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In the mid sixties we were not rich. My mom prepared dinners from scratch like liver and onions, tuna caserole and something called hungarian goulash. The tuna caserole was okay but the other stuff was not for me. I was skinny as it was but. Someone invented the TV dinner. And then someone else (I presume) invented or discovered fish sticks. Life was good after that and liver and tongue free. My Oscar acceptance speach will include thanking TV Dinners. Did TV dinner invent tatertots? I don't remember them before that. Did TV dinner invent TV trays? I don't remember them before that (and I was there). Having said that: TV trays origins can be traced back hundreds of years which is pretty remarkable considering TV wasn't invented until 1927. Getting back to our purpose. TV dinners, now called frozen dinners can be a cheap guys' staple. If you can get a meal: meatloaf and mashed potatoes, Salibury steak and mac and cheese or spaghetti and meatballs for $3.0...

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According to the highly respected Belleville News-Democrat here are the best estimates for how long to keep packets of various condiments: One year for mayo, relish, BBQ sauce, tartar sauce, horseradish sauce, maple syrup, salad dressings and ketchup. One to two years for olive oil, Parmesan cheese, taco sauce, mustard and soy sauce. Two to three years for jelly in plastic tubs. Three to four years for Tabasco sauce, pepper and vinegar. Honey along with salt and sugar can be kept indefinitely. Fast food restaurants are a trap for a cheap one, but there are some tricks. Some value menues are good. Two tacos for 99 cents at JITB, $2 6 peice McNuggets etc. Some items especially breakfast items don't really require sauce, but they still offer it, and if they don't you can still ask for it. The mayonaise and the ranch are the best to ask for - especially if you don't need anything for that order. File under: CHEAP!

  THE 8 FOR 99 CENTS HOTDOG BUNS , THE 8 FOR 99 CENTS HOT DOGS AND THE 16 FOR 99 CENTS CHEESE SLICES. THIS IS EIGHT COMPLETE HOT DOGS FOR 3$. (with cheese left over!) REMEMBER: This is a snack, the nutritional value is questionable. Sometimes we just need a tasty treat without throwing down for fast food or the arduous task of more advanced cooking. CHEAPGUY TIP Get some Barbeque sauce packets from fast-food purchases (especially KFC ) and have a BBQ Dog!

How Much does it cost to make a George Foreman Cheeseburger? I bought all of the ingredients today at Stater Brothers which is not the cheapest market in town but it is the closest. So sometimes even I - The Cheap Guy pay for convenience when I am lazy - which is a very expensive trait - which is addressed - HERE . The hamburger patties were $10.99 for 12 frozen patties. The buns were $1.29 for an eight pack. The cheese was 2.99 for ten slices. As always there are costs associated with preparing the item so I add a "surcharge" to the formula to be fair. To be unfair would be to say a protein smoothie cost $3.50 to make when the juicer cost $5,000 (and yes there are $5,000.00 juicers). So I got the George Foreman grill from a friend who got the bigger one, but let's say I got it second hand for $10.00 which is generous and let's say I get 50 burgers before it falls apart. Include the mustard I bought a couple of weeks ago at the Dollar store and the ketchup packages ...

Dollar Tree is moving it's way up the cheapguy food-chain as it still keeps all items, that's right - All items at $1.00. The 99 cents ONLY store doesn't have anything for 99 cents. Nothing. interesting finding I live in a highly populated area and there are three Dollar Tree locations located in my "travel circle" and they are all different in their shopping experience. For example product selection - one location doesn't even bother with a refrigeration section, another location sometimes has the cinnamon rolls I like and the other two never do. All three are very different in square feet. And all are different in prioritizion of merchandising, customer service, full shelf-stocking and cleanliness. It's kind of a bad thing, but it keeps me going to all three spots every week or two.

Bar S Franks are actually pretty tasty and about a dollar for ten. We'll talk about the ten hot dogs in a pack and the eight hot dog buns in a pack conspiracy in another post. The drawback with this product is that the package is not resealable. We'll have to look for a .99 cent box of resealable baggies to solve this. But with eight hot dogs at a dollar and ten buns at a dollar and a pack of cheap cheese slices at a dollar you get at least eight hot dogs for three dollars. External Links https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/588500/why-are-there-10-hot-dogs-per-pack-but-8-buns

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Myself

spam.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food) A 12oz can of Spam has gone up to $2.99 but that's still good for about three sandwiches. Spam is a brand of canned cooked pork made by Hormel Foods Corporation, based out of Minnesota. It was first introduced in 1937 and gained popularity worldwide after its use during World War II. By 2003, Spam was sold in 41 countries on six continents and trademarked in over 100 countries.

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Hormel chili is pushing the $1.85 - $1.99 threshold which is bothersome. HOWEVER... they have that handy pull/pop top that keeps us paying .30 cents more a can. Hormel and Dennison's Chili are the only canned chilis to buy. Even the higher priced stuff has ingredients I don't care about or like - chunky meat clusters, chopped onions, tomatoes etc. In turn the cheaper brands are remarkably (sorry for the insider verbiage) yuckier.

Dennison's chili is a little bit less expensive ($1.50) than Hormel chili , but lacks the pull/pop top that we hold dear. Dennison's might be a little thicker, but how can that be practically judged? And do you want your chili thicker?

There are only three types of chili in the world worthy of eating. 3. Dennison's canned chili 2. Hormel chili 1. Home made. A cheap home made chili recipe is forthcoming. Any canned chili other than the above named will be a bitter disappointment. Yes, there are some fancy expensive canned chilis but (A) they are more like a been and beef soup, and (B) We are cheap remember?