Sesame chicken and broccoli with rice for 4 (adults plus adult children). Prices are guessing.

Chicken breast - $12
Rice - $1
Broccoli- $5
Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce - $4
Ginger, garlic, green onion, yellow onion, sesame oil, sesame seeds - $4

$26 - 1 serving left for lunch

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DIY Sushi night for 4 people
All food from HMart
Seaweed salad: $6
homemade asian carrot salad ~$4
homemade Snap pea/radish salad ~$4
homemade Roasted Miso Cauliflower ~$5
salmon sashimi $24
Broiled eel $10
Sushi rice ~$3
Nori ~ $3
Total about $70 with left overs for two lunches

That sounds delicious! Do you have recipes?

Did you buy the eel roasted? I have never done eel at home but it is a family favorite!

Thanks! It was a big hit with both kids which is always the guess work. I don’t do as many sides during the week, but try to get the variety in on the weekends. Broiled eel was made by HMart, I just had to reheat in the oven.

I consider recipes “inspired by” more than strictly followed, but here were tonight’s.

Cauliflower
https://www.justonecookbook.com/roasted-miso-garlic-cauliflower/

Carrot Salad

https://justbento.com/handbook/recipes-sides-and-fillers/easiest-ever-carrot-sesame-salad

Radish Salad

https://mybizzykitchen.com/2023/07/19/sugar-snap-pea-and-radish-salad/

93% fat free beef, grilled hamburgers - $6?
home-made hamburger rolls - $1?
lettuce and tomatoes - $1.50
corn on the cob - $1.50

This is for two people. Whatever meats are on sale is what I buy, and create meals around the protein source for the most part. Yesterday we had grilled shrimp over angel hair pasta in a creamy alfredo-style sauce, with tarragon as the starring spice. Tomato slices with mozzarella was our green, with a drizzle of olive oil. The shrimp were around $5 (from Costco), alfredo sauce scratch made from what I found in the fridge, and tomato plus mozzarella maybe $3 for two portions.

Grilled burgers $10 meat and $4 bun
Cape Cod chips 5$
Watermelon 4$

3 people ate with leftovers of everything.

Teriyaki Salmon (~$12, + a little teriyaki sauce from a bottle I already had in the fridge)
Broccoli (maybe $2 worth?)
Corn on the Cob ($2?)
Rica-a-roni ($2.39 I think)

So around $18 for three people (and there's enough leftover for my lunch tomorrow). Took 15-20 minutes to cook.

The kids had some ice cream for dessert which I am not going to cost out as it was from a large container.

Anonymous wrote:Family of 5 (with some leftovers):
Oven baked boneless chicken thighs with a dijon mustard sauce
Rice
Steamed green beans

It took about 30 minutes total.

The cost was maybe $15 total? The chicken was $12 because it was organic and I don't shop at Costco, and the green beans were pre-bagged organic; I had the rice, bread crumbs, buttermilk and mustard on hand.

That’s expensive for chicken, I’m the PP paying 1.19/ pound for organic bone-in chicken quarters.

^Chicken would be 10 minutes of prep for 40 minutes of cook time and pasta would be 15 minutes start to finish.

Typical for 3 people including a teen (with some leftovers for 1 likely) might be:

1 lb chicken tenders with bbq sauce, baked in the oven $8
2-3 russet potatoes, roasted with olive oil, onions, garlic $2.50
Salad with lettuce, peppers, cucumber, tomato, corn, and dressing $3 maybe? $4 if I also roast some summer squash.
If garlic bread that's another $1.50 for half a loaf.
So that is $15.

But pasta, sauce, and salad is closer to $5 (.60 for pasta, $2 for half a jar of not Rao's, and $3 for salad).

Family of 5 (with some leftovers):
Oven baked boneless chicken thighs with a dijon mustard sauce
Rice
Steamed green beans

It took about 30 minutes total.

The cost was maybe $15 total? The chicken was $12 because it was organic and I don't shop at Costco, and the green beans were pre-bagged organic; I had the rice, bread crumbs, buttermilk and mustard on hand.

Bone in Chicken leg quarters 1.19/pd, made 4 pds (4 quarters) and ate 2

Nitrite free bacon 7.99/pd used 1/4 pd,

Stove top stuffing 50c ate half

Gravy made from chicken and bacon drippings 25c for the flour, ate half

Pickled beets 7.99/ quart ate maybe 1/10th so .80c

Bag of frozen veggies $2/ ate half

Total meal about 10.00, enough for 2 hearty meals for 2 adults. Slow cooked chicken for 6 hours, stuffing and gravy took 20 minutes.

Steak, potatoes, Cesar salad / ~ $10/person

Grilled chicken and corn on the cob $5/ person

Pasta with veggies -$3/person

Chicken curry with peas and rice - $4/person

Anonymous wrote:DIY Sushi night for 4 people
All food from HMart
Seaweed salad: $6
homemade asian carrot salad ~$4
homemade Snap pea/radish salad ~$4
homemade Roasted Miso Cauliflower ~$5
salmon sashimi $24
Broiled eel $10
Sushi rice ~$3
Nori ~ $3
Total about $70 with left overs for two lunches

That sounds delicious! Do you have recipes?

Did you buy the eel roasted? I have never done eel at home but it is a family favorite!

DIY Sushi night for 4 people
All food from HMart
Seaweed salad: $6
homemade asian carrot salad ~$4
homemade Snap pea/radish salad ~$4
homemade Roasted Miso Cauliflower ~$5
salmon sashimi $24
Broiled eel $10
Sushi rice ~$3
Nori ~ $3
Total about $70 with left overs for two lunches

Anonymous wrote:I made enchilada casserole…leftover homemade tomato soup ($4) combined with leftover taco meat (IDK, meat came from one of our Angus steers). Add black beans ($1.39) and frozen corn from our farm last year ($0). Cheese ($3), and a few tortillas to make the layers ($1.50?). Fed our family of four with one portion of leftovers and enough enchilada sauce to make another one in a few weeks (froze it).

It is hard for me to figure the price of food because we make a lot of it ourselves, there are costs (like feed for the cows, fertilizer for the cornfields, etc.) and of course labor, but by the pound it’s hard to figure out.

Plus if you eat the cows or get milk you have to net that in.
...kidding

We had 12 people here for dinner, 8 of them tween or teen athletes. Not all my own kids!

I just did the math, and I spent $92.

Smoothies $25 (bananas ($2), frozen fruit ($13), frozen spinach ($2), yogurt ($8)

4 12 inch cheese pizzas $12 (whole wheat flour $4, canned tomatoes $2, tomato paste $1, mozzarella $5)

6 12 inch barbecue chicken pizzas $41 (whole wheat flour $6, bbq sauce $4, mozzarella $3, smoked gouda $13, costco chickens $12, onions $2, cilantro $1)

sides $14. (6 red peppers $9, frozen edamame, $3, applesauce $2)

So, $92. I'm not including things like yeast or the spices I put in the sauce, but on the other hand we have some leftovers ingredients.

As for how long? Well, the 2 year old "helped" so it took about a month. We had fun though!