Month: November 2017

Lunch

With pulled pork in the fridge, and par baked rolls ready to finish, it was time for a pulled pork roll – again!

• The pulled pork is $4.77 per serve, but we shared one serve, or $2.39 per serve
• The roll is 63c
• Add 5c for pickled onion.

Lunch today was pretty darned good for $3.07 per serve

Dinner

With Foodie Philip arriving home at an indeterminate time, a stew or curry was the right fit and massaman the right choice.

Beef Chuck steak still in the freezer from our meat delivery, so  beef massaman curry even though the weather is anything but cold! We use a curry base we buy from Amazon for this simple, quick meal for two.

• The top sirloin steak was $11.75 or $5.88 per serve
• The curry is $3.38 per can or $1.69 per serve
• Coconut milk is $1.69 per can or 85c per serve
• Peanuts were $2.99 but we only used half, or 75c per serve
• Potato adds 25c per serve
• Peal onion adds 20c per serve.

Tonight’s dinner was $9.62 per serve and very tasty, as always.

Lunch

Since we were driving across the Valley anyway, we stopped in at a different Jon’s location and picked up a baguette and BBQ chicken.

• The chicken is $6.99 and we shared one breast or 88c per serve
• The baguette was $2.79 and shared half for this meal, or 70c per serve
• A bag of four avocados were $2.99 and we shared one or 38c per serve.

Lunch today cost $1.96 and was another example of how simple food, but with top notch ingredients, can be really tasty.

Dinner

We haven’t had a lamb meatloaf in years, so it was time to make a small one. We served with roast parsnip and some tabouli.

• The ground lamb was $7.99 or $4.00 per serve
• The parsnip was $1.25 or 63c per serve
• Tabouli is $2.69 for the tub, and we had 1/4 each, or 68c per serve
• Add 50c for the cucumber tadziki, mint and parsley.

Dinner tonight was tasty, varied and filling, for $5.81 per serve.

Lunch

With pulled pork in the fridge, and par baked rolls ready to finish, it was time for a pulled pork roll!

• The pulled pork is $4.77 per serve, but we shared one serve, or $2.39 per serve
• The roll is 63c
• Add 5c for pickled onion.

Lunch today was pretty darned good for $3.07 per serve

Dinner

It was time to revisit the black bean side we created for dinner last Sunday. During the week Greg had added seasoning to spice it up a bit. Tonight we served the enhanced beans with “sausage hot links” from Trader Joe’s. While not officially andouille, they have very similar characteristics.

Foodie Greg sliced and fried off the sausage and served on top of the beans and rice mix, for a very tasty meal.

• The beans were 83c per serve
• Add 15c per serve for seasonings
• Add $2.50 per serve for the sausage
• Add 45c for cucumber and yoghurt
• Add 33c for rice.

Dinner tonight was a big improvement on the beans as originally served. Frying the sausage really enhances the flavor. A good meal for $4.26 per serve.

Lunch

Today’s sandwiches: Tomato and Mayo; Pastrami, Hummus, Watercress and Cheese.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• The heirloom tomatoes were $5.07 for two, and we used half a tomato, or 63c per serve
• Add 20c for the hummus and mayo
• 12 slices of yoghurt cheese are $4.79 and we shared one or 20c per serve.
• The pastrami was $6.82 for 16 oz, and we used about 3 oz in this sandwich, or 64c per serve
• Add 30c for watercress.

Today’s sandwiches were both good, for $2.29 per serve

Dinner

Thursday night is “steak night,” although our interpretation of “steak” varies greatly! Tonight was a rib eye, grilled outside to a perfect blué and served with the remainder of last night’s Strawberry Harvest salad, enhanced with an avocado, and buttery sweet potato.

Tonight’s sweet potato is a Japanese variety with a purple skin and white flesh inside. It’s also a little less sweet, which definitely suits our taste better.

• The dry aged rib eye steak was $21.86, or $10.93 per serve
• The salad kit is $2.99 but we get four serves, or 75c per serve.
• The avocado was 4 for $2.99, or 38c per serve
• The sweet potato was $1.97 or 99c per serve
• Add 50c per serve for butter, garlic and seasonings.

While you can get cheaper steak, it’s hard to beat Prather Ranch’s meat for quality and the pricing is similar to aged beef at Whole Foods. Even at $13.55 per serve, this was a great meal for a good price.

Lunch

More mixed sandwich combinations. Today, a return to the heirloom tomato and mayo, along with a new combination: lemon tuna (in a pouch) hummus and watercress. Both were worth repeating.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• The heirloom tomatoes were $5.07 for two, and we used half a tomato, or 63c per serve
• Add 20c for the hummus and mayo
• The Lemon Tuna was $1.39 or 70c per serve
• Add 30c for watercress.

Today’s sandwiches cost $2.05 per serve.

Dinner

Yet another take on a Cobb Salad, this time with smoked trout replacing the chicken, and barrata replacing the blue cheese. Drizzled with a balsamic reduction this is another excellent Cobb variation.

• The smoked trout is $3.49 per can/serve
• A pastured egg is 55c
• Bacon is $5.49  for the pack and we used 1/4, or 75c per serve
• We used half a $5.99 heirloom tomato or $1.50 per serve
• Watercress is $1.99 for a living plant and we used 1/4 or 25c per serve
• The avocado was $2.99 for a bag of five or 30c per serve
• The burrata was $4.99 for two, or $2.50 per serve.

Tonight’s Cobb Salad was the best we’ve had for $9.34 per serve.

Lunch

We purchased a toasted sandwich press this week and have been testing. So far the results are far from good and it’s likely going back. This Cuisinart model leaks cheese out the back making a terrible mess.

We had a pastrami, sauerkraut & cheese and a brisket, bell pepper and cheese.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• Add 15c for labné
• The 2+ lbs of corned beef was $13.55 but we used about 3oz  for today’s dish, or 62c per serve
• The brisket came from lunch on Friday without direct additional cost
• 12 slices of yoghurt cheese are $4.79 and we shared two or 40c per serve.
• Add 25c for bell pepper and mustard.

Lunch today cost $1.74 per serve.

Dinner

A new stir fry recipe: Szechuan Green Beans with Ground Pork is simple and fairly tasty. We chose it, mostly, to use up the green beans!

• The pork came from our Prather Ranch meat delivery – 1 lb of ground pork cost $8.31 or $4.16 per serve
• The green beans were $2.99 but we used about half, or 75c per serve
• Add 50c for the seasonings
• Add 33c for rice.

Dinner tonight cost $5.74 sharing the dish across two serves. Rice is not the perfect accompaniment to ground meats because of the textural similarity, and it could have used a little more heat, but otherwise this was a reasonably tasty dish.

Lunch

We decided to go to The Country Deli just because! Foodie Philip had his usual marinated skirt steak with eggs and home fries, while Foodie Greg had the brisket French Dip and steak fries.

Lunch at The Country Deli cost $23.65 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Although technically an ‘eat at home’ meal, dinner tonight was simple enough that it can be on the table 10 minutes after arriving home, if necessary.

The pork gyoza and miso ginger broth both came from Trader Joe’s. Chop the bok choy, heat the broth, drop in the pork gyoza and bring to the boil. Add the frozen edamame and serve!

• Bok Choy was 80c or 40c per serve
• The Miso Ginger broth was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Pork Gyoza were $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
• Add 30c for frozen edamame
• Add 20c for seasonings.

Dinner tonight was simple and yet very tasty, for $3.50 per serve.