What would you be eating?

[Cantousent]

I use a lot of ground turkey in lieu of ground beef. It really depends on what I'm making and for whom. Just something on any given night, I'll use less expensive cuts. For something like bulgogi or stir fry, I'll use tri tip. I could go for something more expensive, but it's going to be cut into strips anyhow. It's not like a steak. I could even go for a london broil cut, but I've always found it to be tough and not that much less expensive. Of course, I tend to marinade stuff between 24-48 hours and then cook it slow which makes for some tender meat. Some stuff is cooked hotter, though, and so you can't count on slow cooking to make it tender. Of course, sometimes things taste good nice and crunchy. Kind of like charred bits when you sear the meat. mmmMMMMM

 

I've always prefered thighs and other dark meat from chicken, but the wife hates skin, bones, and dark meat. :Cant's sighing icon: So I tend to buy and cook the boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breasts or tenders. Makes for very boring fried chicken in my opinion, but the wife likes it.

 

Chili is also good and cheap. And the beans are good for you, kind of like the lentils ol' Grom mentions. I cook it with meat most of the time but, since there's just the two of us, I'm likely to split one package of ground turkey/beef in half and have mostly black or pinto beans.

 

There are two things that can save money: use as much as you can of what you prepare, such as using the broth from cooked meat or saving the goose fat for other dishes later. The other thing is to make it yourself if you can. Generally speaking, you're better off buying beans and making your own refried beans. Tastes better too. The downside is that it usually takes a lot longer. ...And there are caveats. Frozen veggies are often healthier than buying 'fresh' vegtables unless you're getting them from close to the place of produce and close to harvest time.

 

But it's gone from your favorite cheap meal to a discussion of preparation. If we get to the point of posting a lot of recipes, I'll throw out my hot and tasty Jerk Sauce Bulgogi and Five Alarm Chicken Cacciatore.

[Gorth]

The only thing I'll say about lentils is, they sure need a lot of curry to lend it any flavour. Maybe it's just because an Indian couple in New Zealand introduced me to them.

 

Speaking of curry, it looks like chicken breast is on the menu for tonight. Too incompetent (and lazy) to make curry myself (Woolworth to the rescue), but apart from that, it's fast and dead easy to make. Got some nice Chardonnay in the fridge too. Yes, fridge temperature is really too cold, but since room temperature is getting close to 30 degrees at this time of year, there really isn't any middle ground.

[Tigranes]

I love curry and can make it pretty decently, but it just takes too long to let it cook properly.

 

And then, the smell...

[Cantousent]

I love curry and can make it pretty decently, but it just takes too long to let it cook properly.

 

And then, the smell...

Come on, Tig, my Korean friend. You should be eating Kimchi and Bulgogi. :Cant's teasing icon: I have to admit, I've never tried to make Kimchi, though. Great stuff. Smells to all heaven, but leaves Curry in the dust. Of course, I have to admit I love Curry also. MMMMM

[Malcador]

Odd enough I dislike curry, and it's hugely popular back home, heh. Should try eating something fancier than rice and kidney beans twice a week, hm.

[LadyCrimson]

I can't stand curry. My whole family loves it...which is probably one reason I stopped going to most of the family dinners etc. They all started making/eating all these dishes I dislike.

 

But I do love kimchi...and sauerkraut. The Korean exchange my parents had many years ago used to make kimchi, and when she visited the States now and then over the years, she'd make/bring over a huge glass jar of it. She likes using root vegies vs. cabbage sometimes, not sure what it is, kind of radish like. It's good too.

[Cantousent]

I use Daikon to make something like Kimchi. Kimchi itself uses cabbage, but there are a lot of variants.

 

I also love Sauerkraut. I just lurve it on grilled hot dogs and burgers. The wife hates the smell (same with kimchi) so I tend to eat them rarely, but great stuff.

[Tigranes]

Making kimchi 'properly' is a mission. It takes experienced moms days of work, which, from what I see, mostly involves heavy duty wrestling with large units of cabbage.

 

There's a lot of different types - in Korea there are weird ones like crab-kimchi-soup-thing (which is actually nice and not crazy like it sounds), cold kimchi soup that's not spicy at all, etc.

 

I buy mine and make stuff with it. It's great how many Korean dishes are pretty much "add x with kimchi, let cook".

 

Speaking of curry, I may be in India next month.

[Enoch]

Got some nice Chardonnay in the fridge too. Yes, fridge temperature is really too cold, but since room temperature is getting close to 30 degrees at this time of year, there really isn't any middle ground.

The rule of thumb I've always heard is that reds go into the fridge 20 minutes before serving, and whites come out of the fridge 20 minutes before serving.

 

 

I figured out how to nicely saute brussels spouts earlier this week. I was one of the millions who were traumatized as children by boiled sprouts, so they spent a long time on my "why would I want to eat that?" list. But they can be pretty darn good when cooked competently. (I hear that roasting works, too.)

[Walsingham]

Had some more bad news on the work front last thing, so needed some comfort food that was cheap-ish. Fried some beef shin until the fat crisped, then added water and a big bag of fresh spinach. Black pepper, chicken stock cube, paprika. Boiled until spinach soft, pureed with stick blender, added a cup of milk. Loads of nutrients.

[Nepenthe]

Got some nice Chardonnay in the fridge too. Yes, fridge temperature is really too cold, but since room temperature is getting close to 30 degrees at this time of year, there really isn't any middle ground.

The rule of thumb I've always heard is that reds go into the fridge 20 minutes before serving

Anyone who has mentioned "red" and "fridge" in the same sentence should be executed and dumped in an unmarked pit. Carry on.

[Walsingham]

I was merely going to raise one eyebrow. But I'm English, so that's nearly the same thing as machinegunning and pit-burial.

[Cantousent]

Virtually no wine is actually best served at warm temperatures. Putting a red in the fridge a tad before serving just gets it into the right temperature range. Most wine shouldn't really be stored in the fridge. You chill a white before serving best by putting it in a mixture of ice and cold water. If you keep reds in a cellar, then you might have to bring them up closer to room temperature. I keep my house at about 72 degrees F or so. That's warmer than I think just about any red. Hell, even Shiraz should be served in the mid 60s. You can get away with keeping port at about 70 degrees, though, once you've opened the bottle.

 

I would like to pretend that I'm a true oenophile, but the fact is I drink far too much of it, and far too quickly, to call myself a connoisseur. I love ports and sherrys, but they can be a bit sweet and the alcohol content tends to be much higher. I prefer reds, but I drink a lot of white wine also. The wife prefers fruity whites, which is why I get stuck drinking box wine with names like "crisp white" or "table white."

 

I love veggies and always have. My wife hates most of them, so I tend not to get a wide variety unless I go out of my way. I do make a homemade chicken pot pie with fresh peas and carrots that the wife loves, though. I've always had an affinity for brussel sprouts, but I've always had them with a butter or cheese sauce. When I cook, I probably use bell peppers more than anything. I think they can be great for adding flavor to a marinade and grill well also. Still, can't get stuck in a rut. You have to try different things in order to have variety.

[Nepenthe]

I was merely going to raise one eyebrow. But I'm English, so that's nearly the same thing as machinegunning and pit-burial.

I have pent-up frustrations.

[Walsingham]

I was merely going to raise one eyebrow. But I'm English, so that's nearly the same thing as machinegunning and pit-burial.

I have pent-up frustrations.

 

I'm English