Month: May 2017

Lunch

The chicken, avocado, blue cheese and bacon wrap was so good, we repeated it, but without bacon because we ran out!

• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• The roast chicken is $9.99 for the bird, but we used 1/2 one breast, or 63c per serve
• The avocado was $1.50 or 75c per serve
• Blue cheese crumbles are $3.49 for the pack but we used only a fraction or 12c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.00 per serve and was still a great wrap without the bacon.

Dinner

Greg has been wanting to try this Braised Beef and Mushroom recipe for more than a week, from back when the weather was more suitable for stews, unlike today’s hot temperature.

The original recipe uses four pounds of beef, while we had about 3/4 pound. Mushrooms were also reduced, but other elements stayed the same for a flavor packed meal. Served with cheesy grits and asparagus spears.

Counter-intuitively asparagus is more tender when the spears are thick and these were excellent, simply steamed.

• The cross rib steak cost $6.64, or $3.32 per serve
• Shitake mushrooms are $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
• The carton of beef broth was $2.49 and we used half, or 63c per serve
• Add 50c for onion, garlic and seasonings
• The asparagus was $4.07 but we used half, or $1.02 per serve
• The 10 grain ‘hot cereal’ is $5.99 for a 25oz pack, but we used about 1/4 or 75c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $7.72 and was delicious. The cereal alternative to grits isn’t as sweet, which we prefer. The asparagus was steamed to perfection with great flavor and exactly the right texture.

Lunch

For lunch we prepared two par-baked rolls, smeared them with spicy mayonnaise (left over from the sushi) and sandwiched in a slice of the Turkey, Bacon, Chipotle meatloaf, which finishes the meatloaf.

• The roll is 63c
• The meatloaf is $3.50 for a full serve, but we used 1/3 serve per roll, or $1.17 per serve
• There was no net cost for the spicy mayo.

Lunch today cost $1.80 per serve and was really good.

Dinner

A new recipe tonight: Miso Udon Noodle Soup. As there are only the two of us, we made a half batch, which was more than enough as neither of us completely finished.

• Chicken stock cost $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Sugar snap peas were $2.49 for the pack, but as we only used half, 63c per serve
• Roasted seaweed adds 30c per serve
• Shitake mushrooms are $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
• The udon noodles were $3.89 but we used 1/3 or 65c per serve
• Organic baby carrots were $1.69 for the pack, of which we used half, or 28c per serve
• Add 15c for ginger
• Miso Easy is $5.99 for the bottle that we used about 1/8 of in this dish, or 38c per serve.
• Add 10c for rice wine vinegar as a substitute for mirin.

Dinner tonight was tasty, and meat free for $4.99 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we went back to our gyro/yeros meat in a wrap but we added some shredded cheese we had in the refrigerator. Cheese in a yeros wrap is very common in Australia.

• The fully cooked sliced gyro/yeros meat is $3.99 per 10oz pack. There are really four serves, so each serve is very slightly cheaper than the chicken, at $1.00 per serve.
• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• Shredded cheese mix was $3.49 for the pack but we less than 1/8, or 22c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.72.

Dinner

The Soutzoukakia (Greek style meatballs) was such a success last time we had it, that we had to do it again, but with ground lamb instead of beef.

Tonight we served three.

• The ground lamb was $7.99 or $2.67 per serve
• An egg is 45c or 15c per serve
• 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 25c per serve
• Shaved Parmesan blend cost $2.99 but we used about 1/8  for this salad, or 13c per serve
• 1/4 cup and a tablespoon of red wine – halved – is 34c per serve
• Canned crushed tomatoes were $1.69 for the can, or 57c per serve
• The eggplant, tomato and onion is $2.69 or 90c per serve
• Onions, shallot and garlic adds 25c per serve
• We doubled up the fresh mint came from our garden and dropped the parsley
• Tomato paste comes in a 90c can, but we used 1/8 or 5c per serve
• Add 30c for the spices
• Rice adds 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight was excellent: even better than last time. The addition of the eggplant mix was a step up. Tonight’s meal cost $6.11 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we reheated the Smokey Cheese and Pumpkin slice remaining, and paired it with a chickpea balela.

• The slice cost $4.17 per serve, although neither of us finished it at lunchtime
• The container of balela was $2.69 or $1.35 per serve.

Lunch today was more than we could eat for $5.52

Dinner

A new recipe for us: Pork, Shiitake and Edamame in Coconut Cream Sauce.   We cut back on the mushrooms and pork to make a dish for two (very generous) serves. Instead of cooking pork from scratch we used the Trader Joe’s fully cooked pork belly, that was fried off first render out some fat and get some maillard reaction on the surfaces.

• 12 oz of pork bellow is $6.49 or $3.25 per serve
• Coconut milk was $1.69 or 85c per serve
• Shelled edamame was $1.29 or 65c per serve
• Shitake mushrooms are $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
• Add 25c for garlic, shallot and seasonings
• Add 30c for rice.

Tonight’s dinner was excellent and a recipe we’ll be repeating. For $7.00 a serve, it’s hard to work out how it could be better. And yes, this is another “pork and beans” recipe!

Lunch

As Foodie Greg was shopping at Wholefoods, he picked up some sushi there. Lunch cost $9.69 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner we revisited a favorite recipe, that oddly we haven’t cooked since The semiSerious Foodies started. This is a very unusual recipe, originally from a recipe for Zuccini Slice that Greg’s mother shared with him. We modified the recipe to pumpkin and the cheese to smokey and added bacon. Because the bacon is fried off first, the fat for the recipe comes from the bacon, and therefore the flavor permeates the recipe.

It took us a very long time to work out just what type of dish this was. It’s not a quiche, or custard of any kind as there’s no dairy. Ultimately we worked out it is a cake. A savory cake.

It is delicious. We took it to the Hollywood Bowl one night, to share with a group of friends. It was a Jewish holiday and as we passed it around one member of our party asked if it had bacon in it. We confessed and, not surprisingly, he declined because of his faith.

Until about 15 minutes later when he quietly leaned over and asked for a piece as “My wife told me it was so good, that I had to have a piece”. Hence, the alternate name.

The recipe makes four quite generous serves.

• The bacon was $6.99 for 12 slices, and we used five, or 73c per serve
• Five pastured eggs at 50c each is $2.50 or 63c per serve
• A small bag of organic flour is $2.69 and we used about 1/3 or 23c per serve
• Buying the butternut squash diced saves a lot of angst trying to peel and deseed the squash. The whole $5.99 pack went into the dish, or $1.50 per serve
• Normally we’d used smoked gouda but today we used a smoked mozzarella that was $5.99 or $1.50 per serve.
• An onion adds 8c per serve
• The salad kit came from Ralph’s (Kroger) was $2.99 and we will get four serves from it, or 75c per serve.

Dinner tonight is one of our favorites. It’s good enough to temp a Jew on a religious holiday, and costs just $4.92 per serve with the salad.

And, since it’s not published anywhere, here’s the recipe in full:

5 rashers Bacon
5 Eggs
1 cup Plain Flour
13 oz Butternut Squash, peeled and grated
1 large Onion, grated
1 cup grated Smoked Gouda or Cheddar Cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Grate the butternut squash and cheese. Using a food processor you can also grate the onion instead of finely chopping it.

Fry the bacon until the fat mostly renders out. Allow to cool a little and chop finely.

Retrieve ¼ cup of the bacon grease (top up with oil if necessary).

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Add the flour and beat until combined. Add the bacon grease, bacon, butternut squash, onion and cheese, and mix to combine.

Grease a casserole dish and spread the mixture into it. Bake for 30 – 60 minutes until set.

 

Lunch

For lunch we went back to our gyro/yeros meat in a wrap.

• The fully cooked sliced gyro/yeros meat is $3.99 per 10oz pack. There are really four serves, so each serve is very slightly cheaper than the chicken, at $1.00 per serve.
• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.

Lunch today cost $2.50.

Dinner

The worst thing about ground turkey is that it is lacking in fat. This is considered a virtue by those who got the (completely wrong) message that there is something wrong with fats. But, add enough bacon to bring the combined result to 85% lean, 15% fat, and you have a winner.

We created this recipe, with the addition of half a can of chipotle and it’s pretty good. Tonight’s result was particularly light in texture and made four serves. The salad was served separately.

• Ground turkey cost $6.99 or $1.75 per serve
• Bacon adds 60c per serve
• A can of chipotle is $1.50 and we used half, or 38c per serve
• Add 65c for onion, breadcrumbs and seasonings
• The gravy was $1.79 or 80c per serve (we used it all)
• The white beans were $1.00 or 50c per serve
• The salad kit came from Ralph’s (Kroger) was $2.99 and we will get four serves from it, or 75c per serve.

Dinner tonight was $5.05 per serve. The meatloaf was excellent as was the salad kit. The garlic white bean mash was disappointing.