Fun thread: Just how cheap are you?

[quote author="NewToOC" date=1216356093]At least once a week I make a dinner out of mostly beans - hummus w/ homemade pita chips, rice and beans, or lentil stew w/ veggies. I make enough for dinner for two and usually have enough left-overs for 2 lunches.</blockquote>
Left overs? - We're coming over. What time? That meal sounds yummy! ! ! ! :)



You just made me hungry.
 
If people care, Ralphs is selling General Mills cereal for cheap. Last night we bought about 6 boxes.



Lately we have been eating egg sandwiches a lot (2 slices of toast with egg, cheese, tapatio and ketchup between)



If you really want to be cost efficient and keep your protein high, eat 12 egg whites with 3 pieces of toast. Ralphs has this flax seed bread that makes great toast.
 
[quote author="CalGal" date=1216365358][quote author="NewToOC" date=1216356093]At least once a week I make a dinner out of mostly beans - hummus w/ homemade pita chips, rice and beans, or lentil stew w/ veggies. I make enough for dinner for two and usually have enough left-overs for 2 lunches.</blockquote>
Left overs? - We're coming over. What time? That meal sounds yummy! ! ! ! :)



You just made me hungry.</blockquote>


Thanks CalGal! The lentils have been a staple of mine for a while but learning to make hummus and pita chips (from bought pitas - I'm not that gourmet) at home has been a recent thing. A pound of lentils is under 50 cents and you can make two meals for 4. We'll have to have a IHB - Coto satellite dinner club once the prices drop and we move out there. :)
 
<blockquote>Thanks CalGal! The lentils have been a staple of mine for a while but learning to make hummus and pita chips (from bought pitas - I?m not that gourmet) at home has been a recent thing. A pound of lentils is under 50 cents and you can make two meals for 4. We?ll have to have a IHB - Coto satellite dinner club once the prices drop and we move out there. </blockquote>
I've never made hummus before - I've always bought it. We buy Hummus, Tabouli, and fresh pita from Super Irvine. I haven't been able to find Tabouli anywhere else around here. It's usually our Saturday lunch :coolsmile: I'll have to try and make home-made hummus one of these days.
 
[quote author="CalGal" date=1216422192]<blockquote>Thanks CalGal! The lentils have been a staple of mine for a while but learning to make hummus and pita chips (from bought pitas - I?m not that gourmet) at home has been a recent thing. A pound of lentils is under 50 cents and you can make two meals for 4. We?ll have to have a IHB - Coto satellite dinner club once the prices drop and we move out there. </blockquote>
I've never made hummus before - I've always bought it. We buy Hummus, Tabouli, and fresh pita from Super Irvine. I haven't been able to find Tabouli anywhere else around here. It's usually our Saturday lunch :coolsmile: I'll have to try and make home-made hummus one of these days.</blockquote>


Hummus is really easy and super cheap to make vs store bought, especially if you start with the garbanzos in their dry form over canned beans. Cook the beans and then throw 'em in the food processor with some garlic, lemon, tahini and a bit of olive oil. For a different twist, try it with cannelini beans.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1216427453]Hummus is really easy and super cheap to make vs store bought, especially if you start with the garbanzos in their dry form over canned beans. Cook the beans and then throw 'em in the food processor with some garlic, lemon, tahini and a bit of olive oil. For a different twist, try it with cannelini beans.</blockquote>


Query: for the dry garbanzos, do you soak them first, or just make the hummus with the dry beans?



For the garbanzo lovers, I would recommend <a href="http://orangette.blogspot.com/2007/01/brown-bag-it.html">this super easy garbanzo salad</a>.
 
You can either soak them for 8 hours or bring them to a rapid boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover and let them soak for one hour. Then you cook them for about an hour or hour and a half



<a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58">Garbanzo beans</a>



WF says to soak for two hours in the hot water. I usually only soak for an hour.
 
I find a meal I can stand for a month at least...and eat it over and over and over again. Like Sandwhiches. I eat it for Lunch and Dinner. One month it was Salad. Same mix and same dressing. If I want to mix it up I eat cup of noodles that are provided for free at our work. :/
 
I haven't done a lot of comparison shopping, but I thought the dried bean / grain section of the Zion market had some really good deals (and wide variety).
 
There is nothing yummier on this earth than home made fresh whole wheat

pita bread. There's some tricks to it so it swells up the way it's supposed to,

but if you haven't tasted this you have no idea what pita is supposed to

taste like.
 
Years ago, our neighbor's nanny (not hispanic) asked me to drive her over to Ralphs. She instructed me to go around the back. She hopped out and went to the disposal bin and pulled out newly-thrown out, near to expiration date, boxed frozen pizzas. Dozens of them. She also got a lot of very expensive produce that was going to expire. I asked her if it was legal and she said it was.... i believed her, but was just stunned at the relatively good condition of the items. No one had thrown icky stuff over the boxes... they were all clean.



I had never heard of the term, dumpster diving at that point. Only when I told the story at work, did someone confess what it was and that they did it too!
 
It would be shameful for it to be illegal. It's better than perfectly good food being wasted.



Which reminds me. I always look in the marked down meat section and other non-refrigerated mark down section of the Woodbury Ralph's. They discount meat 50% when it gets close to the sell-by date and the dried pasta, booze, seasonal stuff often gets marked down to 75%.



I used to work at a supermarket bakery back East as a teenager and we'd only mark down the bakery items by 1/3. After that we'd toss it. The area homeless shelters would only take specific items and I don't remember there being any mark down mechanism for frozen food so I can imagine they have no choice but to toss it. Still terrible they should give their employees the option to take it home or something. It's extra hard to make a living on the salaries they are paying these days.
 
[quote author="NoWowway" date=1216449943]Years ago, our neighbor's nanny (not hispanic) asked me to drive her over to Ralphs. She instructed me to go around the back. She hopped out and went to the disposal bin and pulled out newly-thrown out, near to expiration date, boxed frozen pizzas. Dozens of them. She also got a lot of very expensive produce that was going to expire. I asked her if it was legal and she said it was.... i believed her, but was just stunned at the relatively good condition of the items. No one had thrown icky stuff over the boxes... they were all clean.



I had never heard of the term, dumpster diving at that point. Only when I told the story at work, did someone confess what it was and that they did it too!</blockquote>


A lot of non profits figured this out so now the stores donate a lot of stuff that they used to toss and it gets redistributed to seniors and low income people. My mom lives in an affordable housing building and it's amazing how much food these guys get. For the really low income ones, there's practically enough to where they dont' really have to buy much else. They just have to eat it fast.



It got to the point to where some of the food wasn't taken, so it went in the trash. Now they have a window to take what they want and what's left over goes to the next drop station.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1216450596]



A lot of non profits figured this out so now the stores donate a lot of stuff that they used to toss and it gets redistributed to seniors and low income people. My mom lives in an affordable housing building and it's amazing how much food these guys get. For the really low income ones, there's practically enough to where they dont' really have to buy much else. They just have to eat it fast.



It got to the point to where some of the food wasn't taken, so it went in the trash. Now they have a window to take what they want and what's left over goes to the next drop station.</blockquote>


That's wonderful to know. It sounds like they've improved this a lot since the early 90s then. I was raised old school - throwing out food makes me feel terrible.
 
[quote author="stepping_up" date=1216443758]You can either soak them for 8 hours or bring them to a rapid boil for two minutes, remove from heat, cover and let them soak for one hour. Then you cook them for about an hour or hour and a half

<a href="http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=58">Garbanzo beans</a>

WF says to soak for two hours in the hot water. I usually only soak for an hour.</blockquote>
I love all kinds of beans. I could eat them every day if my husband let me. Almost once a week I ask him if he wants Chili. I just throw about 5 or 6 different beans together with diced tomatoes and different chili spices. Sometimes I'll add ground up Turkey meat. Yummy! It freezes well too. I could probably make it cheaper if I bought the dried beans, but I just use the canned beans (I stock up on them when they are on sale).



He doesn't want it as much as I do. He says it's a winter meal. :down:
 
Ah yes chili. A staple in our household too. But my fiance's folks come from the mid-West so it isn't chili to him w/o some ground beef and elbow macaroni (good filler). We jazz it up by serving it with big tortilla crisp rounds. I too buy canned beans on sale. I never plan ahead enough to soak beans.
 
Cowboy - "How about some more beans, Mr. Taggart?"

Taggart - "I'd say you've had enough!"



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Here's a great recipe:



<span style="font-size: 15px;"><strong>Black Bean Soup </strong></span>(although it's more like a stew)



1 Cup Chopped Onion

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 Can (14.5 oz) Vegetable Broth, Divided

1 Can (30 oz) Black Beans, Rinsed & Drained

1 Cup Diced Peeled Potato (I cut up small)

1/2 Tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin

1 Can (14.5 oz) Diced Tomatoes, <u>Undrained</u>

1/4 to 1/2 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce

2 Green Onions, Sliced

Broiled or Boiled Boneless, Skinless Chicken, Diced small



In a saucepan, bring the onion, garlic and 1/4 cup broth to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender.

Stir in the beans, potato, thyme, cumin and remaining broth; return to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in tomatoes, cooked chicken, and hot pepper sauce; heat through.

Sprinkle with green onions.



Yield: 6 servings (or 3 servings if you eat like my husband)



Nutritional Analysis: One Serving (1 cup) equals 173 calories,

2 g fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 818 mg sodium,

30 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 10 g protein.



Enjoy! :)
 
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