And there’s nothing wrong with eating good food, just exercise.

since then i have moved several times and now live in santa monica, Ca. i went to a local casual place with my current gf. nothing fancy or awesome just taking her out to dinner at a fairly average spot. i spent $70! not going back there again. it sure wasnt worth that. you know what i could get at costco for $70? all the staples but none of the ingredients unfortunately. speaking of ingredients…

i recently acquired a recipe for a cole slaw i really liked growing up. cole slaw is cheap right? thats what i thought. WRONG. i already had the mayonnaise, the vinegar, and some other things and i still didnt make it out of the store without spending $50. $50!!!!!! FOR COLE SLAW!!!! i’ll admit it was the best cole slaw ever but still. its not worth $50 for christ’s sake. i could have bought out their selection on pre made cole slaw for less than half that.

draw your own conclusions…

My boyfriend and I enjoy cooking. We look up recipes, watch the Food Network and try new things. It’s much, much cheaper for us to buy the ingredients and spend quality time together at home cooking — and most often, our food tastes better than pricey restaurant fare. Another bonus? Leftovers! We’re not talking lobster or fancy desserts — pasta, casseroles, fish, etc.

If you hate cooking and manage to burn canned soup, this might not be the best option. But — if you can read, you can cook. Or, invite a friend over who loves to cook. I did that and learned a few skills.

The only problem of eating in with us is that we usually cook too much and too well so we usually eat a lot and gain weights.

I bring my own drinks from home. That’s $6.36 a day. Of course, I’m sacrificing the health factor, I suppose.
Signed,
Atlanta Value Menu Surfer

[...] Get Rich Slowly – Is Eating Out Cheaper Than Eating In?  [...]

For me the hour it takes to decide on something, shop for it, and then have to spend electricity (stove) or propane (grill) and the time it takes to make the meal AND the time it takes to clean up, along with the energy and time it takes to run the dishwasher, etc, the home cooked meal costs significantly more in total cost of the meal.

Perhaps if we were of the type that lived to eat, we would find the time was well spent. However, for us, there are times when we are both home after a days work and a hard after-work workout when we both just settle for a bowl of cereal, as the effort to prepare something more elaborate at 8:00 p.m. takes more time than we care to invest for the return we get.

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The shopping list calls for 1 (15oz) can tomato sauce but there is no where in any of the recipes to use it. I made this as is & it’s wonderful. You can try adding the Tomato sauce to the “meat sauce” base if you like. I am sure it would turn out just fine.

Instead of 4 (28oz) cans of tomatoes, I think 4 (28oz) cans tomato sauce can be used, the original recipe was unclear, but this is another idea.

About 3 hours, 54 servings of 5 meals

MAKES: Meat & Pasta, Zesty Chili, Picadillo Casseroles, Salisbury Steaks w/vegetable gravy, Chicken Soup w/ tiny meatballs

Grocery list:

10-12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
4 cans (28-29oz) crushed tomatoes
2 jars brown gravy
4 cans (15 oz.) chicken broth
flour tortillas (10 in pkg)
2 oz. box onion soup mix
2 lbs carrots
16 oz. pkg. bow tie pasta
16 oz. pkg spaghetti
15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans
2 lbs. zucchini
1 garlic or jar minced garlic
chili powder
2 lbs. onions
8 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 can bread crumbs
salt
vegetable oil
pimento stuffed olives
red wine vinegar
16 oz. frozen chopped spinach

TO BEGIN: Chop and cook aromatic vegetables. These will be used to flavor all the recipes.
Chop 2 lbs, onions (about 6 cups), 2 lbs carrots (about 6 cups), and 2 lbs zucchini (about 7 cups). Heat vegetable oil in 8 qt. pot. Add vegs & cook over medium high heat 15-20 minutes until almost tender. Yield: about 12 cups cooked vegs. Transfer vegs to a large bowl.

Meat sauce: Mince 8 large garlic cloves or use 4 tsp. minced garlic from jar. Put 3 lbs ground beef and 1 TBSP. minced garlic in 8 qt pot. Cook 7-10 mins over med-high heat, breaking up meat, until no longer pink. Stir in 6 cups of the cooked vegs, 4 (28 oz) cans tomatos and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium low. Simmer uncovered 15-20 mins for flavors to develop. Remove from pot: 7 cups for the meat sauce, and 8 cups for the picadillo casseroles, (refrigerating or freezing) leaving 7 cups in the pot for the zesty chili.

1st Recipe: Meat & Pasta–Take the 7 cups from refrigerator or freezer and serve over cooked hot pasta. Makes 7 cups, 7 servings.

2nd Recipe: Zesty Chili–Drain 2 (19 oz) cans kidney beans. Stir into 7 cups basic sauce left in pot with 2 or more TBSP chili powder. Cool, then refrigerate chili in airtight containers up to 5 days. Reheat and serve with sour cream or shreded cheese, chopped onion and tomato. Makes 10 cups, 7 servings

3rd Recipe: Picadillo Casseroles– Lightly grease 2 9 or 10 inch deep dish pie plates or 2 9 inch round shallow baking dishes. In large bowl, mix 8 cups meat sauce, 1/4 cup sliced pimento stuffed green olives, 1 TBSP sugar, 2 TBSP red wine vinegar, 2 tsp. chili powder, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Spread 2/3 cups
sauce in bottom of each baking dish. Cover each with a flour tortilla, spread each with 2/3 cup sauce and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat these layers 3 more times, ending with Cheese. Cover with foil and refrigerate up to 4 days. To prepare: Bake 30-35 mins at 375 until bubbly. Makes 2 casseroles, 6 servings each.

4th Recipe- Salisbury Steaks with vegetable gravy– -In a large bowl, put 4 lbs (8 cups) ground beef, 2 cups dried bread crumbs, 1 box (2 oz) onion soup mix, 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup water and 1 TBSP minced garlic. Mix until blended. Pack in 2 ungreased 11×7 inch baking pans. Bake 20-25 mins until firm to touch and no longer pink in center. Cool. In medium saucepan, mix 2 cup of vegetables, 2 jars brown gravy, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 mins for flavors to blend. Cool. then pour into 2 4 cup containers. Wrap the uncut steaks tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up 5o 3 days. To prepare: reheat, covered 20-25 mins at 350. Cut into 8 portions before serving. Warm gravy and pour over top. Makes 2 pans, 8 servings each

5th recipe– Chicken Soup With Tiny Meatballs— Bring 8 cups chicken broth and 8 cups water to boil. Add 16 ounces tiny bow tie pasta and cook 5 minutes. Then add a 16 oz bag frozen chopped spinach. Simmer 5 minutes longer. Mix remaining 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1 tsp minced garlic until blended. Form small meatballs and drop into soup. Simmer 5-7 mins or until meat is no longer pink in center. Stir in remaining 3 cups vegetables and heat through. May refrigerate up to 4 days. Makes 24 cups, 12 servings.

Eating out = food, tip, gas, time waiting for a table and time to/from, inflated beverage costs
Take-out = food, gas, time to/from
Delivery = food, tip
Eating in = each ingredient (+ unused leftovers), time spent shopping & cooking

[...] some research. Is Eating Out Cheaper Than Eating In? It depends on whether you count your time in preparing meals, how fast you can cook the meal you [...]

[...] I’m looking for ways to live cheaper. I got a tip in the comments of another blog to check out a Meal Preparatory business. The link above is a directory of these kinds of businesses. [...]

You can always freeze meat, and shrimp keeps well in the freezer. I also pre-form meatballs and hamburger patties for quick use.

You can freeze berries, chopped strawberries, and other fruits.

You can also freeze milk: Just pour part of what you buy in a freezer container and freeze. As you get close to finishing the milk you’re drinking, bring out the frozen milk and thaw (in the fridge).

Bread, pitas, nuts, and other things can be frozen. I keep sliced bread in the freezer, and when I want to make a sandwich, the slices easily come off the loaf.

Every fall I make a huge batch of pesto (without the cheese) and make “pesto cubes” in the ice trays. Throughout the year, when I want a quick meal, I’ll cook pasta and add a pesto cube with some cheese.

I keep grated parmesan and romano cheese in the freezer. It keeps very well and doesn’t spoil. The only problem is that freezing dries out the cheese, so a bit of flavor is lost.

Not everything keeps indefinitely in the freezer. For example, be sure to eat nuts within a few months of freezing.

[...] Oct. 13th: Is eating out cheaper than eating in? [...]

Once you’ve got a family however, eating out gets expensive, even with McDonald’s. 17 bucks sounds cheap, until you find yourself spending it 3, 5 or more times a week. And what about if you do fast food for more than one meal a day? I’m sure I don’t have to run the numbers to show how expensive that will get.

[...] Is Eating Out Cheaper Than Eating In? [...]

[...] Get Rich Slowly » Is Eating Out Cheaper Than Eating In? Manger à la maison ou dehors ? (tags: économie nourriture) [...]

[...] O site Get Rich Slowly diz que os benefícios de se comer em casa podem ser verdadeiros ou não. Dependendo de onde você vive, o que você come, e o quão bem você cozinha, pode ser que seja melhor comer fora do que em casa. Comer em casa necessita de organização e planejamento. Contudo, comida feita em casa sempre é mais saudável. A maioria da comida de restaurante está cheia de gordura, açucar e calorias. E também, dependendo de onde você comer fora, isso leva bem mais tempo do que comer em casa. Is Eating Out Cheaper Than Eating In? [Get Rich Slowly] [...]

however just because you seemingly can’t control your children from climbing under tables should have been kept to yourself
because child behavior is not part of the money equation

eating in is cheaper for not any other reason than gas prices