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Moey posted:Does anyone make onion or garlic powder themselves? Google makes it seem very simple. Would this be worth it or just a waste of time? I think its more like "whats the point" since onion and garlic powder taste way worse than onion and garlic.
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May 13, 2012 00:21
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Moey posted:Onions are like 70cents/pound. Garlic is normally $1 for 5 heads. These seem like good prices. We get our onions $1 per pound and garlics $1 for three heads. They don't go bad quickly or anything. I would say it's a waste of effort and time unless you already use a dehydrator or something a ton to begin with.
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May 13, 2012 00:30
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:I think its more like "whats the point" since onion and garlic powder taste way worse than onion and garlic. My thoughts was I could have a good supply of garlic and onion powder (you guys are going to call me an idiot, but I like onion taste, just not onions). It's going to be literally only garlic and onion (people like stuff without additives now right? Even though I really don't care). My big thing is I am not too fond of onions, so I figure if I make my own onion powder, I could use it when cooking. And for garlic, I love it, but never go through it quick enough so I always end up throwing it out when it goes bad. Charmmi posted:These seem like good prices. We get our onions $1 per pound and garlics $1 for three heads. They don't go bad quickly or anything. I would say it's a waste of effort and time unless you already use a dehydrator or something a ton to begin with. Don't own a dehydrator, but was planning on throwing thin slices of them in the oven at like 150 and just keep flipping them until they were dried out. That is one method google told me about.
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May 13, 2012 01:20
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Moey posted:and just keep flipping them until they were dried out. That is one method google told me about.
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May 13, 2012 03:14
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Moey posted:Does anyone make onion or garlic powder themselves? Google makes it seem very simple. Would this be worth it or just a waste of time? I don't understand why anyone would use powdered onion/garlic instead of fresh. Onions and garlic are a basic staple of the kitchen that are readily available year round.
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May 13, 2012 03:51
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Moey posted:My thoughts was I could have a good supply of garlic and onion powder (you guys are going to call me an idiot, but I like onion taste, just not onions). So it's what, a texture thing? Just chop the onions smaller or fry them. Or both. Onion and garlic powder are also dirt cheap. This sounds like a lot of hassle for no benefit.
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May 13, 2012 05:08
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dino. posted:Wait, seriously? You want to do this to yourself? Calculate the cost of how much those onions/garlics will shrink down, the amount of electricity it will take to run the oven for that long, and the amount of gently caress-off annoying labour involved in flipping over row after row of sliced onion or garlic. Onion/garlic powder aren't so expensive as to make this level of torture and ingredients cost worthwhile. Yeah, seriously, they're a buck apiece, and if the taste was important, you'd just cook and eat garlic and onions.
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May 13, 2012 05:09
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:Yeah, seriously, they're a buck apiece, and if the taste was important, you'd just cook and eat garlic and onions. Really, the only thing that I ever use onion and garlic powder are for dry rubs for BBQ and other dry spice mixes that I have around for convenience. Otherwise, they are better fresh.
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May 13, 2012 11:10
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They are useful for cooking sous vide. The anaerobic environment does weird things to the flavor of alliums. Fake edit: I know this is the poor food thread and sousvide is kind of the opposite of that, but it's worth mentioning. Also, as with all spices, there is good allium powder and there is bad. And there is fresh and stale. I would guess that the unilateral haters use inferior and/or stale powders.
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May 13, 2012 14:49
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GrAviTy84 posted:I would guess that the unilateral haters use inferior and/or stale powders. That, or they just use onions and garlic, which are cheap, taste better, and take a minute to prep. Like there are specific uses of onion and garlic powder (like the aforementioned rubs and stuff like sous vide) but it's really not an every day thing. HUNDU THE BEAST GOD fucked around with this message at 14:55 on May 13, 2012 |
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May 13, 2012 14:52
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Thanks to the handy tips and my trusty crockpot, I was able to cook for 4 people for 2 days on ~$35. Sure as hell beats delivery. Thanks thread  edit: I should probably state that all 4 at this household are burly former wrestlers, so it's not like a family with little Billy and little Suzy. Calories DIE here.
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May 13, 2012 14:54
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HUNDU THE BEAST GOD posted:That, or they just use onions and garlic, which are cheap, taste better, and take a minute to prep. Like there are specific uses of onion and garlic powder (like the aforementioned rubs and stuff like sous vide) but it's really not an every day thing. Calm down kiddo. I wasn't saying it should replace the fresh stuff. Just saying that it is useful for some things. Chillax
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May 13, 2012 15:20
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I never really felt that onions/garlic and onion/garlic powder taste the same. There's definitely a place in the kitchen for both, and neither are particularly expensive. Making the powders from scratch would be an interesting experiment, but as a cost cutting measure, probably not that effective.
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May 13, 2012 15:33
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I am currently all hot for freezedryed garlic, onions, scallions, and pretty much anything else I can get in that form. I freely admit I just think they are cool and while much better then any powdered herbs I have ever tried they are still not as good as fresh. But they do make me feel like a space man and I really like them for scrammbeled eggs when I am too lazy/hungover to want to do a lot of prep and chopping.
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May 13, 2012 20:24
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There is no replacement for a dash of powdered garlic in my scrambled eggs, IMHO.
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May 13, 2012 20:44
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Everyone posted:Moey is an idiot Welp, I asked. Maybe I should try to like onions (the texture is what I don't like). Another reason that this came to mind is because I feel like the more I buy "fresh" food to make meals, the more I will waste because it goes bad before I get to use it. I do not cook large meals that often.
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May 13, 2012 21:01
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Moey posted:Welp, I asked. Maybe I should try to like onions (the texture is what I don't like). I'd think this would also be pretty obvious, but don't buy more than you can consume before it goes bad. Buy for the week, consume more perishable things first, hardier things last. Things like carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli last at least a week properly stored. Things like lettuce, spinach, asparagus go bad in a few days. Buy a few of each and plan to eat accordingly. Eating on the cheap is mostly planning.
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May 13, 2012 23:29
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My "gods we're broke and I'm too tired to cook" dish is: Coupla cupfuls of red lentils (from the 3 kilo bag I bought off an ethnic grocery for about 4 euros and refresh when necessary), bunch of garlic, some chillies ( which you can grow yourself pretty easily). Stick in a large pot with litre or two of water, add a can of tomatoes when about done if you like to. Go off to read a book/ play with cats/ stare at a wall in a tired manner, just be sure it doesn't boil over. Healthy and filling as hell (I'm a vegetarian but my husband's anything but, yet he thinks this dish perfectly satisfactory) and just the thing when you're way too tired to actually pay attention. I make it thick and save leftovers in tiny portions which I combine with boiling water if I'm hungry, declaring it a soup. It's not great, but somewhat better than an instant snack-soup. The cheapest staple which does take a bit more work is onion soup. Take a shitton of onions, chop, fry in oil and ground black pepper. Add vege stock. Boil for a bit, serve with cheap stock bread. If you have company, place in oven-safe dishes, cover in good grated cheese and stick in oven until the cheese is nice, then serve. Not great recipes, but about what I'm up to after a really long day, and definitely not pricey.
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May 14, 2012 00:11
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GrAviTy84 posted:I'd think this would also be pretty obvious, but don't buy more than you can consume before it goes bad. Buy for the week, consume more perishable things first, hardier things last. Things like carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli last at least a week properly stored. Things like lettuce, spinach, asparagus go bad in a few days. Buy a few of each and plan to eat accordingly. Eating on the cheap is mostly planning. I do something like this. I write down my menu for the week, make the list off of that, and go from there. You put meals with more perishable items earlier in the week. Having the list at the store also helps to keep me on track and only get what I need. It's also kinda fun to look around on the weekend for new ideas and build the week's menu around it. But maybe I just have too much time on my hands. Since I only cook for my kid and myself, I've become better at only making what we will eat in one meal (we are terrible about eating leftovers). I make huge batches of bolognese and chicken stock and freeze in sandwich-size baggies. If we want mac & cheese, I halve the recipe and bake it in a loaf pan.
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May 14, 2012 00:33
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Walk Away posted:I do something like this. I write down my menu for the week, make the list off of that, and go from there. You put meals with more perishable items earlier in the week. Having the list at the store also helps to keep me on track and only get what I need. It's also kinda fun to look around on the weekend for new ideas and build the week's menu around it. But maybe I just have too much time on my hands. I may have to do this. I do not normally buy a lot at the grocery store, but will find myself just not using things. Maybe planning out a weekly menu would work. I normally only cook for myself, gf once or twice a week, then the random bbq with friends. I saw the picture of your pulled pork in another thread. What cut of pork did you use? Porkchops seem to be dirt cheap, so I am thinking if I invest in a crock pot, pork goes in before work, dinner ready when I get home?
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May 14, 2012 01:18
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Pork chops will not work. You want something fatty and full of connective tissue like shoulder. Crock potting a pork chop will get you dry poo poo.
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May 14, 2012 01:27
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Yeah I used pork shoulder. The piece that I bought was a little over 3 pounds and cost like 6 bucks. It was plenty for two (adult) people.
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May 14, 2012 01:43
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Now to find a crock pot! Thanks guys.
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May 14, 2012 02:09
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GrAviTy84 posted:Eating on the cheap is mostly planning. This a million times. For example, when you plan ahead you go from "I couldn't eat a whole roast chicken" to "I could eat roast chicken and potatoes one night and the next few night use left overs in various forms of chicken and rice". Planning ahead allows you to make effective use of leftovers which not only reduces the waste of cooking for one or two people but also seriously reduces the amount of cooking you have to do. Using left over bits, I put together the main part of my dinner together in the time it takes my rice cooker to make a serving of white rice (with time left over to do the dishes). And seriously, the more ways you find to save yourself effort/time the more likely it is you cook instead of ordering take out.
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May 14, 2012 21:56
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Moey posted:Now to find a crock pot! Thanks guys. Don't spend more than 30 bucks!
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May 16, 2012 20:17
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Moey posted:Now to find a crock pot! Thanks guys. 
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May 16, 2012 21:58
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Knight of the
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Sir Prancelot posted:Go to the thrift shop in a good part of town. I usually have pretty good luck thrifting for kitchen goods that yuppies impulse buy and get sick of.
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May 16, 2012 22:30
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spite house posted:Thrift shops can be great for equipment, and discount clothing stores like Ross and TJ Maxx (if you're in the US) are also excellent for picking up kitchen gizmos on the cheap. You sure don't want to buy pans or knives in those places, but they're awesome for cutting boards, wooden spoons, measuring cups, all kinds of baking poo poo like muffin tins and bundt pans, etc, for a fraction of what you'd spend at Williams-Sonoma or even Target. The Ross near my house keeps having these awesome Pyrex bowls with rubber lids for less than ten bucks a three-pack, and it's revolutionized my leftover storage. (Tupperware and its knockoffs suck so hard compared to glass.) I would love to replace my tupperware with some awesome pyrex. However, every time I open the cabinet, all of the tupperware spills out in a avalanche. Doing that with glass wouldn't be so great. I hate my small kitchen.
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May 17, 2012 03:46
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@Walk Away: It took a bit of getting used to, but I started storing my lids and the boxes separately, so that everything stacks more neatly. I, too, have a tiny kitchen. It's why I don't have too many gizmos and junk, because I physically don't have space for it all. I'll generally go on a mass purge of crap rather frequently to avoid accumulating more crap if I can help it. I found myself disliking the pyrex storage options, because they're so much more heavy and bulky than the little tupperware type containers I have, and I'm forever nervous about breaking the glass. I owned a set, and gave it away, because I'd find myself never using them. @Moey: Seconding what everyone else said. Find a second hand store, and buy a crock pot there. It's not worth buying new. Most people buy a crock pot, use it once, and then get rid of it. Even if you post on Freecycle or search on Craigslist, I can more or less guarantee finding one in any town I'm in. I just searched for one on my local Craigslist, and found ones for as low as $7, that come with the box and everything else, without having to schlep out to Long Island or something.
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May 17, 2012 14:43
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Walk Away posted:I would love to replace my tupperware with some awesome pyrex. However, every time I open the cabinet, all of the tupperware spills out in a avalanche. Doing that with glass wouldn't be so great. I hate my small kitchen. I use Glasslock, which I believe is a Korean brand for glassware storage. It can be found in Asian markets, Marshalls, Amazon, etc etc. I would check them out in Marshalls to see if they work for you. They are not cheap, but they are extremely useful for storing reheating. I also use the smaller ones to pack reheatable lunches, since I don't trust plastic in the microwave and because Glasslock has 4 snap locks on the lid, so I don't worry about the lid falling off in my bag. They don't stack well at all, but I still love using them.
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May 17, 2012 17:03
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dino. posted:Seconding what everyone else said. Find a second hand store, and buy a crock pot there. It's not worth buying new. Most people buy a crock pot, use it once, and then get rid of it. Even if you post on Freecycle or search on Craigslist, I can more or less guarantee finding one in any town I'm in. I just searched for one on my local Craigslist, and found ones for as low as $7, that come with the box and everything else, without having to schlep out to Long Island or something. This is so true. I actually hate my crockpot in comparison to my dutch oven since 1) I can't brown meat in the crockpot, resulting in another dish to watch, and 2) I can't control the temperature beyond low or high, and I want more precise control dammit!, 3) it's so monstrously large that I can only make 20-billion servings at a time, and freezer space is limited. Plus, we're only 2 mouths in this household! So, I'll be donating mine to Goodwill this weekend. Honestly, I should have bough at 3 or 4 quart round crockpot way back when, and not a 6.5 qt oval beast. I don't WANT more than 6 servings made at a time! So when you pick your crockpot up, consider how much freezer space you really have available in relation to how many mouths you have to feed. No sense in spending money on food that you're unable to actually finish nor store. Maybe they finally sell little dividers that can reduce the size of the vessel, I dunno, but you need to respect the vessel size otherwise your food will taste like rear end.
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May 17, 2012 17:39
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Lately I've been buying lots of produce and using it for smoothies and sandwiches. A good shopping trip will only cost me a bit over $10, and most of that will be from the bread and deli meat. Would it be worth it to start making my own bread as well? Or would regularly buying all the ingredients just cost as much/more than the $2 day old loaves at the bakery?
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May 17, 2012 18:15
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Dabbo posted:Lately I've been buying lots of produce and using it for smoothies and sandwiches. A good shopping trip will only cost me a bit over $10, and most of that will be from the bread and deli meat. There's an amazing no-knead bread recipe where you stick some flour, yeast, salt, water into a bin, put it into the fridge, and whenever you want bread you tear off a hunk, let it rise for 20 minutes, then stick it into the oven. Costs very little if you get yeast and flour in bulk.
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May 17, 2012 18:30
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Making bread is hugely rewarding, especially since you can make a variety of bread with even the most basic ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt). This blog post from Budget Bytes breaks down the price of ingredients per loaf of honey wheat sandwich bread which ends up being $1.34. No Knead Bread is another great method and $0.54 for the whole recipe.
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May 17, 2012 18:32
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Dabbo posted:Lately I've been buying lots of produce and using it for smoothies and sandwiches. A good shopping trip will only cost me a bit over $10, and most of that will be from the bread and deli meat. Depends on how fast you go through the bread, how much flour costs in your neck of the woods, and how much time you really want to devote to making it. I make no-knead bread which takes up maybe 15 min of actual work time (the rest of the time is just walking away and letting it do its thing) is just 4 cups AP flour, yeast, and water; each loaf lasts my husband and I about 4-5 days before it molds. A 5lb bag of flour costs ~$4 at the store. So overall, it's cheaper for us to make the bread, but we don't really eat a ton of bread to begin with. But if you want fancier breads that perhaps require more effort and ingredients and go through them quickly.... well, take a careful look at ingredient price and spreadsheet ahoy if you're not convinced of your mental math. Edit- holy poo poo thanks for posting the Budget Bytes honey wheat sandwich bread; it looks great. Gonna have to make that at some point (which will require buying whole wheat flour aghhh). Yehudis Basya fucked around with this message at 18:43 on May 17, 2012 |
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May 17, 2012 18:37
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Dabbo posted:Lately I've been buying lots of produce and using it for smoothies and sandwiches. A good shopping trip will only cost me a bit over $10, and most of that will be from the bread and deli meat. For me, it's not worth it to make my own sandwich bread for example. I'd be the only one who eats it, and I really don't make sandwiches that often. But I love making rolls, biscuits, and other bread items form scratch. And the house smells amazing during and after cooking.
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May 17, 2012 18:52
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CzarChasm posted:For me, it's not worth it to make my own sandwich bread for example. I'd be the only one who eats it, and I really don't make sandwiches that often. What about toast? What about bread on the side of supper? Why don't you make sandwiches very often? Why why why?
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May 17, 2012 19:32
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Making bread is a joy. Even if you don't want to do it regularly, at least give it a try and see what a difference fresh bread makes.
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May 17, 2012 22:17
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Now that I have a pizza stone, I want to make some very crusty and chewy garlic bread. Anyone have a suggested recipe?
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May 18, 2012 01:16
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Just did the no knead bread and holy poo poo even if its technically more expensive im making all of my own bread from now on. Making and using bread you made from scratch fuckin owns
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May 18, 2012 01:47
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