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The grand experiment...
The day before yesterday I dropped by this place that I'd been thinking about for a couple of months. It's one of those places cropping up everywhere where you go buy preassembled entrees (well, they advertise you assembling them yourself, but (a) that means I'd have to actually go interact with people and (b) it's only about $2 more per entree to buy them pre-assembled, which is Well Worth It to my antisocial ass). The entrees are advertized to serve 6, and you can get half-entrees, and these things are quite generous. So I dropped $105 on several of those, and just dropped $35 on a metric ton o'frozen veggies at the grocery store (when they run 10 for $1 specials, go for it!) for side dishes, and if this Grand Experiment works out, then I think my total non-restaurant food bill for the month will be about $150. Which, considering I usually end up buying something for lunch every day between $5 and $10, should represent a massive savings, even if I end up getting some more things.
I also bought a five-pound bag of potatoes for $3. They had a 15-pound bag for $3.50, which was Very Tempting, but I figured that I wouldn't be able tolift finish off 15 pounds of potatoes before they went bad.
I hardly ever cook anything nowadays because I resent the time-sink - when I'm cooking, I feel massively guilty that I'm not doing art or whatever else needs doing - and therefore I end up eating potatoes or some other form of quickly-made food that doesn't lend itself to leftovers, and I never bring lunch to work because of the lack of said leftovers. I won't eat sandwiches that have been made and sitting for hours because they end up being soggy and icky, so that avenue's closed, too.
So with all that in mind, the idea of prepared entrees that all I have to do is finish the cooking on sounded really damn good. I'm up for defrosting frozen veg in the microwave, too. If that works, then hey. :)
So ... the entrees I bought: a whole one (they didn't have the half sizes) of Slow Cooked Barbecue Beef Flank Steak, which was a large lump o'meat with sauce I threw into the crockpot - it probably would be cheaper in the long run to throw a lump o'meat into the cooker with a bottle of bbq sauce, but hey: it's all in the spirit of experimentation. It's supposed to be six servings, and I think this is really going to give me closer to eight. I'm going to nuke some potatoes and eat it with them - I've already had two sandwiches.
Half-sizes (supposed to be three servings, look more like four to me): Dill Salmon with Lemon Rice, Amish Chicken, Braised Pork Loin Slices with Sweet Potatoes, Linguine alla Puttanesca, and Potato-Crusted Tilapia. I've had one of the tilapia filets, and it is also good. I also threw in two of their sides - cream corn and Saucy Pintos - and a dessert called Chocolate Lover's Paradise, which is more of a chocolate pie made with mousse-y chocolate on top of crushed Oreos.
Time and hassle saved on planning, shopping, attempting to remember to cook it before it goes bad in the fridge, and most of the recipe preparation: infinite. Money saved: even if I end up buying more before the end of the month, as long as I'm not buying my lunch at work: masses. If I feel like doing some actual, real cooking, I can focus on desserty things: my Small Batch Baking books is lonely and wants attention.
And now the cat is whining loudly and wants attention also. I'd better go poke her before she shreds something.
I also bought a five-pound bag of potatoes for $3. They had a 15-pound bag for $3.50, which was Very Tempting, but I figured that I wouldn't be able to
I hardly ever cook anything nowadays because I resent the time-sink - when I'm cooking, I feel massively guilty that I'm not doing art or whatever else needs doing - and therefore I end up eating potatoes or some other form of quickly-made food that doesn't lend itself to leftovers, and I never bring lunch to work because of the lack of said leftovers. I won't eat sandwiches that have been made and sitting for hours because they end up being soggy and icky, so that avenue's closed, too.
So with all that in mind, the idea of prepared entrees that all I have to do is finish the cooking on sounded really damn good. I'm up for defrosting frozen veg in the microwave, too. If that works, then hey. :)
So ... the entrees I bought: a whole one (they didn't have the half sizes) of Slow Cooked Barbecue Beef Flank Steak, which was a large lump o'meat with sauce I threw into the crockpot - it probably would be cheaper in the long run to throw a lump o'meat into the cooker with a bottle of bbq sauce, but hey: it's all in the spirit of experimentation. It's supposed to be six servings, and I think this is really going to give me closer to eight. I'm going to nuke some potatoes and eat it with them - I've already had two sandwiches.
Half-sizes (supposed to be three servings, look more like four to me): Dill Salmon with Lemon Rice, Amish Chicken, Braised Pork Loin Slices with Sweet Potatoes, Linguine alla Puttanesca, and Potato-Crusted Tilapia. I've had one of the tilapia filets, and it is also good. I also threw in two of their sides - cream corn and Saucy Pintos - and a dessert called Chocolate Lover's Paradise, which is more of a chocolate pie made with mousse-y chocolate on top of crushed Oreos.
Time and hassle saved on planning, shopping, attempting to remember to cook it before it goes bad in the fridge, and most of the recipe preparation: infinite. Money saved: even if I end up buying more before the end of the month, as long as I'm not buying my lunch at work: masses. If I feel like doing some actual, real cooking, I can focus on desserty things: my Small Batch Baking books is lonely and wants attention.
And now the cat is whining loudly and wants attention also. I'd better go poke her before she shreds something.
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"Amish Chicken - Perfectly seasoned, juicy chicken breasts are baked on a bed of delicious, creamy rice in white wine sauce and accented with a special savory topping. The final presentation is beautiful – golden brown on top, rich and moist in the middle – and the aromas from your oven will be tantalizing"
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