I let my wife pick dinner again. I offered her oven fries but she opted for instant mashed potatoes with instant chicken gravy. She regrets that decision. But it was tasty.

Beef was free. Cost per person: $1.30 Cost if you have to buy the beef: $3.55

Bonus pic. Worst miss en place ever is in the comments.

I need to stop asking what they want. Roast me in the comments.

  • LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world
    2·
    1 day ago

    Looks amazing! I love simple burgers and fries but we have been eating those instant mashed potatoes lately and they are really good.

    Get the baby red Idaho version if you like baby red potatoes. So good and cheap at $1.50.

    • FauxPseudo @lemmy.worldOPM
      2·
      1 day ago

      I normally make my mashed potatoes from scratch. It was my first job in the kitchen. And then one day at a gay club in San Diego I discovered Idahoan made an acceptable quick option that was sometimes cheaper than the real deal. I am not known for my brand loyalty. I will normally buy the generic if it’s the same basic thing. But for over 20 years I have been exclusively Idahoan until last night when I made this with Great Value brand.

      The basic butter option worked. They don’t have the red potato option so I will still have to occasionally get the Idahoan.

      • LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world
        1·
        16 hours ago

        I will give those a shot. We are always on a time crunch to make dinner, so quick and tasty is usually our go to. Thanks!

        • FauxPseudo @lemmy.worldOPM
          1·
          15 hours ago

          It’s not homemade. There is no confusion on that. But it’s definitely a step up from KFC mashed potatoes.

  • JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.socialEnglish
    7·
    2 days ago

    Wot wot… no toasting of the buns?!

    Heresy!

    Btw, one way to level up your burger game is to drop the cheese in to a pan and let it melt a good bit, then place the bun on top and twirl until all the cheese gets transferred. Then combine with everything else. It’s simply the bee’s knees.

    Another trick I picked up from Bobby Flay was to coat both sides of the burger with black pepper before grilling. It greatly helps to lock in moisture and add a slight spiciness, if that’s your thing. No idea if that works in a pan, though…

          • BussyGyatt@feddit.orgEnglish
            2·
            1 day ago

            im always looking for cheap ways to inject flavor in my meals from my ramen and pb&j days. the oils used to grill are also extra filling easy calories and i like to use some of the leftover grease from frying the meat to grill the buns, it would just get wasted otherwise.

            • FauxPseudo @lemmy.worldOPM
              51·
              1 day ago

              Justified. But if I add too much flavor on a wife designed meal she says I ruined it. She likes her comfort food bland.

              • Hossenfeffer@feddit.ukEnglish
                2·
                1 day ago

                Oh, I get this.

                My wife quite likes pasta with just some basil pesto stirred through it. Pasta from a packet and pesto from a jar. I once hand-made some pasta and made pesto from scratch. Her reaction: “It’s ok, but I prefer the normal version.” She generally prefers meals from her childhood to be the simple nostalgia version rather than my “zhuzhed up” version. Which makes sense, I suppose.

                • FauxPseudo @lemmy.worldOPM
                  3·
                  1 day ago

                  You haven’t felt an icy shoulder until you have ruined your spouse’s comfort foods by trying to make them better.

                  I remember when I knew this would be an ongoing issue. She sat there with a scratch made pierogi on a fork. Just looking at it. “What’s wrong?” “I’m going to taste this and then I’ll never be able to enjoy freezer pierogi again.” “Sure you will.” “No. Those have been great my whole life. But I’m going to taste this and every pierogi I’ve ever had will suddenly suck. And if I eat another freezer pierogi I’ll think about this one and wish I had it.”

                  I never made them from scratch again.

  • Valentine Angell@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    I like this idea, not the instant stuff, but the concept in general. I’ll have to do this myself. Thank your wife for declining the fries.

  • Gustephan@lemmy.world
    1·
    1 day ago

    Looks like a meal where the burgers wish the potatoes were fries and the potatoes wish the burgers were chicken sandwiches. Regardless, still looks tasty!