Weekend cooking

[thistlechaser]

So there we were, Friday night. I hadn't intended to go shopping, but I had nothing for dinner and wanted nothing. I figured I'd visit the hot deli counter at the store and get... whatever. Fake Chinese food, chicken fingers, whatever. Nothing struck my fancy, but since I was there I decided to do my shopping anyway.

This week's recipe was seriously expensive. $90 total, though that included enough salad (premade and otherwise) to last me through the weekend, along with a couple rolls and a bit of fruit. I had to buy 6(?) different spices, a container of real maple syrup ($10), and assorted other stuff.

The pricetag makes the outcome more depressing: It wasn't horrible, I ate it, but it wasn't good. I have leftovers in the freezer, but... I suspect I might not get around to eating them.

I can't find the recipe online now, and I threw out the paper copy, but I think these are the things in them:

Country pork ribs (boneless)
Maple syrup
Soy sauce
Allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg(?), dried diced onions (right name for it?), dried ginger, ...hmm, that's five. Might have been something else.

Anyway, toss it all into the crockpot, cook for 7-9 hours. When it was done, it had next to no flavor. (Which was odd, as it smelled rather nice.) I stuck it in the fridge for a while so I could get the massive amount of fat off the top, but it was still mighty meh. What a waste!

At least I still have all the spices, and the MMMMM real maple syrup which I shouldn't even look at (but is oh so yummy, I had a tiny bit on a spoon). I also have half the meat left over to cook next week (going to toss it in with a bottle of BBQ sauce I think), but I almost dread doing that. It's so icky fatty meat (even though on the surface it looked like it had none... when I pulled it out of the crockpot, fully half of it was fat).

Cost-wise, it's just so depressing. $30 for delivered Chinese food ($30 is the minimum for delivery) would feed me for three days -- two meals a day, three days. A pizza would feed me for two days (two meals a day, two days) and would cost about $20. Either of those two would have tasted really, really good, too. At least next weekend will be basically free, the meat is paid for already and I have the sauce. So, I suppose you could almost call it $45 for this weekend and $45 for next... Still: Blah.

Comments

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Really fatty meat like that is gross in the crock pot, because the melted fat really has no place to go. It would probably have been better cooked in the oven, with the ribs on a rack inside the pan so the fat could drip off.

Wish you lived close enough so I could feed you. Last time I cooked pork ribs the boys ate so much I did not get any. XD

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*laughs* That'd be a fun visit, I bet!

And yeah, I'm kind of thinking about that. I like the crockpot because it's easy, so pre-cooking the meat defeats that a bit, but... might still be worth it to do! Plus browning it would make it yummier, I bet.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Everyone talks about how expensive it is to eat out or carry out, and how much cheaper it is to cook for yourself, but in some configurations it's just not true! As you say, portions are so large in restaurant food that you can eat it for multiple days and you eliminate all the time you spent cooking.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Totally agreed. Sometimes I kick myself over how much I spend on takeout/fast food (about $10 per day, five days a week), but if you compare it to the amount I spend on failed cooking attempts, it's actually quite the better deal (at least money-wise and not health-wise).

[hamburger.livejournal.com]

$30 minimum order for Chinese? Holy crap... it's like $10 everywhere here. That's ridiculous.

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

Well, when I'm ordering diced filet mignon with scallops and ginger... ;)

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

Duh, that's shallots, not scallops.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Mmmm! Hungry!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I live in the most expensive place in the US! It'd be nicer if the minimum were lower (and I'd order more often if it was), but $10 is basically delivery charge and tax for most places! (Happily this Chinese place I go to doesn't charge for delivery.) A pizza though? Add $10 on to whatever the price is.