What's for Dinner?

[BigDaveK]

@BigDaveK Told me even though he grows his own, he buys the Hungarian paprika to make sure the dish tastes right. I bought the Szeged brand he recommended. Cost me way more than it should have, but in hind sight, it was worth it.

I posted this after it arrived. I believe Costco on the left was $9 and Szeged was $14. Shipping is likely hidden in that cost, but I can understand why I had such misgivings about paprika. You get what you pay for. I wasn't wowed by the finger dip. Definitely more flavor, but it didn't kick me into action, in a dish though, holy. The generic junk I have been buying around here has nothing to add. So much so, that if recipes included it amongst flavorful spices I omitted it. It just gets lost.

I will have to reevaluate my stance.

View attachment 112188

Phew! Glad I'm getting accolades rather than death threats!!

My mom used that brand, my grandmother used it too. They knew Hungarian food.

 

[Boatboy24]

 

[ibglowin]

Sing it with me............



Chicken Parm (with Gnocchi) you taste so good!

 

[Boatboy24]

 

[vinny]

I'm officially miffed!

Beef prices are offensive in my local town. $50 for 1/2-3/4 in thick rib cuts. I wouldn't buy it if it was $10.

I went to Costco today and bought a whole rib eye. Costy! $335. I got 13 GLORIOUS steaks and some serious trim for sausage. $25 a steak, at least double the size of what I could get in town. My Costco price is not better than what the markets are getting. What is going on? I could make 100% margins. The markets?

Seriously banning the local stores and driving the hour and a half to Costco for everything until the insanity ends. Support local? Unreal.

End rant.

I had to do this. The steak was free with the cost of the bone in comparison to what my local options are. This was $43!


Grilled and finished in the oven.


I should have turned the plate and gotten the sun accenting that meat.. The clouds have finally parted!

 

[winemaker81]

Beef prices are offensive in my local town. $50 for 1/2-3/4 in thick rib cuts. I wouldn't buy it if it was $10.

Some Costco meat prices are not cheaper locally, but the quality of the meat is at least a grade higher than competing grocery stores

 

[bstnh1]

I'm officially miffed!

Beef prices are offensive in my local town. $50 for 1/2-3/4 in thick rib cuts. I wouldn't buy it if it was $10.

I went to Costco today and bought a whole rib eye. Costy! $335. I got 13 GLORIOUS steaks and some serious trim for sausage. $25 a steak, at least double the size of what I could get in town. My Costco price is not better than what the markets are getting. What is going on? I could make 100% margins. The markets?

Seriously banning the local stores and driving the hour and a half to Costco for everything until the insanity ends. Support local? Unreal.

End rant.

I had to do this. The steak was free with the cost of the bone in comparison to what my local options are. This was $43!

View attachment 112298View attachment 112299
Grilled and finished in the oven.
View attachment 112300View attachment 112301

I should have turned the plate and gotten the sun accenting that meat.. The clouds have finally parted!

Beefed about beef prices, eh? They're high down here, but not as high as what you have up there. Local supermarkets here have some deals in their flyers, but they're generally not worth buying. The alternative is "meat markets" or local butchers - pricey, but the quality is far superior. We have a new Costco about an hour away, but I haven't ventured out there yet.

https://www.coyowlranch.ca/

 

[winemaker81]

Mrs. WM81 cooks, although given her 40 minute (1 way) commute, I make most of our meals. Yesterday she wanted to do something nice, and found wild catfish at Harris Teeter. She planned something else, but switched gears immediately as we haven't had catfish in quite while.




Since strawberries are in season, she wanted to buy a pound cake, but none was available. I had to suffer with cheesecake topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

 

[Rocky]

As many of you know, I have been around for a long time. I do all the shopping for our family (my choice, being a former purchasing professional and having fun saving money for myself rather than the company which employed me) and I have seen prices in the grocery stores at least double in the last year or two. "Sale prices" of beef are significantly higher than the regular price of two years ago and I believe that among the reasons for this is that people pay them. Our beef consumption has reduced by at least two-thirds, while our pork, fish and chicken consumptions has increased to make up the difference. We look for protein from other sources such as beans, eggs, wild fish (mostly salmon) and yogurt.

I remember many years ago when we used to make our weekly trip to the A&P, and had a huge cart of goods (four hungry young boys!) and the amount would be something like $28 to $30. When the cashier said the amount, people in other checkout lines would turn and gape at our mother. We would have two carts full of bags. Today, I can go to the grocery store and carry out $28-30 worth of food in my pocket.

 

[bstnh1]

As many of you know, I have been around for a long time. I do all the shopping for our family (my choice, being a former purchasing professional and having fun saving money for myself rather than the company which employed me) and I have seen prices in the grocery stores at least double in the last year or two. "Sale prices" of beef are significantly higher than the regular price of two years ago and I believe that among the reasons for this is that people pay them. Our beef consumption has reduced by at least two-thirds, while our pork, fish and chicken consumptions has increased to make up the difference. We look for protein from other sources such as beans, eggs, wild fish (mostly salmon) and yogurt.

I remember many years ago when we used to make our weekly trip to the A&P, and had a huge cart of goods (four hungry young boys!) and the amount would be something like $28 to $30. When the cashier said the amount, people in other checkout lines would turn and gape at our mother. We would have two carts full of bags. Today, I can go to the grocery store and carry out $28-30 worth of food in my pocket.

There's just my wife and I at hoe now and I do all the grocery shopping. If I get out of the grocery store for $100 - $120 a week, I consider myself lucky! Inflation is one thing. But when some prices increase 40 or 50 percent or more and the quantity shrinks, it's price gouging, not inflation. And once those prices go up, they're not coming down, regardless of what inflation does,

 

[ibglowin]

Some Costco meat prices are not cheaper locally, but the quality of the meat is at least a grade higher than competing grocery stores

I agree. Higher quality meat most of the time more expensive than Kroger (our local option) but sometimes the same price if you catch it on sale.

 

[vinny]

Some Costco meat prices are not cheaper locally, but the quality of the meat is at least a grade higher than competing grocery stores

Absolutely. I am 20 minutes outside of a small town of about 10,000. No Costco. It is the local butcher and grocery store I have a grievance with.

The butcher owns the farm where the beef comes from. They are direct to market, they could support the town with competitive prices, but usually out price the store by a good margin, so to Costco we go!

It's the small town mindset. What are you gonna do? Drive hours and spend a whole day in the city, or just pay more?

Drive to the city! Most will just suck it up, but not this guy.

 

[ceeaton]

I think most of us here post meals because we love to cook. I'm always amazed that other people I know at work etc, especially some of the younger crowd, go out several times a week to eat. I rarely go to a fast food joint, but the other day I did. I got a Wendy's chicken sandwich meal (#6) and it was almost $11! I get upset buying a pork roast that's $15 for a meal for 5 people. How do people afford to eat out all the time or buy prepared foods? Yikes!

I just look at it this way, yes prices have gone up a lot, but if you get the raw materials and create the meal yourself, it's way way cheaper than going out and having someone else prepare and serve it to you.

And tips for fast food, don't get me started!

 

[winemaker81]

I got a Wendy's chicken sandwich meal (#6) and it was almost $11!

I know people that eat out frequently. I also know people who complain a lot about money ... yeah, the overlap of those two groups is significant.

 

[Rocky]

I look at it as a competition, we against the stores. I enjoy using coupons, planning meals by what is well priced rather than what we want and helping other shoppers. I frequently have coupons that I do not need or cannot use so I stick them on the shelf with the item. For example, I had a store coupon for a free bag of Gold Medal flour, 5 or 10 pounds. I just slid the coupon under a 10 pound bag for someone who needed it. My local market puts the spiral cut hams on deep discount after both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I bought two each time and put them in my freezer. Thus far, I have used one which cost me right around $7 and was originally priced at around $35. I roasted the ham, then cut it into slices and got about 2-3 pounds of sandwich ham, other large parts were ground and we made ham salad and then we made a few quarts of soup out of all the remaining ham and bones. I would conservatively estimate that $7 ham was the major portion of 15 to 20 meals.

 

[winemaker81]

The Missus and I buy large packages of meats, which are typically $2-$3(USD) per pound cheaper than smaller, and I package-n-freeze 'em in sizes that work for us.

I've mentioned buying 14 lbs of pork shoulder, which I cut into 4 roasts. Each goes into the crockpot and produces several meals for us in various ways. Leftover pork (or anything) makes great enchiladas!

 

[ceeaton]

I look at it as a competition, we against the stores. I enjoy using coupons, planning meals by what is well priced rather than what we want and helping other shoppers. I frequently have coupons that I do not need or cannot use so I stick them on the shelf with the item. For example, I had a store coupon for a free bag of Gold Medal flour, 5 or 10 pounds. I just slid the coupon under a 10 pound bag for someone who needed it. My local market puts the spiral cut hams on deep discount after both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I bought two each time and put them in my freezer. Thus far, I have used one which cost me right around $7 and was originally priced at around $35. I roasted the ham, then cut it into slices and got about 2-3 pounds of sandwich ham, other large parts were ground and we made ham salad and them we made a few quarts of soup out of all the remaining ham and bones. I would conservatively estimate that $7 ham was the major portion of 15 to 20 meals.

Yea, as my wife has moved into the medical field from the law field, I have become the major food buyer. For me it's just fun to find the best discounts and take advantage of anything the store gives you to reduce costs (coupons, holiday "free" items, etc). With my oldest son and daughter moving out, I've had to modify my food cooking practices as there aren't as many people to eat the leftovers, still throw out too much food. So when you can find something on sale that you can expect to make several meals, it's a nice victory!

My dinner menu is usually based on what I can find on fire sale at the store on the way home from work, with frozen fall backs if I don't find anything...

 

[ChuckD]

I know people that eat out frequently. I also know people who complain a lot about money ... yeah, the overlap of those two groups is significant.

I know a couple who Do. Not. Cook… ever! They eat out or from a bag with dip! I wonder what their monthly food bill is?

 

[ceeaton]

I know a couple who Do. Not. Cook… ever! They eat out or from a bag with dip! I wonder what their monthly food bill is?

Guessing they'll find out the error of their ways when they try to retire.

 

[winemaker81]

The current discussion of eat-in vs eat-out hit home tonight.

We had raw chicken breast in the fridge. Mrs. WM81 requested Teriyaki sauce on it. In her mind I suspect she thought I'd pan fry the cutlets and slather 'em with bottled Teriyaki sauce.

Nope. Stir fry.

Sliced the chicken in thin strips. Chopped a head of broccoli and chowed/steamed it. Added yellow bell pepper at the end. Why yellow bell pepper? 'cuz it was in the fridge.

Took the veggies out and put in chicken breast. Pressed 4 large cloves of garlic, 'cuz garlic makes everything better. Had some Aldi's Teriyaki sauce, but not much left. Added red wine to the jar to get it all out. Not gonna work, so I added hoisin sauce. Chicken needed to simmer so I added more red wine and some leftover chicken stock. Didn't think it was enough, but we had a bottle of PF Chang Teriyaki in the cupboard, so I added some of that. It was kind of watery so I took the lid off and let it simmer until the sauce was thick.

Served over rice.



Mrs. WM81 loved it! I'll never duplicate it since no one, including me, really knows what I put in it.