Let's start with Saturday. I was hungry for a hamburger. Just a hamburger, with lettuce and tomatoes and onion and cheese. Mustard on a bun...
I thought (briefly) about slipping over to a fast food place a few blocks from here, but I was tired and didn't want to go out. I got the best of that temptation.
I determined that I'd go to the grocery store Sunday and get hamburger buns, lettuce and tomatoes; I had everything else. Then... I remembered that Gayla from Dollar Stretcher forums had posted a recipe for homemade hamburger buns and decided to try it (sans bread machine).
They turned out looking good. I put four of the six buns it made in the freezer and put two out for Sunday - one for lunch and one for dinner.
Sunday I got up and after a busy morning, I sat down, tired and wanting to rest... still hungry for a hamburger, though.
Then... I remembered that I had some dehydrated tomatoes in the pantry and wondered if they would taste ok on a hamburger if I put them in cold water long enough to cook the meat. And the spring dandelions were growing like crazy after a couple of days of rain. (They make a good lettuce substitute.)
About 1:30 on Sunday afternoon I sat down to one of the best hamburgers I've ever had and I didn't go to the store at all.
If I'd gone to the store and only got what was needed for the hamburgers, it would have cost at least five dollars, but probably more. I might have picked up some chips and a soft drink to go with them. Or... who knows? Ten dollars. Maybe more.
So how much did you save today?
That's great! I also try to do this. Personally I HATE going to the grocery store, so if I do it's to stock up. Then I usually just do without (ie tacos w/o cheese) until I get back to the store. Good job at resisting the salty little fast food burger!
ReplyDeleteStacey, it's easier for me to resist a fast food hamburger than it is to go to the store and buy the "fixins" for one. I felt downright smug when I picked the dandelion leaves and rehydrated the tomatoes. By the way, that recipe for hamburger buns is great. I'll never buy them again!
ReplyDeleteHow long did it take to rehydrate the tomatoes, and how did they taste? Were they at all like fresh? I have never dehydrated tomatoes, but may have to do it this year. Don't you feel so good when you don't give in to temptation!
ReplyDeleteI only left them in the water for about half an hour - long enough to cook the burgers and get the other things sliced and ready. They didn't taste as good as fresh, but probably as good as the cardboardy kind you find in the grocery store. :) They might have tasted better if I'd waited a while longer.
ReplyDeletePat, I made the hamburger buns tonight for our own supper and was very pleased with them. My DD is a of a burger snob but she gobbled her's down so fast. Homemade is truly the best! Plus I doubled the recipe to freeze and save more time for another craving day!
ReplyDeleteL
p.s. I love your blog!!!
L, I'm glad your daughter liked the buns! It's the best recipe I've ever seen for them. I agree... homemade is the best!
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