Author: Philip

Lunch

Another cool day; another hot lunch. Today, Trader Joe’s Tarte D’alsance. You might have noticed we’ve been testing lunch options and generally been disappointed. Not this time. The Tarte D’alsance is delicious.

• Trader Joe’s Tarte D’Alsace is $4.49 or $2.25 per serve.

Dinner

Our Prather Ranch meat delivery has included double-cut, organic pork chops every month. It has become one of our favorite meals, simply sous vidé and fried off to finish, served with an interesting side: tonight an Apple, onion and brussel sprout combination.

Frankly brussel sprouts are just boring, and they were the weakest part of this dish. The pork was perfect.

• Pork Loin Chop Thick Cut $9.65 per serve
• Brussel sprouts came in a $2.99 tray, or $1.00 per serve
• Pink Lady apples add 35c per serve
• In the absence of a shallot, an onion adds 10c per serve
• Add 5c per serve for seasoning.

Tonight’s meal cost $11.15 per serve compared with over double that in a restaurant.

Lunch

An overcast and cold day – for Los Angeles anyway – was perfect pie weather, and a Trader Joe’s Steak and Ale Pie hit the spot perfectly.

• The two pack is $6.49 or $3.25 per serve.

Dinner

With the probability of friends dropping by, but with little control over time, we ended up putting together a tasty meal in 15 minutes after they left. No cooking from scratch, other than the basmati rice, but still tasty and warming.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a serve for the leg and thigh
• The Madras Lentils were $3.99 for the pack or $2.00 per serve
• The basmati rice cooks in three minutes in the pressure cooker and is 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight was perfectly serviceable and $5.00 per serve.

Lunch

A cloudy, overcast day led to a hot lunch, and Quesadilla – well our flatbread variation.

• One flatbread (half of two) costs 50c a serve
• Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c
• A very generous serve of salsa is 20c per serve
• 2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve

Lunch today cost $1.46 per serve.

Dinner

A chuck steak remained from our March Prather Ranch meet delivery, as did the BBQ sauce left over from April 30th. The recipe says to discard the sauce, but we put it in the refrigerator overnight to harden the fat and make it easy to discard, leaving clean sauce for another meal.

I’ve been meaning to mention. While our Prather Ranch meat is a little more expensive than most, it is dry aged and grass fed, which is a higher quality product.

• 3/4 of a pound of Chuck steak is $7.12, or $3.06 per serve
• The baked beans are $1.49 per can or 75c per serve
• An English muffin is 50c per serve
• We finished off the jar of pickled cauliflower – the jar is $3.99 and there was about 1/4 left, or 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $4.81 per serve and was delicious. The little bit of BBQ sauce left was discarded.

Lunch

Chicken wrap time again. For the salad component we used the last bit of the kale and broccoli salad from August 30th. Since we included the full cost of the salad in that meal, it’s not included here.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a quarter or $1.25 per serve
• The flatbread is 50c
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve

Lunch today cost $2.08 a serve.

Dinner

This is an entree version of the iconic New Orleans muffuletta sandwich. Easy preparation and great flavor makes it a good entertaining choice. Goes perfectly with red wine. We skipped the shallot because we didn’t have one.

• Black olives are $3.99 a jar, half a jar used, or 50c per serve
• Garlic stuffed green olives are $5.99 a jar, 1/3 used or 50c per serve
• The dry salami was $3.99, but not all was used, or 75c per serve
• Provolone cheese is $3.99 a pack, but only 1/3 was used 33c per serve
• Roasted bell peppers are $5.99 a jar and half were used, or 75c per serve
• The pack of organic parsley was $1.49 and half was used, or 19c per serve
• Add 55c per serve for the other ingredients.

Dinner tonight cost $3.57 per serve.

Lunch

We’d planned on going out for lunch but changed our mind at the last minute. Instead, one pack of Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Marsala and some Madras Lentils substituted

• The Madras Lentils were $3.99 for the pack or $2.00 per serve
• The tikka marsala prepared meal is $4.99 or $2.50 per serve.

Lunch today cost $4.50 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to give the black been rottini another try, but with a sauce where the color would not matter: puttanesca or ‘slut spaghetti’.

It was much more successful with the dark colored sauce.

• Anchovies are $1.59 a can and half was used, or 40c per serve
• Garlic and seasonings add about 10c per serve
• The rotini was $2.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Canned tomatoes were $2.19 or 73c per serve
• A jar of pitted olives is $2.99 but only half is used in the recipe or 75c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $2.98 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch a toasted onion bagel, avocado and wild caught smoked salmon.

• Smoked salmon is $5.99 for the 4oz pack, or $3.00 per serve
• The pack of six onion bagels is $1.99 or 33c per serve
• The avocado was a bargain at 39c or 20c per serve
• Add 5c for capers.

Today’s lunch cost $3.58 per serve.

Dinner

Looking at our Prather Ranch meat in the freezer, we still had “beef chuck short ribs” left from last month’s delivery. These aren’t actually short ribs, but a cut from the chuck made to look like short ribs. They cook the same, and taste pretty damned good.

Naturally a BBQ sauce is required although we always substitute molasses for brown sugar, since brown sugar is refined sugar with molasses sprayed on it. Using molasses makes the sauce less sweet, which suits our tastes better, and adds more smokey flavor.

Foodie Greg was going to shave Belgian Endive for the salad, but it turns out that a kale and broccoli salad kit was less expensive, and already prepared with dressing and crisp bits packed individually. We’ve had this type of salad kit in the past when we’re traveling and don’t have a fully featured kitchen to work with.

Rounding out the meal with some ‘cheesy grits’ makes it a full on southern meal, although with a kicked up slaw and grits! Although the ‘grits’ were really Red Mill Whole Grain 10 grain hot cereal with goats cheese. It avoids the sweetness of regular grits.

• Two pound of beef ‘chuck short ribs’ cost $21.98 or $10.99 per very generous serve
• Kale and broccoli salad kit $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
• Goats cheese cost $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
• The 10 grain ‘hot cereal’ is $5.99 for a 25oz pack, but we used about 1/4 or 75c per serve
• Ingredients for the sauce cost about 25c per serve.

Dinner tonight was $14.74 per serve, for about twice what you’d get for a regular restaurant serve.

Lunch

It’s chicken wrap time again.

• Split four ways, the $9.99 chicken is $2.50 a quarter or $1.25 per serve
• One quarter of the $2.74 salad is 69c
• The flatbread is 50c
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve

Lunch today cost $2.77 a serve.

Dinner

Continuing my experiment on the perfect way to cook the NY Strip Steak from Prather Ranch, I took it a little further than last week and cooked it medium rare. The texture is most certainly better bleu than medium rare, as is the flavor.

Tonight was also an experiment with Trader Joe’s Pickled Cauliflower medley. It is good: nice crisp cauliflower and great flavor.

• 12 oz of grass fed New York Strip Steak was $19.45 or $9.72 per serve
• Three small potatoes each cost 55c per serve
• The jar of pickled cauliflower is $3.99 and we used half, or $1.00 per serve.

Tonight’s dinner cost $11.27 per serve, which compares very favorably with a similar meal out.