Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Lunch Box Lesson-Ruben Casserole

Another way we save money is by my husband taking his lunch to work
every day. He really has no choice as he teaches Middle School and the only other alternative is school lunch. However, this is great for our wallet. When I worked I would routinely drop $8-$13 on lunch whenever I went out which was 2-3 times a week. (and I'm cheap!)

He usually takes leftovers. Since he cooks 95% of the dinners around here, he usually makes his own lunch (Ok, I DO pack it, get off my back....) Anyway, today I made his lunch and made one of his favorite things-Ruben Casserole!

This is so easy and cheap and he loves it.

-Take one small corned beef and cook it in a crock pot all day on low. Cooking it consists of putting in the crock pot with the enclosed spice packet and covering with water. Easy Easy!!
(Aldi had some for $1.69 lb last year in March. I stocked up on small ones) You don't need to use the most expensive corned beef in the store. Go for the lower priced one. You're just going to be shredding it anyway and you can get rid of the fat then)

-When corned beef is cooked shred it and divide into separate lunch containers.

-Top with sauerkraut

-Top that with Swiss cheese.

That's it. Heat and eat! I package homemade Thousand Island dressing in a different container so he can put it on after heating.

Since I like to cook in bulk, I usually make the corned beef and make up a bunch of these lunches and freeze them. Then when we don't have any leftovers I can just pull one of these out and whip up some dressing for the side.

Today's corned beef was very small and it only made 2 lunches. The price breakdown was as follows:

Corned Beef $3
Sauerkraut $.69
Cheese $ 1.19 (I literally got 5 pieces of Swiss from the deli for this)
Dressing-I had everything to make this (and you probably do to) so I'm calling this free!
Total was $4.88, or $2.44 per lunch! And this is a big and filling lunch!

*Note, that is not my husband's lunch box but if he carried one, that would be the one!!!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I think this sounds great!

Adam would probably balk, but that's because he has no taste. The other night, I made these beautiful enchiladas, perfectly crisped and seasoned ... and he pauses and then tells me that he has decided he doesn't like any Mexican food but Taco Bell.

I was pissed for like three hours after that.

Christine said...

Oh my god! I think I would kill him!! Did you tell him Taco Bell doesn't really county as Mexican food!!!! I bet they were wonderful!

The Fine Art of Motherhood said...

Sounds right up my husband's alley!

Stephanie, if it makes you feel any better, my daughter BEGGED me to make a pumpkin pie all last week, and I finally made it on Saturday, and she took one bite and said, "I guess I like the store kind better." great.

BTW Christine, I seem to recall someone who used to LOVE Taco Bell... (You probably don't like it now, and I've finally developed an appreciation for it!)

Christine said...

I don't mind Taco Bell actually. I have some very fond memories of eating Taco Bell.....