Month: October 2017

Lunch

We noticed that a Mexican restaurant near our local Ralph’s was popular with the local Fire Department. That’s usually a good sign, so we decided to stop in for heuvos rancheros, which is a good measure of a Mexican restaurant.

The atmosphere was good, and the host welcoming. The food was well prepared but the red sauce was a little bland. Overall, not bad for $9.70 per serve.

Dinner

A return to an old favorite: bacon and black bean chili with all the “fixin’s”: crème fraîche, cheddar and avocado. The recipe makes six serves.

• The ground beef was $9.91 or $1.65 per serve
• The beans are $1.00 per can and we used two, or 33c per serve
• Canned tomatoes were $1.29 or 22c per serve
• Tomato paste was 79c or 13c per serve
• Bacon is $6.99 for the pack and we used half, or 39c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for seasoning
• The avocado was $3.79 (it was big) or $1.90 per serve
• The crème fraîche was $2.69 or 17c per serve
• The cheddar is $3.99 a block and we used 1/2 or $1.25 per serve.

This is a great recipe and we always enjoy it. The chili is $3.02 per serve and the toppings add $3.32 for a total of $6.34 per serve.

Lunch

Since it’s the weekend, why not indulge in a smoked salmon, cream cheese, capers, shallot sandwich. So we did.

• Twos slice of bread are 32c per serve
• Smoked salmon $5.99 for the 4oz pack or $3.00 a serve
• The soft cheese of choice was Neufschatel at $2.99 for the block, of which we used 1/4 or 38c
• Add 15c for capers and shallot.

Lunch today was – as expected – delicious for $3.85 per serve

Dinner

Time for pork chops from our Prather Ranch meat delivery. Unlike modern pork these heritage breed chops are nicely marveled with fat, which – when cooked correctly – lubricates the meat making it more unctuous.

After tasting an endive and apple salad in Amsterdam, we decided to pair the pork with another variation, using a Waldorf dressing and adding nuts.

• The pork was $11.16 per 12 oz serve, although truthfully, we’d have been satisfied with half that (if we’d known there were two chops per pack)
• The endive was $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
• A honeycrisp apple was $1.49 or 75c per serve
• Add 30c for dressing ingredients.

Dinner tonight was exceptionally good, if a little expensive at $13.46 per serve. The pork may be expensive but it’s very good and was cooked slower than a normal grill, so the fat would render without the meat overcooking. The endive and apple salad was a sharp contrast to the pork and a perfect accompaniment.

Lunch

Coming to the end of the week and we have a chicken breast and some tabouli left over. Warm the chicken, stuff it in a hot rustic roll finished in the oven, season with some mustard aioli and that’s a pretty good lunch.

• The chicken breast is $1.75 or 88c per serve
• A pack of six par baked rustic rolls is $3.29 or 55c per serve
• The Jon’s tabouli is $2.83 for the 8oz container, and we served the remaining 1/4 or 36c per serve
• Add 25c for the mustard aioli.

Lunch today was $2.04 per serve and pretty tasty.

Dinner

We revisited the balance of the Thom Ka Moo but with brown rice vermicelli instead of brown rice, because the rice and ground pork have textures that are two similar, whereas the vermicelli texture is completely different.

• The thom ka moo is $5.62 per serve
• The brown rice vermicelli is $2.39 per pack, and we used half, or 60c per serve.

Dinner tonight was even better than the original, for just $6.24 per serve.

Lunch

A direct repeat of yesterday. On the corned beef sandwich we added tabouli from Jon’s and it was definitely a superior tabouli than we get from other providers. It adds a wet and flavor component to the corned beef sandwich that elevates it.

The tomato and mayo (substitute) is always a good sandwich and with a heritage, flavorsome tomato it is a great sandwich.

• Twos slice of bread are 32c per serve
• The pastrami beef was $6.52 for 1 lb, and we used about 3 oz in this sandwich, or 61c per serve
• The Jon’s tabouli is $2.83 for the 8oz container, and we served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 36c per serve
• Add 25c for spicy labné
• The heirloom tomato was $1.30 and we use half, or 33c per serve
• Add 20c for mayo.

Lunch today comprised two really good, tasty sandwiches, halved, for $2.07 per serve.

Dinner

Although the weather is cooling at night, it’s still warm enough to grill and eat outside, so a rib eye comes out of the freezer and onto the grill. Meanwhile garlic butter mushrooms roast in the oven, and the remainder of the sweet potato halloumi bake rounded out the meal.

• The 12oz rib eye is $19.24 or $9.62 per serve
• The halloumi roast vegetables is $2.22 per serve
• Mushrooms were $2.29 or $1.15 per serve
• The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 3/8 for two serves, or 75c per serve
• Garlic adds 5c per serve.

Dinner tonight was excellent. The steak perfectly blue, the garlic butter mushrooms outshone those we had at Dos in Amsterdam and the roast vegetables with halloumi just got better in the two days between. Top notch food for $13.79.

Lunch

Back to some favorite sandwiches. On the corned beef sandwich we added tabouli from Jon’s and it was definitely a superior tabouli than we get from other providers. It adds a wet and flavor component to the corned beef sandwich that elevates it.

The tomato and mayo (substitute) is always a good sandwich and with a heritage, flavorsome tomato it is a great sandwich.

• Twos slice of bread are 32c per serve
• The pastrami beef was $6.52 for 1 lb, and we used about 3 oz in this sandwich, or 61c per serve
• The Jon’s tabouli is $2.83 for the 8oz container, and we served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 36c per serve
• Add 25c for spicy labné
• The heirloom tomato was $1.30 and we use half, or 33c per serve
• Add 20c for mayo.

Lunch today comprised two really good, tasty sandwiches, halved, for $2.07 per serve.

Dinner

The cooler weather has us returning to more warming dishes, like cod and smoked salmon kedgeree! Traditionally served as a breakfast, we prefer it as an evening meal, mostly because we don’t eat breakfast!

The recipe makes four good sized serves

• The hot smoked salmon was $12.75 or $3.19 per serve
• Kroger Wild Caught Pacific Cod costs $16.89 for a 40 oz pack, but only 8 oz was used (two filets) or 85c a serve.
• Coconut cream is $1.49 or 38c per serve
• Roma tomatoes cost 78c or 20c per serve
• Lemons cost $1.58 for two, and we used about half of one, or 20c per serve
• Two small onions add 20c per serve
• Curry powder and flour adds 30c per serve
• The butter is $3.99 per block, and 1.5 ounces across four serves, or 19c per serve
• Hard boiled eggs cost 55c each and we had one per serve
• Brown basmati rice is $2.99 for a 2lb bag and we used 1/8 or 19c per serve.

The smoked salmon was expensive but it bought a lot of flavor to the dish, which was excellent overall, for $6.25 per serve.

Lunch

As we had to drop a package nearby, lunch at The Country Deli was the obvious choice. Philip had the usual marinated skirt steak, eggs and home fries, while Greg opted for the same marinated skirt steak but as a sandwich.

Lunch at the Country Deli cost $22.22 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Time to use up the chicken leg from the weekend chicken. We paired it with roast vegetables with halloumi. Normally this Nigella Lawson recipe would include potato but we decided to go with all sweet potato, bell pepper, onion and garlic under the halloumi.

• The chicken was $1.75 per serve
• Sweet potato cost $1.32 or (with three serves) or 33c per serve
• Red onion was $1.79 or 45c per serve
• Red pepper was $1.49 or 38c per serve
• Halloumi is $3.82 or 96c per serve
• Add 10c for garlic.

Tonight’s dinner was tasty. The halloumi bake is always good and the Jon’s chicken stood up to reheating acceptably well. Not bad for $3.97 per serve.

Lunch

Another Burbank Monday for Foodie Philip and another In and Out Double Double animal style for $4.27, an increase of a penny!

Dinner

We had ground pork from our Prather Ranch delivery and Greg decided to make Tom Kha Moo – the pork version of Tom Kha Gai (chicken). The recipe makes least four serves.

• The pork came from our Prather Ranch meat delivery – 1 lb of ground pork cost $8.31 or $2.78 per serve
• A can of coconut milk is $1.49 or 40c per serve
• Bella mushrooms were $1.79 or 45c per serve
• Parasol mushrooms were $3.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Chicken stock is $1.99 or 50c per serve
• Lemon grass was 15c or 4c per serve
• Add 33c for brown rice
• Add 45c for seasonings.

Dinner tonight might not look pretty but it tasted good for $5.95 per serve.

Lunch

A beautiful sunny day and a trip to Jon’s gave us one of their great roast chicken, a fresh baguette and some heirloom tomatoes. Add a little mayo and it’s a great meal. Simple, but when everything that goes into it is good, the result is always good.

• The BBQ chicken is $6.99 or 88c per serve
• The baguette is $2.79 but we used half for lunch, or 70c
• Two tomatoes were $1.30 but we used only one, or 33c per serve.

Lunch today was very enjoyable and $1.91 per serve.

Dinner

Our Prather Ranch delivery always seems to include “beef for fajita” and we generally end up doing a stir fry. After having good success with the Foster Farms salad kits, we thought we’d try their ginger and garlic stir fry kit.

A big disappointment. It lacked flavor and the vegetables includes were such an eclectic mix there was no cohesion in the resulting meal. Including sliced, but not cooked, brussel sprouts was a fail because Foodie Philip hates them. All in all, a total fail. At least the beef was good!

• The stir fry kit was, thankfully, only $1.79 or 90c per serve
• The beef is $13.99 or $7.00 per serve.

Dinner tonight was, as I said, disappointing for $7.90 per serve.