Recipes!

Yesterday I posted a picture of these burger buns on Facebook as a tease. That picture, not this one for that matter, do these buns or burgers justice. Oh my word were these good. I got both of the recipes from other blogs and I made them just as they had them up, so I'll share the links to those blogs instead of putting the recipes up here. 

It's only fair that they should get a little traffic for making such good recipes, right? I think so.

First up, the buns:

Here is what mine looked like.

You can find the recipe at: The Galley Gourmet. The only, single thing I changed from her recipe is that I used 1/4 cup instant potato flakes instead of potato flour. I mixed them up in the bread machine and it could not have been any easier. I forget sometimes how nice a bread machine can be for mixing up dough while you do something else. Anyway, here is my cost breakdown, everything for this was purchased at Walmart with the exception of the yeast and the flour which I got at Thunderbird in larger sizes (25 lb flour and 2 lb yeast).

The Lowdown:

Flour: .$30

Yeast: $.05

Salt: $.01

Sugar: $.05

Butter: $.37 (it's free for me, but I figured it on the cost of a pound of butter from the store)

Powdered Milk: $.10

Potato Flakes: $.15

Water: Free

Egg: $.12

Total: $1.15 or $.14 per bun (makes 8)

Next up, I made these Ranch Cheddar Burgers from Once A Month Mom.

These were DELICIOUS. Everyone loved them and they were really simple to make. Mixing the beef with the ranch seasoning and cheddar cheese was amazingly easy and delicious. I served our simply with some burger sauce that I made. I'll include that recipe after the cost breakdown for the burgers themselves!

The Lowdown:

1 1/2 Lb Ground Beef: $3.75 (Purchased at Costco)

Ranch Seasoning: $.10 (made my own)

Cheese: $1.00 (Walmart, they had it on a good sale this week)

Total: $4.85 or $.81 cents each (makes 6)

Mama's Burger Sauce

1/2 cup mayo

2 Tablespoons Ketchup

2 teaspoons pickle relish

2 teaspoons grated onion, plus any juice

salt

pepper

tiny sprinkle of paprika

Mix it all in a small bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors mix and mingle. Spread it on toasted burger buns or use it as a spread for ruben sandwiches. Yum!

As you can see in the pictures, I served this with my Italian Pasta Salad on the side. We know from yesterday that this costs us $.69 per person with leftovers.

Total meal cost to make: $10.16 or $1.69 per person. Plus, we had enough leftovers to send Kevin to work with a burger and a large serving of pasta salad today. Free lunch!! 

I know some of you may not be interested in the cost analysis of the recipes, but I've decided to include them because I think that they can be help me prove my point. Eating at home can not only be far more nutritious, it can save you some serious money. Our family cannot eat at a burger joint for less than $20.00, and that's choosing the menu items off the cheap eats list. If we go somewhere nice, we don't get out for less than $40.00 EVER. I'm going to show you that by shopping smart and by making a few more things at home you can really see the savings add up.

Not interested in saving money? That's ok too. There is more than one reason to make as much as you can yourself. For example, I have 2 little kids who can't eat a whole burger by themselves but they don't like having one cut in half. They want a WHOLE burger like their big sisters. When I am making my own patties and buns, this is no problem. I divide the dough I would have used for one large bun into two portions and make two. I do the same with the meat for their patty. Because I am making it, I can make 2 appropriately sized burgers for my babies and we don't end up with a meltdown OR a bunch of food going to waste. 

It's more than just being frugal, or watching your ingredients. It frees you up to make things the way you want them or need them to be. And in the end, that saves you time and money. It's just the way things work out. 

So, what I'm trying to get at is that I think the cost breakdowns are a good idea so we can see what we can really make a meal at home for. I'll do cheap meals, lunches, what a dessert might cost, what a nice meal at home costs vs. one out (Father's Day is going to be a good example of that), and whatever else I think is helpful. It might not always be cheaper to make it yourself, and that's ok, but at least if you are armed with the knowledge of what things really cost to make you can pick and choose what is worth it to you to make yourself. At least, that's my goal ;)