I need to become a short order cook!! Thanks for all the great info!! On 2022-08-25 14:15, Steve Litt via PLUG-discuss wrote: > On Wed, 2022-08-24 at 17:05 -0700, Keith Smith via PLUG-discuss wrote: >> >> Hi, >> >> I just went to 5 guys in Chandler and ordered 2 double cheeseburgers, >> a >> large Fry, and large fountain drink.  It was for me and my wife.  We >> usually only get one cheeseburger, however she wanted one by herself. >> >> Here is the punch line  :  almost $40.00. Yes you saw that correctly. >> >> About 8 years ago we stopped going out to eat for the most part when 2 >> combination plates of Mexican food with drinks came to $40.00.  We >> decided to not eat out and very rarely do so. > > It's the hip thing these days to charge a fortune, chintz on the > product or service, > goof it up, then blame it on unavailability of employees, the supply > chain, or > whatever political party you hate, and then laugh all the way to the > bank on the > customer's dime. > > Stop the madness. If a business charges outrageously and/or stinges on > the > product/service, cross them off your list. If gas costs too much, use a > bicyle, > public transportation, carpool, whatever, and also next time get a > 50mpg car. > > In other words, don't support the ripoff artists with your money. > Saves you money, > and benefits society by bringing down inflation. I wish everybody did > this. > >> >> Any thoughts on places to get halfway decent food for a reasonable >> cost? > > Canned vegetables are still cheap. Eggs are still relatively cheap. I > just bought > red cabbage at $1.49/pound. Nutritious, can be boiled into a soup, and > in a real > pinch (for lack of money or to lose weight) can substitute for bread > in a sandwich. > >> >> I think I may evaluate making my own burgers.  With the cost of beef >> we >> eat very little. > > Costco sells a pack of about 12 or 15 frozen burger patties for (IIRC) > under twenty > bucks. One burger plus a little beans and/or cabbage satisfies you > unless you're > REALLY hungry. I fry them approximately 3 minutes on each side, at > medium-high heat, > and they come out delicious. > > If you search, you can find fairly cheap breaded fish filets you can > just bake for > 26 minute, flip at minute 13. If you set an alarm, you can do other > things while > they cook. Not as nutritious as fresh fish, but preparation time is a > tiny fraction, > and you don't need to cook them the second you get home. > > I sometimes put oil on the bottom of the frying pan, open 1 can of > garbanzo beans > and 1 can of spinach, rinse in the can with tap water to get all the > salt out, throw > them in the frying pan, mix them together, throw on the spices of your > choice, and > if you like hot, some hot sauce, cook with a lid on medium-high heat > until the water > evaporates but before things start to burn. However, you need to > attend it to flip > things over so the bottom layer doesn't get burned. This is a good > activity while > you wait for your fish in the oven. > > I don't drink coffee, but if I did, I'd get instant coffee like > https://www.nescafe.com/us/products/tasters-choice/ . It's probably > about 15 cents a > cup. Don't make Howard Shultz even richer by shopping at Starbucks or > some other > yuppie coffee joint. And oh, for gosh sakes, don't get those buck a cup > coffee > makers that require a special kind of coffee cartridge. I think > Lennart Poettering > invented those. > > For those who like it hot, consider Da Bomb Beyond Insanity hot sauce: > > https://www.mohotta.com/product/da-bomb-beyond-insanity/Hot-Sauce > > This sauce is so hot and so concentrated that a drop in a quart of > soup will make > the soup fairly hot (too hot for some), and add tremendous taste. I > guarantee you > that if you put this stuff on or into food (use very little), it won't > be tasteless. > You know the rubber chicken always served at catered events? A tiny > smearing of Da > Bomb will make the rubber chicken taste very interesting. For me, one > bottle of this > sauce is a 4 month supply, so don't let the fifteen dollar (plus > shipping) expense > disuade you. It costs less than the tax on your Internet or cell phone > service. > Besides, you can probably find it on sale. Don't get anything hotter: > The hotter > ones smell bad and burn your digestive system. > > I don't think we can discuss food without discussing time. A lot of > ordering out > happens because of lack of cooking time. It doesn't have to be that > way. I'm not a > chef, I'm a short order cook. When picking what to cook, my main > priority is > minimizing what needs to be washed afterward. Second priority is quick > cooking time. > You know these guys on TV who have acres of prep area, and who mix in > stuff in three > different bowls, and sequentially wait for cooking task A to be done > before cooking > task B gets done? Looks good on TV, but not for the guy who just > worked a 12 hour > day and needs sleep. If it's not quick, easy and uses just one pot or > pan, I'm not > gonna do it. > > As far as taste, that can usually be kludged in with powdered onions, > powdered > garlic, pepper, hot sauce, and other quick to sprinkle spices. But not > too many > spices. My experience tells me that spices are like medicines: The > more you use, the > more likely adverse interactions. > > HTH, > > SteveT > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss