My favorite cashier at Safeway, Kendyl, gave me a quizzical look the other day as I stood on the other side of the moving belt, loading groceries onto it from my cart.
“Another cookout?” she asked, raising one eyebrow at me.
I grinned sheepishly. “Yeah.”
“It’s getting too cold!” she said, scanning the veggie dogs and putting them into a bag. “You’re gonna have to have cook-INs soon!”
She may have a point. But LeeLee and I are planning on using up every last iota of grill time before the weather turns completely autumnal or, more severely, wintry. So, tonight, we thumbed our noses at the impending change of the seasons and fired up our trusty little red grill for another go-round.
This particular cookout fare is something you’ve come to expect by now – veggie dogs with fresh farmer’s market squash and baked beans to round out the meal, served with a Red Stripe beer on the side. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to procure squash from our local markets, so I’m trying to use as much of it as I can in the meantime! And the veggie dogs and beans are, of course, family favorites.
I finished this week’s menu plan over the weekend, and Kendyl is going to be surprised again – TWO cookouts on the way! But when one is staring down the barrel of the autumnal gun, one must do what one must do!
The stats:
Veggie dogs: $3.99/five ($0.80/person)
Buns: $0.99/eight ($0.12/person)
Squash: $1.50 ($0.75/person)
Baked beans: $1.49 ($0.75/person)
GRAND TOTAL: $7.97 … or $2.42 per person.
BUT WAIT! This meal leaves us with extra veggie dogs and buns for leftovers. So the per-person price goes down even more!
:)