Beating the Price of Convenience - Ready Made Items Series 2-4 Publix Sushi

Say sushi and everyone thinks raw fish. I do like the raw ones, but I prefer the California rolls, and the spicy tuna rolls. At our Publix they do a Wednesday, half price Sushi. Last week I noticed that the $5.00 package was not even a full roll (maybe 2/3), and was cut very thin, about 10 little discs. I noticed this because another day we bought a full roll, cut much thicker, about 8-10 slices and was over $9.00. There were even larger for $15-19 available. 

So this morning I decided to do our own. Let me break down the stuff I needed. Realize though when you first start you have to get a few items that you will use over and over. I am only going to post the price of how much estimated what I used. 

Sushi at Home

Ingredients

Rice

>2 cups of Jasmine rice (or any rice you like, I find they all do about the same, the sushi rice is just a little smaller.) Make with three cups of water. I use my rice cooker. 

$1.20 for 2 cups

>1/4-1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar

2-4 oz = $44 1/4 or $.88 for 1/2 cup

>1/4 of sugar (I used splenda)

$1.60 for 2oz

Instructions for the rice

For the rice, I do in the rice maker, when finished I lay on a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and pour out the rice and carefully fluff it out over the entire pan. Then I pour lightly the vinegar and the sugar and then slowly with a fork fluff and kind of mix the vinegar and sugar with the rice. Leave to cool. At this point you can cool and then roll or even put in a container and in fridge for the day. After a day it makes it hard. If it is already in a sushi roll you have a few days. 

Ingredients for the inside of the roll.

Of course this is where what you like changes the amount of money.

Nori - Seaweed wraps - 10 sheets $3.24

cream cheese (I cut then strips, and it is messy, but they now have a squeeze one, but it has been out lately) 1/2 block - $1.48

carrot (I use already shredded) $1.00

avocado - $.80

cucumber thin sliced -$1.00

California Roll

Imitation Crab 2 packs of the snackers $2.00

avocado

cream cheese

carrot

cucumber

Lay out the wrap and put a thin spread of rice 3/4 up and in middle lay your filling how you like it, Then roll bottom, over and then roll up. I then put in foil and in fridge to make easier to cut.

Spicy Tuna Roll

2 cans of tuna drained well  _$1.80 

Siracha

Mayo

Instructions for the mix 

Mix the tuna and siracha and mayo to your tastes.

Instructions to put together

Lay out the wrap and put a thin layer of the rice 3/4 up and in the middle lay your filling how you like it. Then roll bottom, over and then roll up. I then put in foil and in fridge to make it easier to cut. 

Other Ideas for ingredients

A breaded shrimp (put in air fryer then cut in half and use in the sushi roll)

cooked shrimp (slice in half an put evenly down the inside the sushi roll)

Also don't forget the make the ginger in the jar (international isle) and the wasabi. Please don't forget the soy either. Eat it how you like it.

** Cutting the Sushi Roll

I use a serrated bread knife. I cut in half and then that half I cut in half again, and then that half once more and you get 8 nice sized pieces. 

So now lets round up a price

For the rice is only about $3.00 and it would have made me 8 rolls. But of course I ran out of nori and had to make three sushi bowls with the rest of the ingredients. I will use the sea weed snacks to eat with those. 

For all the stuff you like above I am estimated about maybe $10.00.

So for 20 bucks/dollars you can make 8 rolls. At Publix those rolls are $9.59 and $10.00.

So to sum that up for 20 dollars I made 80 dollars worth of Sushi. 

My house, my hands, my ingredients and they taste very close to theirs.

___________________________________

I ran out of nori wraps and I made a few sushi bowls which I will eat with the sea weed snacks.

Just as good and even faster. 

I wanted to share ways that we are beating the prices, here at my house. Yes, cooking and making from scratch is a lot of time, planning and work, but in reality the food is of a better quality and fresher. If you ever need to save money first take a look at your food budget.

I will coming back hopefully every week to share a new thing we are doing at our house, to beat that dollar.

Thanks for coming and reading. Be a part of my community and subscribe to my blog. You are welcome here any time. 

Living your best life and doing what feels good for you is the secret.

Keep it simple, Stay well and safe.

Welcome to my Journey

Feel free to leave a comment

Peace

Louise

Beating the Prices of Eating Out - One Meal at a Time Series 1 -2 Arby's - faux Roast Beef Sandwiches

So I can first say that I love to eat out. I love to try new foods and to keep up with the latest great fast food combinations. Lately though as food prices go up so does the prices at the fast food places. Along with the upscale in price, I am finding more sub par orders, always missing an item. With take out you remember it is made by other people, in other kitchens, with ingredients we are knowing are not the healithy for us. 

Arby's is one of our favorite places to go. You know the soft bun with the thin layers of the roastbeef and just so moist and then the arbys bq sauce and my fav is the horseyradish sauce, I believe that makes the entire thing. They also make the Arby fries in the store, if you want to created the whole meal. 

Arby's Faux  Roast Beef Sandwich and Fries

You will need:

Thin sliced deli roast beef. (I found to find that Arby taste that the cheapest deli roast beef that hangs in the sandwich meat section was the best ) (Krogers was what we used, I bought two packs so that I could recreate that stacked roast beef feel.)

1/2 Cup of water with beef boullion mixed in it. 

1 Package of buns (I used the Martins Potato Rolls- something soft, fresh, squooshy.)

The Arby sauces - Horsey Sauce and Arby's Sauce (Krogers here has it)

If you are wanting the Cheddar Sauce (use an nacho cheese sauce)(or a cheddar cheese wiz)

Arby Fries 

What you need to do:

Take your roast beef and separate (carefully not to break it into pieces, keeping it in its slice form) and lay in your crockpot, pour over water with the boullion in it. Leave all day on low. When you are ready, stir a bit and put on buns and sauces. 

For the sandwiches we made about 8 sandwiches from 10 dollars worth of ingredients. 

Serve with the fries and a soda and you are eating Arbys-Faux

Living your best life and doing what feels good for you is the secret.

Keep it simple, Stay well and safe.

Welcome to my Journey

Feel free to leave a comment

Peace

Louise

Beating the Prices of Eating Out - One Meal at a Time Series 1 - 1 Sushi-ish Rolls and a few other quick hacks for sushi feasting at home and not take out

 

Sushi-ish Rolls and a few other quick hacks for sushi feasting at home; without the price of take out. 

Been finding out that everything at the store is starting to cost, nearly as much as eating out, and eating out has taken a decline in quality and taste and upwards in prices. A family of five that we are, we really feel the pinch.

One of our favorite meals is sushi - well more towards the California rolls and using imitation crab and tuna in the can. The fresher stuff is okay, but not to our tastes. Feel free to substitute where you like. 

At our local Publix Store, they roll their own sushi rolls (cut into 10 dials) that is usually for 7.95-9.95 depending on if you get the one with the crunchy topping. They also use brown rice for the same types and it is a dollar more for the brown rice.

Today, I took 2 1/2 Cups of brown rice, rinsed and put in my rice cooker with around 4 cups of water. When it was done, I spread it out on a large sheet pan and carefully lay it all out, to cool. While cooling taking about 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar and pour all over the top, sprinkle lightly with you favorite sweetner and then slowly with a spatula toss gently until all coated and spread out again on the sheet pan. Letting the entire batch cool. When cool, you can use or I put into the refrigerator for use later in the day. 

Then comes the hunt for your filling.

Tuna fish in the can - drained and mixed with mayo and sirachi

Imitation crab - pull apart 

Crusted Coated Shrimp - From Aldis and made in airfryer. - If you would like that crispy crunch.

Cream cheese - I pre-cut in long strips 

Carrots -shredded (pre cut at publix0

Cucumber - thin slices. (for the fold up type, I made thin dials)

Green Onion - thin strips

Nori Sheets for the traditional roll up.

Nori snack sheets just for a little finger food size. 

Be sure to get some wasabi (it just gives you a little kick )

and always pick up some sweet pickled ginger it is the best little palate cleanser. 

These can work like the ones at Aldi's also for that crunch. 

The traditional way to roll it is to get a sushi mat and cover with seran wrap and then lay the nori sheet down and fill and roll. I am usually making so many that I kinda forget that part. It does however make a tighter roll. SO you can google that and watch on youtube.

I did this time three different ways, a traditional roll/ a fold up/ and using the nori snackers.

The nori snackers were actually my favorite way to eat it. The snackers gave you more of a crispy seaweed snack. 

The traditional way. 

Then this one is the crispy shrimp one.

 

This is the fold up one. Cut a up the middle of the bottom quarter. Then fold up. 

This is the spicy tuna roll.

These are the small nori snack ones. This was my all time fav this time. 

So to sum up the stats of this sushi rolls. 

I used 2 1/2 cups of brown rice  (est 1.00)

1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar   (est .25)

1/4 cup of sprinkled truvia    (est .25)

crunchy shrimp (4.99 pkt 10)

Imitation crab 1/2 pk (they sell a 1.25 pkt at Walmart that would have been plenty)

2 cans of tuna in water (est 3.00)

Siracha (?)

Lite Mayo(?)

Shredded Carrot (est .50)

3 small cucumbers (est .50)

1/4 of cream cheese (est 1.00)

I made atleast 9-10 rolls.

Publix sells theirs for 10 crunchy rolls

and the reg California for 8. 

and for brown rice a dollar more

So if I had bought them in the store that would have been over 100 dollars. At home - 12.00 give or take.

I made them so I know what the ingredients were. I also could make them any style and have sushi in hot second if we wanted it.

I wanted to share ways that we are beating the prices, here at my house. Yes, cooking and making from scratch is a lot of time, planning and work, but in reality the food is of a better quality and fresher. If you ever need to save money first take a look at your food budget.

I will coming back hopefully every week to share a new thing we are doing at our house, to beat that dollar.

Thanks for coming and reading. Be a part of my community and subscribe to my blog. You are welcome here any time. 

Living your best life and doing what feels good for you is the secret.

Keep it simple, Stay well and safe.

Welcome to my Journey

Feel free to leave a comment

Peace

Louise