Month: May 2016

April Summary and Observations

Yes, definitely late, but here’s the summary of our eating and cooking in April, 2016. Notably we had NAB in Las Vegas in the middle of the month, which led to more eating out than would be typical for us.

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $3.21 ($2.95 in March)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $10.84 ($6.02)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $6.07 ($5.29)
  • Dinner eaten out: $12.23 ($17.34)

Our most expensive meal was a shared Indian feast where we all contributed $15.00 toward the cost.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $352 per person in April. We actually spent $51.34 for lunches at home plus $108.44 for lunches purchased or eaten out: $159.78.

Had we purchased every dinner out at the same average it would be $366.90 each, compared with $133.60 for meals prepared at home and $36.70 for meals out, or the $190.61 total.

That’s just working on the average. Several of the meals we had would have been well over $30 a serve in a restaurant.

Apr 30: Smoked salmon on onion bagel; Slow baked boneless beef ‘ribs’ with cheesy grits and salad

Lunch

For lunch a toasted onion bagel, avocado and wild caught smoked salmon.

  • Smoked salmon is $5.99 for the 4oz pack, or $3.00 per serve
  • The pack of six onion bagels is $1.99 or 33c per serve
  • The avocado was a bargain at 39c or 20c per serve
  • Add 5c for capers.

Today’s lunch cost $3.58 per serve.

Dinner

Looking at our Prather Ranch meat in the freezer, we still had “beef chuck short ribs” left from last month’s delivery. These aren’t actually short ribs, but a cut from the chuck made to look like short ribs. They cook the same, and taste pretty damned good.

Naturally a BBQ sauce is required although we always substitute molasses for brown sugar, since brown sugar is refined sugar with molasses sprayed on it. Using molasses makes the sauce less sweet, which suits our tastes better, and adds more smokey flavor.

Foodie Greg was going to shave Belgian Endive for the salad, but it turns out that a kale and broccoli salad kit was less expensive, and already prepared with dressing and crisp bits packed individually. We’ve had this type of salad kit in the past when we’re traveling and don’t have a fully featured kitchen to work with.

Rounding out the meal with some ‘cheesy grits’ makes it a full on southern meal, although with a kicked up slaw and grits! Although the ‘grits’ were really Red Mill Whole Grain 10 grain hot cereal with goats cheese. It avoids the sweetness of regular grits.

  • Two pound of beef ‘chuck short ribs’ cost $21.98 or $10.99 per very generous serve
  • Kale and broccoli salad kit $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
  • Goats cheese cost $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
  • The 10 grain ‘hot cereal’ is $5.99 for a 25oz pack, but we used about 1/4 or 75c per serve
  • Ingredients for the sauce cost about 25c per serve.

Dinner tonight was $14.74 per serve, for about twice what you’d get for a regular restaurant serve.