Eating out is cheaper than buying groceries.

Great Debates
121

[QUOTE=silenus]
You don’t even have to leave the supermarket. Just shop over on the “ethnic foods” or “International” aisle. That’s where I pick up most of my Mexican spices, at prices that are maybe 1/10 of what Spice Islands or McCormick’s charge.
[/QUOTE]

The reference to McCormick’s reminds me of a recent trip to Baltimore MD. We were put up at a hotel somewhere NW of the city. Right down the block was a McCormick’s plant that I passes every day on my run. It was amusing to try and figure out what spices they were processing on any given day. The aroma was quite strong.

122

[QUOTE=Dinsdale]
… My kids are all tremendous carnivores, and as they have gotten older, it can be pricey to get a hunk of meat large enough to satisfy them. On New Year’s Day, my wife decided to go with the tenderloin. $20 bought three tenderloins from the local butcher. More than enough to gorge 6 adults and late-teens, with enough left over for a light stirfry lunch the next day.

I can’t imagine how much it would cost to get a pork dinner anywhere near that quality in a restaurant. Simple and fast to cook too!

Tenderloin is now on our regular weekly meal rotation.
[/QUOTE]

I just want to make sure we are on the same definition. I didn’t know this until last year. The tenderloin is a part of the whole pork loin. When it is persuaded to separate from the rest of the loin, the tenderloin’s diameter/cross section would fit inside a 12-ounce beer can. It’s the tenderest part of the loin. Often, a little biscuit of tenderloin is put between plastic wrap and pounded into a thin sheet. That’s what we Hoosiers batter-dip and fry to make a sandwich fit for Og. Ah, but I’m getting carried away, and drooling on my keyboard. Let me start over.

Right next to the pig’s spine, there’s a pair of long, tender muscle groups (longissimus dorsii?) running the length of the animal. To your butcher, it’s the whole loin. It is wonderful. The best part of the group is the tenderloin, even more wonderful, but more expensive.

I can’t believe I took so many words to say that. :smack:

123

[QUOTE=Sitnam]
I’d really like to see a cost benefit analysis on this. I have no doubt that one person can eat cheaper by dining out as well as it being cheaper for 10 people to go to the grocery store. So say the dining experience is your average dinner meal (Applebee’s) and the grocery store materials would be their equivalent. How many people before you break even?

My guess, 4…as long as everyone has the same thing.
[/QUOTE]

Let’s do breakfast cause it easy.
Breakfast at a Denny’s or wherever is going to run about $10-11 with tip and coffee.
At home:
18 pack of eggs $4
loaf of bread $3 (for the good stuff not Wonder bread)
Lb of Bacon $5
pkg of sausage $4
Bag o potatoes $4
Can of coffee $4
Butter salt etc $4
Total $28
So for less than the cost of three breakfasts at Denny’s I can eat eggs, meat toast, and potatoes at home for what 18 days?
What to really see a difference? Eat oatmeal. Denny’s gets about $5 a bowl. for $5 Wilford Brimley will come over and smother oatmeal all over your body. :wink:

124

[QUOTE=AskNott]
I just want to make sure we are on the same definition. I didn’t know this until last year. The tenderloin is a part of the whole pork loin. When it is persuaded to separate from the rest of the loin, the tenderloin’s diameter/cross section would fit inside a 12-ounce beer can. It’s the tenderest part of the loin. Often, a little biscuit of tenderloin is put between plastic wrap and pounded into a thin sheet. That’s what we Hoosiers batter-dip and fry to make a sandwich fit for Og. Ah, but I’m getting carried away, and drooling on my keyboard. Let me start over.

Right next to the pig’s spine, there’s a pair of long, tender muscle groups (longissimus dorsii?) running the length of the animal. To your butcher, it’s the whole loin. It is wonderful. The best part of the group is the tenderloin, even more wonderful, but more expensive.

I can’t believe I took so many words to say that. :smack:
[/QUOTE]

Ah yes, pork tenderloin (a.k.a. “pork fillet”, at least over here). And yes, beaten out, battered (or breadcrumbed) and fried, it is indeed… darn I am hungry! Not necessarily a budget cut though. :slight_smile:

125

The grocery ad for Kroger (PayLess) came today. I’m going to stock up.

Whole pork loin, $1.67 US per pound. :slight_smile:

Boneless, skinless Perdue or Kroger chicken breasts, $1.58 a pound. :slight_smile:

Whole pork picnic roast, $1.19 a pound. :slight_smile:

126

There’s a middle ground between buying kits and the teensiest containers of everything, and roasting your own whole chickens, combing the sales flyers, and making your own salsa. Yes, if you’re trying to eat for pennies the latter is the way to go, but if you’re just aiming for cheaper than eating out, you have a lot of room.

A couple cans of beans, a can or two of stewed tomatoes, and some browned ground beef = a nice hot pot of chili. Some spices would be nice, maybe an onion, whatever you have on hand. You can simmer it in whatever pot you have. Sure crock pots are convenient, but not that much more convenient than cooking the above in a regular pot with a lid (if you brown the meat first, all you’re doing in the pot is bringing everything up to temperature and letting the flavors blend).

Cook regular rice in a regular pot, about 5 minutes before it’s done add frozen veggies, some cut up pieces of cheese, and whatever seasonings are around or sound good. That’s a way cheap one, probably $10 buys enough for 6 or 7 of those meals for two people.

Pasta (a shape like maybe bowties or spiral, not long pasta like spaghetti), some kind of “cooking soup” (cream of chicken, broccoli cheese, something like that), cut up veggies, maybe cooked meat of some kind. That one can be done as a casserole or on the stove.

Get some cold cuts or deli meat, a couple of tomatoes, a jar of pickles, and a block of cheese, and some kind of bread you like. That’s lunch for, what, a week? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having sandiwches for dinner either.

Heck, spaghetti and a jar of sauce.

Food cheaper than restaurant food doesn’t need to be the result of lots of time. The cheapest food possible does, but at $8 without drink or tip for a basic dinner entree out here in the middle of nowhere, the grocery store can beat that with less time than you’d wait for your food.

I know some foodies are going to be offended that I even said things like “whatever spices you have around”, but honestly people, this isn’t rocket science. You don’t need fresh cooked chicken and beans you simmered yourself for hours to have dinner. Canned beans, frozen veggies, and condensed soup in a can is food too.

127

[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Or just go over to the local Indian or Middle Eastern shop, where you can buy sacks of prices for the same price (and better quality) as McCormick’s (biggest ripoff). As an example, I don’t know what the typical going rate for whole cloves is, but at Big Apple Grocer online, a 1.25 ounce jar of McCormick’s whole cloves sells for $9.99. I have a half pound of whole cloves for $1.99 sitting in my cupboard.

Another example: I like making Thai curries. Coconut milk is something like $2 or $2.50 at the Jewel/Dominick’s. Same can at the Thai grocer? 50 cents. I think VCO3 just needs lessons on where to shop and how to shop.
[/QUOTE]

I do buy ther sacks and keep a few out then freeze the rest.

Monavis

128

[QUOTE=Rick]
Let’s do breakfast cause it easy.
Breakfast at a Denny’s or wherever is going to run about $10-11 with tip and coffee.
At home:
18 pack of eggs $4
loaf of bread $3 (for the good stuff not Wonder bread)
Lb of Bacon $5
pkg of sausage $4
Bag o potatoes $4
Can of coffee $4
Butter salt etc $4
Total $28
So for less than the cost of three breakfasts at Denny’s I can eat eggs, meat toast, and potatoes at home for what 18 days?
What to really see a difference? Eat oatmeal. Denny’s gets about $5 a bowl. for $5 Wilford Brimley will come over and smother oatmeal all over your body. :wink:
[/QUOTE]

Except for the coffee I spend about half of what you pay here in the Meijers store.On sale I can get 2# of bacon for $5.00 and freeze it . Some times I cook it first then freeze it and reheat in the microwave,makes for a fast breakfast.

Monavis

Monavis

129

[QUOTE=monavis]
Except for the coffee I spend about half of what you pay here in the Meijers store.On sale I can get 2# of bacon for $5.00 and freeze it . Some times I cook it first then freeze it and reheat in the microwave,makes for a fast breakfast.

Monavis

Monavis
[/QUOTE]

No doubt, I was ball parking the numbers, and I was guessing high, so no one could come back and say I was low balling them.

130

[QUOTE=AskNott]
I just want to make sure we are on the same definition. I didn’t know this until last year. The tenderloin is a part of the whole pork loin. When it is persuaded to separate from the rest of the loin, the tenderloin’s diameter/cross section would fit inside a 12-ounce beer can. It’s the tenderest part of the loin.
[/QUOTE]

You got it, man. A couple of feet long and a couple of inches in diameter. Just about the tastiest meat you can get, at a fraction of the cost of beef. And absolutely no waste.

Like I said, $20 worth from a butcher’s shop was more than enough for 6 hungry carnivores.

131

Anyone else out there think the pork tenderloin is sort of dry and flavorless, it may be tender, but in terms of flavor it really down on the scale? Actually the other part of the loin has much more flavor IMHO.

(Any yes if you bread and fry it it will taste good, but you can do that with anything and it will taste good)

132

[QUOTE=John Mace]
As has already been pointed out, you can eat quite well (one or two people) for a few bucks a meal at home. Even at Applebee’s you’re going to spend $10 -$15 after you get something to drink, and pay the tax/tip. I’d be surprised if you could eat dinner for less.

I have no doubt that you could eat at McDonald’s or Taco Bell for about what you’d pay to make a meal at home. There would be a “slight” quality difference, though. :wink:
[/QUOTE]

I dunno. Like I said before, you only make up home cooking value in volume. Either you eat the same thing as left overs again and again or you have 4 people to dinner. I cook often, and it’s usually better than your average restaurant entree, but it’s always more expensive. Provided you’re not just cooking steaks or spaghetti the ingredients add up. Not even considering the time spent in preparation, if you like to cook it’s a hobby, and I have plenty of money pit hobbies already.

133

[QUOTE=Sitnam]
I dunno. Like I said before, you only make up home cooking value in volume. Either you eat the same thing as left overs again and again or you have 4 people to dinner.
[/QUOTE]

I find this attitude a lot, and frankly, it puzzles me. If my beef stew is good on Monday, what’s to stop it from being good on Tuesday and Wednesday?

But, I realize it’s only a matter of differing tastes. I’ve heard many of my friends say “Oh I don’t want chicken tonight, I had chicken last night.” But, last night was chicken marsala, tonight it was perhaps chicken paparikesh. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

134

[QUOTE=Sitnam]
I dunno. Like I said before, you only make up home cooking value in volume. Either you eat the same thing as left overs again and again or you have 4 people to dinner.
[/QUOTE]

It’s a good way to save, but it’s not the only way. I often cook a simple stir fry if I’m just eating by myself. Say, one bell pepper and 1/4 package of chicken. That’s about $2 worth of food, even if I include the cost of rice, soy sauce, etc (spread over however many months it takes me to use those up). That doesn’t leave any leftovers, except for the uncooked chicken which I can cook in a completely different way the next day.

135

It perplexes me too!

136

[QUOTE=Sitnam]
I dunno. Like I said before, you only make up home cooking value in volume. Either you eat the same thing as left overs again and again or you have 4 people to dinner. I cook often, and it’s usually better than your average restaurant entree, but it’s always more expensive. Provided you’re not just cooking steaks or spaghetti the ingredients add up. Not even considering the time spent in preparation, if you like to cook it’s a hobby, and I have plenty of money pit hobbies already.
[/QUOTE]

I can make a meal in 10 minuets or so and if one wants roast beef they can put the roast in a pan at low heat(or Brown and put in a slow cooker) Throw in some potatoes and an Acorn squash in the oven Get a salad made, and then do something else while they are cooking,Or cook the potatoes in the Micro wave and put any vegetables in the Micrwave(mine takes 4 minuets from frozen)

I freeze the leftovers for another day so our menu varies,some things I like better than when first made, Like goulash or chop suey. Our food tastes better than any restaurant and we know it is prepared in a clean enviroment.

Monavis

137

[QUOTE=kanicbird]
Anyone else out there think the pork tenderloin is sort of dry and flavorless, it may be tender, but in terms of flavor it really down on the scale? Actually the other part of the loin has much more flavor IMHO.

(Any yes if you bread and fry it it will taste good, but you can do that with anything and it will taste good)
[/QUOTE]

Sure, but brisket cooked that way needs a lot of chewing. :stuck_out_tongue:

138

[QUOTE=BMalion]
I find this attitude a lot, and frankly, it puzzles me. If my beef stew is good on Monday, what’s to stop it from being good on Tuesday and Wednesday?

But, I realize it’s only a matter of differing tastes. I’ve heard many of my friends say “Oh I don’t want chicken tonight, I had chicken last night.” But, last night was chicken marsala, tonight it was perhaps chicken paparikesh. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.
[/QUOTE]

When I cook, I could only eat the same meal two days in a row, usually, before I get a little tired of it. (Except for when I makes smoked pork shoulder or brisket. That I could eat three meals a day for a week if I wanted to.)

Anyhow, stew freezes extremely well. So do soups, chilis, pulled pork (and, actually, I have found myself freezing pulled pork, because 10 lbs of pork is a lot for one person), etc. Do not forget the power of the freezer! Just use freezer bags or one of those disposable tupperware-like containers they sell, portion out the food into whatever serving size works for you, and freeze away. It works like a charm for many foods.

139

[QUOTE=Sitnam]
I dunno. Like I said before, you only make up home cooking value in volume. Either you eat the same thing as left overs again and again or you have 4 people to dinner. I cook often, and it’s usually better than your average restaurant entree, but it’s always more expensive. Provided you’re not just cooking steaks or spaghetti the ingredients add up. Not even considering the time spent in preparation, if you like to cook it’s a hobby, and I have plenty of money pit hobbies already.
[/QUOTE]

You don’t own a freezer? You can buy chicken or beef or pork in bulk, cheaply, and package it into one serving portions. Or, as mentioned, you can make a lot of soup or stew eat some and freeze the rest. With our kids gone we cook for only two, and do this all the time. Leftovers true, but they don’t really count as leftovers if eaten a week or two later. (Some stews taste better after sitting for a while.)

140

My husband and I like to cook up a big hunk of meat, so the leftovers can be used for different things, and not seem so much like leftovers.

For instance, made a pork roast on Christmas Eve. A couple days after Christmas, used some of the meat to make enchiladas. Then a few days later sliced it up with some of my sister’s leftover Christmas ham and made Cuban sandwiches. And we always get a bigger turkey than we really need at Thanksgiving so I can make a Tetrazzini or two that weekend. Having already-cooked meat on hand makes a lot of recipes easier.