This is my go to side dish when grilling out.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rach ... index.html

Also, didn't mean to set off a shit storm when I asked the eating out question. My apologies, fellas.

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-- source

I'm going to use a basic example here.

Mac and Cheese and Sloppy Joes

Combined cost of my version of Mac and Cheese, along with Sloppy Joes:

Mac & Cheese
Milk-small one for $1.50, cheese-2 cups already shredded $2.50 (or so), pasta-$1.25 (on the high end), I would hope you have salt and pepper on hand

Sloppy Joes: 1 lb ground beef $4 tops, Buns $1.25, Manwich $3

Total: $13.50 for 2, maybe 3 meals

Lunch: Wendy's Baconater combo and chicken nuggets: approx $7 or $8

Pre made shredded bbq pork or chicken: $7-9 depending on the store, box of mac and cheese $1-3 depending on which one you buy.

Total: High end $20

I think my numbers speak for themselves

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Actually NO

You will have enough leftover flour/breading, seasonings to make 20 chicken sandwiches

Just say you're lazy, it's ok.

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

My question is what makes you think that tuna helper or sloppy joes are the same cost as eating out for lunch?

Hey, I ate out more than I should have, and semi justified that the expense for a single person was about the same. I WAS WRONG. If you don't want to do it, or are lazy or whatever, fine. You must realize it is much less expensive to to buy your own food (and drink) and prepare it. If it is not less expensive what you are buying is at a higher price than you should pay.

What frozen pizzas are you buying? How much? This is one item that if you compared to other things you can fix on your own, you are NOT getting a good bang for your buck.

Have you tried her bacon recipe?

_________________

Intervention! Intervention!

_________________
-- source

all that prepackaged shit is terrible for you. it's all loaded with sodium. especially fast food. you're probably young enough to where it won't affect you but as you get older, it's going to wage war against your gastrointestinal system.

all my roommate eats is the same shit you do, and when he drops a load...it permeates the *entire* apartment.

sorry...

That's the detail this thread could have done without....

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Serious tip time for a young buck from an old veteran.

Learn to cook. Seriously. Pick one of your more favorite meals. Go get recipies online for free. Follow them. Develop this skill. It will certainly, certainly, without a doubt prove to be worth your time.

Firstly, cooking at home is certainly cheaper than ordering out. There is no doubt of this.
Secondly, cooking at home is certainly healthier for you. You know who touches your food. You have no clue what happened to your food before it landed on your plate or in your bag. I've worked in a chinese place, a pizza place, a marge burger chain, a taco joint and I will tell you that something horrifying happens in each of those kitchens daily. No shit, chet.
Third, cooking a meal for a lady friend is worth the effort. Trust me. Everyone here knows goddamn good and well i've way outkicked my coverage. Clean kitchens and food skills go a long way.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

it's the most IMPORTANT detail.

Still working my way up to that.

_________________
-- source

Trust me. In most cases you can buy something else that will give you sustenance for a longer period of time...and as W_Z pointed out, be a healthier alternative. You will want to start paying attention to the health aspect pretty quickly.

I propose you make a concerted effort to compare how much you spend on your food purchases. Seems you have plenty of funds.

A "Cooking with immessedup17" thread describing his trials and tribulations
in the kitchen as he learns to cook would have quite a bit of potential.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Who said you had to buy in bulk??

You start off learning how to cook one dish and move on from there.

Just say you're lazy.

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Who says you eat the same thing all the time.

Here's a cool, easy fun recipe and shits good.

Brown a pound of burger. Drain it. Mix in some Sweet Baby Rays so it's got a Manwichie type consistancy.
Get a tube of those dinner rolls, like Pillsbury Grands.

Put them on a cookie sheet. Spread them out a touch, put that meat mix on top and put em in the over according to the directions on the Grands package, it's like 15 minutes at 350. When 2 minutes remain, top with shredded cheddar.

This is a 10 "sandwich" meal that costs about $7.50. I usually eat 2 for a meal with some veggie on the side, so that's like 5 damn meals or better.

$3.50 for the meat.
$1 for the Baby Rays (I buy em at the dollar store and you don't use less than 1/3rd the bottle)
$1 for the Grands.
$2 for the shredded cheddar

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I'd advance the position that keeping a clean kitchen(house) is far, far more important than being able to cook...at least in terms of dramatically increasing "poon" access. Additionally, from my vast (but admittedly long ago) experience, cooking is wildly overrated in that department. A good relationship with a number of restaurants trumped the fact that I could cook....and was still far down the list of attractions iirc.

But then again, I may be wrong. I much preferred to be the road team supported by restaurants & late night spots across the city.

But...it IS healthier to learn to cook.

_________________
There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Make smart bulk purchases

Pasta lasts, meat in the freezer is good for 6-12 months if not longer. Canned and frozen vegetables have long shelf lives. God forbid you eat the same meal twice in a row. That is how I have survived being single and not completely broke (last couple of months not withstanding). When buying items that have short shelf lives, buy smart...only how much you will consume in a short period of time. You can even make a large batch of chili, pasta sauce, soups, and stews, freeze them in individual meals, and mix things up that way.


Once again, we are not trying to dump on you...if you're too lazy to learn, that's fine.

_________________

There's no hope for the kid, fellas - we all tried...

Freudian slip?
Who the hell is Marge?

_________________
Host of the weekly "We Fish ASA" podcast
Weekly columnist for the Northwest Herald
Bi-monthly columnist for Illinois Outdoor News magazine
Former host of The Outdoors Experience on WIND and The Great Outdoors on CLTV
http://www.wefishasa.com

Large. Large Burger Chain.
Please forgive my typo.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Gimmie your fuckin paypal info and I'll give you the damn $7 if that's a sticking point.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

I haven't had a drop of soda since January. That saved me quite a bit of money.

_________________
-- source

Who's going to chip in the .50 for the cheap fuck?

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

Maybe he should ask his roommate's girlfriend for it.

_________________

Does she still live there? If so, I would make sure there are no combustibles around her. If not, I would suggest moving back to your parents' or somewhere she cannot find you.

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I'm really not sure what you mean here--perhaps I'm not following your line of reasoning. At any rate, if you are referencing chicken, milk, potatoes, garlic, butter, flour, etc., you realize that these ingredients can be used in different combinations for different recipes, correct? When you buy them separately, then, you are increasing the potential for consuming a diversity of dishes.

_________________

You're fucked now, SillyFolly17. TM has you in his sights.

_________________
"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Vegetable Beef Soup from Aldi $1.29
12 crackers (144 crackers per box at $2.00 = $0.17)
1 can soda (case for $5.50 = $0.23)
1/2 pack carrots (Aldi, small carrots $0.49 = $0.25)

Nice little store bought lunch for $1.94