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Lunch

Well, brunch really!  Back to the crepe place, so Philip could experience the egg, bacon and cheese crepe for $9.21 with tax and tip.  It was a generous serve and not terrible.

Dinner

We took the gondola up to the top of the Keystone ski fields and picked up a roast pork meal.  The pig had been roasting for several hours and should have been great, but unfortunately, every element of the meal was average.

The pork was a little dry; the coleslaw average; the corn lacked flavor; and the baked beans got a mixed reaction. Two of our party liked the baked beans but Philip found they had too much cumin to be really enjoyable.

The experience was great, but the food average for $23.98 with tax and tip.

Lunch

A trip back from a class in Burbank came directly past a Popeye’s, so what were we to do?

• 10 pieces of dark and spicy chicken is $15.25 or $3.05 a serve with tax
• Half the Large Red Beans and Rice is $2.17 with tax, per serve.

Lunch today cost $5.22 per serve.

Dinner

Another in a series of Cobb Salad variations, this time with smoked salmon as the primary protein. Feta cheese seemed like a better combination than blue or cheddar.

This was an excellent salad.

• Smoked salmon $5.99 for the 4oz pack or $3.00 a serve
• A pastured egg is 50c (only on special)
• Bacon end pieces were $3.99 and we used less than 1/4 or 50c per serve
• The cherry tomatoes were $3.49 and we used about half, or 88c per serve
• Add 20c for shredded iceberg.
• The avocado was $1.49 or 75c per serve
• The feta in brine was $6.50 and 1/4 went into dinner, or 41c per serve.

This is a great variation on a Cobb, and the feta was the right choice. A great mixture of salty, fresh, creamy and egg for $6.24 per serve.

Lunch

Our experiments continue. Today: pastrami, tomato chutney and cheese; egg with watercress.

• The sprouted wholemeal is $3.49 a loaf with 18 slices, or 39c per two slice sandwich
• The sliced pastrami is $4.99 per pack, but we’ll get three sandwiches from that, or 83c per serve
• The sliced yoghurt cheese is $4.79 a pack of 12 slices, or 80c per slice or 40c per serve
• The tomato chutney was made by Philip’s brother in Australia
• Pastured eggs are 50c each and we used labné instead of mayonnaise to create enough to make two sandwiches, or 25c per serve
• Watercress adds 5c per serve.

The sandwiches today were interesting, although we overdid the labné in the egg a little. Lunch today cost $1.92 with good variety.

Dinner

Another hot day, and we still had shrimp and salad left over, so tonight was a do-over from two nights ago.

• 1 lb of shrimp is $6.99 (on special), but we only used half, or $1.75 per serve
• The fire roasted corn is $2.49 per pound but we used half, or 42c per serve
• The bell pepper is 99c or 33c per serve
• Canned black beans, Cuban style, are 99c or 33c per serve
• A large shallot and seasonings add 30c per serve.

Dinner tonight was fresh, light and tasty for $3.13 per serve.

Lunch

Continuing our experiments  with making two different sandwiches and sharing them, and exploring new sandwich combinations. Today’s combination were “egg salad” with watercress and pastrami with mustard.

• The sprouted wholemeal is $3.49 a loaf with 18 slices, or 39c per two slice sandwich
• The sliced pastrami is $4.99 per pack, but we’ll get three sandwiches from that, or 83c per serve
• Mustard adds 5c per serve
• Pastured eggs are 50c each and we used labné instead of mayonnaise to create enough to make two sandwiches, or 25c per serve
• Watercress adds 5c per serve.

The sandwiches today were interesting, although we overdid the labné in the egg a little. Lunch today cost $2.07 with good variety.

Dinner

A continuing streak of hot weather swings the balance in favor of cold salads, again. It’s somewhat challenging to find a variety of salads that aren’t “another leafy green salad.” Tonight’s contender is a Greek style tuna salad, for which we had reasonably low expectations.

• A can of yellowfin tuna costs $2.29 and we averaged one each serve
• Persian cucumber cost 35c or 17c per serve
• A bell pepper is 99c or 50c per serve
• Tomatoes were $2.79 and we used about half, or 70c per serve
• Pitted olives come in $2.99 jars and one quarter was used, or 25c per serve
• 1 lb of limes we $1.29 and we used 1/4 or 17c per serve
• Add 25c for the seasonings.

This salad exceeded our expectations. It was much more tasty than the simple ingredients would suggest and it comes in at $4.33 per serve.

Lunch

An unexpected trip to Burbank was planned to co-incide with lunch, so we could pick up some Popeye’s Fried Chicken.

• 8 pieces of dark and spicy chicken is $9.99 or $2.70 a serve with tax per serve
• Half the Large Red Beans and Rice is $2.15 with tax, per serve.

Lunch today cost $4.85 per serve.

Dinner

The meatloaf meal from last night was a double batch, so we repeated the meal tonight, but fried off the meatloaf which gave it a really nice maillard reaction on the surfaces. Served with the remaining chipotle mashed sweet potato and fresh steamed bok choy.

• The ground pork was $8.23 or $2.06 per serve
• The grass fed ground beef was $6.48 or $1.62 per serve
• A can of chipotle is $1.50 and we used half, or 38c per serve
• Two sweet potatoes (yams) were $2.11 or 53c per serve
• The bok choy was $1.99 for the pack, and we  used half, or 50c per serve.

Tonight’s dinner was both tasty and nutritious for $5.09 per serve.

Lunch

Although today was a Burbank Monday, a frantic schedule dictated taking a sandwich along.

• Ham is $1.10 per serve, but we used a half serve each on the sandwich, or 55c per serve
• Sprouted rye bread is 17c per slice, or 34c per serve
• The NZ cheddar is $5.99 for the pack of eight, one ounce slices, or 75c per serve
• Add 10c for your favorite pickle.

Lunch today was $1.74 per serve.

Dinner

Dinner tonight was a new recipe for us: Greek-Style Tuna Salad. It was a light, refreshing change, served with/on par baked bread.

• Tuna in olive oil is $4.58 for two cans, or $2.29 per serve
• The organic baby plum tomatoes were $2.79 for the pack, but we only used half, or 70c per serve.
• Persian cucumbers were 40c or 20c per serve
• Black olives cost $2.40 or 60c per serve
• Add 45c for oregano, parsley, oil and lemon juice
• Par-baked roll is 63c.

Dinner tonight was a good, solid dish. Not one to set the world on fire, but one that we’ll revisit, for $4.87 per serve.

 

Lunch

What to do with leftover meatloaf? Meatloaf sandwiches, with an excellent sprouted rye bread from Trader Joe’s.

• Sprouted rye bread is 17c per slice, or 34c per serve
• Half a serve of meatloaf each is $1.98.

Today’s lunch was pretty tasty, and cost $2.32

Dinner

Because chicken contributes little in flavor to a chicken pot pie, we opted for a veggie version that featured mushrooms. The recipe makes four serves.

• Organic celery was $1.89 per bunch, or 12c per serve
• Russet potatoes were $1.12 or 28c per serve
• Mushrooms were $2.29 or 58c per serve
• Organic carrots were 26c, or 9c per serve
• Whipping cream was $1.99 or 50c per serve
• Buttermilk biscuits were $2.99 per pack, or 75c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for onion and seasonings
• Chives were $1.79 or 23c per serve.

Tonights meal was a decent pot pie for $2.85 a serve.

Lunch

A trip to buy a new wheelbarrow bought us right past The Country Deli on our way home, so we stopped in for lunch. Even after perusing the menu, Philip had the ‘usual’: marinated skirt steak, eggs and home fries. Greg had an excellent pastrami rueben, the second half of which we finished later in the afternoon as a snack.

Lunch at The Country Deli costs $22.00 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Looking for a different way to prepare thin cut pork chops Greg found Pioneer Woman’s Pork Chops with Wine and Garlic, which was pretty good.

• The pork chops were $9.82 or $4.91 per serve
• A whole head of garlic is 50c and we used half, or 13c per serve
• Snow peas were $2.99 but we used only half a container, or 75c per serve
• Red wine adds 25c per serve
• The carton of beef broth was $2.49 or 16c per serve
• Add another 25c per serve for seasonings
• Egg noodles are $3.69 for the pack and we used half, or 93c per serve.

Dinner tonight was tasty and cost just $7.38.

Lunch

Back to our routine chicken wrap.

• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• The roast chicken is $9.99 for the bird, but we used half of one breast, or 63c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• We added half a kumato each or 29c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.42 per serve.

Dinner

We’re still eating our way through the Shrimp and Corn Chowder. The estimate that it would make six generous serves, and six serves later, there are still at least four more serves in the pot!

Tonight we added a can of salmon to the mix and served with a par baked sourdough roll.

• Frozen corn cost $4.98 for two 16oz packs or 49c per serve
• Russet potatoes cost $1.43 or 14c per serve
• Carrots cost 24c or 3c per serve
• Six onions cost $2.49, we used two or 9c per serve
• Coconut milk cost $1.69 for a can, or 17c per serve
• Chicken broth cost $1.99 for a quart, or 20c per serve
• Thick cut bacon is $7.99 for 12 strips, or 26c per serve
• The can of salmon was $5.99 but it will contribute to at least six serves, or $1.00 per serve
• Par-baked roll is 63c.

Dinner tonight cost $3.01 per serve.

After December’s traveling we were very happy to spend the month mostly at home. We went out to dinner three times during the month, including LACPUG pizza.

The averages for this month:

• Lunch prepared at home $2.93 ($2.48 in December)
• Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $8.81 ($8.55)
• Dinner eaten at home: $6.36 ($6.41)
• Dinner eaten out: $12.63 ($21.03)

Our most expensive meal was lunch sat The Country Deli at $21.00 per serve.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $273.11 per person in January. We actually spent $52.77 for lunches at home plus $105.66 for lunches purchased or eaten out: $158.43.

Had we purchased every evening meal out and prepared none at home, it would have cost us $391.53. We actually spent $167.57 for dinners at home and $42.21 for dinners out: $209.78.

We saved $296.43 by preparing and eating most meals at home, plus we have better control over what we eat.