Burgers for Breakfast - it's about time.

[BlueStarLizzard]

I prefer my kitchen.  I know the cook and he makes what I like exactly to order.

Buzzkill

I knew when I saw you had posted, it was going to be something along these lines. Just like I know what your posts about TV will say.

[Boomhauer]

I prefer my kitchen.  I know the cook and he makes what I like exactly to order.

Food Curmudgeon!

I actually haven't cracked the recipe yet for a burger joint like burger. Now, mind you, my homemade burgers on the grill taste good but they don't taste like a favorite burger joint burger. I wish I could get there, as burgers and ChicFilA sandwhiches are my weaknesses.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Food Curmudgeon!

I actually haven't cracked the recipe yet for a burger joint like burger. Now, mind you, my homemade burgers on the grill taste good but they don't taste like a favorite burger joint burger. I wish I could get there, as burgers and ChicFilA sandwhiches are my weaknesses.

Well, there's also the crap food/comfort food thing.

I'll be the first to say McDonalds burgers arn't even close to gormet. In fact, compared to "real" burgers, they arn't even in the same league.
But damn if I don't enjoy them on a fairly regular behavior.

Sometimes I want one of my own homemade burgers. Sometimes I was a resterant burger. Sometimes I just want a McDonalds burger that has overcooked, over processed greasy beef smothered in melted wax cheese, rehydrated onions, mustard, ketchep and crappy dill pickles on white bread smashed bun.

[Perd Hapley]

...on a fairly regular behavior.

Something about this phrase really cracks me up.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Something about this phrase really cracks me up.

oh dear. I'm drunk posting and I havn't even been drinking.

I really need to go to bed...

[Regolith]

Food Curmudgeon!

I actually haven't cracked the recipe yet for a burger joint like burger. Now, mind you, my homemade burgers on the grill taste good but they don't taste like a favorite burger joint burger. I wish I could get there, as burgers and ChicFilA sandwhiches are my weaknesses.

The amount of condiments and the proportion seem to make the biggest difference; the bun and patty actually don't seem to matter all that much.

[Regolith]

rehydrated onions

I'm pretty sure they put cocaine in those. Only explanation.

[Scout26]

Buzzkill

I knew when I saw you had posted, it was going to be something along these lines. Just like I know what your posts about TV will say.

New favorite here.

Frozen Aldi 80/20 burgers on the grill.  cookone side, flip over and coat cooked side with my special BBQ sauce.  Toast buns.  After toasting flip over and put shredded cheese on bun(s) move buns to indirect heat side, add french fried onions once cheese stats to melt.  Once burger is cooked to desired doneness, assemble and eat.

12 pack frozen Bugers $6.99
8 Buns $.89
Dad's (my) BBQ sauce,  call it $2 for 16oz.
1 Can of French Fried Onions $1.89
1 Bag of Aldi's Blended shredded cheese $2.29


I get a better burger then McD's for about the price as their dollar menu burgers. and it can be easily done at home if you don'thave grill.  Skillet/Goerge Foreman, a toaster and/or microwave work just as well to achieve the desired results.

Not as easy as sliding thru a drivethru, but when have to feed a 13 yearold boy everyday, you simply can't afford to eat out all most some any time.   

[Sergeant Bob]

Something about this phrase really cracks me up.

I'm gonna steal that from you!

[BlueStarLizzard]

A thought...

I havn't done the math or anything, but I think there is a diffrence on the finacial aspect when you're feeding one as opposed to feeding multiple mouths.

At least when it involves perishable food items.

There are ways to get around that (leftovers and freezers) but even being contientious of that, I still end up tossing bad food often enough (or giving up just before it goes bad and giving it to the four legged garbage disposals)

The only switch between fast food and home food I've got that is signifigently cheaper is having cereal for breakfast instead of Hardee's (which is the more expesive fast food option) and if my home breakfast was of the same quality as the Hardee's, it wouldn't be signifigently cheaper.

Last time I did burgers at home, I had to toss a couple buns and I ate burgers for lunch and dinner two days in a row. *shrug* I could have spent less to eat doller menu McDoubles instead and wouldn't have thrown food away.

[Perd Hapley]

Aldi's has some good deals.

[wmenorr67]

A thought...

I havn't done the math or anything, but I think there is a diffrence on the finacial aspect when you're feeding one as opposed to feeding multiple mouths.

At least when it involves perishable food items.

There are ways to get around that (leftovers and freezers) but even being contientious of that, I still end up tossing bad food often enough (or giving up just before it goes bad and giving it to the four legged garbage disposals)

The only switch between fast food and home food I've got that is signifigently cheaper is having cereal for breakfast instead of Hardee's (which is the more expesive fast food option) and if my home breakfast was of the same quality as the Hardee's, it wouldn't be signifigently cheaper.

Last time I did burgers at home, I had to toss a couple buns and I ate burgers for lunch and dinner two days in a row. *shrug* I could have spent less to eat doller menu McDoubles instead and wouldn't have thrown food away.

This sometimes it is just cheaper to eat out.  Yes like BSL said you can have leftovers but eventually you get sick of the same thing multiple days/meals in a row.

[Scout26]

Yes like BSL said you can have leftovers but eventually you get sick of the same thing multiple days/meals in a row.

You've never met my parents.      Cook food, eat, put leftovers in fridge for next day.  Next day, pull out leftovers, reheat, eat, put leftovers in fridge.  Repeat until gone.  Start with new meal/food.   (Sometimes they'll put leftovers in the freezer to eat later.)
 

And yes, I do understand that cooking for one is hard.  Cooking for two is almost as hard.  Most recipes are "Serves 4 to 6 people", and I often forget to cut the ingredients in half before I start cooking.   Having something 2 days in a row is not TOO bad, but Robert pretty much won't do 3.  Except Texas Chicken Stew (Like Lawdog's Texas Chicken Soup sans Chicken Broth, with a bag of frozen corn instead of 2 cans, and some chili powder. )

[Perd Hapley]

So fast food is neither economical, nor haute cuisine?  Call Edward R. Murrow, so he can announce that in the next news reel!

[230RN]

bluestarlizzard mentioned:

Sometimes I just want a McDonalds burger that has overcooked, over processed greasy beef smothered in melted wax cheese, rehydrated onions, mustard, ketchep and crappy dill pickles on white bread smashed bun.

  You gotta stress your system once in a while.

And:

There are ways to get around that (leftovers and freezers) but even being contientious of that, I still end up tossing bad food often enough (or giving up just before it goes bad and giving it to the four legged garbage disposals)

That's a big problem for me.  About half of the produce and other fresh non-freezable items go bad before I get to finish them.  And a quarter of the frozen stuff gets ruined, too.  And I ain't got no four legged garbage disposals.

So there's often an economic incentive to go get a MacWendyKing's burger instead of asking a produce manager to cut a head of lettuce in half for me, or give me half a "bunch" of celery, for example.

I suspect, without actually knowing, that there'd be a pretty big market for "half-size" products tailored for the one-person household. (And I've noticed that the "other half" of the lettuce or celery or whatever that I've had cut up is also gone in a pretty short time.)

As another example, Van deCamp's beans come in tiny cans as well as the regular-sized ones, and I'll buy four small cans rather than one regular one even though that costs more per ummm.... "bean."

And, incidentally, it is not recommended to reheat leftovers more than once.  Apparently, from what I understand, the transition periods from hot to cold and back again allows propagation of the bacteria and their toxins in that 'tween period.

From what I understand.  I'll go two reheats if I'm feeling brave, but that's about it.

Terry, 230RN

[Scout26]

Dad's 90 and Mom is 86.   Dad really healthy (Last Dr appt, he was told to drink more water.  I was like "That's it."  Dr: "All I could think of, I have to say something."  )  Mom's only issue is her hearing.


I don't there's been a bacteria born that can get them yet.

And it's moreso the amount of time that the food is in the 120F-45F "Danger Zone"  Since it gets reheat in the Microwave (which kills lots of nasties), spooned out on to the plates and the rest put back in the fridge.  The food isn't in that range very long.

[KD5NRH]

There are ways to get around that (leftovers and freezers) but even being contientious of that, I still end up tossing bad food often enough (or giving up just before it goes bad and giving it to the four legged garbage disposals)

Presplit and freeze. Those little Ziploc tubs are just right for 1-2 servings of stir fry meat, so I buy pork chops and roasts, cut them up to stir fry size and freeze them in the tubs.  No thawing the whole chunk just to get one meal worth, or trying to chisel off the right amount from a frozen slab.  (Literally; I had a 3" chisel dedicated to frozen food use at one apartment.)  2-4 hamburger patties are just right in the flatter, wider tubs, or you can just bag them.  Veggies, I mostly pick stuff that will either keep for a week in the fridge or stuff that freezes well, and do pretty much the same thing.  Grains and canned stuff really isn't an issue.  All that really leaves is the breads, and I can handle restocking bread fairly often.

As for a regular size can of veggies being too much, I just use it as a side on two fairly different meals.  As long as the rest of the plate changes, green beans twice in a row is hardly noticeable.

[TechMan]

For berries I wash them in a 1 part apple cider vinegar to 10 parts water.  I let them soak anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.  Rinse or don't rinse. Pat dry and put back in their container.  Berries keep for a week solid.  Vinegar kills the mold spores on the berries.

[Chuck Dye]

Huh...

My favorite fast food breakfasts come from hole-in-the-wall Mexican joints, drive throughs, even from many catering trucks.  Definitely not factory food.

[Scout26]

Presplit and freeze. Those little Ziploc tubs are just right for 1-2 servings of stir fry meat, so I buy pork chops and roasts, cut them up to stir fry size and freeze them in the tubs.  No thawing the whole chunk just to get one meal worth, or trying to chisel off the right amount from a frozen slab.  (Literally; I had a 3" chisel dedicated to frozen food use at one apartment.)  2-4 hamburger patties are just right in the flatter, wider tubs, or you can just bag them.  Veggies, I mostly pick stuff that will either keep for a week in the fridge or stuff that freezes well, and do pretty much the same thing.  Grains and canned stuff really isn't an issue.  All that really leaves is the breads, and I can handle restocking bread fairly often.

As for a regular size can of veggies being too much, I just use it as a side on two fairly different meals.  As long as the rest of the plate changes, green beans twice in a row is hardly noticeable.

Skip the canned veggies and buy bags of frozen, open, dump out however much you need, tightly wrap, twist-tie and put the remainder back in thee freezer.  No as good as fresh, but better tasting than canned.  (Less salt also)

[230RN]

Dad's 90 and Mom is 86.   Dad really healthy (Last Dr appt, he was told to drink more water.  I was like "That's it."  Dr: "All I could think of, I have to say something."  )  Mom's only issue is her hearing.


I don't there's been a bacteria born that can get them yet.

And it's moreso the amount of time that the food is in the 120F-45F "Danger Zone"  Since it gets reheat in the Microwave (which kills lots of nasties), spooned out on to the plates and the rest put back in the fridge.  The food isn't in that range very long.

Well, as I said, numerous reheats are "not recommended," not that it's impossible to get away with it.  I agree that the internal heating in the microwave kills a lot of squirmies in the food.  Not so sure it destroys accumulated toxins from the aforesaid squirmies.

I recall a story by H. Allen Smith (not P. Allen Smith, the gardener) where he spoke of a movie director who kept a pot of stew simmering all the time, and routinely threw leftovers in it and occasionally some water.  This long-term stew was reputed to be delicious, and was referred to as "Director's Stew."  

As bluestarlizzard's catchphrase goes, "Oh, please, nobody died the last time."

And immune systems differ.  May I offer the theory that with your parents' ages, they've probably been exposed to and conquered most of the nasties that have hit our population in the past 0.86 to 0.90 centuries? :)

And I shouldn't have to point out that many cases of illness dismissed as "flu" are actually food-poison related.

Terry

REFs:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Allen_Smith
http://www.info.com/search?qcat=web&qkw=flu-like+symptoms+of+food+poisoning

[vaskidmark]

Skip the canned veggies and buy bags of frozen, open, dump out however much you need, tightly wrap, twist-tie and put the remainder back in thee freezer.  No as good as fresh, but better tasting than canned.  (Less salt also)

Another vote for convenient frozen stuff - not just veggies but meats, fishies, and just about anything that can be flash-frozen without needing to add stuff (especially salt/nitrates/nitrates).

And for when the family-size portions are truely a bargain, I pull the gimpy senior citizen act on the meat department folks* and they cut roasts into individual-serving sizes (sometimes called steaks) and quarter up chickens.  Then a stop at the freezer baggie aisle and I just need to put stuff in the baggies and the baggies in the freezer - no mess/fuss of cutting boards and deciding if I can use the same knife to cut all the different fleshy-things without stopping to autoclave between species.

stay safe.

* - the yuppie store gets all their crap in those thick plastic heat-sealed bags and opens them up and puts the item in the cooler.  Their idea of portion control is whatever the factory sends them is a portion and no, they will not cut it or trim it.  OTOH the low-grade grocery (Food Lion for those who know the chain) has two actual butchers back behind the counters and they will custom-cut for me just because I ask nicely.  Not just slice something but actually separate a cut from the larger piece - for example slice off the layer of meat from the loin area that comes attached to loin back ribs, and charge me just for that, figuring out how to sell the now-skinnier ribs (probably as all-growed-up baby back ribs?).

[230RN]

^ "... no mess/fuss of cutting boards and deciding if I can use the same knife to cut all the different fleshy-things without stopping to autoclave between species."



I use large paper plates for cutting-up operations and keep the hot water (~130°F) running to wipe and rinse the blades between species.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Oh, I freeze meat. And I also prefer frozen veggies, although the microwave steamer bags and a chunk of meat is a full meal for me, so usually I don't have leftovers from that.
The only issue I have with freeing stuff is in the summer we loose power a lot, sometimes for long enough stretches to loose frozen food, so I try to limit the stockpile at this time of year.
In all fairness, we lose power in the winter too, but the poor mans fridge assists with keeping food from spoiling.

[Cliffh]

For fast-food breakfast I prefer either McD's sausage & egg biscuit or one of Sonic's burritos.  In the way back, I'd grab a burrito and orange juice off the roach coach.  Or, when working graveyard, a Wendy's triple burger.

In all fairness, we lose power in the winter too, but the poor mans fridge assists with keeping food from spoiling.

We lost power for 3 days during a snow storm a few years ago.  DW wanted me to drive into town and buy some ice to put in the freezer, help keep things cold.  Instead, I went to the back yard with a trash bag and scooped up some of the 1' of snow.  Total time 5 minutes, total cost $0.00.  Seemed more efficient to me....

FWIW, the backup generator is now wired so that we don't have to run cords through windows, and can be up & running within minutes.