Homemade versus the Dollar Menu

First. Let me be clear. I am not opposed to eating out sometimes. I am not opposed to the dollar menu. I am not opposed to being tired and wanting a break from cooking or cleaning up. I'm not even opposed to being completely unprepared for dinner some nights and being completely starved at dinner time and just going out.

What I am opposed to is the idea that eating out is cheaper than eating in. It's not. It makes me crazy crazy obscenely crazy to hear and/or read articles/people talk about how cheap fast food is. It is not cheap. It is easy. It is fast (sometimes). It is a source of pleasure for some. It is tasty for some. It is convenient for many. But it is not cheap. Also, the people who work there always look at me like they would personally be much happier if I were dead and I don't care for that much, but that's beside the point.

We're not even going to talk about the combo meals because when I see a $6-8 (per person) "meal" with a sandwich, fries and soda, I see what could have been a small roast in the crock pot with some ranch powder, potatoes and carrots. People, it's not even any more work than standing in line while your kids whine and the hollow-eyed workers give you death stares. So, no, we're not going to talk about combo meals.

We're going to talk about the dollar menu. If each member of my family orders two items from the dollar menu, we pay $12 plus tax. This is not, by any means, terrible. But it is also not particularly cheap (especially if you consider that little roast up above that could be a big roast for $10). Also, two items is filling enough for the me and the kids, but not really for Kip.

Again, let me reiterate that this isn't about taste or convenience or funness. It's about cost (though I personally believe homemade meals kick butt in the taste department too; they just don't always taste the same as beloved fast food staples). If you love Rally's fries (because I know I do--oh, yes, I do), then so be it. I just don't want to hear that they're any cheaper than my home fries, which are about 25 cents a serving.

Homemade Hamburgers and Fries to serve 6

1.5 lb hamburger: $6.00 (not a sale price there either)
buns: 1.50
condiments: .50
Potatoes for fries: 1.50

Total: $9.50

I realize that you have to make this food, then clean it up. I get that. But you're looking at much higher quality food too. $4/pound is how much our humanely raised (though not grass fed) beef costs. And the home fries are a whole food made with just potatoes and oil and salt. Also you can go nuts with the condiments if you want (my family always does). Also, there are no plastic chairs. Or scary employees (that is, unless you've had a very bad day and are giving the kids some good death stares of your own).

Next we'll compare some good old fashioned subway style sandwiches and fruit to the old dollar menu. This is not an apples to apples comparison because this is obviously not a burger type meal, but it is one that takes virtually no effort, so in that way I thought it a good comparison as well. You just put the stuff on the table and people make the sandwiches they want. You can have this meal on the table in less time you wait in line at McDonald's for lunch. We had it for dinner the other night and it was so good and satisfying and filling and EASY that it's what got me thinking about the whole dollar menu thing.

6-inch subs with fruit  for 6

Meat (deli chicken): 4.00
buns: 1.50
pickles: .50
cheese: .75
toppings (tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, mustard): .75
apple: .50
orange: .25
pear: .25

Total: 8.50

Again this isn't even the cheapest of the cheap. These were delicious, fully loaded sandwiches. And everyone got 1/2 serving of fruit (which could have been doubled with another dollar). As an aside, my kids couldn't eat a full sandwich so we had leftovers the next day.

So go ahead and eat out. Have fun with it for Pete's sake. Or do it when you're out and haven't prepared anything and people in your car are melting down like a square of American cheese on a cheeseburger. This isn't about fast food guilt. But please please please spare me those droning arguments about how cheap fast food is and that that's why people have to eat it and that there's no possible way they could ever eat anything else more filling or more healthy. Cause, yeah, you might get a hollow-eyed death stare from me.

P.S. As a follow up, I'll soon be doing a post on faster-than-fast food meals you can make and enjoy.

Coconut Lime Pull Apart Bread

I am a terrible shameless fan of pull apart bread with all its buttery white floured goodness. I've made cinnamon/sugar, chocolate chip, and--my favorite--orange. This weekend, I made another winning combination: coconut lime. It was very very good. Although my son did look at the green zest between layers and ask if it all contained spinach. Ha (and, no, there is no spinach, okay).

You'll find the instructions for pull apart bread here.

To make coconut lime, sub the zest of two limes for the orange zest. Then frost it with this to-die-for coconut lime glaze. Let me give this glaze a little gush because it's awesome. It would be fabulous on bundt cakes, muffins, cupcakes, donuts, whatever. It's just really really wickedly good.

Coconut Lime Glaze

4 Tbsp coconut milk (the canned kind)
1- 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
juice from one lime
a few scrapes of zest for looks

Mix together and pour over bread while it's still warm. Note: You can add more powdered sugar and it will still be a glaze, but I really liked the pop of the limey coconut with a thinner glaze.

Really Easy Roast Chicken

One of fundamental reasons that people don't cook is that they think it's difficult. Fussy. They think you have to know things to be a good cook, be part of an inner circle. The truth is that you really don't have to know a lot. You do need a decent recipe and a tiny tiny sense of confidence or adventure or homeyness, or a combination thereof. And maybe a small child to hang off of your leg, because I hear that that is kind of like a cooking talisman.

It took me many years into my cooking life to even attempt to roast a whole chicken. I mean, that was big-time--like Thanksgiving or something, right? Nope. Roasting a chicken is one of the easiest, most wonderful meals you can make.

I present this roast chicken recipe because it's the easiest I've found and it turns out a butt-kicking chicken--moist, golden-skinned, flavorful. The other great thing about roasting a chicken is that you usually get some good leftovers you can use in salads or burritos the next day. And if you're feeling adventurous, you can even attempt your own broth (it's easy; just throw it in the crock pot after dinner, cover in water, and strain out the liquid before bed. Done). But you don't have to make broth if that scares you. Just make chicken.

Basically, you will get your oven really hot, you will slather your bird in butter, salt, and pepper, and then you will cook it breast side up for an hour. That's it. It's easy. 

What you need:
-A THAWED bird
-Butter
-Salt and pepper
-A pan
-An oven
-An hour and 15 minutes (you don't have to DO anything during this time, mind you, but you have to be in your house)
-An instant read thermometer (maybe not essential, but very helpful, especially for a novice cook)

What you can have:
-Herbs
-Lemon or orange (this is supposed to keep it moist)
-Garlic

Why People Fuss:
-You do have to thaw the bird. Have I mentioned this? You can buy a fresh one, but if you buy frozen, that baby has to be thawed. I do this by putting it in a bowl of water and putting that in the fridge overnight.
-Time. It does take a good hour to cook your chicken. A mere five minutes of prep, but a good hour of cooking time. If you get home from work at 7:00 and want to eat NOW, that is a problem, but otherwise, it's easy to multitask around your cooking bird. (And you can totally rock a chicken in a crock pot too, but this post is about roasting one.)
-Do I have to brine it? No. Not with this recipe anyway. There's gonna be plenty of salt and it's just a small little guy, so you'll be fine without brining.
-Will I burn down my house? It is unlikely, even with the small child leg hanging talisman.
-Why is my oven so hot for this? I'm sure I will dry it out or burn down the house. This bird is probably going to explode in my oven isn't it? No. I don't know why the high heat works, but it really really does. Do it.
-Do I have to touch a raw chicken? Yes, yes you do. I'm sorry, but unless you have a very loving spouse who will do it for you, this is part of roasting a bird. You have to get all cozy with its raw self and possibly remove the neck and some innards (don't worry; most are in a bag if they're there at all).
-What ever will I serve with it? Potatoes, people. And maybe some broccoli if you want.

Really Easy Roast Chicken
adapted from here
Serves 4
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Rest time: 10 minutes
Cost: $5.60
chicken: $5.00, lemon: .30, butter: .25, garlic: .05

5 to 6 pound chicken, THAWED (have I emphasized that enough?)
1 lemon, halved or pricked several times with a sharp knife
4 garlic cloves, crushed and/or sliced
3-4 Tbsp butter
salt salt salt
pepper

Place rack on second level from bottom. Heat oven to 500 degrees (450 in a convection oven per the original post for this).

Take out the neck and giblets (you don't have to cut anything off--just remove them from the cavity where your loving butcher has stuffed them because some people like them or use them in stock or gravy; you don't have to, but that's why it's there)

Stuff the cavity (that's the hollow part of the bird where you probably just took out a neck and some innards) with the lemon and garlic and maybe a tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle a very good dose of salt and pepper into the cavity (I'm thinking 1/4-1/2 tsp salt--you won't end up eating it all; most will run off, but it will help flavor the bird).

Rub the chicken with the remaining butter. Get it good. Then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Be generous with your salt. Sprinkle it over all surfaces of the bird (again, you won't end up eating all of this, but it will season the bird).

Place the chicken BREAST SIDE UP in a roasting pan (or Dutch oven or 9x13 inch pan or whatever can handle high heat; roasting pans can be intimidating, huh?). Be sure there's a nice dollop of butter on the bottom part (where the bird meets the pan) to help it not stick too bad when it's done. Put it in the oven legs first and roast 50-60 minutes. Take it out when the juices run clear or when you can stick an instant read thermometer in any part of its little birdy body and have that thermometer come out at 160 or higher. In a neurotic way I poke that thing all over the place, but if you want to be less violent, you can google how to test the temp of a bird and just poke it in one or two places.

When it's done, take it out of the pan and let it rest covered in aluminum foil for 10 minutes. Resting lets the juices distribute evenly throughout the bird.

If you want, you can take the drippings and make a gravy with them. I keep this really easy. Remove all the liquid drippings and scrape off the browned bits at the bottom of your pan because they're awesomeness. Bring this to a boil in a saucepan. Mix 1-2 Tbsp cornstarch with 2-4 Tbsp water. When the drippings/broth are boiling, add the cornstarch/water, whisking until thickened to the desired thickness. That's it.

PRINTABLE RECIPE