Month: August 2016

Lunch

A reuben inspired English muffin.

• An English muffin is 50c
• The slice pastrami is $4.99 per pack, but we used less than 1/4 or 63c per serve
• The sliced Swiss cheese is $3.99 per 12oz pack, or 50c per serve
• The sauerkraut is $6.99 for the container. We used one eight or 44c per serve. 

Lunch today cost $2.07 per serve.

Dinner

A hot day sent us in the direction of salads, and tonight we revisited Succotash salad. Cooked edamame and frozen roast corn came from Trader Joes, as did the tomatoes and feta. Preparation is as complex as cutting the tomatoes, rinsing the corn (to defrost) and mixing everything together.

It’s a perfect pairing for the smoked pork sausages (from our Prather Ranch delivery) because it provides a sweet, wet and crunchy alternative to the smokey saltiness of the sausages.

• The pork sausages are $6.28 for four, or $3.14 per serve
• The roast corn kernels are $2.49 for the pack, but we used only 1/3 or 42c per serve
• Pre-cooked and shelled edamame is also $2.49 per pack, but we used half or 63c per serve
• Organic cherry tomatoes are $2.99 per pack, but again only 1/3 was used, or 50c per serve
• The greek feta is $6.49 for four blocks, and we used half of one block in this salad, or 41c per serve.

Dinner tonight was $5.10 per serve and a great balance between smokey, salty sausage and crisp, fresh succotash.

Lunch

Back to the ‘normal’ Burbank Monday with an In and Out Double Double Animal Style for Foodie Philip.

Lunch today was $4.03 per serve.

Dinner

The remainder of the bacon and bean chili was waiting, with a slightly different serving technique for the avocado that keeps the cold sour cream away from the hot chili.

A sprinkling of chili lime salt added a little zest.

• Bacon ends cost $4.99 for the container, but this recipe used about 1/2 of that, or 50c per serve
• Onion and garlic – about 5c a serve
• The beef we used is expensive – pasture raised, dry aged ground beef from our monthly meat delivery – at $9.08 or $1.82 a serve
• Spices – about 12c a serve
• Diced fire roasted tomatoes are $2.19 the can, or 44c per serve
• Tomato paste was 89c or 18c a serve
• The beans were 99c a can, or 20c a serve
• Each serve got half an Avocado or 84c per serve
• Cheese was 55c per serve
• Sour cream cost $3.99 but we used 1/4 on tonight’s meal, or 50c per serve.

All up dinner cost us $5.20 for a very filling serve.

Lunch

We actually purchased the sushi yesterday, but a last minute change of plans held it over until today.

The Spicy Rainbow roll and Firecracker roll cost $11.24 per serve.

Dinner

Although a do-over of the Chili was on the agenda, the desire to use up some arugula, and not do a repeat two days running, moved the chili to Monday night.

Instead some Truffle Porcini Gnocchi (Cost Plus world market) was paired with Pioneer Woman’s Tomato-Blue Cheese sauce. Both were pretty good.

• The gnocchi was $2.79 or $1.40 per serve
• Fire Roasted canned tomatoes were $2.39 or $$1.20 per serve
• Blue cheese comes in a $6.99 tub, but we used so little, it comes to 22c a serve
• The wild arugula was $1.99 but we use about 1/3 or 33c per serve
• Add 30c for a splash of pastured whole milk.

Dinner tonight was tasty and filling for $3.45 a serve.

Lunch

We decided to get take-out as part of a supermarket trip, and picked Carnitas Michoacan which we’ve been happy with before.

The carnitas burrito is $5.50 with tax per serve.

Dinner

A slightly cooler evening made a big pot of chili attractive. The bacon, black bean and beef chili is great. Add the “fixins” and it’s really good. We may get in a fight with Texans over adding beans, but we think they’re an enhancement to the flavor and texture.

This recipe makes five serves.

• Bacon ends cost $4.99 for the container, but this recipe used about 1/2 of that, or 50c per serve
• Onion and garlic – about 5c a serve
• The beef we used is expensive – pasture raised, dry aged ground beef from our monthly meat delivery – at $9.08 or $1.82 a serve
• Spices – about 12c a serve
• Diced fire roasted tomatoes are $2.19 the can, or 44c per serve
• Tomato paste was 89c or 18c a serve
• The beans were 99c a can, or 20c a serve
• Each serve got half an Avocado or 84c per serve
• Cheese was 55c per serve
• Sour cream cost $3.99 but we used 1/4 on tonight’s meal, or 50c per serve.

All up dinner cost us $5.20 for a very filling serve.

Lunch

A return to the gyro meat wrap, and again with cucumber because it adds a nice, wet crunch to the wrap.

• The fully cooked sliced gyro/yeros meat is $3.99 per 10oz pack. There are really four serves, so each serve is very slightly cheaper than the chicken, at $1.00 per serve.
• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• A box of Persian cucumbers was $2.49 for five, and we used one, or 25c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.75.

Dinner

Trader Joes have bratwursts imported from Germany as an Octoberfest seasonal special that we had been wanting to try, so why not choucroute? They get a big thumbs up from us!

The addition of cooked pork belly to the choucroute was a great enhancement. Tonight’s meal served three.

• The fully cooked pork belly (Trader Joes) was $6.49 or $2.17 per serve
• The Oktoberfest bratwurst was $3.49 for 4, or $1.13 per serve
• The sauerkraut is $2.99 a pack or $1.00 per serve
• The carrots were 50c or 17c per serve
• Potatoes add 70c per serve
• The onion, garlic, bay leaf and juniper berries add another 35c per serve
• White wine adds another 72c per serve.

Dinner tonight made three generous serves and cost $6.24 per serve.

Lunch

The last of the pulled pork went onto a open-face lunch sandwich built on an English Muffin. Trader Joe’s Garlic Sriracha BBQ sauce was the perfect condiment.

• An English Muffin is 50c
• Add 5c for the onion
• Add 10c for the BBQ sauce
• The pork but was $20.41 or $3.40 per serve, but we only used half a serve in the quesadilla or $1.70.

Lunch today cost $2.35. Our lunch ‘sandwich’ is pictured above because you all know what pizza looks like.

Dinner

Traditional on LACPUG night is to go to pizza afterward. We all contribute $5 a person, so dinner tonight was $5.00 per serve.

Lunch

A return to the gyro meat wrap but with cucumber because it adds a nice, wet crunch to the wrap.

• The fully cooked sliced gyro/yeros meat is $3.99 per 10oz pack. There are really four serves, so each serve is very slightly cheaper than the chicken, at $1.00 per serve.
• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• A box of Persian cucumbers was $2.49 for five, and we used one, or 25c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.75.

Dinner

How many ways can we use pulled pork? How about our version of a Quesadilla made with flat bread.

• 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
• Add 5c for the onion
• The pork but was $20.41 or $3.40 per serve, but we only used half a serve in the quesadilla or $1.70.

Dinner tonight cost $3.21. The pickled onions provide a fresh, slightly acid crunch that perfectly offsets the fattiness of the pork.

Lunch

Finishing up in North Hollywood at lunch times we picked up some Popeye’s chicken on the way home. I really don’t understand how the pricing at different Popeye’s outlets varies so much. The Van Nuys outlet in Pacoima is about 20% higher than in Burbank.

• Eight pieces of chicken were $11.99, but that makes four serves in all, making each serve $3.00
• The large Red beans and rice was $4.49 and we shared that for $2.25 a serve.

Lunch was $5.25 a serve.

Dinner

There was a pork shoulder (aka Boston butt) in our Prather Ranch meat delivery, so why not makes some pulled pork? We paired it with some apple slaw – basically a broccoli slaw with Envy apple added.

The pork looks like it will make six meal portions, perhaps more as lunch wrap portions. The apple and broccoli slaw made four portions.

• The pork but was $20.41 or $3.40 per serve
• Chicken stock adds about 14c per serve
• Onion adds about 15c per serve
• The broccoli slaw was $1.69 or 12 oz, but we used only half or 21c per serve
• The envy apple was $1.29 or 33c per serve.

Dinner tonight was very tasty and cost $4.77 per serve. The apple slaw perfectly offsets the slight fattiness of the pork.