Jul 10: Kumato & Cheddar; Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls

Lunch

Today we made two Kumato and Cheddar sandwiches, which is a favorite.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
  • The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 90c per serve
  • Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 70c per serve
  • Add 20c for garlic spread.

As always they turned out well for $2.46 per serve.

Dinner

A return to a favorite: Caramelized Pork Bowls.

  • The ground pork was $8.35 and we’ll get four serves from that, or $2.09 per serve
  • Add 40c for ginger, shallot, garlic and chili, etc
  • Add 10c for grated carrot
  • Mung Bean Sprouts were $1.49 or 75c per serve.

The wet and spicy sprouts are a perfect balance for the spicy meat mix to create a great meal for $3.29 per serve.

Jul 9: Egg, Bacon Brioche; Beef and Snow Pea Stir-fry

Lunch

The Foodies skipped lunch as they had attended a hosted breakfast in the community.

Dinner

Tonight we did a simple stir-fry with “meat for fajitas” and snow peas served with black rice.

  • 1 lb of Keller Crafted ground beef is $8.25 or $4.13 per serve
  • The Snow Peas $3.49 or $1.75 per serve
  • Black rice is 44c per serve
  • Add 30c for seasoning.

A decent stir-fry for $6.62 per serve.

Jul 8: Lemon Pepper Tuna, Turkey and Olive Tapenade; Pulled BBQ Jackfruit with Rice and Cuban Beans

Lunch

We reverted to toasted sandwiches for a change. One Lemon Pepper Tuna and Swiss, the other Smoked Turkey breast with Olive Tapenade.

  • The bread was 33c per serve
  • The Lemon Pepper Tuna is $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The olive tapenade was $2.99 for the jar, but we used about one quarter, or 38c per serve
  • The turkey is $3.49 and we shared ⅓ or 58c per serve
  • Add 20c for garlic spread.

We shared both sandwiches for $2.49 per serve.

Dinner

We tried another meatless alternative: this time Pulled BBQ Jackfruit with Rice and Cuban Beans. The Jackfruit “pulls” like pulled pork, and is flavored by the BBQ Sauce as they don’t have much flavor themselves.

  • The Jackfruit were $3.98 for the two cans or $1.00 per serve
  • Brown Rice is 33c per serve
  • Canned Cuban Beans are 99c or 50c per serve
  • Add 40c per serve for Apple Cider Vinegar, Molasses and Carolina BBQ Sauce.

The Jackfruit has an interesting texture that is not quite melting, but not as defined as pulled pork would be. Most of the flavor comes from the BBQ sauce, although we followed a recipe that had a lot of Apple Cider Vinegar in the early cook and we felt the Jackfruit took up a little too much so the acid was a little out of balance. We’ll do better next time, but this was a pretty good meal for $2.23 per serve.

Jul 7: Bahn Mi; Roast Chicken, Asparagus and Corn Salad

Lunch

For lunch we picked up a Bahn Mi and enjoyed it on our outside terrace for $9.27 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

At the end of the weekend it’s time to use ups leftovers, so we steamed the asparagus and remaining chicken and served with a little of the Corn Salad for a very tasty meal.

  • The Chicken is $6.99 and we we each had ¼ or $1.75 per serve
  • The asparagus was $3.05 and we shared the ⅓ we had left, or 50c per serve
  • The Corn and Chile Salad was already fully accounted.

A good meal for $2.35 per serve.

Jul 6: BBQ Chicken & Kumato in Panini Roll; “Nachos”

Lunch

For lunch we took the other BBQ Chicken Breast, split a Kumato and stuffed them in a hot panini roll that was covered with garlic spread.

  • The roll is 63c each
  • The Chicken is $6.99 and we shared a breast, or 88c per serve
  • Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 70c per serve
  • Add 20 for Garlic Spread.

Another good sandwich for $2.41 per serve.

Dinner

Since we had leftovers, we mixed all the remaining Taco meat and half the Soy Chorizo Enchilada mix together and heated it. We spread it on top of Trader Joe’s Organic Eloté Corn Chip dippers (seriously good) then topped with avocado and sour cream.

  • The Soy Chorizo Enchilada mix was $1.48 per serve, but split it was 74c per serve
  • The Taco Meat was $2.51 per serve or $1.26 per serve
  • A bag of four avocados was $6.99 and we shared one, or 88c per serve
  • Add 40c for Cotija cheese
  • The Eloté Corn Chips were $2.29 and we used about half, or 58c per serve
  • Sour cream cost $2.99 but we used 1/8 on tonight’s meal, or 19c per serve.

All up a good use of leftovers that had good flavor and a hint of spice. The Eloté Corn Chips are great and went perfectly in this meal, which all up was $4.05 per serve.

Jul 5: Supermarket Sushi; Seared Scallops with Sweet Corn and Chiles

Lunch

We picked up tray of Avocado and Cucumber Rolls, and a tray of Seared Albacore Tuna from Whole Foods and shared them for $9.99 per serve.

Dinner

We have a new high tech, non-stick frying pan that matches the Wok we already have, that gives us a good sear while still being non-stick. In regular non-stick pans it’s impossible to get a good sear.

We paired the Fresh Scallops from Whole Foods with Sweet Corn and Chiles which turned out really well even though we left out the cream.

  • The Scallops were $15.17 for just over half a pound, or $7.58 per serve
  • The corn was $1.00 or 50c per serve as we’re in peak corn season
  • A Jalappeno was 9c or 5c per serve
  • Add 15c for onion and other ingredients.

This was a really, really good meal for $8.28 per serve. The Scallops were perfectly seared but not over cooked. The Chile in the Corn balanced the sweetness with a subtle heat, and provided a perfect balance to the Scallops.

Jul 4: Heuvos Rancheros; NY Strip Steak with Crash Hot Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus

Lunch

For lunch we picked up Heuvos Rancheros from Viva La Fiesta, our closest restaurant, and took them home to eat out on the balcony. They were very good for $9.00 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A classic steakhouse dinner, including the martini, of NY Strip Steak from Keller Crafted, with Crash Hot Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and Béarnaise Sauce.

  • The NY Strip Steak was $20.18 or $10.09 per serve
  • Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used ¼ or 42c per serve
  • The asparagus was $3.05 and although we grilled it all we only served ⅔ or $1.01 per serve
  • The red potatoes were $1.30 or 65c per serve, but they were not very good.

Other than the potatoes this was a great meal for $12.17 per serve.

Jul 3: BBQ Chicken with Heirloom Tomato on Fresh Baguette; Greek Drunken Pork Stew

Lunch

A trip to Jon’s always results in a BBQ Chicken, Heirloom Tomato and fresh Baguette. Add some garlic spread and it’s a great meal.

  • The Chicken is $6.99 and we shared a breast, or 88c per serve
  • The Baguette is $2.79 and we shared half, or 70c per serve
  • The Heirloom Tomato was $1.56 or 78c per serve
  • Add 20c per serve for garlic spread.

As always great ingredients make for a great sandwich and this is a good one for $2.56 per serve.

Dinner

A new recipe for us – Greek Drunken Pork Stew -definitely feels like a cultural mashup.

  • The pork was $8.99 or $4.50 per serve
  • Red wine adds 50c or 25c per serve
  • Tomato juice add 33c per serve
  • Add 60c for the other ingredients.

We decided to serve this with the balance of the baguette, which soaked up the limited liquid quite well. The pork was $5.68 and the Baguette adds 70c for a total of $6.38 per serve.

Jul 2: Egg Salad & Sprouts in a Hot Panini Roll; Caramelized Beef on Vietnamese Salad

Lunch

Once again we finished some par-baked Panini Rolls and stuffed them with Egg Salad and 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 sprouts cost $1.99 and we shared about 1/8 or 12c per serve.

We still enjoyed this roll a lot for $1.67 per serve.

Dinner

We still had half the Caramelized Beef, so we heated it and served on a Vietnamese inspired salad.

  • The Beef is $2.41 per serve
  • Savoy Cabbage was $1.63 and we used about half, or 41c per serve
  • Carrots were $1.50 and we used half, or 36c per serve
  • Add 15c for seasoning.

The beef complemented the salad well and made a good meal for $3.33 per serve.

Jul 1: Cheddar & Kumato Sandwiches; Soy Chorizo Enchilada Bowls

Lunch

A return to the simplicity of a Tomato and Cheese sandwich, with flavorful Kumato and great Cheddar.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
  • The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 90c per serve
  • Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 70c per serve
  • Add 20c for garlic spread.

Excellent bread, great tomato and cheddar make for a really good sandwich for $2.46 per serve.

Dinner

One of the more successful meat substitutes we’ve tried has been the Soy Chorizo, so we though these Soy Chorizo Enchilada Bowls were worth a try. We will get at least four serves from this recipe.

  • The Soy Chorizo is $2.29 or 57c per serve
  • Black beans are 99c or 25c per serve
  • The Enchilada Sauce was $1.28 and we used less than ¼, or 16c per serve
  • Add 30c for peppers, onion and chili
  • Add 20c for other ingredients
  • Add 33c for white rice.

This isn’t a bad recipe, but it did not sit well with Foodie Philip who substituted a turkey sandwich. It was quite filling and we’ll likely get more than four serves at $1.81 per serve.