"Joseph Littleshoes" wrote:
>> Jasper wrote:
>>
>>> I want to cook something delicious, but I do not
>>> have a big budget. It must be for 2 persons and
>>> it must be tasty and it must not cost more than
>>> $5.
>>
>>
>>> What can I cook for less than $5???
>
>
> I routinely make a big tossed green salad with marinated chicken for 2 for
> under $5.00.

When you say green salad you mean green literally, just lettuce and nothing
else. For $5 you're talking two small side dishes, not enough to call it a
meal... whaddaya, dive into the produce dumpster...

> Assuming the oil, vinegar and garbonzoes are 'on hand' and need not be
> purchased...

What kinda uniform commercial accounting system is that... wait'll you get
audited... hey, you gotta deduct those from the $5... or else you may as
well treat your guest to din-din at the local soup kitchen.

> I once calculated that a cup of vinaigrette after the initial purchase of
> the oil & vinegar costs about .20¢ per cup iirc.


What kinda oil, crankcase, used? Even the cheapest olive oil runs $1/cup,
maybe even more since my last purchase, was $17/3 liter can, and that for
store brand generic olive oil, I use it for general cooking... decent Goya
EVOO I use for salads, dipping, and other no-cook usage I pay like $17/pint.

If Jasper is really poor as he implies you should volunteer to take him
shopping with you, show him how you fill your pockets with free salad
dressing packets and other condiments at the fast food joints... and while
yer at it teach him how you nonchalantly palm the partially eaten bits off
the tables. LOL

For $6 one can buy a good sized whole roasting chicken ( I usually cut em in
eighths and bake em in a roasting pan, quicker cooking and less effort
serving), another buck will cover 4 medium russets to pop in the oven with
the chicken (either baked in jackets or wedged and roasted with the
chicken), and another buck will cover a bag of store brand frozen mixed veg
for the nuker.... now you spent $8 and have four decent meals for two (two
days dinners worth) and $2 left for incidentals... I bought a good sized
cantaloupe last week for $1.99, even though I ate half at a time it woulda
made four portions. I guess yoose drinking plain water. It's very
difficult to feed two adults something delicious and filling on $5) a kid's
happy meal at the Arches is $5. And it's not fair to swipe stuff that may
already be in the larder unless its cost is deducted from the $5.... I mean
I don't even need to shop and I can easy feed a hundred with what I have on
hand... and in fact the larger the quantity the less costly per and the
better the choices. I don't ever cook just enough for me for one meal
unless it's like fixing a sandwich or a bowl of ramen. I always cook enough
to feed me at least three times and three times left overs for freezing, and
that's a bare minimum. Even when I cook roasting chickens I always make two
big ones, it's not a lotta LOs... I got six cats that that won't eat beef
stew but they love chicky.