How to cook well and cheaply for one or two - a brief lesson
April 24 2011, 4:52 PM
You need two things: a main course and a side. Assuming you are a meat
eater, there will usually be a roast on sale in your local grocer. Or
chicken. Buy this. I bought this prime rib roast for 7.70. Why a roast? I
find roasts have more flavour than chops or boneless meat. They will likely
have a bone in them and more fat, which also results in more flavour.
either get a prebought one or make one yourself. Do a search on the web for
one you might like. For mine I use this premixed Montreal steak mix and
added some dry mustard and chili powder. If you aren't sure, rub the meat
with oil and then sprinkle on 2 to 3 spices and herbs that you like. Roast the meat at 400 for around 45 minutes, assuming it is around 2 lbs.
You need to check on it to see if it getting too brown. If it is, put foil
over it. Test it at a certain point to see how it is cooking. One it is
cooked the way you like, take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, make a salad. Get two or three different greens. I cheated
and made a salad of chopped spinach and chopped iceberg. Either way, the
salad should cost you less than a dollar to make. I also had some blue
cheese in the fridge and I shaved some of it over both the salad and the
meat. The wedge I had cost around 4 (it was very small) but I used only
pennies of it. Blue cheese, like some other flavorful cheeses, are very
versatile when it comes to cooking. All in all, this dish comes out to less than $5 a plate. Cheaper than most
fast food meals and much better too. For a vegetarian meal, you could cut and toss veggies in oil or a
vinegrette and roast them. You could also add a starch like rice or
potatoes.
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