November 2020: Summary and Observations

Pandemic isolation continues, and this month we did two take-out meals. A repeat of Gus’s BBQ and Japanese Take-out from Maru.

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $3.06 ($2.14 in October)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $9.49 ($8.07)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $5.40 ($6.06)
  • Dinner prepared in a restaurant $19.67 ($16.09)

The variations month by month are quite small.

We ate nine lunches and two dinners, of 60 meals in the month, that were prepared outside the home. 

Our most expensive meal of the month was the Gus’s BBQ at $21.62. Our evening meal average cost is slightly above our long term average

Other than Maru, we order an entree for one, and split it, which keeps costs, and food consumption, reasonable.

This month, lunches at home cost 32% of the cost of eating lunches prepared outside the home. Our evening meals prepared in the home are 27% of the cost take-out meals.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $284.70 per person in November. We actually spent $67.30 for lunches at home plus $75.91 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $143.21 in total.

If every evening meal cost us the same as our one this month, it would be $590.10 We actually spent $151.31 for dinners at home and $39.33 for dinners out, or $190.64 in total.

We saved about $540 by mostly eating at home, and we have a lot more control over what we eat.

Over the month we prepared 21 different recipes for evening meals.

Nov 30: Apple, Cheddar & Mustard on Fresh Homemade Sourdough; BBQ Chicken Leg in Marsala Sauce

Lunch

Foodie Philip scored some still-warm Homemade Sourdough Bread from a neighbor and it was so good we shuffled our lunch plans a little.

  • The Sourdough was free
  • The Apple was 79c or 20c per serve
  • Smokey Cheddar was $2.69 for 10 slices, or 54c per serve
  • Add 30c for Mustard.

The Sourdough was extremely good. The crust was firm but not too hard, the crumb was tight and had an excellent “chew” that we enjoyed. It made a very good sandwich for $1.04 per serve, and a little extra with butter as a snack!

Dinner

We took the remaining Chicken Leg and Thigh and heated them in a Tikka Marsala Simmer Sauce.

  • The Chicken Leg is $2.00 per serve
  • The Tikka Marsala Sauce was $4.00 on special, or $2.00 per serve
  • Add 33c for Brown Rice
  • Frozen peas are $1.29 per pack and we used half, or 33c per serve.

A quick and easy meal for $4.66 per serve.

Nov 29: Giant Baked Beans on Homemade Sourdough Topped with Bacon & Eggs; Quick Green Chili

Lunch

Once again we had some homemade Sourdough from a neighbor, so we sliced and toasted it before topping with Giant Baked Beans, Fried Eggs & Bacon.

  • The Giant Baked Beans are $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Eggs are 84c per serve
  • Bacon was $4.99 and we used three of 10 slices, or 75c per serve
  • The Sourdough was free.

A great brunch for $2.59 per serve.

Dinner

A new recipe for us: Quick Green Chili, which makes four serves. We blended in a can of White Beans for extra fiber.

  • The ground pork was $8.35 or $2.09 per serve
  • Chicken broth is $1.99 or 50c per serve
  • White beans are 99c a can or 25c per serve
  • The Tomatillo were 63c or 16c per serve
  • The Anaheim Chili was 40c or 10c per serve
  • Two Jalapeño Peppers were 26c or 7c per serve
  • Cilantro was 25c or 8c per serve (and we kept it in the recipe this time)
  • Add 75c per serve for other ingredients
  • Tostadas add 15c per serve.

This turned out better than the White Chili from earlier in the month because it had a lot more depth of flavor from the roasted Peppers and Tamatillos. Thanks to the Peppers it had an enjoyable heat to it. Pretty decent for $4.15 per serve.

Nov 28: Lamb Gyro; Poke Bowl with Brown Rice, Avocado, Cucumber and Pickled Ginger

Lunch

Normally we’d coordinate a trip to Lowes or Home Depot with a trip to our favorite Gyro outlet, New York Chicken and Gyro, but the order I placed was cancelled through lack of stock, so we went for the Gyro anyway, for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Our Fishy Friday was moved to Saturday this week (and Meatless Monday from next week was last night), and tonight we returned to the Poke Bowl with Ahi Tuna from Aldi.

  • 12 oz Tuna was $5.19, or $2.60 per serve
  • Avocados were 30c per serve
  • Brown Rice adds 33c per serve
  • Cucumber adds 40c per serve
  • Add 30c for Pickled Ginger
  • Add 50c for Dressing ingredients.

Thanks to the excellent deal on Ahi Tuna at Aldi, this is both luxurious, and inexpensive at $4.32 per serve.