This meal was full of as many veggies as were possible to squeeze in but left you feeling full of carbs (rice) and protein (shrimp) which I find to be quite the nice little trick. This refreshing and light, summer-y meal was different and delicious. I especially enjoyed the enticing colors as I put on the finishing touches.
But I must admit, I'm also excited for this post for another reason. Today we debut the cost line along with the time and difficulty ratings at the top of each post. I started tracking how much each meal I cook costs, adding up the ingredients at Whole Foods and the local supermarket (as well as the occasional farmer's market.) Please tell me in the comments what you think of this new feature!
A few things to know about the costs:
1) This only includes new ingredients I must purchase. This means that typically spices and baking basics (think flour, sugar, vanilla, cornmeal, etc.) are already included because I keep my kitchen full of those.
2) This also means some "staples" will not be included. For instance, rice. I buy large portions of rice at once and only use a cup or so at a time, making the bags last a long time. I do not include this in my cost, but also believe it would not add much since just a fraction of a container is used each time.
3) All costs are based on meals for TWO people, but I will note when the portions came out much too large or much too small (which is rare for my kitchen.) Please adjust the cost accordingly if you are cooking for a different number.
4) I purchase all of my meats, seafood, and vegetables from Whole Foods. I only purchase sustainable seafood and grass-fed free-range meat (a standard for Whole Foods.) This means these are at the high-end of a cost for a meal but I believe you achieve the best results with the best ingredients. However, clearly you can spend less by going to a non-gourmet supermarket.
5) Costs are by the meal. So the cost below includes the shrimp rice salad as well as the broccoli. You'll have to estimate on your own to determine what just a piece of this meal would be.
And so let's go!
Time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Cost: $24.84, but enough for at least 4 people