Month: January 2020

Lunch

We sliced and reheated the Meatloaf topped with Quesadilla Cheese, while heating two Panini Rolls. We topped with Garlic Spread and Kumato for an over-stuffed Panini!

• The Panini Roll is 63c per serve
• The Meatloaf is $7.17 or $3.59 per serve
• The Quesadilla Cheese was $2.69 and we used ¼ or 34c per serve
• Add 30c for Garlic Spread
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we shared one, or 35c per serve.

There was a little more Meatloaf than was really necessary for a balanced sandwich, but it was good for $5.21 per serve.

Dinner

As we have Pork Sirloin Cutlets in our meat box again, we decided to try – once again – to not overcook them and serve in a Marinara Sauce.

• At 1.1 lb it was a very generous serve of pork cutlets costing $13.99 or $7.00 per serve
• The Marinara Sauce was $8.99 or $4.50 per serve
• The Cauliflower Gnocchi was $2.69 and we used half, or 67c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for Capers and Butter and Shredded Parmesan.

This third attempt turned out correctly. We seared the Cutlets in Brown Butter, but pulled them as soon as they took on color. We heated the Marinara Sauce and added some Capers for a little extra kick. We returned the Cutlets to the Sauce as we served and this time they were perfectly cooked and just barely pink. A good meal for $12.47 per serve.

Lunch

Since we still had some Boston Baked Beans left, we heated it, served on toast and topped with a Fried Egg.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 33c per serve
• The Baked Beans have already been accounted for
• A Pastured Egg is 51c.

It was pretty good for 84c per serve.

Dinner

When you dinner guest is a “meat and potatoes” kind of guy, what better than a Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy! We served ourselves some Sugar Snap Peas and reverted to our tried and true Mushroom and Red Wine Meatloaf.

• The dry aged ground beef was $20.16 or $5.04 per serve
• Sliced portobello mushrooms were $2.49 or 63 per serve
• Onions and garlic add 20c per serve
• Two large eggs are $1.02 or 25c per serve
• The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 3/8 for four serves, or 38c per serve
• Red wine adds $1.00 or 25c per serve
• Add 20c for Worcestershire sauce and other spices per serve
• Gravy was $1.99 or 67c per serve
• The Potatoes were $3.57 and we only used half, or 60c per serve
• Sugar Snap Peas were $3.47 and we used half, or 87c per serve
• The Sour Cream was 99c and we used ¼ or 13c per serve.

The Meatloaf was very successful. The ‘secret’ to this meatloaf is to chop onion and mushroom very finely, so they don’t break the texture of the meatloaf. A good meal for $9.22 per serve.

Lunch

Since we had so much White Chili we made Nachos.

• The Corn Chips were $1.99 and we used about ⅓, or 33c per serve
• The Creamy Corn and Chorizo Chili was $2.89 per serve, but we used only half a serve each, or $1.45 per serve
• The Quesadilla Cheese was $2.69 and we used ¼ or 34c per serve.

A nice variation on lunch that turned out to be pretty tasty for $2.12 per serve.

Dinner

In order to use the ‘stir-fry’ beef from our meat box, we did a Swiss Chard and Shiitake Beef Stir Fry.

• The Beef cost $14.41 for a full pound of beef, or $7.21 per very generous serve
• The Swiss Chard was $2.49 and we used half, or 63c per serve
• The Mushrooms were $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• The Bell Pepper was 99c or 50c per serve
• Soba Noodles are $3.29 and we used about ⅓ or 55c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for seasoning.

An expensive, but decent Stir-fry, for $10.89 per serve.

Lunch

We put together a rather odd sandwich today: Bacon and Guacamole! We fried the bacon and spread both slices if bread with Guacamole.

• The Guacamole was $4.49 or $2.25 per serve
• Bacon is $4.99 for the pack of 12 slices, and we used half, or $1.25 per serve.

While the sandwich was good for $3.50 per serve, we felt that cutting back on the Guacamole and spreading one slice of bread with Garlic Spread, and adding a leafy green, would have made this even better.

Dinner

Foodie Greg found an intriguing recipe for ‘Meatless Monday’ this week: Creamy Corn and Soy Chorizo. We substituted White Beans for the Potato, because it’s a Chili, not a Chowder! We also went for ¾ cup of Crema and no milk.

The recipe makes at least four serves.

• Soy Chorizo is $2.29 or 58c per serve
• A can of White Beans is 99c or 25c per serve
• Bone Broth is $2.99 or 75c per serve
• Crema was $3.49 and we used about half between the Chili and garnish, for 88c per serve
• Onion adds 10c per serve
• Celery adds 10c per serve
• Carrot adds 13c per serve
• Other ingredients add 10c per serve.

We were pleasantly surprised at how good this was. It had a good depth of flavor, a little spice from the Chorizo, but balanced with a rich mouth feel from the Crema. Not just a good meatless meal, but a good Chili for $2.89 per serve.

Lunch

Foodie Greg picked up so frozen meals at Trader Joe’s and shared a Chicken Pot Pie after some Philly Cheesesteak Bao Buns as an appetizer.

• The Chicken Pot Pie was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• The Bao Buns were $3.49 or $1.75 per serve.

The Bao Buns were a little odd. The first bite had a distinct Philly Cheesesteak flavor, but it seemed to peter out after that, and eat a little bland. The Chicken Pot Pie was more potato than chicken, but had decent flavor. Convenient, but a little disappointing for $3.75 per serve.

Dinner

Since we discovered that Whole Foods has a consistent supply of frozen Duck Breast, and have a fool-proof cooking method using souse vidé to get the perfect done-ness, follow by a heavy fry on the fat side, we decided to make it a regular.

Tonight we served with Swiss Chard wilted in the Duck Fat, along with a Farrow and Pomegranate Seed Salad.

• The Duck Breasts were $15.35 or $7.68 per serve
• The Swiss Chard was $2.49 and we used half, or 63c per serve
• The farrow was $1.79 for the pack, but we shared ⅓ or 30c per serve
• The Pomegranate Arils (seeds) were $4.99 and we used about ⅓ or 83c per serve
• Add 30c for Pomegranate Molasses (not pictured.

The Duck was perfectly cooked, with well rendered fat and great flavor, balanced by some great sides for $9.74 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch the Foodies decided on Skewers Afghani: Foodie Greg had Falafel while Foodie Philip had Kobide. With tax and tip it was $10.30 per serve.

Dinner

We had Baby Back Ribs in our Keller Crafted Meat Box so we smoked them for an hour in our cooktop smoker, and finished in the oven for an hour. We got great smoke taste and the extra cooking made them moist and tender.

• The Baby Back Ribs are an estimated $6.00 per serve (unfortunately Keller Crafted no long provide per item costing)
• A serve of our Boston Baked Beans is $2.15
• The Slaw kit was 50c per serve
• Add 30c for Labne for the Slaw.

This was a meal that was full of flavor for $8.95 per serve (est.).

Lunch

For lunch we picked up Heuvos Rancheros for $10.00 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Being ‘Fishy Friday’ we returned to our Smoked Trout and Burrata ‘Cobb’ Style Salad.

• The Smoked Rainbow Trout is $7.49 per pack, or $3.75 per serve
• The Burrata was $4.99 or $2.50 per serve
• Pastured Eggs are 51c per serve
• Organic Spinach was $1.99 and we used about ¼ or 25c per serve
• An Avocado was $2.00 and we shared one, or $1.00 per serve
• The Grape tomatoes cost $2.49 or 63c per serve
• Add 40c for Olive Oil and Balsamic Glaze.

The vacuum sealed Trout was better than the canned we’ve used previously. Overall, this is a great salad for $9.04 per serve.

Lunch

Today we shared two simple sandwiches. One with Peanut Butter & Swiss; the other Sweet & Spicy Tuna & Swiss.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• The Sweet & Spicy Tuna is 50c per serve
• The Swiss is 34c per serve
• Peanut Butter adds 35c per serve.

The Peanut Butter & Swiss turned out better than expected, although both were good for $1.85 per serve.

Dinner

We returned to the Hot and Sour Beef Salad but the weather wasn’t conducive to grilling outdoors, so we seared it in hour high tech wok, which gets a great crust. We then marinated and served on a bed of Greens, Mint and Sugar Snap Peas.

• The 10 oz Dry Aged Rib Eye is $8.10 per serve
• The Salad Greens mix was $1.99 but we shared half, or 50c per serve
• Limes were 49c for two but we shared one, or 13c per serve
• The Mint was from our garden
• Sugar Snap peas were $3.49 but we used ¼ or 44c per serve
• Instead of a Chili we used some Sambal Ulec, which adds 20c per serve.

We really enjoyed this salad. The slight heat in the dressing lifted both steak and salad to another level. The Sugar Snap Peas were a tasty addition to the greens. An excellent meal for $9.37 per serve.

Lunch

As Aussies, a cold miserable day calls for a nice meat pie. Foodie Greg had Trader Joe’s Chicken Balti, while Foodie Philip had the Steak and Stout.

Trader Joe’s pies are $6.49 for two or $3.25 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we tried a slow cook Baked Beans recipe, from dried beans, that had been soaked for 24 hours ahead of a six hour cook! We will get four serves from half the recipe.

• Pinto Beans were $1.29 or 33c per serve
• Bacon is $6.99 and we used about ⅓, or 58c per serve
• Add 40c per serve for other ingredients
• Dave’s Killer Bread is 33c per slice
• An Egg is 51c per serve.

The recipe was a little sweet, so we added a lot more Mustard Powder and a generous amount of Worcestershire Sauce (for acid). It didn’t thicken as much as we’d like, but served with a slotted spoon the flavor was good, for $2.15 per serve.