Working the Dollar Menu
If a lot of you are like me you don’t get to cook all that often, so it’s large quantities and freezing if time permits. Fresh from the farmers markets on the way to work and a few other places fills in a lot, but a lot of us rely (maybe a bit too much) on the Dollar Menu.
McDonalds, Wendy’s, and Burger King have the things down pat, and unless you pay attention, they are really good at getting you to spend a lot more than a buck. Buy a dollar burger and by the time you add fries, drink, and dessert you just spent six or seven dollars.
Here’s an example from Mickey D’s breakfast menu: Sausage McMuffin (English muffin, sausage patty, cheese slice) is $1. Sausage McMuffin with Egg is the exact same thing with the addition of a scrambled egg – it’s $2.59. You pay $1.59 for an egg. I can get 12 large eggs for that price at the store. Most people have been trained since childhood to expect egg in their breakfast sandwiches, so they buy the one with the egg. It’s truly smart marketing and you have to hand it to them.
What should you do? Look at what’s offered on the Dollar or Value Menu and think about how you can use any of the items as a starting point to completing a quick meal at home, not buying the entire meal at the restaurant. The objective is to have someone else do the heaviest of the cooking/preparation for you while still spending very little and avoiding waste.
Waste prevention is probably more important with me. I like sausage but rarely cook it at home as I don’t eat it all that often so its pretty useless for me to keep it, even in the freezer where it takes even longer to thaw and then cook.
What do I do? Say for breakfasts I buy 6 of the No Egg versions and stick them in individual plastic bags and into the freezer. In the morning I can take one out, nuke it in the microwave enough to thaw it then open it and place it in the toaster oven to heat through and crisp up the muffin. Meanwhile, I scramble my own egg or sauté some mushrooms or actually more often than not just add a slice of onion and one of tomato – who says a “burger” has to be made of beef?
(or not for breakfast…’scuse me…cold pizza with milk or “hair of the dog” for breakfast when your a poor college student? Been there.)
What I don’t have is a greasy pan from frying sausage, spatters on the stove to clean up, and time to do one or two extra things in the morning as I don’t have to watch either the nuclear oven or the toaster oven as they have timers.
Do the same with the $1 burger, just have them leave it plain – meat, bread, and cheese.
Its the toppings that go bad from being frozen – not the meat and cheese.
You can grab one from the freezer and put fresh toppings in another baggie and tote them to work. Especially nice when you can’t get away or the lines are too long at the drive thru. I’d rather have a reheated one and sit down for a somewhat leisurely lunch that gulp it down on the drive back to the office – and anything beats those vending machine sandwiches.
Bring a frozen cup of Wendy’s Chili and a whole raw potato with a bit of butter and a small thing of sour cream – thaw the chili and “bake” the potato in the microwave.
Bring a salad with sesame dressing and get an order of Chicken Nuggets to put on top – think about what you can do.
Is using the Dollar/Value menus as a starting place for meals a good idea in your opinion? Do you have any ideas on using the Dollar Menu’s to your advantage? Tips? Tricks?
Photo credit: stock.xchng
Roland, I have to say, you’ve managed to take the fun out of fast food. What’s the point of ordering at a drive through if I have to go home and doctor up my food?
You’ve got some good ideas for stretching your food dollar. I just don’t know that I would get something at McDonald’s and then go home and cook.
LOL…Now Serena its not about ruining the fast food experience. Its about using it to your advantage.
Perhaps our definitions of “cooking” differ. If I have to get out a pan or appliance that needs cleaning followed by having to clean the sink and stove I consider that cooking…..using a knife to slice a tomato and an onion or chopping vegies to make a salad in my mind is not cooking…neither is putting ingredients for salad dressing in a bottle.
And I’ll admit as a bachelor that the microwave and toaster oven only need cleaning if they get messy…really no different than a regular toaster…one doesn’t swab down the inside after using it, more work than the thing is worth.
I just take advantage of the cheap prices on dollar menus to obtain ingredients I think would be more trouble than not to cook for a single person.
It also pays to know your vendor of choice, or act like you do. Case in point- this week, I am a single mom of 4 (yikes!) while my partner is in Minneapolis, hopefully making history in the Lutheran church (big initiatives towards gay clergy and same sex marriage on the table that she has worked on for over 7 years). I have been stopping at McDs for a big diet Coke ($1) and my sausage/cheese muffins (2 for 3 this week, I’m lucky sometimes!). The Happy Meal prize is American Girl, which eldest daughter does not know about, thank heaven. I scored a free set this morning just by saying something to the effect of “Here I am for my daily dose of yum…” It was the full set of 9 books- which they are selling at $2.99 a pop (almost $27 “worth”!!). I now have a really good stocking stuffer to set aside for nada!
Roland, I agree with you. I just think the idea of doctoring up fast food takes out the convenience factor.
DJ – wow! What luck! You must have been helping old ladies cross the street or something to get so lucky.
Interesting. I would usually be appauled that we’re even talking about fast food. But since being pregnant I’ve noticed myself dreaming of sausage mcMuffins. Now I know I could take it home and actually toast the bun. The possibilities…