Cheap Dinners

[kimblebee]

LOL. One of my cousins came across the border for dinner tonight and posted photos of the fine U.S. restaurant Olive Garden that I just learned have no locations in Canada.

There’s two or three in my city. Sorry if you’re being sarcastic..

 

[tvguy]

There’s two or three in my city. Sorry if you’re being sarcastic..

Not being sarcastic. That's what he posted. His brother corrected him. There are 6 in Canada, just none anywhere near Prince Edward Island where he lives,
CANADA
Visit the Canadian website at www.OliveGarden.caOpens a New Window..

• Alberta Canada
  • Gateway
    4110 Gateway Blvd. NW Edmonton AB T6J6S7
    T: (780) 437-3434 F: (780) 436-0708
    
    
  • Northgate Plaza
    333 36th Street NE Calgary AB T2A7R4
    T: (403) 248-1020 F: (403) 248-1369
    
    
  • Stony Plain Rd
    10121 171st Street Edmonton AB T5S1S6
    T: (780) 484-0700 F: (780) 481-1692
    
• British Columbia Canada
  • Rio Can Centre
    20080 Langley Bypass Langley BC V3A9J7
    T: (604) 514-3499 F: (604) 514-3418
• Manitoba Canada
  • Lagimodiere
    51 Reenders Drive Winnipeg MB R2C5E8
    T: (204) 661-8129 F: (204) 661-2387
    
    
  • Polo Park
    1544 Portage Avenue Winnipeg MB R3G0W9
    T: (204) 774-9725 F: (204) 775-9310

 

[tasha99]

Not a meal, but a basis for one: Chicken thighs. They are very cheap and very tasty. They have a lot more flavor than chicken breasts, just season them and bake them until the skin is crispy.

We like thighs a lot, too. A great and simple recipe for thighs is to debone a chicken thigh, pound it a little flatter, and fry it in a hot cast iron skillet with some oil. Then flip. Here's a more detailed recipe:

https://nomnompaleo.com/post/74180911762/cracklin-chicken

You guys are so lucky to have such cheap food prices. The lowest our chicken goes is about $4.99/lb and that’s only 3-4 times a year. I stock up with about $100 of chicken and try to stretch it til the next time it goes on sale. Maybe our quality is better? I’ve never compared taste but it would be interesting.

Wow! I buy bone in chicken thighs or whole chickens for 85 cents/pound and bone in chicken breasts for a dollar a pound! I don't bother with boneless/skinless since I can debone them myself and I prefer homemade broths and stocks. We eat a lot of chicken.

---------------

Our favorite very low cost meals include Senate Navy Bean soup, Dal and rice, and thai fried rice.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/extrahelpings/2009/01/a_capitol_idea_us_senate_navy.html (I use a real ham bone, as I don't care for ham hocks/steaks--I swear, I mostly buy bone in ham for the bone, lol)

Dal--we use a bunch of different recipes; many kinds to make.

https://cookieandkate.com/2014/spicy-kale-and-coconut-stir-fry/ (I add a crispy fried egg on top of it).

One tip I have for saving money with cooking is to save the containers your spices come in, and refill them from the bulk bins. The cost difference is huge. Or, if there aren't bulk bins where you shop, the Mexican section sometimes has packets that are cheaper than the standard containers (but more than bulk, and limited in variety).

Also, for French bread, make your own vs. a bakery loaf. This recipe uses so little yeast that our jar of yeast has lasted over a year, despite me barely ever buying bread except for sandwiches. It just takes time and the cost of flour, mainly.

https://leitesculinaria.com/99521/recipes-jim-laheys-no-knead-bread.html

Anyhow, this was too long. Cooking is my favorite subject, and cooking cheap is another favorite.

 

[kimblebee]

We like thighs a lot, too. A great and simple recipe for thighs is to debone a chicken thigh, pound it a little flatter, and fry it in a hot cast iron skillet with some oil. Then flip. Here's a more detailed recipe:

https://nomnompaleo.com/post/74180911762/cracklin-chicken

Wow! I buy bone in chicken thighs or whole chickens for 85 cents/pound and bone in chicken breasts for a dollar a pound! I don't bother with boneless/skinless since I can debone them myself and I prefer homemade broths and stocks. We eat a lot of chicken.

---------------

Our favorite very low cost meals include Senate Navy Bean soup, Dal and rice, and thai fried rice.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/extrahelpings/2009/01/a_capitol_idea_us_senate_navy.html (I use a real ham bone, as I don't care for ham hocks/steaks--I swear, I mostly buy bone in ham for the bone, lol)

Dal--we use a bunch of different recipes; many kinds to make.

https://cookieandkate.com/2014/spicy-kale-and-coconut-stir-fry/ (I add a crispy fried egg on top of it).

One tip I have for saving money with cooking is to save the containers your spices come in, and refill them from the bulk bins. The cost difference is huge. Or, if there aren't bulk bins where you shop, the Mexican section sometimes has packets that are cheaper than the standard containers (but more than bulk, and limited in variety).

Also, for French bread, make your own vs. a bakery loaf. This recipe uses so little yeast that our jar of yeast has lasted over a year, despite me barely ever buying bread except for sandwiches. It just takes time and the cost of flour, mainly.

https://leitesculinaria.com/99521/recipes-jim-laheys-no-knead-bread.html

Anyhow, this was too long. Cooking is my favorite subject, and cooking cheap is another favorite.

Honestly, I don’t know that I would trust meat for 85 cents a pound.

 

[quandrea]

As a tangent to more expensive meat in Canada, I’ve found recently that I’ve had to switch to organic chicken because the Prime chicken (a brand here in Canada) has become nearly inedible to my family. Chewy, off tasting, spongy....beyond weird. I won’t buy it anymore. Grocery bills are higher because of it, but we actually can eat the meals I cook again.

 

[bcla]

Honestly, I don’t know that I would trust meat for 85 cents a pound.

Maybe not in Canadian money. But I've gotten specials at Safeway where bone-in pork chops were 79 cents a pound. They were kind of thick and I usually cut out the bone, but it was of good quality.

But the real irony is that there used to be cheap cuts of meat/poultry such as brisket, chicken wings/drumettes, or oxtail. These were considered "peasant meat" that might be tough and require a long period of slow cooking to make tender enough to eat. However, somehow they've become popular and more expense. Oxtail isn't cheap any more, even though it still needs to be cooked for hours or under pressure. Obviously chicken wings are now popular as appetizers or even meals to the point where "boneless wings" made of formed chicken meat are a cheaper substitute than bone-in wings. I remember my parents going to a butcher and getting soup bones for free. All these cuts are expensive now - especially oxtail.

 

[kimblebee]

Maybe not in Canadian money. But I've gotten specials at Safeway where bone-in pork chops were 79 cents a pound. They were kind of thick and I usually cut out the bone, but it was of good quality.

But the real irony is that there used to be cheap cuts of meat/poultry such as brisket, chicken wings/drumettes, or oxtail. These were considered "peasant meat" that might be tough and require a long period of slow cooking to make tender enough to eat. However, somehow they've become popular and more expense. Oxtail isn't cheap any more, even though it still needs to be cooked for hours or under pressure. Obviously chicken wings are now popular as appetizers or even meals to the point where "boneless wings" made of formed chicken meat are a cheaper substitute than bone-in wings. I remember my parents going to a butcher and getting soup bones for free. All these cuts are expensive now - especially oxtail.

Ok thanks?

 

[bcla]

Ok thanks?

Sorry. Just a tangent.

Nobody remembers when there used to be cheap cuts of meat that ballooned in price?

 

[tasha99]

Honestly, I don’t know that I would trust meat for 85 cents a pound.

? It's Foster Farms brand at the grocery store. Not the most fancy of chicken brands, and I'm sure it's factory farming, but at least it doesn't have saline solution injected into it. Just spending more doesn't give something more value. I guess I could wait for it to go off sale.

Sorry. Just a tangent.

Nobody remembers when there used to be cheap cuts of meat that ballooned in price?

Happens all the time. We grew up eating tongue in my family, but now it's no longer cheap. Flank steak and skirt steak are a lot more now, too.

 

[bcla]

? It's Foster Farms brand at the grocery store. Not the most fancy of chicken brands, but at least it doesn't have saline solution injected into it. Just spending more doesn't give something more value. I guess I could wait for it to go off sale.

Often when you find that kind of price it's a "loss leader" (or with minimal profit) meant to draw in customers who they hope will buy something else.

Apparently Costco will sell a ~40 lb box of drumsticks for 70 cents a pound in my area. Not sure if the supplier is the same as in the photo.

https://www.costcobusinessdelivery....rumsticks,-40-lb-avg-wt.product.11609636.html

 

[kimblebee]

? It's Foster Farms brand at the grocery store. Not the most fancy of chicken brands, and I'm sure it's factory farming, but at least it doesn't have saline solution injected into it. Just spending more doesn't give something more value. I guess I could wait for it to go off sale.



Happens all the time. We grew up eating tongue in my family, but now it's no longer cheap. Flank steak and skirt steak are a lot more now, too.

I don't know Foster Farms. I agree though, at least it doesn't have brine in it.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

QUOTE="kimblebee, post: 59704205, member: 240334"]That’s what I was thinking, that maybe yours had been injected with a bunch of stuff. Our meat can’t be injected with hormones or steroids or anything so that makes it more expensive too.

I bought chicken once that had been salt brined and it was disgusting. I ended up throwing it all out (such a waste) because no matter what I did I couldn’t hide the salty taste.

Salt brining doesn't have to taste disgusting. I do my own brining (wet and dry) thus control the amount and type of salt in the final dish. Here's a chart that gives the science behind wet brining:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5804-brining-meat

Up until recently Butterball turkeys were only available pre-brined and I avoided them like the plague no matter how inexpensive they were. Maybe the food processor was following Butterball's technique and that's what you had.[/QUOTE]

As a vegetarian, there's soooo much I don't know about meat! There's so much I really don't care to know, but given that my DH and kids all eat meat, it definitely is beneficial that I learn these things!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Sorry. Just a tangent.

Nobody remembers when there used to be cheap cuts of meat that ballooned in price?

Absolutely. Variety meats used to be almost given away instead of the now 8 bucks a pound you can normally find it at in my area since they became "chi chi". Ox tails were a savory deal at 2 or 3.00/lb as opposed to the $10.00 I now pay. Makes a fine stew whether I cook them West Indian (bring on the thyme!) or French style. Finding pork leaf lard and caul to make my holiday pates is now a fight with the newly converted. I understand why the prices went up but still prefer the "old days" when it cost less and was easier to acquire, LOL.
For those who say "ewwww, yucky, and gross" to those type of meat cuts I just say more for me .

I do draw the line at chitlins though. I would only eat them if my Aunt Pat AKA as "the Georgia Peach" made them since not only did she season them well she cleaned 'em scrupulously. The term Aunt was an honorific since we really weren't related but she sure fed us like family.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

For those who say "ewwww, yucky, and gross" to those type of meat cuts I just say more for me .

Cut me some slack... Please?!? I don't eat this stuff... But at the same time I don't want to feed my family crap! Throw me a bone . I really have no idea what I'm doing cooking meat when all is said and done!

 

[NYCgrrl]

As a vegetarian, there's soooo much I don't know about meat! There's so much I really don't care to know, but given that my DH and kids all eat meat, it definitely is beneficial that I learn these things!

Cut me some slack... Please?!? I don't eat this stuff... But at the same time I don't want to feed my family crap! Throw me a bone . I really have no idea what I'm doing cooking meat when all is said and done!

Slack is not a meat cut I've heard of but bones, yes.....oops
.

First I have to say you are a fearless woman and obviously a caring parent and wife.
I was a vegetarian briefly until well err I started dating a guy who owned a burger restaurant- yeah the dedication was strong there.

There is a series of books now out of print that I recommend anyone looks for at their local used bookstore or via Ebay (normally cheaper at the bookstore). It's called the Good Cook series by Time Life:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Cook

I was more interested in some of the books than others (never purchased the full set) and when I attended the practical portions of my 101 classes in college they were a godsend to be ahead of the curve. I still use them to brush up on meat and fish and although there are recipes within I use it more for .....techniques and ways to cook various types of foods. The pictures are fanstasic as teaching tools.

 

[FayeW]

LOL. One of my cousins came across the border for dinner tonight and posted photos of the fine U.S. restaurant Olive Garden that I just learned have no locations in Canada.

It was a very sad day for me when Olive Garden closed. We had just moved to a city with an Olive Garden about 3 weeks before and I was very upset that it closed. We eat at OG every time we cross the border. I was very excited that they opened on in Watertown, NY about 4 years ago. It is 2.5 hours from us and we can usually find an excuse to make the trip a couple of times a year. Sadly, something they use on or in the salad makes me very sick within 30 mins of finishing my meal. Not sure if they are using some kind of spray on the vegetables to keep them fresh looking or what, but it is only at that location, and it has happened every time I've eaten there, so it's off the list now.

 

[tasha99]

Salt brining doesn't have to taste disgusting. I do my own brining (wet and dry) thus control the amount and type of salt in the final dish. Here's a chart that gives the science behind wet brining:

https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5804-brining-meat

Up until recently Butterball turkeys were only available pre-brined and I avoided them like the plague no matter how inexpensive they were. Maybe the food processor was following Butterball's technique and that's what you had.

I avoid prebrined meats in general. Until recently, the only place you could buy decent pork was at Costco, a butcher's, or the very expensive health food section of stores. Drove me nuts, but I'm seeing a lot more "dry pork" available, and for really cheap. You have to be careful with scallops, too, as if they're "plumped with a solution" or whatever euphamism they use, it's hard to brown them.

I often brine chicken myself, but like it to be my choice.

 

[bcla]

I don't know Foster Farms. I agree though, at least it doesn't have brine in it.

Foster Farms is a California operation, although they've branched out over the years to a few other states. It's kind of hard to describe, but they've tried to develop a reputation for doing things "the right way". They claim no hormones or steroids, but these are banned anyways by the USDA. They claim they don't inject with brine, which obviously adds weight that people end up paying for.

They run ads often to trying and portray themselves as a premium brand. Their biggest ad campaign was of a couple of chicken puppets (that ate junk food or were pumped with saltwater) trying to become Foster Farms chickens.

 

[NYCgrrl]

[QUOTE="tasha99, post: 59706832, member: 123930"]I avoid prebrined meats in general. Until recently, the only place you could buy decent pork was at Costco, a butcher's, or the very expensive health food section of stores. Drove me nuts, but I'm seeing a lot more "dry pork" available, and for really cheap. You have to be careful with scallops, too, as if they're "plumped with a solution" or whatever euphamism they use, it's hard to brown them.

I often brine chicken myself, but like it to be my choice.[/QUOTE]
Yes and a definite agreement.
Diver scallops are the way to go!

 

[bcla]

I avoid prebrined meats in general. Until recently, the only place you could buy decent pork was at Costco, a butcher's, or the very expensive health food section of stores. Drove me nuts, but I'm seeing a lot more "dry pork" available, and for really cheap. You have to be careful with scallops, too, as if they're "plumped with a solution" or whatever euphamism they use, it's hard to brown them.

I often brine chicken myself, but like it to be my choice.

Some of the worst when it comes to adding weight through water is frozen fish. We've been buying basa and pollock fillets. When we thaw them out it's pretty obvious that about half the weight is from liquid ice. I'll thaw at a low setting in the microwave and stop it. I'll see a solid sheet of ice just fall off the surface of the fillet.