GOURMET MEALS FOR $5 OR UNDER: MEAL 1 OF 25

BEEF PATTIES W/ BAKED POTATOES & MUSHROOMS

(SERVED WITH A GARDEN SALAD)

Total Cost: $4.90/serving

Total Preparation Time: 45 min

It is 22:05 and I am ready to begin with my first meal under $5.00. Tonight, I made beef patties and served them with a side of baked potatoes and mushrooms, as well as a garden salad. 

Earlier today, I had my son help me get all the right ingredients at the local Superstore, although I also shop at Independent and rather rarely COSTCO and Co-Op. These are some of many grocery stores one can find in Alberta and the pricing for my ingredients is theirs.

Let us begin with beef PATTIES. First of all, they are part beef, part sauteed vegetables and part cooked quinoa. Mixing meat with vegetables and grains will make those burgers fluffy and full of flavour. Besides, it will greatly reduce the cost of the meal and be a more healthful alternative to all-meat burgers. This time, I used organic lean ground beef, mini peppers and organic quinoa, so the cost of ingredients can be reduced even further by buying regular beef, cheaper bell peppers and rice. The measurements and subsequent costs were as follows:

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)*
N/A	600	Extra lean ground beef	18.99/4lb	6.33
1 ½ cup	260	Cooked organic quinoa	10.99/4lb	0.97
½	95	Onion	1.97/3lb	0.14
1 cup	100	Mini peppers	6.48/1.5lb	0.95
1	75	Carrot	3.98/5lb	0.13
1	4	Garlic, cloves	2.99/pack of 3	0.08
N/A	20	Italian parsley	0.97/bunch	0.32
1	N/A	Egg yolk	3.69/dozen	0.31
TOTAL				9.23	2.31

*1 serving= 2 patties (110g each)

The above mixture made 8 patties or 4 servings in total, although I personally only ate one. The serving in this example is designed to satisfy a 230-pound man, although even my husband would be full before he cleans the plate! On a side note, I did not consider the cost of spices as it is rather negligible. For my recipe, I used salt, black pepper, tarragon, and basil. 

Next, I prepared a SIDE of POTATOES and MUSHROOMS. Both were placed in a baking tray and covered with aluminum foil, then baked at 425F for 20 minutes. Then, I removed the aluminum foil, sprinkled all with grated white cheddar and cooked on broil (high) for 2 more minutes.

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)*
1 cup	150	Small potatoes	4.99/5lb	0.33
½ cup	30	White mushrooms	6.57/2.2lb	0.20
¼	15	White cheddar	10.99/1.1lb	0.33
TOTAL				0.86	0.86

Finally, I prepared a GARDEN SALAD from baby arugula, mini cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado. I sprinkled my salad with half a lemon's juice, a table spoon of grape seed oil and chia seeds.

MEASURE	WEIGHT (g)	INGREDIENT	COST PER PACKAGE ($)	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
1 cup	25	Organic baby arugula	2.48/5 oz	0.44
1	72	Mini cucumber	3.71/2lb	0.30
½	90	Tomato	1.98/lb	0.39
¼	45	Avocado, large	1.48/each	0.37
½	42	Organic lemon’s juice	4.99/2lb	0.23
TOTAL				1.73	1.73

Time to calculate the total cost of this rather large meal!

	TOTAL COST ($)	COST PER SERVING ($)
GRAND TOTAL	11.82	4.90

The total cost per serving is $4.90, which could be reduced further had I used regular (as opposed to organic) ingredients. I could also avoid using avocado and buy romaine lettuce as opposed to baby arugula, all of which would have reduced my cost to below $4.00. I also have 7 patties and a cup of baked potatoes and mushrooms left over to last a few more meals. There you have it!