While down in Virginia to see our Eldest son late last week I did a bit of cooking for him. We didn't want to spend on Eating-out much and didn't want Eldest to pay for that either(Eldest is quite generous and will splash out for meals without being asked to pick up a tab.) Plus cooking is one of the few things I can do for him at his age. ;-)
He needed to go grocery shopping so I picked up a few items as well at Walmart when we went with him. Eldest always grocery shops at Walmart as he isn't into hunting the best price and can't be bothered to go from store to store so he shops at "the Mart" as it's convenient and he uses their Savings Catcher feature.
Eldest loves leftovers and his usual MO when cooking is the prepare a large container or two of some food and eat off of it for dinner all week. He cooks well but he really doesn't want to spend his precious free time during workdays making meals so this works for him....cooking on weekends and eating the leftovers during the week.
I purchased a small beef roast, a package of 4 boneless pork loins(prepped like a cube steak and discounted), a pack of hamburger rolls, a head of lettuce, 2 lbs. of whole mushrooms, a canister of panko bread crumbs, a bottle of ketchup and 1 onion. I had also picked up a container of sour cream at Aldi's when Hubs and had gone there the day before while Eldest was working.
I spent $30.09 on all this.
I also had at my disposal, back at his apartment, cooking oil, flour, spices, rice and mayo.
Before we went out on Saturday I prepped the beef roast by halving it. I cut one half into bite-sized pieces and used them in a large pot of Beef Stroganoff along with the whole 2 lbs. of mushrooms(which got added later). The ratio was 2/3 'shrooms to 1/3 meat basically. It cooked away in a crock pot most of the day and was served over rice that evening. This fed the three of us handily(Eldest had seconds)and also left him at least 3 additional meals worth for later.
On Sunday I prepped the pork pieces, first by flattening them more, then salting and peppering them. Each was coated in seasoned panko and sauteed in a skillet, then drained on paper towels. Add lettuce(slice of raw onions and tomato optional)and mayo on a warm bun and you've got a filling pork tenderloin sandwich, something I developed a taste for in the Midwest a few Summers ago.
I had planned to serve these for lunch on Sunday but Hubs and I decided to bug out on Sunday rather than Monday so I prepared these for breakfast on Sunday instead.
By flattening the pork slices I was able to get 7 portions(3 were large enough to cut them in half after pounding them)that would fit on a hamburger bun. After we ate our fill, Eldest was left with two portions to eat at another time.
The other half of the beef roast was frozen for later use. I told Eldest he could season it and put it in his crock pot to cook while he was in school and just throw a potato and some other veg in the microwave when he got home and have dinner ready in short order.
I also recommended the leftovers of his roast could be cut up and with the addition of carrots, onions, garlic, and any other veg he preferred(potato, green beans, etc.)in his crockpot he could have a nice stew later on. I figure using that hunk of roast this way would get him at least 3 more servings from it. Adding it to a stew with vegetables would extend how many meals it would make.
All totaled I spent $30.09 on 14 helpings of meals(both the ones we ate then and the ones that will be eaten later).
Plus Eldest got to keep half the container of sour cream, most of a bottle of ketchup, most of a head of lettuce, 3 hamburger buns and half a canister of panko crumbs to incorporate into future meals.
If Eldest had all 14 helpings for himself this would have fed him for lunches and dinners for a whole week.
Sluggy
He needed to go grocery shopping so I picked up a few items as well at Walmart when we went with him. Eldest always grocery shops at Walmart as he isn't into hunting the best price and can't be bothered to go from store to store so he shops at "the Mart" as it's convenient and he uses their Savings Catcher feature.
Eldest loves leftovers and his usual MO when cooking is the prepare a large container or two of some food and eat off of it for dinner all week. He cooks well but he really doesn't want to spend his precious free time during workdays making meals so this works for him....cooking on weekends and eating the leftovers during the week.
I purchased a small beef roast, a package of 4 boneless pork loins(prepped like a cube steak and discounted), a pack of hamburger rolls, a head of lettuce, 2 lbs. of whole mushrooms, a canister of panko bread crumbs, a bottle of ketchup and 1 onion. I had also picked up a container of sour cream at Aldi's when Hubs and had gone there the day before while Eldest was working.
I spent $30.09 on all this.
I also had at my disposal, back at his apartment, cooking oil, flour, spices, rice and mayo.
Before we went out on Saturday I prepped the beef roast by halving it. I cut one half into bite-sized pieces and used them in a large pot of Beef Stroganoff along with the whole 2 lbs. of mushrooms(which got added later). The ratio was 2/3 'shrooms to 1/3 meat basically. It cooked away in a crock pot most of the day and was served over rice that evening. This fed the three of us handily(Eldest had seconds)and also left him at least 3 additional meals worth for later.
On Sunday I prepped the pork pieces, first by flattening them more, then salting and peppering them. Each was coated in seasoned panko and sauteed in a skillet, then drained on paper towels. Add lettuce(slice of raw onions and tomato optional)and mayo on a warm bun and you've got a filling pork tenderloin sandwich, something I developed a taste for in the Midwest a few Summers ago.
I had planned to serve these for lunch on Sunday but Hubs and I decided to bug out on Sunday rather than Monday so I prepared these for breakfast on Sunday instead.
By flattening the pork slices I was able to get 7 portions(3 were large enough to cut them in half after pounding them)that would fit on a hamburger bun. After we ate our fill, Eldest was left with two portions to eat at another time.
The other half of the beef roast was frozen for later use. I told Eldest he could season it and put it in his crock pot to cook while he was in school and just throw a potato and some other veg in the microwave when he got home and have dinner ready in short order.
I also recommended the leftovers of his roast could be cut up and with the addition of carrots, onions, garlic, and any other veg he preferred(potato, green beans, etc.)in his crockpot he could have a nice stew later on. I figure using that hunk of roast this way would get him at least 3 more servings from it. Adding it to a stew with vegetables would extend how many meals it would make.
All totaled I spent $30.09 on 14 helpings of meals(both the ones we ate then and the ones that will be eaten later).
Plus Eldest got to keep half the container of sour cream, most of a bottle of ketchup, most of a head of lettuce, 3 hamburger buns and half a canister of panko crumbs to incorporate into future meals.
If Eldest had all 14 helpings for himself this would have fed him for lunches and dinners for a whole week.
Sluggy
This is the smart way to travel - cook in the places you can. It's always cheaper that way. For the same amount of money that you would have spent on one cheap meal for 3 - and I do mean very cheap meal you got several meals and leftovers. Which I'm sure your son appreciated. Plus you taught him a little more about food and food prep in the process. Good mommy. lol. I feed my grown son a lot. He lives in the same town as me and my other one is a chef and lives 500 miles away so he feeds me when I visit! Take care.
ReplyDeleteGlad you guys could be there for him. He probably misses your home cooking
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you left a little comfort with him. You taught him well, if he cooks for the week. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI can relate. I am staying with Buttercup for the month, and we've only gone out to eat a few times. The rest we have made meals at the house. I've cooked some, she has cooked some and even her fiance has cooked. It's been a blessing this time as last time they did not have a working kitchen and we ate out every meal. One can only do fast food so often.
ReplyDeleteNow I want beef stroganoff..
ReplyDeleteVery nice of you to help stock his food supply! I have done that for Son1's family, not so much for Son3. Son2 just eats with us whenever he happens by.
ReplyDeleteAnother bonus: The meals sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteHave not been reading my frugal sites this past week (been too busy to sit down to read). But tonight when I tried to go to "Frugality, Financial Independence" the site was not there anymore. Any ideas where it disappeared to? Penny S.
ReplyDeletePenny, American Dreamer took her blog down due to the Equifax security breach as she felt there was too much financial and identifying info. on it. She put a post up before she deleted the blog to let everyone know but I guess you missed that.
DeleteShe did say she'd be back later with a new blog and I'll post the info on my blog when she does. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the information. No, I did not see the post she put up before deleting her blog. But I felt like you would know what was going on. Penny S.
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