me of all the weekends when my mother would whip out some Pillsbury crust, throw some toppings atop the cheese, and put the pizza in the oven, pulling it back out only when the cheese was bubbly and the crust was golden brown. That’s what I strive for with my own pizza, and I think today’s concoction fit the bill!
We topped our crust with Ragu sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Lightlife vegetarian pepperoni, and I must say, it was fantastic! We also have enough left over for LeeLee to take for lunch tomorrow, which is always a bonus.
The stats:
Pizza crust: $3.19
Tomato sauce: $1.89
Mozzarella cheese: $2.50
Vegetarian pepperoni: $4.29
Butter lettuce: $3.49 ($0.89 per person)
Cherry tomatoes: $2.49/package ($0.62 per person)
Garbanzo beans: $0.89 ($0.45 per person)
Croutons: $1.50 ($0.30 per person)
GRAND TOTAL: $20.24 … or $8.24 per person. (And, given our leftovers, this per-person total actually goes down a little bit!)
:)
Also, Hello, By the Way.
As you might’ve gathered by the last post, there’s a new blog on the block.