11/20/07 | Happy Thanksgiving 2007
[ Currently Eating: Leftover Chicken Lasagna ]
Hi there Cheap Eaters - well, it’s Thanksgiving time already and I’m already running around starting the prep for the turkey (cooked Alton Brown style as usual) and other dishes. So, I don’t have much time to blog - in lieu of the usual wit and repartee, here are three different dish pics representing “eating out”, “buying prepared food and eating in” and “eating in from scratch”:
Ah yes, fish tacos. There’s a halfway decent place near us called Dorados that has fried fish tacos with cabbage, salsa, guacamole - $2 per taco (they used to be less). Not the cheapest, but we like these a lot as far as the fried fish tacos go.
Have you ever tried taking a pic by holding the camera in one hand and a wild, flopping half-eaten fish taco in the other? Not the easiest of things…
I often make a quick pit stop at Trader Joe’s… that is when there’s parking in the lot. For the longest time I was under the impression that this is a high-end foodie shop for those with wallets fatter than a Burger King Enormous Omelet Sandwich. However, there are certain products that are much cheaper at Trader Joe’s than in normal supermarkets. Things like mushrooms, Lactaid, arugula - I find they’re much cheaper (and more fresh) than the average supermarket.
Also, since I’m at the market anyway, I often pick up a package of their pre-made pasta thingies to cook at home for lunch - they have ravioli, tortellini, lasagna, and so-on. These Pesto Tortellini were very good, and I think the one package was about $2.25 or so. It was much more than I could eat as well. I figure an average Healthy Choice frozen dinner is $2, so why not go with the fresh stuff. Simple butter garlic sauce, with some grated parmesan on top.
Finally, this is supposed to be Chicken Chile Verde made from scratch, but it turns out I made it too salty so I had to keep diluting the heck out of it until it became Chicken Soup. It was pretty good, sort of like Tortilla Soup you get at restaurants. I often make Chile Verde Pork, but I had some chicken breast in the fridge so I decided to try that instead. On reflection, it looks an awful lot like Progresso Soup. The amount of effort I put into it versus opening a can of soup - I don’t want to talk about that. =) But I’ll try get a recipe up if I make it again.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:14 pm
I used to feel the same way about Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. In fact, a couple of months ago I went into Whole Foods looking for something to review and left empty-handed because I realized that I was too poor to be shopping there. You’re right, though, produce and food made by the store are usually reasonably priced and tasty. I was a reluctant convert.
November 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 am
Trader Joe’s is nothing like Whole Foods. The selection is mediocre but it is WAY cheaper on so many items, cheaper even than most conventional grocery stores. Also, foodies don’t generally love TJ’s house items. But even looking at the wine prices will tell you you’re getting deals.
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Speaking of Trader Joe’s and Chicken Chile Verde (yours looked great), Trader Joe’s carries a Chicken Chile Verde in the frozen section. It’s very reasonably priced but I add lots of lime juice and a little flour to thicken it up a bit. With those additions, it’s delicious.
November 22nd, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Ace - I haven’t really looked at Whole Foods yet, but I’ve been meaning to look at it.
Fat Louie - yep, the wine is definitely a deal.
Nana - Oh yeah, I saw the chicken chile verde the other day. I was meaning to try it later on.
November 26th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Next time you err on the salty side, try cutting a potato in half and throwing that in. It’ll soak up some of the salt. Take it out before eating, of course!