thetoymaker ([info]thetoymaker) wrote,
@ 2008-12-06 13:55:00
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Delicious and Nutritious

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I read this article about the "Unhealthiest City in America"
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081117/ap_on_he_me/med_unhealthiest_city
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And the thing that stuck in my mind was this bit...
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Fast food has become a staple, with many residents convinced they can't afford to buy healthier foods, said Keri Kennedy, manager of the state health department's Office of Healthy Lifestyles.
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Kennedy said she had just seen a commercial that presented "The KFC $10 Challenge." The fried-chicken chain placed a family in a grocery store and challenged them to put together a dinner for $10 or less that was comparable to KFC's seven-piece, $9.99 value meal.
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We are up for that challenge! In the red corner we have Colonel Harland Sanders at 118 years old vs "The Boy", age twelve. He is going to make his world famous Shepherd's Pie and chopped green salad.
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Any other takers? Can you feed four people a delicious meal for ten bucks? Here are the capricious and arbitrary rules. Any staples that you have already like flour and condiments don't count. Any ingredients that you can scrounge up for free or grow yourself are okay. Post pictures!
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Times are tough! Get cookin!
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Marilyn.
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[info]jehannamama
2008-12-06 10:43 pm UTC (link)
I go for loss leaders then buy up in bulk. We have a freezer. I can get boneless/skinless breasts for under $2/lb about once a month, and I buy about eight of the big family packs. One family pack makes way more chicken breast tenders than in a KFC meal. Cabbage, whole carrots and instant mashed potatoes are cheap, so that takes care of the main sides. A can of broth and corn starch is cheap and you can do gravy with that, but I don't bother. We don't eat much gravy unless I do pot pies.

I have to make our chicken anyway because I can't eat wheat, so I make it with rice flour or masa harina, and often bake it so it's lower in fat. Price goes up a couple of bucks if I use ground rice crackers. I keep spices on hand at all times. Costs me about $11 to make enough for two meals for the three of us.

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[info]thetoymaker
2008-12-06 10:51 pm UTC (link)
Brilliant! Could you post your masa harina crust recipe? Sounds delish!
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Marilyn.


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[info]jehannamama
2008-12-07 10:02 pm UTC (link)
No recipe really. I wash the chicken. I don't often dip it in anything but sometimes yogurt is good. I just add whatever spices I want to use - sometimes ground bay and ground rosemary and Mrs Dash with some white pepper. When I can use hot spices I use paprika, cumin, and some hot pepper, and put the chicken in some yogurt with hot sauce mixed in to marinate it an hour or so, then shake that off. Then I add the spices to some dry masa harina in a gallon sized ziplock. Drop the pieces in one at a time and shake them. After shaking the excess off a bit, I either dry them a little while before frying, which makes them crisper, or put them on a greased cookie sheet, spray them with Pam, and stick in a 435 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes until browned a bit.

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[info]capemaynuts
2008-12-06 11:03 pm UTC (link)
Jimminy Cricket, I feed my family of 5 on less then $10 all the time! Admittedly its not always the healthiest but still better then fast food.
One of my favorites is because of its ease is my version of Lemon Chicken. One lb of chicken breasts($4 or less if its on sale) cut up into bite sized pieces. A couple of tablespoons of oil(@$0.50 worth) A tablespoon of Mrs Dash's garlic and herb (@$0.30worth) and a few splashes of concentrated lemon juice(@$0.25worth) I round it out with 2 bags of instant rice (@$1.50) and some frozen vegies which I usually get on sale for under $1.50. Then if I've got some, I rinse a bag of prepared salad and we're eating dinner. I'm estimating on the high side. It's probably even less.
Another cheap meal is pasta ($1.25) Tomato sauce ($2.50) frozen vegies($1.50) and garlic bread. My dad is a baker and gets me kaiser rolls for free, so I only pay for the margarine and the Mrs Dash seasonings. I sometimes cut up hotdogs and toss them into the tomato sauce to add substance and make the carnivores happy. But even then its still under $10. I'm thinking this just might be tonight's dinner.
Last night I made homemade chicken tenders. The tenders were precut at the store, all I had to do was bread them and toss them in the fry pan. Then with it we had frozen corn and Pillsbury's biscuits in a tube. I was running late and needed quick. From start to finish, took 30 minutes and that was because I forgot to put the biscuits in when I started the chicken. But even in a rush, I know the meal cost less then $10. And that includes the Ken's Honey Mustard dipping sauce my dd uses on everything. (Ok, it does taste delish on the chicken!)
I just don't understand how anyone could think buying fastfood is cheaper then cooking simple good food at home.
Ida

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[info]thetoymaker
2008-12-06 11:40 pm UTC (link)
The boy bakes his chicken tenders in the oven and I am told that they are quite tasty.

"Simple Good Food at Home" = Yay!

Marilyn


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[info]capemaynuts
2008-12-06 11:47 pm UTC (link)
I prefer them in the oven too, but its faster in the fry pan. My oven takes forever to warm up. Its a really old. If I have time, I do them in the oven.

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[info]alierakieron
2008-12-06 11:12 pm UTC (link)
Sausage, potato, cheese, and egg caserole! Half a package of jimmy dean's, 4 pounds (or so) of potatoes boiled with a few cloves of garlic, 4 eggs, and 4 oz. cheddar. Toss the eggs and sausage together, beat the eggs and mix them in, top with the cheese.
Gets even better with a little bit of sour cream and salsa...

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[info]thetoymaker
2008-12-06 11:30 pm UTC (link)
How long to bake and at what temp?

Sounds like it make a hardy breakfast.

Marilyn.

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[info]alierakieron
2008-12-07 01:20 am UTC (link)
Eh, 375 until the egg sets, generally about 25 minutes. Or, if you're in a rush, you can simply do it all in the skillet you use to brown the sausage. If you REALLY want to speed the process (but add 2 dollars to the cost) you can use the pre-packaged loose hashbrowns.

Yeah, I love it for breakfast or for a cold-winter's-night dinner.

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[info]thetoymaker
2008-12-07 03:24 am UTC (link)
rubs tummy

:-)

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[info]pamola
2008-12-08 12:20 am UTC (link)
There seems to be a number of ways to beat this challenge: Most pasta dishes, soups and salad, shopping the loss leaders, etc.

But I feel the error is to compete meal against meal. You can eat more frugally if you are not making just one meal. It could be like making double batches of enchiladas and freezing one(economies of scale). It could be more along the reuse: Bake a whole chicken, which later becomes bits and bones for a soup.

Our dinner tonight: Pulled apart barbecue (w/ on sale chicken) seasoned with a marinade bought with triple coupons for next to nothing. This was accompanied by half a package of broccoli slaw (I'm taking wasabi and mayo as a free ingredients as they lives in our cupboard/refrigerator) and baked sweet potato wedges(we live in sweet potato county and have a bushel we bought from the farm, this probably breaks the rules). Buns were left over from an earlier dinner.

Yes I don't like KFCs rules as they get to use economies of scales versus going to supermarket and buying small quantities for a similar meal.

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[info]pamola
2008-12-08 12:25 am UTC (link)
forgot to mention the barbecue was done in a crockpot so we could go see our community's production of Ahmahl and the Night Visitors. There is a great cookbook called "Not Your Mother's Crockpot Cookbook" which suggests how to do a variety of meals of the put it in an leave it while you do other things.

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eating
(Anonymous)
2008-12-10 08:40 pm UTC (link)
this is a great idea. Kelsey and myself are also trying to find 5 dollar options for 2. I've tried twice and both times ended up spending 7 dollars on the full meal. I need a little more practice. It's a good goal to go after, and I love reading about your cooking adventures.

We've also become vegetarians. We are eating lots of tempeh and black beans now. I am loving it.

Thanks for being good healthy role models for us.

Billy/William

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Re: eating
[info]thetoymaker
2008-12-13 05:23 pm UTC (link)
Billy! Hello!

Try ten dollars and get two meals out of it. I'll post my buddy Alex's Killer potato veggie chili recipe when I get a chance.

Glad to hear that you and the lovely Kelsey are doing well and eating healthy.

(I"m also laughing because Ronn just brought me a French Cruller. Which is delicious.)

Hugs to all,

MSW

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