A successful way to curb the spontaneous eating out!

[MomToTwoBoys]

Yesterday, YDS had been complaining all day that he wanted Tim Horton's and that got him put into his bedroom because he kept screaming at us for it. The lesson he learned? Even if you yell at someone that you want something after they've said no, it doesn't get you anywheres.

Life lesson taught!

Onto the afternoon: we were contemplating dinner. Normally on the weekends, one of us either doesn't feel like cooking or wants something we don't have in the house. We end up spending like $40 on Chinese takeout or $25 on Wendy's, which keeps us full for about an hour (the Chinese food lasts us two days because we get so much for $40). We sat on the couch and thought about what we could order out that would fill us up for the most amount of food and spend the least amount of money. I had seriously thought of just ordering Chinese food or having DH go pick up some Vietnamese for us and Wendy's for the kids (I love peanut satay chicken with rice). Then I had a lightbulb moment...to make cheeseburgers and have nachos with it! Now, it may not sound like the most healthy thing we can eat. It's definitely better than what we were going to get, however. I simply took a recipe I found online for some cheeseburgers I could make more than four of and have them be filling to everyone. I found a baked cheeseburger recipe that was pretty frugal and you know what? They tasted marvelous! They were so soft and juicy and I didn't need a whole lot of spices in them to be able to enjoy them.

The fun in all this?

I also got to eat out of the stockpile.

So our first attempt at not eating out and spending $25-$40+ on dinner, plus eating something out of the stockpile, was a success. Truth be told that no one even ate nachos. I made some deviled eggs and the kids and I had some (DH hates boiled egg), plus they had some tortilla chips with Light Cheese Whiz to dip them in (YDS had medium salsa).

[DonnainME]

Great Job. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to make something instead of going out for something.

And, that reminds me, I need to pull something out for supper or we might just have to go out. LOL

[AuntSissy]

Great idea! THANKS!

Anna <who would love to throw herself on the floor, kicking and hollering in the middle of WalMart because she really, really wants "real" Coke instead of Sam's Choice>

[MomToTwoBoys]

Great Job. Sometimes we have to force ourselves to make something instead of going out for something.

And, that reminds me, I need to pull something out for supper or we might just have to go out. LOL

I have to do that too actually. My problem is that I'm stuck with what I want to eat. I could either make perogies with sausage and onions, chicken and noodles, spaghetti and salad, chicken and dumplings with mashed potatoes, pork tenderloin with rice a roni or pork chops with some french fries. My problem is that we had pork chops with french fries the night before last.

I might end up going with the perogies with sausage and onions because everyone loves it and I'm in the mood for something warm and filling.

[monkeywrangler71]

Good for you Things have been out of control lately on the eating out front. It's so bad that I can't walk into the house now without my youngest searching me for fries.

[MomToTwoBoys]

Good for you Things have been out of control lately on the eating out front. It's so bad that I can't walk into the house now without my youngest searching me for fries.

I had that for a bit. I just keep about two or three bags of fries in the house each time I go shopping. I buy these No Name Crispy Skin-On fries from Superstore that bake in the oven and taste way better than the ones you get from most fast food places.

[Spikey1341]

Perogies gets my vote! Yum!!

[MomToTwoBoys]

Perogies gets my vote! Yum!!

I know, I love them too! I found a really good way to make my own, but the trouble is that I don't have a rolling pin to make them. They take some really basic ingredients too and if I can find the recipe, I'll post it in my Recipes section.

[LexTysMommy]

Great job. And way to save $40~

Last night after a busy weekend I asked the kids to pick a place we can go out to eat. We couldnt agree on one, so I said lets eat here. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Mooooooooooom. I said Breakfast for dinner?? Yessssssssssss mom!!! so we had choco chip pancakes, bacon sausage and some fruit. Not healthiest but saved money and time out.

[amanjud]

I wish I had some control last night. We are usually good at not eating out but last night we gave into our cravings and got BK for the kids and subs for us. Needless to say $45 later, I'm feeling the guilt of spending that much on one meal!
Good job being creative!

[mickee311]

Awesome job! Care to post the baked cheeseburger recipe?

[DonnainME]

LOL being attacked for fries.

I'm thinking something with hamburger meat - even though we had meatloaf last night. Yep meatloaf, broccoli, and mac n cheese. We had Chicken Noodle Soup (homemade) for lunch yesterday and I had leftovers for lunch today.

So, what can I make with HB meat. I know - BBQ Beef Cups. You take and cook the hb meat and then add your favorite bbq sauce. In a muffin tin, you squish out biscuits - having them cover the bottom and up the sides of the tin. Then you put the beef mixture in the cups and top with cheese, bake and then WA LA!!!

I think that's what we'll do tonight.

[MomToTwoBoys]

Awesome job! Care to post the baked cheeseburger recipe?

It's up as of this morning. It should be listed as All-American Baked Cheeseburgers or something like that.

[tigo]

I cut the kids off at the pass by throwing dinner in the crockpot before they get up in the morning. No way are we going out for dinner when it is already cooked. It helps they are homeschooled so they are smelling it cooking all day long - lol.

[MomToTwoBoys]

I'd really love to do that but the pickiness level in my house is so astronomical, even with one kid being home 21 hours a day (except when he goes to afternoon Kindergarden).