Month: May 2016

Lunch

Another gloomy day – it’s early for June gloom – that cleared up late in the day, but at lunch time, something warm was desirable, so it is quesadilla time again. Our variation that is.

• One flatbread (half of two) costs 50c a serve
• Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c
• A very generous serve of salsa is 20c per serve
• 2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve

Lunch today cost $1.46 per serve.

Dinner

Once again we had Emeril Lagasse’s Stir Fried Beef and Broccoli.  This is a very simple dish, but very tasty. We upped the garlic and ginger in the sauce and replaced the honey with sweet chili sauce. We don’t mind a bit of spicy heat!

• The organic broccoli was purchased on special for $1.79 or 80c a serve.
• The beef came from our farm-direct meat delivery as “fajita steak”  for a fast cook at $10.35 or $5.18 a seve.
•  The ginger and garlic was 28c or 14c per serve
• Pressure cooked rice 92c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $7.04 per serve. Of course with more conventional beef the serve would be more like $4.90.

Lunch

A simple lunch of chicken wraps, with avocado and arugula.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a quarter or $1.25 per serve
• The flatbread is 50c
• Arugula adds 25c per serve
• An avocado is 99c or 50c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.50.

Dinner

An optional add-on to this month’s Prather Ranch meat delivery was pork sausages. We opted for the ‘rustic’ version without any added flavorings (or sweetener) and they were great.

Cooked in a bean casserole, somewhat similar to a cassoulet it gives the sausage a chance to shine, while still being surrounded by a delicious sauce. We made a half batch for the two of us.

• Bacon ends cost $4.99 for the container, but this recipe used about 1/8 of that, or 32c per serve
• Butter is $1.99 per pack, or 13c per serve
• Onion, thyme, parsley and garlic add 17c per serve
• White wine adds 40c per serve
• Diced tomatoes are $1.49 a can or 75c per serve
• Beans add 80c per serve
• Bread croutons (1/2″ pieces are not crumbs) 70c per serve
• The sausages $12.46 for two packs, or $3.11 per serve for the best pork sausages we’ve ever had.

Dinner tonight cost $6.38 per serve.

Lunch

We decided to go out for lunch, for no particularly good reason. A local favorite is The Country Deli. With a ‘Jewish’ deli in suburban Chatsworth expectations are for good food and lots of it, not necessarily great food.

Not every dish is great, but Foodie Philip broke the cardinal rule of “never order steak in a deli” if you care about steak! They serve a 10 oz marinated skirt steak that is always good. Served with three eggs and side of choice, and a bread/bagel, it’s a huge meal.

Foodie Greg’s pastrami sandwich was likewise excellent, although he was thankful he ordered a half!

• Lunch at the Country Deli runs out around $20 a serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Returning to an old favorite, it was time for Frogmore Stew. Think southern boil with potatoes, shrimp, corn, etc, but where the stewing liquid is turned into a sauce.

The recipe serves six.

• Leaks cost $2.00 or 33c per serve
• A pack of arugula is $3.50 or 58c per serve
• Two cans of tomato juice instead of tomatoes and juice, $3.79 or 63c per serve
• The fish stock was $3.99 or 67c per serve
• A cup of white wine is about 80c or 15c per serve
• We used about half of the $3.99 pack of potatoes, or 33c per serve
• The corn cost $2.99 or 50c per serve
• Andouille sausage cost $4.99 or 83c per serve
• Shrimp cost $3.00 per very, very generous serve
• We served with a par-baked garlic bread – $3.99 for the loaf (expensive for bread but delicious) or 67c per serve
• Other ingredients add another 25c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost us $7.94 per serve, but it was a lot of shrimp!

Lunch

Another cool day; another hot lunch. Today, Trader Joe’s Tarte D’alsance. You might have noticed we’ve been testing lunch options and generally been disappointed. Not this time. The Tarte D’alsance is delicious.

• Trader Joe’s Tarte D’Alsace is $4.49 or $2.25 per serve.

Dinner

Our Prather Ranch meat delivery has included double-cut, organic pork chops every month. It has become one of our favorite meals, simply sous vidé and fried off to finish, served with an interesting side: tonight an Apple, onion and brussel sprout combination.

Frankly brussel sprouts are just boring, and they were the weakest part of this dish. The pork was perfect.

• Pork Loin Chop Thick Cut $9.65 per serve
• Brussel sprouts came in a $2.99 tray, or $1.00 per serve
• Pink Lady apples add 35c per serve
• In the absence of a shallot, an onion adds 10c per serve
• Add 5c per serve for seasoning.

Tonight’s meal cost $11.15 per serve compared with over double that in a restaurant.

Lunch

An overcast and cold day – for Los Angeles anyway – was perfect pie weather, and a Trader Joe’s Steak and Ale Pie hit the spot perfectly.

• The two pack is $6.49 or $3.25 per serve.

Dinner

With the probability of friends dropping by, but with little control over time, we ended up putting together a tasty meal in 15 minutes after they left. No cooking from scratch, other than the basmati rice, but still tasty and warming.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a serve for the leg and thigh
• The Madras Lentils were $3.99 for the pack or $2.00 per serve
• The basmati rice cooks in three minutes in the pressure cooker and is 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight was perfectly serviceable and $5.00 per serve.

Lunch

A cloudy, overcast day led to a hot lunch, and Quesadilla – well our flatbread variation.

• One flatbread (half of two) costs 50c a serve
• Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c
• A very generous serve of salsa is 20c per serve
• 2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve

Lunch today cost $1.46 per serve.

Dinner

A chuck steak remained from our March Prather Ranch meet delivery, as did the BBQ sauce left over from April 30th. The recipe says to discard the sauce, but we put it in the refrigerator overnight to harden the fat and make it easy to discard, leaving clean sauce for another meal.

I’ve been meaning to mention. While our Prather Ranch meat is a little more expensive than most, it is dry aged and grass fed, which is a higher quality product.

• 3/4 of a pound of Chuck steak is $7.12, or $3.06 per serve
• The baked beans are $1.49 per can or 75c per serve
• An English muffin is 50c per serve
• We finished off the jar of pickled cauliflower – the jar is $3.99 and there was about 1/4 left, or 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $4.81 per serve and was delicious. The little bit of BBQ sauce left was discarded.

Lunch

Chicken wrap time again. For the salad component we used the last bit of the kale and broccoli salad from August 30th. Since we included the full cost of the salad in that meal, it’s not included here.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a quarter or $1.25 per serve
• The flatbread is 50c
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve

Lunch today cost $2.08 a serve.

Dinner

This is an entree version of the iconic New Orleans muffuletta sandwich. Easy preparation and great flavor makes it a good entertaining choice. Goes perfectly with red wine. We skipped the shallot because we didn’t have one.

• Black olives are $3.99 a jar, half a jar used, or 50c per serve
• Garlic stuffed green olives are $5.99 a jar, 1/3 used or 50c per serve
• The dry salami was $3.99, but not all was used, or 75c per serve
• Provolone cheese is $3.99 a pack, but only 1/3 was used 33c per serve
• Roasted bell peppers are $5.99 a jar and half were used, or 75c per serve
• The pack of organic parsley was $1.49 and half was used, or 19c per serve
• Add 55c per serve for the other ingredients.

Dinner tonight cost $3.57 per serve.

Lunch

We’d planned on going out for lunch but changed our mind at the last minute. Instead, one pack of Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Marsala and some Madras Lentils substituted

• The Madras Lentils were $3.99 for the pack or $2.00 per serve
• The tikka marsala prepared meal is $4.99 or $2.50 per serve.

Lunch today cost $4.50 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to give the black been rottini another try, but with a sauce where the color would not matter: puttanesca or ‘slut spaghetti’.

It was much more successful with the dark colored sauce.

• Anchovies are $1.59 a can and half was used, or 40c per serve
• Garlic and seasonings add about 10c per serve
• The rotini was $2.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Canned tomatoes were $2.19 or 73c per serve
• A jar of pitted olives is $2.99 but only half is used in the recipe or 75c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $2.98 per serve.