Honestly that tong squeeze thing drives me nuts because it tells you nothing about doneness, just gives you a juice puddle and a dried out rib by the time you box them. Did he pull them out of the foil and glaze right there, or did he sauce on the side and let the judge dip? I've seen teams lose points for a heavy glaze that turns into burnt candy on the smoker, but I've also seen judges knock a dry rib with no shine at all. What was the texture on those ribs when he was poking at them, because that matters more than how many times he squeezed?

Dried beans and rice carried my family through some rough winters back when I was younger, and reading your post took me right back to that. We did the big bag of pinto beans with a ham hock thrown in on Sunday, then stretched that pot across four or five dinners with cornbread and whatever veggies were cheap. What saved us from getting sick of it was changing up the spices, cumin and chili powder one night, then garlic and onion the next, sometimes a little vinegar or hot sauce to wake it up. Eggs were our other cheap protein, and swapping those in for a couple dinners made a big difference. Ten days in and cutting your bill in half is no small thing, keep at it.