A Tasty Meal for Under $10!

Citymama’s $10 food challenge has been quite eye opening. I knew that I could make a delicious dinner for my family within that budget, but I was curious to see how far that would really take me. Would I be able to squeeze in more than just an entrée? Would I have to cut out the meat? I was surprised at what I found.

The dish I decided to make was pan-fried udon noodles. I made this dish a couple of weeks ago using beef, shitake mushrooms and broccoli, but of course I didn’t calculate how much it cost. I assumed it would put me over the $10 limit, so I decided to do it with tofu this time. We’re trying to eat less meat anyways. As it turns out, made with tofu, broccoli and carrots, the dish came in at $5.64, well under the $10 limit. With over $4 left over, I could squeeze in a simple salad (lettuce and cucumber sprinkled with sesame seeds) with nice a miso dressing. A balanced, tasty meal for $10!





Since I came in far under budget with the vegetarian version, I wondered how much it would cost to do it with beef. My preference is to use grass-fed beef (chuck steak), which cost $5.99/ lb at Whole Foods. The same cut of conventional beef at Safeway was $5.29 / lb. I expected the difference to be bigger. The big surprise, though, was Safeway’s price for stir-fry cut beef, over $7/ lb!!! It definitely pays to cut it yourself. Besides, they use a machine to cut the beef, rather than purposely cutting against the grain. Big no no, unless you like tough meat. Long story short—using 10 ounces of grass-fed beef still kept the price under $10 ($8.24 to be exact). Not enough left over to squeeze in the salad, but as Hubby pointed out, enough for a beer with his meal.


One way I keep costs down is to shop around. Whole Foods and Safeway are convenient for me, so that’s where I end up the most. I’ll make a trip to a big Asian supermarket (usually Fubonn or Uwajimaya) every couple of weeks or so. I could get a lot of my Asian sauces at the other two, but I rarely do. Asian products are cheaper at an Asian market. Here is an example. Mirin costs $3.58 for a 17-oz bottle at Fubonn. At Safeway and Whole Foods it’s $5.49 and $8.99 for only 10.5 ounces, respectively. I once saw Sriracha for $5.99 for a 28oz bottle at a local supermarket, but it’s only $2.58 for the same size at Fubonn. It’s smart to get to familiar with your local ethnic markets, no?

If you 're interested to see the cost breakdown, click on the file link 10dollarchallenge.doc.
You'll see the prices I paid, the amounts I used and where I got the item.

If you want more $10 meal ideas, check out Citymama’s site in the next couple of days to see the round-up.

Are you up for a food challenge?

Citymama is doing a $10 challenge and I’m going to play along. The idea is to make a nutritious meal for a family of 4 for $10 or less. I want to make something that is reflective of the food we eat, rather than making just anything that I know will come in under $10. Not completely decided yet, but it will probably be some kind of stir-fry with either rice or noodles.

Think you can do it? Great! Check out her post for details.


This food challenge has got me thinking about the price of food these days. I have definitely been watching what we spend on groceries. I watch for specials and buy the store brands more often. A couple of weeks back, one of my local grocery stores (I have 4 within 2 miles of my home) had my favorite brand of pasta on special, $0.99 per box, down from $2.49. They put a limit of six, so I went back twice that week and bought six boxes each time. I think I was being smart, but you may think I’m crazy. Either way, I saved $27!

I was in another one of my local stores yesterday. One of the items on my list was bagels, but I just flat out refused when I saw they were $4.99 for a bag of six. Just plain ol’ bagels. Nothing fancy. Not organic. Talk about highway robbery! I ended up not buying them. I would rather wait until I visit one of the other stores, where I knew they’d be at least a dollar less.

What about you? Do you watch what you spend on food? How? Are there foods you don’t buy as often or have stopped buying because of price? I’d love to know.

Succulent Pineapple Chicken

If you thought I agonized over getting a gas grill, you haven’t heard me go on about getting a pressure cooker. On the one hand, I know that using a pressure cooker is a lot more green than having my stove turned on for 3 hours to braise pork shank. Could you imagine, pork shank done in less than 1 hour? Think of all the extra time I'd have to waste!

BUT...I’m scared of freak explosions. Please don’t roll your eyes! It could happen.

HOWEVER...I shoved my fear aside and just did it. Bought a pressure cooker. Yes, I did!

AND...I love it! I’ve made carnitas and a stewed pineapple chicken. The pork took less than 1 hour and the chicken took a little more than half an hour from prep to table. And no freak explosions! Seriously folks, this is the way to go!



This stewed chicken was so delicious. The chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce had just the right amount of heat, sweetness and saltiness. Our family really enjoyed this dish and I think yours will too.

Succulent Pineapple Chicken
Feeds 3 or 4 adults

• 6 skinless chicken drumsticks or thighs (also works well with 1.5 lbs pork butt or country ribs)
• ½ cup fresh pineapple, chopped or crushed (canned pineapple in juice is also fine!)
• 1 healthy knob ginger, grated
• 5 to 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 shallot, finely sliced
• 1 tbs brown sugar
  
• ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce (or 3 tbs regular soy)
  
• 1 ½ cup chicken stock (water is also fine)
• whole jalapeno(s) sliced lengthwise, to taste (optional)
• salt, to taste
  

Rub a little oil on the chicken. Brown it well on a very hot pan. Once the chicken is browned, transfer it to the pressure cooker. Add the other ingredients. Give it a quick stir, lock the lid and following your manufacturer’s instructions for cooking. For my cooker, I ended up cooking for 13 minutes (after pressure built up) and let the pressure release itself, about 10 minutes. If you use pork chunks, the cooking time will increase. Follow your manufacturer’s guidelines.

You can achieve the same results by braising on your stovetop or in your oven (325 to 350F), but it will probably take over an hour.

To serve, I removed the meat from the bone into a deep serving dish. I concentrated the sauce a bit by simply reducing it over high heat, then poured it over the chicken.

Perfect served with steamed rice (and extra sambal oelek on the side!).

A Quick Dip into the Political Arena

This is a food blog and I usually stick to food-related posts, but with all the election hoopla and commentary on the debates, I just can’t leave it be. I’m not particularly political. From the very beginning, I knew who my guy was. Yes, the issues are always important, but the fact is, I’ve just always liked the guy. I like the way he carries himself. He seems genuinely genuine. I could never articulate this gut feeling about Obama, but after reading Citymama’s post on the Momocrats site, I was thinking yes yes yes! She hit the nail on the head. Definitely check it out, if you want a unique perspective.

If I was Stranded on a Desert Island...

Alex of Just Cook It! did a fun post asking people to list the 5 foods they'd want with them on a desert island. Check it out! It'll be fun to see people's responses.

Here's my list:

1. Fish sauce. Even though he said there'd be unlimited fish and sea salt, I couldn't be bother to make my own.

2. Rice. I'd go into shock if I went without for more than a couple of days.

3. Limes. Goes great with fish.

4. Cilantro. My favorite fresh herb.

5. Garlic. It won out over chili, but just barely.