Hm… my usage of girly kitchenware in the pictures are sure to further speculation that I’m really a girl and not a guy. But hey, that shouldn’t matter, right? *Curtsies*

The other day, life doth handed me free lemons - thusly, I doth made lemonade. Now, I’ve never really made lemonade from scratch. Mostly because the price of lemons is just too high to justify squeezing them to make juice. Maybe if you bought them in bulk it’d be worth it. Or, perhaps if you went on a fruit collecting trip.

But usually, I get lemons for free from relatives who have the trees and don’t know what to do with the fruit. So, conveniently for the 3 dollars or less limit - the price of lemons is going to be zero in this recipe. Actually, the only other ingredient that actually costs money is the sugar. I looked up a number of different recipes on the web, and settled on a version of this one to try:

Lemonade

4-6 lemons — Free
1 cup granulated sugar — $0.25
Water
Ice

Total: $0.25

You want to make a sugar syrup so there isn’t sugar crystals swirling around in the lemonade. Combine about 1 to 2 cups water with the sugar in a small pan or pot and heat until the sugar dissolves all the way. While that’s going on, juice the lemons so that you get about a cup of juice. Usually about 4-6 lemons.

Mix the sugar syrup and lemon juice in a pitcher. Add about 3 cups ice and then 4-6 cups of ice water. I like to use ice because it decreases the time you need to refrigerate the mixture before it’s cold again. Usually you still need to refrigerate it 15-30 min. Serve in glasses with ice.

Well, as you can see, it’s no wonder why kids are pushed to start up lemonade stands. The margin is enormous if you happen to have the free lemons.

The above recipe felt kind of off to me - in fairness the author said that it would make a very, very sweet lemonade. I think I would have cut the sugar by even 1/2 next time. But I like lemonade that’s very mild. I do think the simple syrup idea helps out a lot, as opposed to trying to get pure sugar to dissolve in ice water.

Continue reading “Lemonade” …

Yep, two posts in one day again (I just moved the lemonade one forward in time so that it’s first). I seem to always catch these promotions at the last minute. This one is not so good anyhow, because you have to buy a drink. They call it “free”.

It’s already too late to get the biscuit breakfast sandwich, but for the rest of today (Thurs May 15, 2008) you can get a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s when you buy a medium or large drink.

I was wondering, what is it that makes this a “Southern Style” sandwich, is it just the coating on the chicken? Or is it the pickles?

I was originally going to make this review a Food Battle between Lays Sour Cream ‘n Onion Chips and these Thin & Crispy Sweet Maui Onion ChipsI found at the dollar store. I had big plans for the “battles” - they were going to become the signature review on Cheap Eats. But somehow, after having just the Pringles one, I lost interest. It’s just difficult (and contrary to the whole Cheap Eats manifesto) to keep buying similar products just to review them.

Also, like most people, I’ve been trying to cut out the unnecessary snacks. Getting a whole bag of Lays just to compare them would not be a good thing. Because I would be tempted to sit in front of the TeeVee and watch re-runs of MythBusters while eating the entire bag. Watching Adam and Jamie bust those myths is just so spellbinding that the motion of chip-to-mouth becomes dangerously automatic…

So anyhow, it’s just the one bag of potato chips up for review. I looked in vain on the packaging for another brand name besides Thin & Crispy. Nope - it’s like those generic blue and white brand items that just say “canned corn” or something. It was also difficult to find out who makes these - at the bottom corner of the bag it says “Snack Alliance Inc.” which sounds sort of sketchy. Er, I guess they’re not so proud of them?

I don’t know why they wouldn’t be proud, because these will give any brand-name thin chip a run for their money. As far as the name goes, they deliver exactly that - thin, crispy potato chips. Granted they’re laden with salt, fat, oil - but so are other brands of chips.

Like I’ve said, I’ve never run into freshness problems with dollar store items. This bag was no exception. The chips were plenty crunchy. In appearance and texture, they’re a bit “rougher” and maybe more rustic than standard Lays chips. They’re sort of a cross between Lays and maybe a lightly cooked kettle chip. None of the chips are really burnt, but you can see some of the edges have a little skin, are a little toasted and are sometimes more crumpled.

As far as taste goes, I really liked these. I believe there were three other flavors, but I’ve only tried the onion one so far. And when they say “Maui Onion” they mean standard onion powder (as far as i can tell). It’s sort of a tangy flavor combination, but I think that also comes from the sour cream or cheese solids added in. There isn’t a thick coating on the chips, I think it may actually have less than Lays does.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with my dollar bag of chips. The chips are so thin that even with this enormous looking bag, you’re only getting 6 ounces. I haven’t bought Lays in awhile, so I don’t know how their chips compare in price per weight. Buying a large econo-bag of Lays will probably be cheaper, but I’ll stick with the smaller bags unless there’s a party on the horizon.

Price: 99 cents for 6 oz. bag
Found At: Dollar Store
Cheap Eats Score: 7/10

This post could probably be summed up in just one paragraph of extremely short sentences:

Subway. Foot-Long Sandwich. $5. No Coupon required. Limited Time.

Done.

Ok, well I did do a little more work than that. I actually bought the sandwich and I took some pictures. I have been wanting to make a few posts about Subway on Cheap Eats for awhile now, and not because I think Jared is the coolest thing since sliced baguettes. (Actually, am I the only one who thinks he used up his 15 minutes many, many moons ago? Seriously, he seems like a nice guy but I was getting tired of his story.)

No, the real reason I haven’t made a post on Subway sandwiches yet is because every single time I order them I’m so hungry that I can’t be bothered with taking photos. For me, Subway is the fast food solution for days where I absolutely need to eat something immediately but don’t want to eat a hamburger, chicken or taco. We often do a pickup on weekends when I’m doing home repairs along with my dad - we could just make a sandwich but picking one up saves time. It’s fast, cheap, healthier than hamburgers and (usually) fresh.

What with the Recessedepression™ looming, fast food companies are pulling out the stops. This is great for Cheap Eaters. The 5 Dollar Footlong Deal sure got me in the door. What I like about it is you don’t have to buy a drink. For as we all know, fast food companies clean up on the margins for soft drink sales. The deal is also good for ANY footlong, which means you don’t have to worry if it’ll apply to your favorite sandwich. It also provides opportunity for some sort of variety.

Continue reading “Subway $5 Sandwich” …

Mm.. Crunch ‘n Munch. To make a short story longwinded, I was casting about trying to think of something to review for Earth Day. Something that would really speak to the heart of the matter about Us destroying the ozone and whatnot. I was going to be a real Green Hero by calling attention to the plight of Mother Earth.

Instead, as usual I caved to the pressure of cheap, preprocessed food bought at the Dollar Store. Truth be told, awhile back I stocked up on a number of different Cheap Eats items at the Dollar Store to review (the people who work there must think I’m insane buying all that random food). I guess Earth Day can wait another week. Not that I don’t think about the state of the environment.

So, about the Crunchity ‘n Munchity… I was going to insert a joke here about people having the “munchies” after ingesting the afterburn from certain plants, but since this is a family friendly website I decided against it.

I’ve been eating Crunch ‘n Munch, since the 70s or so. Made by ConAgra (who bought the rights from Franklin Nut Company?), this is pretty much in a similar vein to Cracker Jack and Fiddle Faddle. I’m not sure what it going on with the rhyming in all three of those names.

Cracker Jack is probably the most traditional and popular of the three, and for some reason I don’t think I’ve reviewed it yet. I’ll probably try get a hold of some if I can find it for cheap. Fiddle Faddle - I know it’s similar and I used to eat it that back in the day as well . For the life of me, I can’t remember how it was different than Crunch ‘n Munch - I think maybe it didn’t have any peanuts?

The Crunch ‘n Munch formula is basically clusters of sugar syrup coated popcorn with peanuts embedded in them. I got the “Caramel” variety which is different than the original flavor of Buttery Toffee. They also have an almond version of it.

I have to say that I was pretty pleasantly surprised with the flavor and quality. A side note: everyone thinks that stuff at the Dollar Store is “past it’s prime” and that’s how they can sell it for cheap. But so far, I haven’t had too many instances where the product was not fresh. This box of Crunch ‘n Munch tasted pretty fresh to me.

Continue reading “Crunch ‘n Munch” …

Oh boy, sorry about the delay with the postingness this week. I was too busy trying to locate the dirty nickels and dimes under the backseat of the Dodge so that I’d have enough coinage to purchase the prime real estate being offered for sale next to the Hollywood sign. I plan on setting up a competing sign that says “Cheap Eats” right next to it in order to get the word out. It’s only 22 million. My word, that’s pocket change after all the cash I saved eating ramen for dinner this year.

In other news, (the kind that’s based more on things like Reality) the actual reason I’m late is… I was planning on reviewing this little can of Armour Vienna Sausage that I got this week at the Dollar Store. Yes, yes - I know everyone’s shopping at these 99 Cent stores now that there’s a recession. But I got distracted by the prospect of writing a parody of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” wherein I substitute the “Nevermore” lines with “Dollar Store.” Thusly:

“Once upon a midnight dreary,
While I crammed, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious Cup ‘O Noodles.
Bored, while I nodded, nearly snacking,
Suddenly there came a crackling,
As of Twinkies gently unwrapping,
unwrapping at my dormroom door.
“‘Tis some dude,” I muttered,
“Wanting snacks implores, ‘Hey —
Let’s go to, the Dollar Store’”

Wow, that’s just too much effort to write stuff like that. I don’t know how Alton does it - oh that’s right, he has a gazbillion dollar budget.

Actually, that wasn’t the only reason this review is late. The real reason is that I’ve been staring with trepidation at that stolid little can of Frankenstein Franks on my desk for days now. For some reason, this time around I just didn’t have the courage to pull the tab on top. It didn’t help that somehow I picked out a can that had dents on it. Usually, I’m really careful about checking cans for dents but this one snuck through.

Finally, I got up the nerve to open the can and was greeted by the following wonderful geometrical meat-log layout:

Boy, they sure cram them in there. Not a millimeter to spare between the snausages. I was actually quite impressed they could fit 7 of the 2 inch logs in the can. I had a bit of a time getting them out without damaging them sort of had to tilt the can upside down and shake, like you do with Spam.

They were so tightly packed in there that they were stuck together a bit. This is rather nice and dramatic for taking pictures, as seen above. It’s almost like - cut fingers. Man, I needed to wipe that thought out of my head before tasting them.

I’m familiar with Vienna sausages - I always thought of them as Earthquake food. If you don’t live in California, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about. Well, it’s a good idea to keep a cache of canned food, water and a safety kit in several places in the house (and at work, and in your car) just in case The Big One™ doth strike.

The more preservatives in the food - the better. Otherwise, you’re going to have replace those cans every few years. Or not, I guess. Twinkies…

Anyhow, they’re made of chicken, beef and pork in chicken broth. I won’t begin to speculate on what parts of the three various animals are used. To me, they’re very similar to hot dogs in ingredients. However, they’ve got a “special” smell that’s hard to describe. If you’ve ever had Corned Beef Hash from a can, that’s what it smells like. Maybe also similar to Spam. My advice: Do Not Stop to Smell the Sausages. No. Proceed to mouth, pass go, and collect your $200.

The consistency is also a bit different than hot dogs. There is no “snap” whatsoever when you bite into one. It’s like a paté or something. It’s not as “fatty” as spam is. The taste is - well, interesting. I want to say it’s sort of bologna-ish. But not as good. Armour claims that they are the #1 brand of Vienna Sausage in America. All I can say is, I sure would not like to taste the #3 or #4 brand…

There is some occasional speck of “grit” you’ll notice when eating these. I was wondering if it’s ground up bone or something. I think any irregularities are more noticeable than in other meat puree products because the texture of Vienna Sausages is so fine.

To be truthful, I could only eat two of these doggies. That’s probably a good thing, since the recommended dosage is only three. And with that you get 17% of your total fat (19% of saturated fat), 14% of your cholesterol and 17% of your sodium. I ate mine at room temperature, plain. I was wondering - are there recipes for these Vienna Sausages? Is there a Vienna Sausage Cult I don’t know about? I’ve only had them plain, usually impaled on a toothpick as some sort of hors d’oeuvres. I wonder if people actually cook with them.

I don’t think they’ll be making a move into the main cupboard. For me, they’re going to remain as Earthquake Food rations. But at 50 cents for the one can, they seem like a decent buy for emergency food.

Edit: I actually fried up the remainder in a pan the next day, and I have to say they tasted a whole lot better. Still salty like heck, but if you eat it with toast or rice, it’s fine.

Price: $0.50 for 5oz can (7 sausages)
Found At: Dollar Store
Cheap Eats Score: 5/10

Gah, I hate it when I find out about these freebees at 11:30pm right about when I’m about to go to bed. Since the deal is for tomorrow April 8, 2008, I almost didn’t post it. I also had a hard time trying to cobble together the graphic above, since their site is nearly all in Flash. I really don’t like Flash, but that’s a grumbly story for another late night.

Ok, so at participating Jamba Juice locations tomorrow from store open until 10am, you can get a free 12oz. “Breakfast” product which includes Juice, Juicies, Chunky Strawberry, Granola Toppers or Yogurt Blends. I have no idea what all those are since I never go there - but hey whatever it is, it’s free. One important note - when they say not all locations are participating they mean it. If your Jamba Juice is in an airport, university, Safeway, VONS, Pavillions, Target or in Hawaii then it’s not valid. Whew. Ok, I’m going to sleep so enjoy your free Jamba Breakfast and tell me all about it if you happen to pick one up…