Dec 16: Giant Baked Beans & Swiss; White Bean Chili with Turkey

Lunch

A cold day turned us toward toasted sandwiches, so we opened a can of Giant Baked Beans, added a slice of Swiss and toasted until delicious.

  • Trader Joes Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce cost $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
  • Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve.

A classic (Australian) sandwich for $2.00 per serve.

Dinner

We had the White Bean Chili in November, but done with Pork. Tonight we used Ground Turkey with the chicken recipe, slightly modified. We’ll get six good serves out of this batch.

  • The ground pork was $3.99 or 67c per serve
  • The bone broth was $2.99 for one pint, or 50c per serve
  • White beans are 99c a can or 33c per serve
  • The jalapeño chili was 11c or 2c per serve
  • The Sweet Onion was $1.49 for five, or 5c per serve
  • Add 5 for garlic
  • Frozen corn was $1.29 for the pack, and and we used 1/4, or 5c per serve
  • Add 25c per serve for seasoning, lime juice, labné and crushed tostadas.

A pretty good chili, although a little looser than we’d like for a chili, for $1.92 per serve.

Dec 15: Smoked Salmon Benedict; Split Pea Soup

Lunch

We had brunch in San Diego with our friend and her daughter where we were treated to an excellent Smoked Salmon Benedict.

Dinner

For our evening meal we simply reheated the remaining Split Pea Soup and served it with a slice of Dave’s Killer Bread.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 33c
  • The Split Pea Soup has already been accounted for.

Without Ham or other add-in the soup is a little one-note and neither of us finished it. Still, a quick meal after traveling for 33c.

Dec 14: Bacon & Black Bean Chili & Swiss in a Panini Roll; Mixed Kebabs

Lunch

For Lunch the Foodies reheated the tiny remaining bit of the Bacon & Black Bean Chili and stuffed it in a hot Panini roll with a slice of Swiss.

  • The Bacon & Black Bean Chili has already been accounted for
  • The Panini Roll is 63c
  • Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve.

The result was a little like an upmarket Sloppy Joe for 97c per serve.

Dinner

The Foodies were in San Diego helping a friend move and she treated us all to take-out Kebabs. We shared a mix of Chicken, Lamb and Beef Kebabs. which were all good, although we think the Lamb was best.

Dec 13: Lamb Gyro; Coconut Curry Mussels

Lunch

As we were nearby we decided on a Gyro from New York Chicken and Gyro for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Being ‘Fishy Friday’ we returned to the Coconut Curry Mussels we enjoyed so much last time.

  • The pre-cooked Mussels were on special for $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
  • We chose the more expensive Coconut Cream for $4.99 per can, or $2.50 per serve
  • The Bell Pepper was $1.49, or 75c per serve
  • Ginger was 24c, or 12c per serve
  • Add 75c per serve for the other ingredients.

This time we used a Red Curry paste and it wasn’t quite as good as the Curry Powder we used last time. Still a good meal for $5.62 per serve.

Dec 12: Cheddar & Kumato, Hummus & Sprouts; Pork Cutlets in Tomato Sauce with Gnocchi

Having decided that Hummus and Tabouli really doesn’t work that well, we returned to the Sprouts on todays sandwiches.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
  • The Hummus was $3.99 and we used ¼ or 50c per serve
  • The Old Croc is $4.99 and we shared half, or 63c per serve
  • Five Kumato were $3.49 and we shared one, or 35c per serve
  • The Sprouts are $2.99 and we use ¼ per sandwich, or 38c per serve
  • Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

Two decent half sandwiches for $2.82 per serve.

Dinner

We planned on cooking our Pork Cutlets in a Roa Marinara Sauce, but unfortunately we got a broken jar. As soon as the lid was opened, the bottom dropped out and spread all over the Range cooktop. Fortunately we have a flat ceramic cooktop so it was reasonably easy to clean.

We the started over with a can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Tomato Paste and a generous serve of Worcestershire Sauce, which turned out pretty well.

  • At 1.1 lb it was a very generous serve of pork cutlets costing $13.99 or $7.00 per serve
  • The Cauliflower Gnocchi was $2.69 and we used half, or 67c per serve
  • Fire roast tomatoes are $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Tomato Paste and Worcestershire Sauce add 30c per serve.

A meal that started as a bit of a disaster turned out pretty well, although it’s hard to not overcook the thin Cutlets. We think next time we’ll souse vidé the pork and pour over sauce. Still, a good meal for $8.97 per serve.

Dec 11: Hummus & Tabouli, Cheddar & Kumato; Bacon and Black Bean Chili

Lunch

A couple of simple sandwiches, although we swapped out the Sprouts for Tabouli because we had it.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
  • The Hummus was $3.99 and we used ¼ or 50c per serve
  • The Old Croc is $4.99 and we shared half, or 63c per serve
  • Five Kumato were $3.49 and we shared one, or 35c per serve
  • The Tabouli is $2.89 and we served 1/4, or 36c per serve
  • Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

Two decent half sandwiches for $2.80 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we almost finished the Bacon and Black Bean Chili with Guacamole and Cheddar for $4.99 per serve.

Dec 10: Roast Beef, Béarnaise Sauce & Tabouli; Black Pepper Beef

Lunch

With a little beef left, we heated some Panini Rolls and stuffed them with the beef, Béarnaise Sauce and Tabouli for a great sandwich.

  • The Panini Roll is 63c
  • The Beef has already been included in the other meals
  • The Tabouli is $2.89 and we served half, or 72c per serve
  • The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve.

Very enjoyable for $1.90 per serve.

Dinner

We had some odd “ends” of Fillet so we diced it and prepared it in a Black Pepper Beef with Black Rice.

  • Keller Crafted no longer put pricing not he package, so we estimate the Fillet to be about $6.00 per serve
  • Bell Peppers were 79c or 40c per serve
  • Chipotle powder adds 10c per serve
  • Onion and garlic add 25c per serve
  • Black rice adds 44c per serve
  • Add 50c for the other ingredients.

This was definitely better with the Fillet and very enjoyable for $7.69 per serve.

Dec 9: Popeye’s Fried Chicken with Sesame Crunch Salad; Yellow Jackfruit Curry with Jasmine Rice and Sesame Crunch Salad

Lunch

Today we finished the Popeye’s Fried Chicken and served it with a Sesame Crunch Salad kit.

  • Each piece of Chicken was $1.50 with tax, and we had five piece in total, or $3.75 per serve
  • The Sesame Crunch Salad was $3.99 or $1.00 per serve.

The salad was pretty good and made a good meal for $4.75 per serve.

Dinner

For this week’s “Meatless Monday” meal, we tried Trader Joe’s Yellow Jackfruit Curry with the Sesame Crunch Salad.

  • The Yellow Jackfruit Curry was $2.78 per serve
  • The Sesame Crunch Salad was $3.99 or $1.00 per serve.

The curry was probably a little over-spiced although it balanced okay with the rice. Overall, it had decent flavor and the Jackfruit mostly disappeared. An okay meal for $3.78 per serve.

Dec 8: Smoked Salmon & Scrambled Eggs on Toast; ‘Prime Rib’ with Béarnaise Sauce, Garlic Mushrooms and Tabouli

Lunch

Because today if Foodie Philip’s birthday we had a ‘special’ lunch and dinner. For lunch it was Smoked Salmon, on Toast spread with Tzatziki Labné, and topped with Scrambled Eggs.

  • The Dave’s Killer Bread is 33c per serve
  • Two Pastured eggs are $1.02 per serve
  • Tzatziki Labné adds 20c
  • The Wild Caught Smoked Salmon was $9.99 or $4.50 per serve.

A very enjoyable celebratory lunch for $6.05 per serve.

Dinner

Our tradition for Foodie Philip’s birthday has been to prepare a Prime Rib. Unable to find one, we substituted a Tomahawk Steak, which is a One Bone Prime Rib. We cooked it as a Prime Rib, not a steak, which was very successful.

Tomahawk ‘Steak’ cooked as. Prime Rib
  • The Prime Rib was $35.39 and we ate most of it, or $17.70 per serve
  • The Tabouli is $2.89 and we served half, or 72c per serve
  • Mushrooms were $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
  • The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve
  • Add 25c for other ingredients.

The meat turned out a perfect medium rare, which enable the fat to render. It was extremely tender and flavorsome. Although from Whole Foods it was every bit as good as our Keller Crafted meat delivery. All in all a great birthday meal for $20.47 per serve.

By way of comparison, a Tomahawk Steak at Ruth’s Chris Steak House is $126.00 without sides, or $63.00 per serve!

Dec 7: Pho; Bacon and Black Bean Chili

Lunch

A cold day led us down to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, Pho Saigon 1, to sample their Pho, and see if it lives up to the version we had in Cupertino early November.

It was very good for $11.75 per serve with rare beef. Perhaps the restaurant in Cupertino was a little tastier, but that’s a long way to drive for Pho!

Dinner

For dinner we revisited the Bacon and Black Bean Chili with fixings for $4.99 per serve.