Month: February 2020

Lunch

Once you’ve opened a can of Refried Beans you’re on a count down until they go off, so we decided to create a toasted sandwich version of a Quesadilla.

• The Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• One quarter of a can of refried beans, shared across two sandwiches is 13c per serve
  
• We used one slice of Swiss per serve, or 34c per serve
  
• Add 50c for Salsa.

Not quite as good as on a Tortilla, but still a pretty good sandwich for $1.63 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night returns to being Steak Night with a NY Strip Steak, served with Crash Hot Potatoes and English Peas. The Foodies were celebrating their 29th Anniversary, so some Brie, Salami, Parma Ham and Grapes, along with fine Sparking White Wine, preceded dinner.

• At 10 oz the NY Strip is $8.22 per serve
• The Potato Medley was $3.49 and we used half, or 88c per serve
• The English Peas were $3.49 and we served half, or 88c per serve
• The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve.

A very fine celebratory meal for $10.53 per serve.

Lunch

We finally got to use our final Tortillas to make a Quesadilla.

• The Tortillas were six for $1.99 and we shared two, or 33c per serve
• Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves is 26c per serve
• We used two slices of Swiss per serve, or 68c
• Add 50c for Salsa.

It turned out pretty well for $1.77 per serve.

Dinner

The Pork Loin chops came from our Keller Crafted meat box, and are a heritage breed, which means there is a lot more fat than modern pork.

We served with a new recipe: Caramelized Cabbage.

• The Pork Cutlets costing $11.55 or $5.78 per serve
• The Savoy Cabbage was $1.07 or 54c per serve
• Tomato Paste was 85c or 43c per serve
• Add 30c for seasoning
• Add 40c for garlic and other ingredients
• Add 50c for butter for frying
• Add 20c for Tzatziki Labne.

The Cabbage turned out really well. The Tomato Sauce had a good mix of spice and heat, and the Cabbage was fall-apart tasty. It paired well with the perfectly cooked, and very moist, Pork Chops. A great meal for $8.15 per serve.

Lunch

Another cold day dictated a nice warming soup for lunch, so we defrosted the last of our Clam Chowder, heated it, and served with a hot Panini Roll.

• The Panini Roll is 63c
• The Clam Chowder is $2.98 per serve.

Unfortunately the freezing breaks down the potato, so the texture was a little odd, but the flavor was still great for $3.61 per serve.

Dinner

Since it was still cold, we cooked our favorite curry: Beef Massaman!

• The beef was $8.84, or $4.42 per serve
• The curry is $3.38 per can or $1.69 per serve
• Coconut milk is $1.69 per can or 85c per serve
• Peanuts were $2.99 but we only used half, or 75c per serve
• Peal onion adds 20c per serve.

As always a great curry with tender meat and vegetables and an intensely flavorsome ‘broth’, for $7.71 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we reheated some French Onion Soup we had in our freezer and served with half a Toasted Swiss Sandwich.

• French onion soup is $1.83 for a lunch serve
  
• Dave’s Killer Bread is 33c per serve
  
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 34c per serve.

A nice warming soup on a cold day for $2.50 per serve.

Dinner

Inspired by a somewhat disappointing version of Eggplant with Buttermilk Sauce at a restaurant in Amsterdam, we decided could do better. Unfortunately our Pomegranate Aureoles were past their prime, so we substituted Pickled Onion for crunch and a little acidic edge.

• Eggplant was $3.55 or $1.78 per serve
• Kefier was $3.49 and we used ¼ or 44c per serve
• We used Garlic Spread, at 50c per serve, instead of Fresh Garlic
• Pickled Onions (prepared separately) add about 30c per serve.

The Eggplant was perfectly cooked. The Garlic Kefir (our variation on Buttermilk) Sauce was full of flavor, and blended with the Eggplant to create a completely new flavor. We will definitely repeat this at $3.02 per serve. We definitely did better than the restaurant in Amsterdam.

Lunch

Since we still had White Chili left, and since they turned out so well last time, we made Nachos again.

• 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

A Pork But in our meat box usually means Pulled Pork, but this time Foodie Greg wanted to try Cuban-Style Roast Pork. That’s the Roast Pork you’d get in a Cubano Sandwich. We served with Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice.

• The Pork Butt was around $18.50 or $6.17 per serve
• Pickled Onions (prepared separately) add about 30c per serve
• Navel Oranges were $3.83 or $1.28 per serve
• Limes were $2.45 or 82c per serve
• Add 50c for the canned Cuban Beans
• Add 33c for Brown Rice.

The Pork was marinated for about 22 hours, then slow cooked to temperature. It was excellent. Tender with an overtone of citrus. The sauce was well balanced with the meat, and amplified the citrus and garlic of the marinade. It was so good, it’s our new preferred use for Pork But, for $9.40 per serve.

This was the first time in many months that the Foodies haven’t travelled away from home! Our only evening meal out was pizza after our user group meeting. We had a lot of very inexpensive evening meals – one as low as $1.00 per serve – and some that pushed the average to about where it normally is.

The averages for this month:

• Lunch prepared at home $2.15 ($3.04 in December)
• Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $8.79 ($10.73)
• Dinner eaten at home: $5.52 ($5.49)
• Dinner eaten out: $10.00 ($10.00).

Our lunches at home average in a fairly narrow band and this month’s average is up a little from from last month.

We ate sixteen of 64 meals that were prepared outside the home (all but one lunch).

Our most expensive meal for the month was the Pork Cutlets in Marinara Sauce at $12.47 per serve at home

This month, lunches at home cost 25% of the cost of eating lunches prepared outside the home. Using last month’s dinners out as a reference, dinners at home cost 33% of those prepared outside the home.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $272.49 per person in December. We actually spent $35.35 for lunches at home plus $123.05 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $158.40 in total.

Had we purchased every evening meal out and prepared none at home, it would have cost us $310.00 per person. We actually spent $165.66 for dinners at home and $10.00 for dinners out, or $175.66 in total.

This month’s savings from preparing most of our food at home is $248.53 and we had a lot more control over what we eat.

Over the month we prepared 22 different recipes for evening meals.

Lunch

For lunch the Foodies had their favorite sandwich – Bahn Mi – for $9.27 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Being Fishy Friday we decided to smoke some Cod and make Tacos.

• The cod fillets were six for $12.99 or $2.17 per serve
• Tortillas were six for $1.99 and we used two each, or 67c per serve
• The Slaw adds 50c per serve
• Add 30c for other ingredients.

At first we thought the Cod had been over-cooked, but it turned out to have a great smoky taste, and was perfectly cooked. A decent meal for $3.64 per serve,