Month: December 2018

Lunch

We heated half the remaining lamb shank and stuffed it in a panini roll finished in the oven and smeared it with Trader Joe’s new Blue Cheese Mustard. The new mustard is surprisingly good and worked perfectly with the lamb.

• Panini roll is 63c
• Half of a serve of lamb divided between two  is $2.40 per serve
• Add 40c for the mustard.

A great lunch for $3.43 per serve.

Dinner

Time to repeat the prime rib meal from Saturday night, and use up some left over French onion soup. The prime rib was sliced thin (English cut) and reheated in the French onion soup.

The asparagus was reheated in the panini press, where it had been cooked. We served the French onion soup as a dip, which worked okay.

• The prime rib as $39.09 but we’ll get five very (very) generous serves from that, or $7.81 per serve, which is double what you’d get in a steak house
• Asparagus was $4.03 and we used the remaining half, or $1.00 per serve
• A serve of the French onion soup is 76c for a half serve.

Reheating the beef in the soup was exactly the right path. We kept it low on the induction cooktop set to 140F so we did not overcook the beef. The French onion soup made an adequate dip. A good meal for $9.57 per serve.

 

Lunch

Another ham sandwich variation, this time with avocado.

• Ham is 22c for 2oz
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c
• Two avocados were $1.98 but we shared one, or 50c per serve
• Add 50c for butter and garlic spread.

A good sandwich for $1.44 per serve.

Dinner

For tonight’s Meatless Monday we went Indian: Kashmir Spinach and Yellow Dahl on Brown Rice.

• Brown rice is 33c per serve
• The yellow dahl was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The Kashmir Spinach was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve.

A decent meal for $3.33 per serve. It’s odd that the yellow dahl from Trader Joe’s is half the price of the Kashmir Spinach from a name brand purchased at Raph’s (Kroger).

Lunch

Although we froze half the baked ham, we’re still working through the remainder. Today ham and egg salad sandwiches.

• Two slices of sprouted rye is 32c per serve
• The egg salad is $3.69 for 10 oz and we used 2 oz per serve, or 92c per serve
• We used about 2oz of ham on each sandwich or 22c
• Add 50c for butter and garlic spread.

The sandwich worked extremely well for $1.96 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we cooked an old favorite – Lamb Shanks with Dill and Juniper Berries – but with two twists. First we cooked it in a dutch oven in the oven, instead of pressure cooking it, and secondly we’re writing this up on behalf of Keller Crafted. We pay regular price for our meat box each month, but this month Keller Crafted included these lamb shanks in return for writing up the recipe.

• Normally $28.77 for two enormous shanks, they yield at least three serves or $9.59 per generous serve
• Add 10c per serve for onion and garlic
• Add $1.00 or 33c per serve for chicken bone broth
• Juniper berries add 13c per serve
• Dill adds 5c per serve
• The peas are 99c per pack, but we used half or 17c per serve
• Add 20c for the lemon.

While the pressure cooker version is quicker, it loses almost no liquid so there’s no thickening of the sauce as there is with this version. There was so much meat on each lamb shank that neither of us could finish and together we put aside another full serve!

The meat melted in your mouth and no knife was needed. The flavor was definitely lamb rather than a stronger flavored mutton (older sheep). This was a really, really good meal for $10.75 (split three ways) or $15.38 per serve if two people finished the shanks!

Lunch

With it being Saturday, lunch could take on a little more complexity: ham steak, fried onion and Roasted Potatoes with Peppers and Onions (Trader Joe’s).

• The ham steak was 88c
• A pastured egg is 50c
• The frozen roast potatoes with peppers and onions was $2.99 or $1.50 per serve.

A great weekend lunch for $2.88 per serve.

Dinner

When we celebrate Foodie Philip’s birthday we typically go for prime rib, and this year was no exception. Served with grilled asparagus, roasted garlic butter mushrooms and a horseradish cream, this was definitely a great take on a steakhouse meal.

• The prime rib as $39.09 but we’ll get five very (very) generous serves from that, or $7.81 per serve, which is double what you’d get in a steak house
• Mushrooms were $2.99 or $1.50 each
• Butter adds 50c per serve
• Asparagus was $4.03 but we used only half, or $1.00 per serve
• Add 65c per serve for sour cream and horseradish.

A meal worthy of the best steak house and, at $11.46 per serve, under a quarter of what we’d pay for the same meal in a steak house.

Lunch

With so much ham we were destined to have ham and Swiss toasted sandwiches for lunch.

• The rye bread is 32c per serve
• The ham is 11c per ounce or 22c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve
• Add 50c for mustard and butter.

A good sandwich for $1.38 per serve.

Dinner

For “fishy Friday” Foodie Greg tried a new recipe: Mauritian Prawn Curry, which was an interesting flavor variation, particularly being tomato based.

• The shrimp was $7.99 for the pack, and we used half, or $2.00 per serve
• Canned tomatoes are $1.29 or 65c per serve
• Add 30c for ginger, garlic and onion
• Add 75c for other seasonings.

This curry isn’t like the more familiar Indian styles, and was slightly odd to us, but quite tasty in it’s own way for $3.70 per serve.

Lunch

Caramelized onions and gruyere seemed like an elevated lunch choice, and it was very good indeed. Toasted until the gruyere was oozing it was a great balance with the sweetness of the onion.

• The gruyere was $8.99 and we shared a quarter, or $1.13 per serve
• The sprouted rye is 32c per serve
• The caramelized onion is 20c per serve
• Add 50c for butter and garlic spread.

Really good sandwich for $2.15 per serve.

Dinner

We were hoping our friend Cirina would make it back to the West Coast so we could celebrate Christmas together, but it didn’t happen and we needed time to use the leftovers, so tonight we baked our ham and served it with Choucroute Garni (without potatoes).

• The ham was $15.76 for 10 lb of ham, and figuring 8oz for a serve and allowing for the bone, or 18 serves at 88c per serve, although tonight we had 1.5 serves each, or $1.32 per serve
• For onion in the garni we used caramelized onion at 7c per serve
• We picked up heirloom carrots in multiple colors for $2.49 or 83c per serve
• Bubbies sauerkraut was $7.39 or $2.47 per serve
• Add 30c for seasoning and mustard.

The pork turned out very well as did the choucroute, leading to a very enjoyable meal for $4.99 per serve.

Lunch

We still had some of the chuck roast so we used the last of it in another par baked roll we finished in the oven, smeared with horseradish aioli, and stuffed with the chuck roast of a few nights ago, and tabouli.

• Tabouli was $2.69 but we used half, or 43c per serve
• The beef roast $4.42 per serve, and we shared one, or $1.21 per serve
• Add 20c for the horseradish aioli
• Add 63c for the roll.

A really good roll for $2.47 per serve.

Dinner

In cold weather there’s nothing better than a steamy hot soup and French Onion is a favorite. We used half the onion in the French Onion soup and kept the remainder for sandwiches, etc.

• Five onions were $1.00 or 20c per serve
• Beef broth is $1.99 or 68c per serve
• A cup of red wine adds 40c per serve
• Butter adds 25c per serve
• Half a panini roll is 32c
• The gruyere was $8.99 and we used half, or $2.25 per serve.

The soup and roll comes to $1.85 and then the cheese adds another $2.25 to bring the total to $4.10 and worth every penny.

Lunch

For lunch we decided to finish the Popeye’s Fried Chicken and paired it with some of the Pinto Bean and Andouille Sausage Stew.

• 9 Pieces of chicken were $8.99 on a new special, or $2.19 per serve with tax
• A half serve of the stew is $1.22.

An enjoyable lunch for $3.41 per serve.

Dinner

We had planned on French Onion Soup, but did not start early enough to have it ready for tonight, so we chose scrambled eggs, bacon, and Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes and Onions (Trader Joe’s), which is really good.

• The eggplant, tomato and onion is $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
• Two pastured eggs are $1.00 per serve
• Four slices of bacon are $2.74 or $1.37 per serve
• Toast is 16c per slice
• Butter adds 35c.

A great fall-back meal for $4.13 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we finished the par-baked rolls in the oven, smeared with horseradish aioli, and stuffed with the chuck roast of a few nights ago, and tabouli.

• Tabouli was $2.69 but we used half, or 43c per serve
• The beef roast $4.42 per serve, and we shared one, or $1.21 per serve
• Add 20c for the horseradish aioli
• Add 63c for the roll.

A really good roll for $2.47 per serve.

Dinner

When we first tried this Pinto Bean & Andouille Sausage Stew, which is likely an ancestor to the Southwest Beans and Rice.

We followed the recipe fairly closely although we substituted a can of fire roasted tomatoes for the fresh in the recipe. We kept it moderately spicy. The recipe makes at least eight serves.

• The pinto beans were $1.19 or 15c per serve
• The pepper was $1.12 or 14c per serve
• The Bell pepper was 99c or 12c per serve
• The fire roasted tomatoes were $1.29 or 16c per serve
• The bacon was $7.99 but we used ⅜ or 38c per serve
• The sausage was $8.99 or $1.25 per serve
• Add 15c per serve for spices and seasoning
• Add 10c for labne.

This dish spans the space between a stew and a chili; served with rice, but dressed like a chili. Despite only half a sausage in each serve (and less bacon) it has a great meaty taste for $2.45 per serve.