Winter Economics
 

today it's snowing and we're expecting 16" of white bliss... time to spend a cozy day in the kitchen with the wife... 4 9x13 pans of lasagna & 4 gallons of beef stew = 32 servings of each...

lasagna
3 pounds italian sausage - $6
3 pounds ground beef - $6
4 cans tomato sauce - 28 ounces each - $4
2 cans tomato paste - 8 ounces each - $1
2 large green & red peppers chopped 1/4" - $1
2 large onions chopped 1/4" - $1
8 cloves garlic minced - $1
1 pound button mushrooms - $2
1 cup dry red wine - had it in the pantry
oregano & basil to taste - ditto
2 packages shredded mozzarella 16 ounces each $5
2 quarts ricotta - $6
4 cups parmesa - $4.50
8 eggs - $1
1 cup dried parsley pantry

4 packages of lasagna - $6

call it $45

beef stew
4 pounds top round steak 1" thick cut cubed - $13
3 pounds potatoes - $1.50
3 pounds boiling onions - $6
3 pounds carrots - $1.50
4 cans beef broth - $3
6 cans tomato sauce - 28 ounces each - $6
4 cans tomato paste - 8 ounces each - $2
24 whole cloves pantry
24 pepper corns pantry
2 cups dry red wine left over from the lasagna
oregano and basil ditto

call it $35

total cost $80 plus the wine and extras make it $100 tops

each meal comes out to about $1.56, add some wine with dinner, french bread and a nice salad one could get away with less than $5 for dinner with yer honey... :thumbsup:

this will last us all winter long out of the freezer

oh yeah, we bake & freeze our own bread too

what do you all do in bulk and freeze up???

oops - messed up on the ricotta

I love to cook in the Winter. Nesting, I guess :) It's nice to have the oven heating up my kitchen when it's so cold outside.

I've been baking stuff like Apple Crisp in the evenings lately. (Smells heavenly too!)

I'm not really a freeze and reheat kinda guy. I'd much prefer to make something when I want to eat it (plus my freezer space is pretty limited).

Favourite winter dishes? Osso Bucco or Lamb Shanks, braised with tinned tomatoes, hoi sin sauce, garlic, onion,celery and stock (chicken or vegetable) and served with mashed potato. These are long slow cooking dishes and generally give the whole house a great aroma while preparing...

edit: alas it is summertime here, so that means firing up the grill :)

We don't really have a winter here, though we are north of the equator (about 1 degree north of it). So this time of year is technically winter. I find though, that my biological clock tells me it's winter so I keep expecting to walk outside to cooler weather...

Anyhoo... I have been making stews and squash soups lately but generally don't freeze them because we have such a small freezer.

And the truth is, 30C with high humidity just isn't really a stew kind of weather. My kids think I am a bit nuts.