I have no need to pinch pennies but probably eat out only 12 times a year or so -- and that is usually when food is secondary to a special occasion, meeting old friends for dinner, etc. I never eat out just to have a meal except when on the road.
To me, it's not a temptation because I can make better food for less money at home, without the hassle of hauling out to a store. A great filet, baked potato and salad takes 10 minutes (1 min to pop potatoes in oven an hour ahead of time, five min to make the salad and a few min turning the steak every so often) and is better quality and about 1/3 the price of even a medium-quality chain like Outback let alone a great steakhouse.
And, as others have mentioned, watching a couple episodes of those restaurant nightmare shows on TV will reduce the appeal of dining out, too.
To me, it's a no-brainer on Sunday when say watching a movie or QVC to spend 45 min prepping food for the week -- cutting up veggies, boiling a few eggs, pre-cooking bacon, stirring up a batch of spaghetti sauce and grilling several chicken breasts or roasting a boneless turkey breast. With all of that on hand as well as cheeses and staples like pasta, it's a 10-min feat to whip up a pasta dinner, a chef's salad, club sandwiches, or just grilled chicken and veggies or a baked potato.
Maybe if you changed your concept of what dinner has to be after watching the grandkids. Would a cold snack plate of deviled eggs, veggies & dip, cheeses, salami and crackers be enough? Or scrambled eggs & toast, or a grilled cheese sandwich? How about those Boboli pizzas -- again, have pepperoni, canned sauce (I like Contadina), a bag of shredded mozzarella on hand, maybe canned mushrooms if you like them or a bell pepper and voila, a great pizza before you could get one from take-out.
I finally found a brand of deli roast beef that is not slimy or overly seasoned, it's sliced really rare and if you had that on hand you could make french dip sandwiches, cold sandwiches and soup or even just put the beef on a plate with green beans and egg noodles for another 10-minute meal. Same with home-roasted turkey breast which literally takes 3 min to unwrap and put in the oven and three min on the other end to cool and package for the fridge. Plenty of meat there for sandwiches or a meat/starch meal.
I seldom buy frozen food except veggies but those Stouffer lasagnas are supposed to be decent, perhaps you could try one or two items to have on hand if the urge to dine out strikes. I see frozen soups and such too that could be the basis for a meal. My spaghetti sauce I just ladle into quart-size freezer bag, write the date and plop in the freezer; they thaw fast and you just warm sauce in micro, boil some vermicelli, whip up a salad and voila, dinner.
What do you normally order at restaurants and how could you replicate it at home, cheaper and healthier?
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