Cooking a big meal like this for one person isn’t always worth it. If I get sick of eating the leftovers, they’ll languish in the fridge until they go bad, and that’s money, cooking, and cleaning up time wasted. But, this isn’t a huge recipe, and I’m a fan of casseroles, so I’m not worried about this one going to waste. Assume that anything canned is generic where possible. These are my own recipes, gleaned from practice and lots of searching other recipes online.
For the Pi Pie:
1lb 80% lean ground beef – $4.5 (on sale $4/lb.)
1 tiny Spanish onion, chopped- $.25
3 Small carrots, skins on and roughly diced – $.30
1/2 Can of generic sweet peas, drained – $.45
4 Medium Idaho potatoes, peeled & quartered – $1
1 Can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted – $1.10
Milk and butter for the mashed potato topping – Pennies
Thyme or Italian Seasoning (optional) – Pennies
Salt & pepper to taste – Pennies
Fresh flat-leaf parsley and/or Paprika for garnish (optional) – Pennies
Total cost: Roughly $7.60 Serves: 4-6 generously ($2 – $1.26 per person)
I browned the beef and onions while the water for the potatoes was boiling. Once the meat was done I dumped it into the colander to drain, and put my carrots into the same pan, using whatever grease was left to cook them. Once they were cooked but still crunchy, and while the potatoes were boiling, I put the meat mix, spices, carrots, peas, and can of soup into a round casserole dish and stirred it all together. When the potatoes were fork-tender, I drained them and put them back into the pan I used to boil them in. I added a little butter and milk, the salt and pepper, and mashed until they were smooth. I also added a handful of fresh parsley that I had on hand. Once the potatoes were ready, I spooned them onto my mix in the casserole, dashed with paprika, and baked at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Came out gooey, cheesy, and very satisfying. Happy pi day!
For the Salad:
1 C Stemmed and quartered strawberries – $.75 (boxes on sale 2/$4)
1 TBS Ken’s Lite Balsamic vinaigrette – $.05
Fresh mint (optional) – Pennies
Total: $.80 Serves: 1 (can alter this very easily)
Tossed everything together to make one serving for myself. Mint was pretty cheap at the Mexican grocery (a big bunch for $1.50), and it works so well with the strawberries. The bunch is too big for me to go through by myself, but I can dry it on the patio to preserve it. Whenever I splurge on out of season produce, I tend to use only what I need to at the time, rather than mixing up a big batch and running the risk of getting sick of it. That means I can use the raw ingredients more easily another day.
Assuming everybody gets a side salad, this whole big meal costs about $2.80 each for four servings, or $2.06 for six.
I say, job well done for my first attempt! Mmmmmmm… pi…..
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