Jan 19: The Country Deli; Bacon and Black Bean Chili

Lunch

Another trip down Topanga Canyon to Lowes bought us to The Country Deli on our way, so naturally we stopped off there. Philip had the marinated skirt steak – as usual – while Greg had a breakfast enchilada plate.

Lunch at The Country Deli cost $22.30 on average, with tax and tip.

Dinner

Tonight we finished off the chili, repeating last night’s meal without the muffin.

As it was last night, dinner tonight was $4.84 per serve.

Jan 18: Chicken Wrap; Bacon and Black Bean Chili

Lunch

Time for another supermarket chicken of which we used half of a breast. We used the remaining salad from two nights ago in the wrap.

  • Wholemeal wrap is 50c
  • Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
  • The salad kit was $2.49 but we used half, or 63c per serve
  • The chicken is $9.99. Divided into four portions or $2.50 each, one breast is split into two serves, or $1.25 per serve.

Lunch today was $2.71 per serve.

Dinner

Winter weather calls for a return to warming winter food: tonight bacon, black bean and beef chili. The chili is great and makes four serves.

  • Bacon cost $6.99 for the container, but this recipe used about 1/3 of that, or 58c per serve
  • Onion and garlic – about 5c a serve
  • The beef we used is expensive – pasture raised, dry aged ground beef from our monthly meat delivery – at $9.04 or $2.26 a serve
  • Spices – about 12c a serve
  • Diced fire roasted tomatoes are $2.19 the can, or 55c per serve
  • Tomato paste was 89c or 23c a serve
  • The beans were 99c a can, or 50c a serve
  • Cheese was 55c per serve
  • Instead of sour cream we used guacamole ($2.99) mixed with a tiny amount of sour cream. We used half the guacamole across two serves -75c – with about 10c per serve of sour cream, or 85c per server

All up dinner cost us $4.84 for a very filling serve. We served with an English muffin, which adds 50c per serve to bring the total to $5.34 per serve.

Jan 17: Smoked Salmon on Par-baked roll; Pea and Ham Soup

Lunch

Today we finished two par-baked rolls and created open sandwiches with cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon. Delicious.

  • Par-baked roll is 63c
  • Salmon was $5.99 or $3.00 a serve
  • Cream cheese and capers add 40c.

Lunch today was generous and delicious for $4.03 per serve.

Dinner

Another batch of pea and ham soup, both for tonight’s meal and to give to our friend to take home. As we’ve run out of the ham bounty Greg topped with pancetta.

  • The $1.00 of home made stock is split six ways, or 17c per serve
  • The pack of split peas was $1.59 or 27c per serve
  • The frozen peas is 99c a pack, or 16c per serve
  • The pancetta is $3.29 for the pack, but we used only 1/3 and spread it among three, or 37c per serve.

For dinner tonight the soup cost 97c per serve with the ham.

Jan 16: Quinoa Chowder with Spinach, Feta, and Scallions with Bratwurst; ‘Rissole’ Meatloaf with Roast Cauliflower and Salad

Lunch

For lunch today we finished the Quinoa Chowder with the addition of bratwurst and it was the best the soup had tasted. We mostly absorbed the full cost of this soup in other meals.

Lunch today cost less than $4.00.

Dinner

When we thought about doing meatloaf we were deciding between a meatloaf and the Australian rissole. We decided to do the meatloaf using a traditional rissole recipe, which worked fairly well.

We used half of the Trader Joe’s Kale and Broccoli salad kit, while the ground beef came direct from the farm in our Prather Ranch meat delivery.

  • Dry aged 85/15 ground beef $8.69 or $4.35 per serve
  • 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 75c per serve
  • A pastured egg is 50c or 25c per serve
  • The onion is 6c per serve
  • The organic cauliflower gave us three serves for $3.60 and we split one of those serves tonight, or 60c per serve
  • The salad kit was $2.49 but we used half, or 63c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $6.64 for some very, very generous meatloaf serves.

Jan 15: Texas BBQ; Roast Chicken with Roast Cauliflower

Lunch

For lunch we headed to The Swinging Door Texas BBQ Restaurant with a friend. We’ve been here before and back then there were some inconsistencies in the meals, but today everything was great: mac and cheese, baked beans, collard greens and the tri tip, pulled pork and brisket all excellent.

All for a very reasonable $15.00 per person with tax.

Dinner

For dinner we decided to finish last week’s supermarket chicken by heating the leg and thigh portions we had left. We served with roast cauliflower and a mushroom gravy.

Frankly, it was all a bit bland other than the cauliflower, which was tasty and a bit interesting.

  • The chicken was $2.50 per serve
  • The organic cauliflower gave us three serves for $3.60 or $1.20 per serve
  • The mushrooms were $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
  • The gravy base was $1.79 or 80c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $6.50 per serve.

Jan 14: Chicken Wraps; Quinoa Chowder with Spinach, Feta, and Scallions with Bratwurst

Lunch

Today we used the second half of the second breast of a large supermarket chicken split across two wraps.

  • Wholemeal wrap is 50c
  • Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
  • Deli edamame salad was $3.44 or 86c per serve
  • The chicken is $9.99. Divided into four portions or $2.50 each, one breast is split into two serves, or $1.25 per serve.

Lunch today was $2.94 per serve.

Dinner

Since there were still two serves of last night’s soup Foodie Greg worked on making it better. The addition of some chopped Trader Joe’s Bratwurst and smoky seasoning definitely elevated the dish. I guess there’s nothing like adding a bit of meat to improve a meal! The potatoes got a little more mashed as well.

We also added a dollop of sour cream when serving for a little creaminess, but also for a little hit of acid to freshen the soup. The sour cream was definitely a worthy addition and could have been stirred through to make it more like a traditional chowder.

Once again we served with the roasted garlic bread.

  • Last night’s soup cost $2.96 per serve
  • The bratwurst are $3.49 for the pack, or $1.75 per serve
  • Sour cream cost $3.99 but we a tiny amount on tonight’s meal, or 25c per serve.

Tonight’s version of the soup was very much improved and cost $4.96 per serve.

Jan 13: Country Deli; Quinoa Chowder with Spinach, Feta, and Scallions

Lunch

As we had to head down Topanga Canyon Blvd to Lowes, we decided to stop in at The Country Deli for lunch on the way. Foodie Philip had his usual marinated skirt steak, eggs and home fries, while Greg had a hamburger with egg – almost Australian style!

10oz Marinated Skit Steak, 3 eggs over easy with home fries from The Country Deli in Chatsworth.
10oz Marinated Skit Steak, 3 eggs over easy with home fries from The Country Deli in Chatsworth.

Lunch at The Country Deli averages $21.00 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Greg decided to try something new: Quinoa Chowder with Spinach, Feta, and Scallions without the cilantro. Instead of spinach we harvested stunning nettles from our yard. I have to say, buying a bag of organic greens is way less effort than harvesting and then separating leaves from the nettle.

The soup was okay. Definitely not a world beater but also not horrible. WE found we needed to add salt to the result. We served with par baked roasted garlic bread.

  • The nettles were free
  • We purchased about half a pound of quinoa for $3.01 but used the 3/4 left, or 75c per serve
  • The jalapeño pepper was 10c or 3c per serve
  • The potatoes were $1.01 or 25c per serve
  • The feta was $3.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Add 30c for spices and other ingredients
  • The roast garlic bread was $2.50 or 63c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $2.96 per serve.

Jan 12: Chicken ‘Quesadilla’; Rib Eye with Crash Hot Potatoes and Creamed Greens

Lunch

A cool day pushed us toward something warm for lunch, so we did our version of a quesadilla made with flatbread, and added half a chicken breast to it.

  • The chicken breast cost $1.25
  • One flatbread (half of two) costs 50c a serve
  • Half a can of refried beans, shared across two halves: 26c
  • 2 oz of cheddar split between two is 50c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.51 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night is – traditionally – our ‘steak’ night. Tonight we dined on aged rib eye from our Prather Ranch meat delivery, with crash hot potatoes and creamed mixed greens.

We also experimented with some creamed stinging nettle as we have so much growing in our yard, fresh and ready to eat. Gloves are definitely needed for harvesting and processing, but the result is pretty good. Like other greens but with more flavor. We’ll definitely be revisiting the nettle growth again.

  • Rib eye was $20.47 or $10.24 per serve
  • Cream was $2.49 for a pint, or $1.25 per serve
  • Organic green were $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Potatoes run around 30c per serve.

Dinner tonight was simple, but tasty. At $12.79 it wasn’t the cheapest meal, but compared with a steakhouse it’s reasonable, particularly considering the quality of the ingredients.

Jan 11: Chicken Wrap; Pea and Ham Soup

Lunch

Today we used the second half of the first breast of a large supermarket chicken split across two wraps.

  • Wholemeal wrap is 50c
  • Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
  • Deli edamame salad was $3.44 or 86c per serve
  • The chicken is $9.99. Divided into four portions or $2.50 each, one breast is split into two serves, or $1.25 per serve.

Lunch today was $2.94 per serve.

Dinner

Another pair of servings from our home-made pea and ham soup. Once again we cubed some left over ham and put it in the bowl and poured soup on top.

  • The $1.00 of stock is split six ways, or 17c per serve
  • The pack of split peas was $1.59 or 27c per serve
  • The frozen peas is 99c a pack, or 16c per serve
  • 4 oz of ham per serve is 50c.

For dinner tonight the soup cost $1.10 per serve with the ham. We chose not to do a roll or bread with the soup as it is very filling on its own.

Jan 10: Chicken Wrap; Beef Massaman Curry with Brown Rice

Lunch

A large supermarket chicken gives us six serves because we can use just half a breast in two wraps.

  • Wholemeal wrap is 50c
  • Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
  • Deli edamame salad was $3.44 or 86c per serve
  • The chicken is $9.99. Divided into four portions or $2.50 each, one breast is split into two serves, or $1.25 per serve.

Lunch today was $2.94 per serve.

Dinner

We chose beef massaman curry for the cold evening, and to use some top sirloin from our Prather Ranch meat bounty! While this would normally be done with stewing meat we sliced the raw beef and gently simmered it to temperature in the curry at the end.

Beef massaman is warming without being too spicy. We use a curry base we buy from Amazon for this simple, quick meal.

  • 12.8 oz of aged top sirloin was $11.29 or $5.65 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
  • Potato adds 25c per serve
  • The bunch of carrots was 89c but we used half in this dish, or 23c per serve.

Dinner tonight was perfect for the weather: delicious and warming but a little expensive at $9.42.