Month: January 2021

Lunch

For lunch we purchased Heuvos Rancheros from La Fiesta for $10.54 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was a repeat of the Duck l’orange, but served on Buttered Gnocchi with a side Salad.

• The Duck was $16.48 or $8.24 per serve
• The Christmas Gnocchi was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• The Orange and Lemon mix adds 30c per serve
• The Mixed Greens and Cherry Kumato add 50c per serve
• Add 30c for Butter for the sauce
• Add 35c for other ingredients.

A very satisfying and extremely tasty meal for $11.69 per serve. The sugars from the Citrus raised more caramelization on the Duck Skin that would be ideal, but it didn’t detract from the flavor at all.

Lunch

We finished the other half of the Hebrew Temptation for $3.14 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg found a 13 Bean Mix at Whole Foods, so we made it into soup using a stock made from a Ham Bone we had in the freezer.

• The Ham Bone was free
• Add 25c per serve for Bay Leaf, Carrot & Onion
• The 13 Bean Mix was $5.49 and we used half, or 69c per serve
• Half Brioche Bagel is 29c.

The Soup was excellent. Thanks to the rich Ham Stock, it had a great unctuousness. The Beans added flavor and a textural variety. Overall a really excellent soup for 94c, or $1.23 with the Bagel, per serve.

Lunch

Even though we had no errands nearby, we decided it had been long enough, so we drove down to New York Chicken and Gyro for one of our favorite lunches: the Lamb Gyro for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A regular returns: Thai-Style Cod à la Nage although we used Bok Choy instead of Edamame.

• The cod fillets were six for $12.99 or $2.17 per serve
• Coconut milk was $1.89 or 95c per serve
• Limes were 68c or 34c per serve
• A Onion works out at 21c per serve
• Add 32c per serve for Baby Bell Peppers
• Add 55c per serve for fish sauce, garlic, chili, ginger and seasoning.

Always a tasty dish for $4.54 per serve.

Lunch

Today we had some prebaked Hebrew Temptation, otherwise known as Smokey Cheese and Pumpkin Slice. I told the story of how it became known as Hebrew Temptation earlier and the recipe is there too. It makes four generous serves.

• The bacon was $6.99 for 12 slices, and we used five, or 73c per serve
• Five pastured eggs at 48c each is $2.40 or 60c per serve
• A small bag of organic flour is $2.69 and we used about 1/3 or 23c per serve
• A Butternut Squash was $2.99 and we used half, or about 75c per serve
• The Smoked Gouda was $2.99 or 75c per serve.
• An onion adds 8c per serve.

While it might seem odd to have cake for lunch, because this is indeed a savory cake, it is great cold and was a fulfilling lunch for $3.14 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we were testing a NY Strip Steak from Aldi that was organic but not dry aged. It would be interesting to compare so we sous vide the Steak and finished with a sear in a hot pan, to treat it as close as we can to our previous supplier.

Served with a simple Asian Inspired Roast Cauliflower it was a pretty good meal.

• Two Strip Steaks in a single pack were $16.29, and shared one for $4.07 per serve
• The Cauliflower was $1.35, or 68c per serve
• Add 30c for other ingredients on the Cauliflower
• The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve.

By way of comparison, each serve of this steak was 6oz for $4.07 per serve, while the dry aged NY Strip from Keller Crafted is a 5oz serve for $10.09 per serve! The Keller Crafted meat was definitely more tender, but these had all the flavor you’d expect, and were not tough. The Cauliflower turned out to be very tasty and a good companion to the Steak. Definitely a good meal for $5.60 per serve.

Lunch

We heated the remaining Beef & Mushroom stew and a Panini Roll for a very messy, but tasty, lunch.

• The Panini Roll is 63c per serve
• The Beef & Mushroom is $4.48 per serve, or $2.24 per roll.

As I said, messy but very tasty for $2.87 per serve.

Dinner

While the Beer Bratwurst are a regular item, the Gigante Beans in Tomato Sauce is new.

• Beer Bratwurst were $4.49 or $2.25 per serve
• Gigante Beans were $14.85 for one pound, and we used half, or $1.85 per serve
• Canned Tomatoes were 49c or 12c per serve
• Add 50c for other ingredients.

The Beans had structure, unlike canned, and the dish had great flavor. A good meal for $4.72 per serve.

Lunch

We finished some par-baked Panini Rolls, warming the Lamb at the same time. We stuffed the Lamb in the Roll along with Hummus.

• The Panini Roll is 63c per serve
• The Lamb Loin Roast was $3.69 per serve, halved to $1.85 per serve
• Hummus adds 35c per serve
• Garlic Spread adds 30c per serve.

This turned out really well for $3.15 per serve.

Dinner

A return to a classic that we can’t call it Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew with Red Wine, Mushrooms and Bacon), but it is a French recipe that we served with Farro. We will get three serves from this meal.

It’s also the first time testing Stew Beef from Aldi, rather than our Keller Crafter Meat Box, which we have temporarily suspended, and will probably not renew.

• The Beef was $8.95 or $2.98 per serve
• Carrots were $1.00 or 33c per serve
• A onion was 50c or 17c per serve
• The wine is $1.50 for 1.5 cups or 50c per serve
• Add 50c per serve for seasoning, gelatin, garlic and oils
• The farro was $1.79 for the pack, but we shared ⅓ or 10c per serve.

We didn’t notice any lack from the change in Beef supplier. In fact, the Mushrooms and Broth are the star in this dish, and we’re contemplating doin a meatless version. Very tasty for $4.58 per serve.

Lunch

Sunday lunches we often do something with Eggs and today we fried off some canned Corn Beef Hash, and served it on Toast and topped with a Fried Egg.

• The Aldi Bread is 53c per serve
• The Corned Beef Hash was $1.89 or 95c per serve
• Two Pastured Eggs add 96c per serve.

The Corned Beef Hash wasn’t terrible and the Egg bought it all together for $2.44 per serve.

Dinner

We had a rolled Lamb Loin Roast we purchased from one of Aldi’s Special Buys and were keen to try it. We sous vide it and seared, like we do with the Rack of Lamb.

• The Lamb Loin Roast was $11.87 and we will get three serves, or $3.96 per serve
• Raspberries were $1.50 and we used ½ of the punnet, or 37c per serve
• The Mixed Greens were $1.49 and we used half, or 38c each
• Mint was from our garden
• The French (Valbreso) Feta was $10.99 but we used 1/6 or 92c per serve
• Add 15c for Dressing ingredients
• Dolmas from Whole Foods were $3.41 (on special) or $1.70 per serve
• Add 30c for Hummus.

The Lamb Loin Roast wasn’t as successful as we hoped. It was hard to render the fat without over cooking the meat. For us, the slightly more expensive Rack of Lamb is a better choice. Still, a very good meal for $7.78 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we finished cooking the par-baked Roll while heating some of our sous Vide Ham, and finishing by adding some Coleslaw.

• The Panini Roll is 63c per serve
• The Coleslaw is 56c per serve
• The Ham is about 20c per serve.

A pretty decent sandwich for $1.39 per serve.

Dinner

After the excesses of the last few days, a simple meal of Bacon Wrapped Scallops on Japanese Fried Rice, as an homage to a meal we had in Scamander (Tasmania) in December of 2018.

• Japanese Style Fried rice comes from Trader Joe’s and is $3.29 or $1.65 per very generous serve
• The Bacon Wrapped Scallop is $6.99 or $3.50 per serve.

An easy-to-prepare meal that tastes pretty good for $5.15 per serve.