Day 4. (May 31, 2019) What dinner did you have before your Middle School formal night?  I asked myself that, and I can confidently recalled asking myself, “How could I go to a formal if I don’t have a date?”
 
To try and make this an interactive experience (that costs less than $10), we made it a Build-Your-Own Burrito Night.  There were two types of fillings.  One was a spicy ground beef and the other was chicken.  Salad was basic iceberg lettuce with sliced up tomatoes, peppers, and onion.!
 

Because a “boyfriend” was over for dinner, the meaningfulness of the even was either asking him questions or trying to impress him in some way. Lots of good energy when there’s a guest, and we have two more nights of them after this?

Day 3 (May 30, 2019)

Tonight’s piano lesson night.  No practicing on lesson days so everyone’s happy.  
 
Ten bucks doesn’t seem like it’s enough to feed a family of five – especially when they all love beef. One way to stretch the beef is to boost up the protein content with cheap, cheap tofu.  It doesn’t taste as wonderfully beefy, but it does soak up some of the flavor and add a little texture variety.  One way to do this with some spunk is to cut the beef in really think slices about 1 ½ or 2 inches long.  Makes it seem like there’s a lot.  If you weren’t aiming for the $10 target or if you had fewer mouths at the table, you could drop the tofu and make it a full beef bonanza.
 
We asked everyone to describe their high point, their low point, who they appreciate and why, and their compass for the future (like tomorrow, for example).   Only got to the second person because everybody interrupted, asked questions, or said something irrelevant.

Family Meal #2 (May 29, 2019)
Growing up in Iowa, we had 2 rivers, 2 lakes, and 0 oceans. I never knew anyone who got excited when they were having fish for dinner.  It's different if you grow up on an island like Taiwan.  The 5 best times I've ever had fish were all cooked by someone from Taiwan.  Here's a basic one.

Day 1. (May 28, 2019) Yesterday I mentioned we should try to eat $10 dinners for the whole next month, which coincides when my job ends.  My wife didn't seem too excited about it, so I was surprised when today she said, "The $10 dinners start tonight."

My childhood comfort food was supercharged casseroles.  Sometimes these were homemade, but when my mother went back to work as a secretary, they generally were boxed meals. Sometimes they were brand names and sometimes generic, but they were basically the same:  Some kind of macaroni pasta and a flavor packet to which she'd add a pound of hamburger and either canned vegetables or frozen ones from our garden.  

Tonight it a basic boxed meal called "Cheeseburger Casserole" that we bought at the local BJs Club Store.  (BJs is like a Costco or Sam's Club.  You pay $25 and you can shop there and buy flatbeds of food at huge discounts.  Some people are County Club members, we're BJs Club members.  Not much overlap.  Yesterday my wife bought 6 of these boxed meals for $8.99.  Try to find that deal at the local Country Club.

Dinner was one of these boxed meals, plus xyz.  Yum

Next month my job ends, and I haven't found another one.

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