By Mike Thayer

I hate doing dishes, even with a dishwasher available.  If there's a way to avoid doing dishes, even if it's simply rinsing off some plates and silverware and throwing them in the dishwasher, I'd just rather not.

Enter, Sandwich Baskets.

Whoever invented these things was a genius, I LOVE these things!  I have four sandwich baskets sitting on top of my refrigerator at the ready, for whatever....  Able to hold a huge sandwich and a generous portion of fries, they're good for so much more. They're great for holding just about any kind of snack, no fuss, no mess...  Chips, popcorn, pretzels, nuts.  When you're done, just throw the parchment paper away, rinse off the basket and let dry for the next meal or snack.  They're not just for one person to use either.  Task the baskets to serve bread sticks or garlic bread, family style at the dinner table.  For a big Sunday family breakfast, serve bacon in a basket rather than dirtying up a plate.  They're space savers when it comes to storage (easily stackable), convenient to use, easy to wash, they're sturdier than paper plates and the best part, they're inexpensive. 

I picked up four baskets at Dollar Tree for $2 (two sets of two at $1 each).  That's Bachelor on the Cheap wallet friendly and these baskets will last me a very long time.  I'll get multiple uses for serving up a vast variety of foods.  Just about any kind of finger food can go in a basket, chicken nuggets, tacos, onion rings, mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce....  Don't want bar food fare?  Slice up some fruit or toss in some veggies and dip, there's just so much you can serve in a basket.

Use them indoors, outdoors, get some for yourself, family use, parties, picnics, casual holiday gatherings...

Pictured right, two bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sliders and hash browns....  It was another dose of YUM and super easy clean up!

$pend Wisely My Friends.....

For more food and drink ideas, tips, trick and hacks, go to www.bacheloronthecheap.com

 

By Mike Thayer

I'm a ham for Christmas dinner kind of guy, but it was just a party of one this year so I didn't need a big ham for my Christmas meal.  Something less than 5 pounds did the trick, some ham for dinner and then the tasty leftovers to enjoy later.

I don't like to do a lot of carving either, I like low maintenance cuts of meat, so a boneless, spiral cut ham was on the shopping list.  

Already smoke cured, I purchased an Appleton Farms spiral cut ham at Aldi for $9.39.  Weighing in at slightly over 3 pounds, that's just $2.99 a pound and Appleton Farms throws in a brown sugar glaze.  That's Bachelor on the Cheap friendly and the ham was delicious, a repeat buy! 

I put my ham on the grill to enhance that smoke cure and the spiral cut really embraced that brown sugar glaze.  Appleton Farms gets five out of five Bachelor on the Cheap stars, it was the perfect main dish for Christmas!

Putting a spiral ham on the grill is easy peasy.  Just put the ham, flat side down on a disposable aluminum pan (you may want to double up on the pans depending on the weight of the ham), pour some kind of juice over the ham.  Orange, pineapple, apple, whatever, I like to use a sweet & sour mix myself.  Grill over indirect heat, for about 20 minutes per pound of ham at around 275 - 300 degrees.  Wait to glaze the ham until that last 20 minutes of cooking time, brushing the glaze in between each slice.  Pull the ham from the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil.  A spiral cut ham from the grill is another dose of YUM!

For more food reviews, tips, tricks and hacks, visit www.bacheloronthecheap.com