Is this true? Prepared food sometimes cheaper.

[PloddingInsight]

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-24/everyone-wins-when-you-buy-a-rotisserie-chicken

Rotisserie chickens have been around for a while. I used to bypass them and roast my own, until I noticed something: The rotisserie chickens were actually cheaper than buying and roasting my own.

Cat Vasko noticed the same thing and decided to figure out why. The answer makes a surprising amount of sense: Grocery stores make them out of unsold chicken that is about to pass its expiration date. It’s an elegant way to make a profit out of food that would otherwise be a net loss. And it’s not just chicken...

I intend to check this out next time I go shopping.  I've never run the numbers before.  I just assumed prepared food was always more expensive.  Has anybody run the numbers?  I'd be interested to hear what you found and in what store/location.

[wild wendella]

I buy Organic chicken, and have never found any Organic Rotisserie chickens.  But for the non-organic stuff, I do agree that the rotisseries seem to be pretty cheap.  It's interesting to see this explanation of why.  :)

[steadierfooting]

I once went to make angelfood cake, which can easily go wrong and takes a while to prep.  Had my ingredient list, and remember buying the eggs: $2.99.  Then saw next to the eggs in the bakery section angelfood cake, $2.79.  The recipe called for either a dozen egg whites or a dozen yolks, I can't remember.  But was shocked that one ingredient was more than the price of a store made.  I bought that instead, it was delicious and got the time back (although I enjoy baking so it was more of a project to make it).  I just chalked it up to the bakery buying bulk incredients, but now it wouldn't surprise me if they used eggs closer to expiration, or if one cracked in a carton using the others...

[MoneyCat]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

[Beric01]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

[Spork]

I've also noticed that some grocery stores like to sell prepared foods at or slightly below cost because it smells so darn good that you'll want to buy more.

Roasting chicken and hot/fresh bread come to mind as hooks to get you buying more.  It's marketing.  Use it to your advantage.

[MrsPete]

Yes, prepared foods can definitely be less expensive than made-from-scratch, especially if you're cooking for only 1-2 people and you might not finish the items before they've gone bad.  Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.  Other examples:  Dehydrated broccoli-cheese soup, salsa, frozen lasagna, meatballs, cake or brownies.  Thing is, I can make most of these things BETTER from scratch; I just can't make them cheaper. 

Other things, though, I can definitely make cheaper:  Pimento cheese spread, pizza, breakfast burritos, biscuits. 

[mxt0133]

Some prepared food is definitely cheaper than home cooked food due to bulk purchasing, bulk cooking, and industrial grade appliances and equipment.

So if one is to only consider cost and time then most prepared food is more efficient than home cooked food.  But if you consider health benefits/side effects then it's harder to compare.  One major reason that some prepared food is cheaper is they use processing techniques to make them last longer and an effect of that is a lot of the nutrients are removed.  They also use preservative which is usually some for of sugar.  So prepared foods are at best not as healthy and at worst actually bad for you.

Why is prepared salads or other non-processed foods not as cheap if stores/manufacturers buy and prepare them in bulk?  It's because they do not last long, they have to be refrigerated, ect.  The ingredients that spoil are left in the food are not taken out like in processed food.

So eating bulk spam, chicken nuggets, ramen noodles is way cheaper than fruits, vegetables, and non processed foods and will save you a ton of money.  But you won't live too long or will have ridiculous medical bills.

[Eric]

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

[Zikoris]

I can't say I've ever priced out our baking. It would be a bit tricky since we buy huge quantities. When we did our grocery tracking for a month we spent $35 on baking supplies and made about 12 loaves of bread, and about 15 batches of other things (8 types of muffins, plus brownies, blondies, and two types of cookies). A batch would be a dozen muffins, 30-ish cookies, or a pan of brownies/blondies.

[Rural]

Yes, prepared foods can definitely be less expensive than made-from-scratch, especially if you're cooking for only 1-2 people and you might not finish the items before they've gone bad.  Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.  Other examples:  Dehydrated broccoli-cheese soup, salsa, frozen lasagna, meatballs, cake or brownies.  Thing is, I can make most of these things BETTER from scratch; I just can't make them cheaper. 

Other things, though, I can definitely make cheaper:  Pimento cheese spread, pizza, breakfast burritos, biscuits.

Recipe for pimento cheese spread, please? Mine always sucks.

Editing to add that rotisserie chickens cost more than raw here most of the time, but I gather our meat prices generally are low compared to most of the rest of the country. I often consider the rotisserie anyway; I think eating so much venison has ruined my ability to deal with all the fat that results from roasting a chicken.

[CanuckExpat]

The book Make the Bread, buy the butter is supposed to cover this in some surprising depth (I've read reviews and excerpts but not the whole book). I believe they also make the point that some of this changes over time. Now a days we think it's ridiculous to buy a premade peanut butter and jam sandwich; previous generations would have thought it was equally ridiculous to buy premade bread, jam, or even peanut butter.

[Left]

this is like the oil changing thread... might not be cheaper to do it yourself but you know how it's done :S I buy prepared food and get my oil changed by someone else though...

[swick]

Sometimes prepared food can be cheaper...sometimes jaw droppingly more expensive. I had to do a double take when the guy behind me in the grocery line yesterday put down a tiny tub - 2 cups - of deli coleslaw...$9.00. And this is our local co-op not a fancy grocery store where everything is organic and made from unicorn fluff.

[Caoineag]

Definitely true. Rotisserie chicken at the grocery store I used to work at back in the day sold for cheaper than whole raw chicken (by a couple of dollars, ouch). I can get raw whole chicken cheaper now but I still get the rotisserie ones if I want to eat the chicken as is rather than in a recipe.

I have had a couple of recipes where it was cheaper to let someone else make it than have me make it. Usually because one ingredient is so pricey at the grocery store level that anyone who can get it in bulk has the price advantage. I also keep in mind that if I don't want a big batch of something because I can't eat that much of it, I am often better off buying a small portion pre-made than to buy the ingredients and throw half out.

I do keep looking at ingredients though to determine if the scale tips back. Like finding cream is half the price at one grocery store than it is at all the rest of the grocery stores or realizing that I can buy a few capers at the bulk olive section instead of paying a fortune for a glass jar of them.

[alsoknownasDean]

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

Likewise, they're all gone if I get to the store at 9pm.

I remember ten or so years ago going to a 24 hour supermarket where they had heaps of chickens left over for a dollar or two at around midnight.

That said, finding one on special for $8 or $9 is probably not much worse than buying a chicken for $6-7 and roasting it yourself. Of course whole chickens are pretty useful because you can make stock with the bones after finishing off the meat :)

I do have to admit I sometimes find it easier to buy stuff pre-made than make it myself. That's because I'm cooking for one, and some ingredients (especially if they have a short shelf-life) can't really be purchased in small quantities.

[Goldielocks]

At Safeway, anyway, the deli chickens are deli specials, not leftovers that did not sell...  They discount the fresh meat by 30% a couple of days before expiry.  That is all that is needed to move it off the shelf.  I think many don't actually look at fresh chicken prices...

They used to turn day old french bread into garlic bread, and no longer do, and in the 80's they had mountain cookies whose main ingredients were bread crumbs from the commercial slicer and other cookies.  No longer do that for consumer perception reasons... But man, the day old bread for garlic bread really was better!

Angel food from a mix uses powdered egg whites and some chemical leaveners which are way cheaper than whole eggs.

You can buy box mix of cake for $1, on sale..while my cheapest at home one with less eggs is about $2.  The trick is to find one that tastes great.  And not put in three whole eggs at home ...hmm

[sheepstache]

I'm not disagreeing with the thrust of the whole thing but the article treats all chickens as though they're the same size.  Rotisserie chickens in my area are always weenie and without much meat on them compared to the ovenroasters. 

[greaper007]

Prepared food can be cheaper, or close to the price of the diy stuff.   But....I've rarely found prepared food that doesn't have a long list manufactured ingredients (I'm looking at you Mr under 4 dollars a loaf bread).     Like another poster said, rotisserie chickens are almost never organic.   And roasting chicken might be one of the easiest things I ever do in the kitchen.

Just stick a few pats of butter under the skin, shove some herbs and lemon up the butt, coat generously with salt and pepper and bake with a thermometer in.    Once it hits about 162 I pull it out and let the carryover heat continue cooking.    For an added bonus bake it on top of root vegetables.

I think I pay $2.50 a lbs for organic chicken at costco, that's pretty competitive.

[Ozstache]

This sounds like a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader marketing strategy in action to me. It's the supermarket's equivalent of 'Would you like fries with that?'

[RetiredAt63]

My local grocery store has certain days (not always the same so I check the flyer, they have me) when the rotisserie chicken is lower-priced.  I can't cook it at their price, and since I don't have a rotisserie feature in my oven, I can't cook it like they do anyway.  So I am happy to buy it.

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

[OSUBearCub]

This sounds like a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader marketing strategy in action to me. It's the supermarket's equivalent of 'Would you like fries with that?'

I agree.  But as a couponer, I tend to focus on the loss leaders.  I tend to cherry pick the best deals from the ads (usually splashed on the front page) for variety each week and pick up a rotisserie chicken.

As for rotisserie chicken - yes you can roast a chicken yourself.  It may be cheaper, maybe not.   My FI game-plan is to balance the work and rewards in such a way that I don't burn out.  I work really long, late hours right now.  I'm willing to sacrifice $.50-1.00 in savings a couple times a month for the benefit of having a quick dinner, with leftovers for lunch the next day.  Ultimately, I'm saving two potential trips to a restaurant and it fits into my present lifestyle.

[clifp]

Sometimes I make chicken that is tastier than Costco rotisserie chicken. It is almost never cheaper than the 4.99 that they sell it for.    But most of the time the Costco chicken is also tastier.

[MrsPete]

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

Yeah, I can usually get a whole roasted chicken OR fried chicken pieces at a steep discount late in the day.  Sometimes I can get ribs too.  Other times nothing's left -- it's not like you can count on it 100% of the time.

Recipe for pimento cheese spread, please? Mine always sucks.

Recipe?  It's kind of like chicken salad -- you just make it. 

General idea: 
2 small or 1 large block of cheddar cheese -- NEVER that nasty shredded stuff; do you know what they put on it to keep it separated into shreds?  Preferably extra-sharp; some people like to use 1/2 cheddar /1/2 Montrey Jack, but I'm an all-cheddar girl. Quality of the cheese matters. When I make homemade cheddar, my pimento cheese ROCKS. 

1/2 a package of cream cheese and/or a good blob of mayonnaise -- how much?  Enough.   
1 jar of pimentos, drained

Beyond that, it's a choice: 
Some onion, chopped super-fine -- not too much, but I never skip this
Maybe a little red pepper
Maybe a dash of Worcestershire sauce, preferably homemade
Maybe a touch of green onion -- chopped super-fine
Some people like jalapeno in theirs, and I'll eat it, but I don't make it that way myself. 

Now, if you want something very Southern and downright delicious, make yourself a good home-grilled burger  . . . and top it with Fried Green Tomatoes and a good gollop of homemade Pimento Cheese.  Add a little Mississippi ComeBack sauce, and that's good eatin'. 

realizing that I can buy a few capers at the bulk olive section instead of paying a fortune for a glass jar of them.

I did not know that!  Of course, I go through capers like crazy, so I'd actually want more than a few. 

[Rural]

Recipe for pimento cheese spread, please? Mine always sucks.

Recipe?  It's kind of like chicken salad -- you just make it. 

General idea: 
2 small or 1 large block of cheddar cheese -- NEVER that nasty shredded stuff; do you know what they put on it to keep it separated into shreds?  Preferably extra-sharp; some people like to use 1/2 cheddar /1/2 Montrey Jack, but I'm an all-cheddar girl. Quality of the cheese matters. When I make homemade cheddar, my pimento cheese ROCKS. 

1/2 a package of cream cheese and/or a good blob of mayonnaise -- how much?  Enough.   
1 jar of pimentos, drained

Beyond that, it's a choice: 
Some onion, chopped super-fine -- not too much, but I never skip this
Maybe a little red pepper
Maybe a dash of Worcestershire sauce, preferably homemade
Maybe a touch of green onion -- chopped super-fine
Some people like jalapeno in theirs, and I'll eat it, but I don't make it that way myself. 

Now, if you want something very Southern and downright delicious, make yourself a good home-grilled burger  . . . and top it with Fried Green Tomatoes and a good gollop of homemade Pimento Cheese.  Add a little Mississippi ComeBack sauce, and that's good eatin'. 

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like you cook the way I do; recipes in my world tend to be things like reminders of how much rising per bulk of flour is needed, nothing more. But your guidelines may help; I'll redouble my onion dicing efforts and see about better cheddar. How is your version cheaper than the stuff in tubs, though? Does your formula make a ton of it?


My crazy husband won't eat fried green tomatoes, but your burger sounds good.

[TomTX]

I'm not disagreeing with the thrust of the whole thing but the article treats all chickens as though they're the same size.  Rotisserie chickens in my area are always weenie and without much meat on them compared to the ovenroasters.

Costco rotisserie chickens are always at least 3 lbs, and $4.99. We get 3-4 meals out of a chicken, plus bones (and the juices!) for stock.

Plus, I'm not going to have to run the oven for an hour with temperatures outside of 95-100F.

[MrsPotts]

Costco rotisserie chicken is 4.99 for a huge one.  We get three dinners (for 2) from it and I use the carcass for stock. 

[dragoncar]

How are the Costco rotisserie chickens?  Are they big?  How's the price?  Any info appreciated

[MoneyCat]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

If you buy ingredients in bulk, it's easy to get the price per loaf down to 50 cents using a bread machine (including the cost of electricity for the machine).  I also use it to make pizza dough using the presets.  I can make really good whole wheat pizza dough and make pizzas at home rather than ordering from the pizza parlor on the corner and it saves us about $15 per pizza.  It also only takes maybe two minutes to put the ingredients together and get the machine going and about the same amount of time to clean up afterward, so it's worth it to me.  I got the idea for doing this from MMM's blog post on the subject and it really has been a nice way to save some money on food.

[Threshkin]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

Why buy a bread machine at all?  Bread is super easy to make, all you need is a covered bowl for raising, a covered baking dish, the ingredients and you are set.  Google "No knead bread" for tons of recipes. 

Once you get the basic proportions down, it is very easy to jazz it up with good stuff.  I like to use flax seed, pecans, oats, buckwheat plus what ever other grains or seeds we have around the house.  For a change of pace try adding garlic or green chillies.  Nummy!

[hybrid]

How are the Costco rotisserie chickens?  Are they big?  How's the price?  Any info appreciated

Costco chickens are typically about three pounds, and at $5 each they are a steal (and freaking delicious). Of course that is not three pounds of meat, maybe two pounds.

What I have been doing in recent months is buying two at a time. I bring them home and we immediately use the dark meat and wings for a family meal, then I put them in the fridge. Mustachian Daughter comes over and then we cube the breast meat for the jar salads we make for work during the week. I'll be doing that later tonight.

[apfroggy0408]

Sam's club has the same rotisserie chickens for $5.00.

They have raw chicken breast at $1.89 a lb though and I blow through a lot of chicken every week so the cost to cook is cheaper for me. Plus I still have to rationalize that Big Green Egg I bought before mustachianism lol!

But in a pinch with no time to cook those rotisserie chickens would be my go to to make sure I hit my calories for the day.

[hybrid]

I can think of a number of things I am not going to trade valuable time for to get incrementally better savings and/or taste for, and the rotisserie chicken is at the very top of that list. There is simply no way I am going to roast my own bird when $5 gets the job done. I pretty much approach all food that way. Sushi? Always going to buy that already made. Steak? Almost always going to grill it myself. Bread? Buying for now, on the short list of things I'd rather make at home.

[MoneyCat]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

Why buy a bread machine at all?  Bread is super easy to make, all you need is a covered bowl for raising, a covered baking dish, the ingredients and you are set.  Google "No knead bread" for tons of recipes. 

Once you get the basic proportions down, it is very easy to jazz it up with good stuff.  I like to use flax seed, pecans, oats, buckwheat plus what ever other grains or seeds we have around the house.  For a change of pace try adding garlic or green chillies.  Nummy!

The bread machine made sense for me, because it frees up my time to do other things.  For instance, while the bread is being made, I am out in the garden doing some weeding and learning from the internet how to can my produce.  Optimizing my time is very valuable to me.

[OSUBearCub]

I can think of a number of things I am not going to trade valuable time for to get incrementally better savings and/or taste for, and the rotisserie chicken is at the very top of that list. There is simply no way I am going to roast my own bird when $5 gets the job done. I pretty much approach all food that way. Sushi? Always going to buy that already made. Steak? Almost always going to grill it myself. Bread? Buying for now, on the short list of things I'd rather make at home.

+1 on all of the above  (Also Sushi is maddeningly difficult to get right.)

[Beric01]

Yeah, sometimes prepared food is cheaper.  One thing to keep in mind when preparing food from scratch is the time used in preparation.  Sometimes I do the math and realize that I am basically wasting very valuable time for minimal savings.  That is one reason why I just got a bread machine when I switched from buying bread at the store to baking my own.  Time is money.

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

Why buy a bread machine at all?  Bread is super easy to make, all you need is a covered bowl for raising, a covered baking dish, the ingredients and you are set.  Google "No knead bread" for tons of recipes. 

Once you get the basic proportions down, it is very easy to jazz it up with good stuff.  I like to use flax seed, pecans, oats, buckwheat plus what ever other grains or seeds we have around the house.  For a change of pace try adding garlic or green chillies.  Nummy!

The bread machine made sense for me, because it frees up my time to do other things.  For instance, while the bread is being made, I am out in the garden doing some weeding and learning from the internet how to can my produce.  Optimizing my time is very valuable to me.

The problem is, right now I just buy a loaf when I stop to buy groceries (on my bike of course). It takes basically zero time. Baking bread myself would require me to first make the dough (which includes putting the ingredients together), then taking out the dough, putting it in a pan, putting it back in, and making the bread. It also takes time (I'm notoriously bad at habits I don't need to do every day) and purchasing ingredients, which surely aren't free.

I'm not 100% convinced baking bread is cheaper, particularly as you have to make back the up-front cost of the machine (which look like they run for $70+). Looks like more of a luxury to me, though I'm open to changing my mind.

[dragoncar]

How are the Costco rotisserie chickens?  Are they big?  How's the price?  Any info appreciated

Costco chickens are typically about three pounds, and at $5 each they are a steal (and freaking delicious). Of course that is not three pounds of meat, maybe two pounds.

What I have been doing in recent months is buying two at a time. I bring them home and we immediately use the dark meat and wings for a family meal, then I put them in the fridge. Mustachian Daughter comes over and then we cube the breast meat for the jar salads we make for work during the week. I'll be doing that later tonight.

Cool, can you make stock with the carcass?

[CanuckExpat]

And I'm not even sure if a bread machine is worth it for me. I buy one loaf a week of bread from Trader Joe's for $2, = $100 a year. Will have to think about it some.

Why buy a bread machine at all?  Bread is super easy to make, all you need is a covered bowl for raising, a covered baking dish, the ingredients and you are set.  Google "No knead bread" for tons of recipes. 

Once you get the basic proportions down, it is very easy to jazz it up with good stuff.  I like to use flax seed, pecans, oats, buckwheat plus what ever other grains or seeds we have around the house.  For a change of pace try adding garlic or green chillies.  Nummy!

The bread machine made sense for me, because it frees up my time to do other things.  For instance, while the bread is being made, I am out in the garden doing some weeding and learning from the internet how to can my produce.  Optimizing my time is very valuable to me.

The problem is, right now I just buy a loaf when I stop to buy groceries (on my bike of course). It takes basically zero time. Baking bread myself would require me to first make the dough (which includes putting the ingredients together), then taking out the dough, putting it in a pan, putting it back in, and making the bread. It also takes time (I'm notoriously bad at habits I don't need to do every day) and purchasing ingredients, which surely aren't free.

I'm not 100% convinced baking bread is cheaper, particularly as you have to make back the up-front cost of the machine (which look like they run for $70+). Looks like more of a luxury to me, though I'm open to changing my mind.

I think in this, as all things, the answer is it depends.

I bought a bread machine on Craigslist for $12. A bread machine seems like one of those things lots of people buy, or receive as a gift, and then only use once or twice. The upshot is that it is pretty easy to find a good used bread machine on Craigslist.

As for the cost of the bread for load, I'd say this also depends. As someone else pointed out, to match the ingredient cost of very cheap store bought bread, you have to buy your ingredients in bulk. This might make sense if you eat a lot of bread, and have storage space (bags of flour are big and heavy), but if you are only eating one loaf a week, I don't think it's something you'd want to do. Storage gets trickier with whole wheat flour if you buy it in bulk, because ideally you want to be storing that somewhere cool (unless you happen to have the pantry/cool room conditions for it).

When you get to more "gourmet" breads where there is a bigger supermarket markup, I think the savings of making it yourself can be more clear. If you care about the ingredients, you also have the advantage that homemade bread has to only contain flour, water, yeast and salt. Even basic store bought bread will contain many more ingredients.

Note, the latter is not necessarily a bad thing for store bought bread, especially if you are only eating one loaf a week. Homemade bread will start to go stale the day you make it, and doesn't keep nearly as well as store bought bread (lack of preservatives), to some people that is a good thing, to others it's a bad thing.. (depends how you feel about preservatives, and the convenience of having bread last longer).

As for convenience, I'd say it can also go either way. It is easy enough to pick up bread on your way home, but once you get the recipes for the bread-maker down, it is also very quick to throw the ingredients in and let it do it's work. It's especially convenient since most machines have a timer mode that lets you put the ingredients in at night, and have it be ready at a specific time in the morning (like a coffee machine). You still have to deal with slicing the bread in the morning, but it is really nice to wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread!

[geekette]

How are the Costco rotisserie chickens?  Are they big?  How's the price?  Any info appreciated

Costco chickens are typically about three pounds, and at $5 each they are a steal (and freaking delicious). Of course that is not three pounds of meat, maybe two pounds.

What I have been doing in recent months is buying two at a time. I bring them home and we immediately use the dark meat and wings for a family meal, then I put them in the fridge. Mustachian Daughter comes over and then we cube the breast meat for the jar salads we make for work during the week. I'll be doing that later tonight.

Cool, can you make stock with the carcass?

Yes!  I don't have a Sam's membership, but when my sister's in town, I'll go with her and buy 3.  Eat some fresh, the rest gets chunked for later meals (vacuum sealers are fabulous), and throw all the bones, skin, and drippings into the pot for very good stock.

[Thegoblinchief]

Hmm, maybe I'll try the rotisserie chicken on my next Costco run.

But for bread? I make ~30-35 loaves of INCREDIBLE whole wheat bread each month for $15 in flour, call it $16 for yeast and salt. Even if you factor in electricity to run the oven, it's still <$1 per loaf. Each 2 loaf batch takes me less than 10 minutes of hands-on time.

(Yes, my family eats a lot of bread.)

My recipe is one of many variations on the no-knead loaf:

http://thegoblinchief.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/master-recipes-no-knead-bread/

[Threshkin]

The bread machine made sense for me, because it frees up my time to do other things.  For instance, while the bread is being made, I am out in the garden doing some weeding and learning from the internet how to can my produce.  Optimizing my time is very valuable to me.

Time needed to make bread:

• Mix everything together and stick it in the oven with the light on - 10 to 15 minutes
• Let it sit unattended 8 to 12 hours
• Knock it down, turn on oven - 2-3 minutes
• Let it bake - 30 minutes
• Remove cover, let it bake some more - 15 minutes
• Take it out and let it cool

Not counting the waiting time, I spend less than 20 minutes in total working on the bread.  Most of the waiting happens overnight.  I do need to stick around while it is baking but that is shower/breakfast time.  I use a timer to remind me when to do the next step.

I used to make bread by kneading it, that took about 4 hours to make a couple of loaves.  Way too much time! 

[Cressida]

http://thegoblinchief.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/master-recipes-no-knead-bread/

I'll definitely try this. Every whole wheat loaf I've ever made, it seems, tastes like cardboard (even if, like yours, it's not 100% whole wheat). I also appreciate the detailed instructions.

[MrsPete]

Thanks for the tips. It sounds like you cook the way I do; recipes in my world tend to be things like reminders of how much rising per bulk of flour is needed, nothing more. But your guidelines may help; I'll redouble my onion dicing efforts and see about better cheddar. How is your version cheaper than the stuff in tubs, though? Does your formula make a ton of it?

Slightly cheaper.  Tons better.  I tend to use 2 small or 1 large block of cheese for each batch, and that gives you a quantity slightly larger than the large size Ruth's Salads tubs. 

Why buy a bread machine at all?  Bread is super easy to make, all you need is a covered bowl for raising, a covered baking dish, the ingredients and you are set.  Google "No knead bread" for tons of recipes. 

If you have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, it functions well as a bread machine -- well, obviously, it doesn't bake bread, but I mean it mixes it just as well as a bread machine.  I don't like one-function kitchen gadgets; I like things that can do double (or triple) duty.

I can think of a number of things I am not going to trade valuable time for to get incrementally better savings and/or taste for, and the rotisserie chicken is at the very top of that list. There is simply no way I am going to roast my own bird when $5 gets the job done. I pretty much approach all food that way. Sushi? Always going to buy that already made. Steak? Almost always going to grill it myself. Bread? Buying for now, on the short list of things I'd rather make at home.

My roasted chicken isn't just "incrementally better".  It's genuinely the best roasted chicken I've ever had -- from any source.  And it's delicious as cold leftovers.  When I find chickens at a good price, I like to roast four at a time and freeze three (sometimes whole, sometimes pulled off the bone to save freezer space).  However, they take time -- 24 hours to marinate, then 5 hours at 250 degrees.  Not a typo, and not something I can throw together on a Tuesday night. 

[frugalnacho]

Hmm, maybe I'll try the rotisserie chicken on my next Costco run.

But for bread? I make ~30-35 loaves of INCREDIBLE whole wheat bread each month for $15 in flour, call it $16 for yeast and salt. Even if you factor in electricity to run the oven, it's still <$1 per loaf. Each 2 loaf batch takes me less than 10 minutes of hands-on time.

(Yes, my family eats a lot of bread.)

My recipe is one of many variations on the no-knead loaf:

http://thegoblinchief.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/master-recipes-no-knead-bread/

I'm going to try that recipe.

[Thegoblinchief]

I'm going to try that recipe.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions or issues, but it's pretty simple - and much more forgiving timing than a lot of yeast breads I've tried in the past. I've let it rise triple the time and had it still turn out fine. In the hot summer months, I've been needing only about 4 hours rise instead of 5. And usually the rise in the loaf pan is ready in about 45 minutes instead of a full hour or more in the winter.

With work schedules, what works really nice is mixing it up when you get home, let it rise until bedtime - throw it in fridge. Pull it out and shape the loaves when you get up. Rise, bake, leave the house.

[guitar_stitch]

Some prepared food is definitely cheaper than home cooked food due to bulk purchasing, bulk cooking, and industrial grade appliances and equipment.

So if one is to only consider cost and time then most prepared food is more efficient than home cooked food.  But if you consider health benefits/side effects then it's harder to compare.  One major reason that some prepared food is cheaper is they use processing techniques to make them last longer and an effect of that is a lot of the nutrients are removed.  They also use preservative which is usually some for of sugar.  So prepared foods are at best not as healthy and at worst actually bad for you.

Why is prepared salads or other non-processed foods not as cheap if stores/manufacturers buy and prepare them in bulk?  It's because they do not last long, they have to be refrigerated, ect.  The ingredients that spoil are left in the food are not taken out like in processed food.

So eating bulk spam, chicken nuggets, ramen noodles is way cheaper than fruits, vegetables, and non processed foods and will save you a ton of money.  But you won't live too long or will have ridiculous medical bills.

This.  Cost is not expressed solely in terms of dollars and cents.

[Goldielocks]

Some prepared food is definitely cheaper than home cooked food due to bulk purchasing, bulk cooking, and industrial grade appliances and equipment.

So if one is to only consider cost and time then most prepared food is more efficient than home cooked food.  But if you consider health benefits/side effects then it's harder to compare.  One major reason that some prepared food is cheaper is they use processing techniques to make them last longer and an effect of that is a lot of the nutrients are removed.  They also use preservative which is usually some for of sugar.  So prepared foods are at best not as healthy and at worst actually bad for you.

Why is prepared salads or other non-processed foods not as cheap if stores/manufacturers buy and prepare them in bulk?  It's because they do not last long, they have to be refrigerated, ect.  The ingredients that spoil are left in the food are not taken out like in processed food.

So eating bulk spam, chicken nuggets, ramen noodles is way cheaper than fruits, vegetables, and non processed foods and will save you a ton of money.  But you won't live too long or will have ridiculous medical bills.

This.  Cost is not expressed solely in terms of dollars and cents.

One big exception to this, is that in the northern USA / Canada, etc.  frozen veggies have more nutrients than fresh ones in the winter .  "Fresh" have travelled a long distance and are often more than 2 weeks old by the time they appear in the stores.

Why?  Frozen veggies are bought and processed in bulk, usually within 24 hrs of picking at peak of harvest.   Yes, the texture is not as great as fresh when prepared, but the nutrients are high, and the cost savings is large.

I don't think the OP would classify frozen (no sauce, bulk) veggies as "processed" foods, but they do pop in the microwave and with a dab of butter or salt, are ready in under 5 minutes.

[guitar_stitch]

I don't think the OP would classify frozen (no sauce, bulk) veggies as "processed" foods, but they do pop in the microwave and with a dab of butter or salt, are ready in under 5 minutes.

:P  A fresh potato can pop into the microwave and be delicious in 8.

[frugalnacho]

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

Likewise, they're all gone if I get to the store at 9pm.

I remember ten or so years ago going to a 24 hour supermarket where they had heaps of chickens left over for a dollar or two at around midnight.

That said, finding one on special for $8 or $9 is probably not much worse than buying a chicken for $6-7 and roasting it yourself. Of course whole chickens are pretty useful because you can make stock with the bones after finishing off the meat :)

I do have to admit I sometimes find it easier to buy stuff pre-made than make it myself. That's because I'm cooking for one, and some ingredients (especially if they have a short shelf-life) can't really be purchased in small quantities.

Dude they are like $5-6 full price for the rotisserie chickens.  I don't see why you couldn't use the rotisserie carcass to make stock after you are done eating the meat.

[alsoknownasDean]

Rotisserie chicken is a good example, especially because it's always half price after 7 pm.

That would be awesome!  I'm totally jealous as I've never seen that anywhere around me.  Most stores are still pretty busy, even at 8 or 8:30.  I should ask next time I'm in if they have a discount window.

Likewise, they're all gone if I get to the store at 9pm.

I remember ten or so years ago going to a 24 hour supermarket where they had heaps of chickens left over for a dollar or two at around midnight.

That said, finding one on special for $8 or $9 is probably not much worse than buying a chicken for $6-7 and roasting it yourself. Of course whole chickens are pretty useful because you can make stock with the bones after finishing off the meat :)

I do have to admit I sometimes find it easier to buy stuff pre-made than make it myself. That's because I'm cooking for one, and some ingredients (especially if they have a short shelf-life) can't really be purchased in small quantities.

Dude they are like $5-6 full price for the rotisserie chickens.  I don't see why you couldn't use the rotisserie carcass to make stock after you are done eating the meat.

I do use the carcass to make stock. The stock freezes well :)

I wish they were $5-6 here. Here normal price is about $11.

Now I want to buy one :) Maybe tomorrow.