Quesadillas!
1 burrito sized tortilla
5 slices cheddar cheese (about 4 oz, substitute shredded/other types of cheese as desired)
Sprinkle of black pepper
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes (skip it or substitute something hotter if that's what you like!)
1/2 tbsp butter (for skillet)
1/2 cup salsa for topping
Lay out tortilla, use half of the cheese to cover half of the tortilla. Add seasonings, and cover with remaining cheese. Fold tortilla in half and cook over medium low heat, flipping halfway, until desired level of brown/crunchiness is achieved (around 3-7 minutes). Cut into four wedges, and cover with salsa.
Quesadillas are one of my lazy meals. I like lazy meals on occasion, because they do not take much time or thought or even waiting for the oven to heat. If my wife calls to say she's leaving work and I haven't started dinner yet? This meal will still be done before she gets home. So, how does the math work out?
Groceries:
8 tortillas, $1.50 at Cub
1.5 lb sliced cheddar, $5.99 at Costco
Spices, cheap anywhere (these ones, at least)
4 lb butter, $9.29 at Costco
64 oz salsa, $7.99 at Cub
So how do those prices work out? Google drive version here. Remember, a 'Meal' is 667 calories of whatever it is we're talking about. Please don't eat 667 calories of butter on its own, even if it is very cheap.
I guess I'm paying for the convenience! This is still a pretty cost effective meal, but it definitely is pricier than some of the other things I make. There are some ways to cut down on the cost, however, if you're being savvier than I was this time.
Cheese is wonderful, it works as a salt, an acid, and a fat if that's how you like to categorize things. Even if you don't, it's still a tasty, fatty source of calories that isn't too ridiculous most of the time. For this meal, I spent the equivalent of $4/lb on cheese, but it's often possible to get it cheaper than that, especially if you're willing to buy large blocks. Even if you aren't, waiting for sales or shopping around can yield prices closer to $3/lb, which would save a sizable amount of money in this recipe!
I usually buy a particular brand of salsa, because the primary consumer is my wife and she loves Pace medium. It's the priciest per calorie in this meal, so if you just cut the amount of salsa you used in half you could save another sizable chunk of this meal's cost. Another, somewhat surprising, alternative is to swap the salsa for guacamole. Guacamole is usually more calorie efficient than salsa, even if the same amount by weight is more expensive! I unfortunately have not bought guacamole recently enough to find the numbers, but I encourage you to run them yourself if you're curious.
Assuming we shop savvier, and use a little less salsa, we get these numbers:
