Month: November 2018

Lunch

Circumstances had us in the vicinity of The Country Deli so we stopped their for lunch for an average of $22.34 per serve.

Dinner

Since we still had some of last night’s Gnocchi and vegetables, we grilled lamb loin chops and served with the reheated gnocchi, although we forgot the parmesan tonight.

• Lamb loin chops were $13.10 or $6.55 per serve
• The gnocchi and vegetables, without parmesan is $2.60 per serve.

While the gnocchi and vegetable bake was good, it was better with lamb loin chops. A good meal for $9.15 per serve.

Lunch

For meatless Monday we reverted to the egg salad in panini roll with sprouts.

• The panini roll is 63c per serve
• The egg salad is $3.69 for 10 oz and we used 2 oz per serve, or 92c per serve
• The nanoshoots cost $2.50 and we shared about ¼ or 31c per serve.

We enjoyed this roll a lot for $1.86 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner we found a new recipe – Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Veggies – that looked tasty and was meatless.  We used our regular cauliflower gnocchi, which may have been a mistake as it did not crispen up as expected.

The recipe made four serves.

• The gnocchi was $2.69 or 67c per serve
• Mini peppers were $3.59 or 90c per serve
• Grape tomatoes were $2.49 or 63c per serve
• A jumbo red onion was 54c or 14c per serve
• Rosemary came from our garden
• Garlic adds 5c per serve
• Add 20c per serve for oil and seasoning
• The parmesan was $5.49 but we used ¼ or 69c per serve.

A tasty meal for $3.29 per serve, that would have been better with potato gnocchi.

Lunch

Since it was the weekend, we could do something a little more involved for lunch. Not that spinach and garlic frittata is a lot of work!

• Pastured eggs are 50c each or $1.00 per serve
• Garlic adds 5c per serve
• Baby spinach was $1.99, or 50c per serve.

A tasty lunch for $1.55 per serve.

Dinner

Fishy Friday on Saturday night called for Roast Cod with Cannellini Beans and Green Olives.

• The beans were $1.00 per can or 50c per serve
• The cod fillets were six for $12.99 or $2.17 per serve
• The jalapeño was five cents, or 3c per serve
• The olives come in a $4.49 jar, and we used half, or $1.25 per serve
• The lemons were $1.78 or 89c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for seasoning and oil
• Black rice adds 44c per serve.

A pretty decent meal, with good variety, although we did not deseed the jalapeño and we should have! Still, tasty and filling for $5.58 per serve.

Lunch

Again some simple toasted sandwiches for lunch: sliced chicken breast with Swiss on the sprouted sourdough bread.

• Sprouted sourdough bread cost $3.99 for 32 slices, or 25c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve
• Sliced chicken breast is $7.99 for 8 oz and we each had 1 oz or $1.00 per serve
• Add 35c for garlic spread and butter.

Another decent but uninspiring sandwich for  $2.94 per serve.

Dinner

Although it’s supposed to be “fishy Friday” we’re postponing that until tomorrow. Tonight it’s Lamb meatloaf using the same recipe as for the  Soutzoukakia but without the sauce.

Served with a salad made of sugar snap peas and fresh burrata it made a great meal.

• The ground lamb was on special for $4.99 or $2.50 per serve
• An egg is 50c or 25c per serve
• 16 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used 8oz or 75c per serve
• Add 35c for onion, garlic and seasonings
• We opted for all mint, no parsley, which came from our garden
• Parmesan cost $5.75 but we used about 1/8 for this dish, or 35c per serve.
• Red wine adds 25c per serve
• The burrata was $8.99 or $4.50 per serve
• Sugar snap peas were $2.49 and we used about half or 63c per serve
• Mint for the salad came from the garden
• Add 30c for other ingredients.

The burrata and sugar snap pea salad was good, but the burrata wasn’t as good as the price would have suggested.  Still, it worked well with the meatloaf, which we finished completely! A good meal for $9.88 per serve.

Lunch

With egg salad purchased before our trip in the refrigerator, we decided to  – once again – do egg salad in a par baked panini rustic roll, with spicy sprouts.

• The panini roll is 63c per serve
• The egg salad is $3.69 for 10 oz and we used 2 oz per serve, or 92c per serve
• The nanoshoots cost $2.50 and we shared about ¼ or 31c per serve.

We enjoyed this roll a lot for $1.86 per serve.

Dinner

After the travel and convenience meal, it was time to try something new, which turned out to be an adaption of a Creamy Chicken Chili to a Creamy Ground Pork Chili.

The recipe makes six serves.

• The pork came from our Keller Crafted Ranch meat delivery – 1 lb of ground pork cost $8.31 or $1.39 per serve
• The chicken broth was $1.99, or 33c per serve
• For the corn we used Trader Joes Fire Roasted frozen corn to get grill flavor, which cost $2.49 for a pound, and we used half a packet,  21c per serve
• A can of “store beans” was $1.00, and we used two, or 33c per serve
• Butter is $2.99 for 8 ounces, and we used 6 or 19c per serve
• Add 25c for onion, garlic, celery and bell pepper
• Add 40c per serve for seasonings and flour.

While a strange Chili it was pretty darn good for $3.10 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we returned to Le Boulanger Foodie Philip had their Beef Bacon melt while Foodie Greg chose a Pastrami Melt. Again the bread was exceptionally good, toasted perfectly with tasty filling and a nice coleslaw on the side.

Good food for $10.19 with tax.

Dinner

We have a friend who has a talent for finding interesting restaurants and among a sea of chain restaurants Sizzling Gourmet on a side street in Cupertino was a definite find. This is Hunanese cuisine rather than the more common Cantonese version we see in “Chinese” restaurants. There are many regional variations to Chinese meals and this was a delicious one.

The sizzling pot has much less liquid than other variations. Our duck and chicken combination was exceptionally good. A bok choy fried rice was a perfect accompaniment. We had pork belly and pot stickers as appetizers, which were again very good.

No-one left hungry in our group of five. The average cost per serve was $18.55, which was great value.