Apr 29: Pulled Pork Panini Roll; Chickenless Chicken with Tikka Vegetables and Brown Rice

Lunch

Even though we had pulled pork last night, we heated another serve and stuffed it in a hot panini roll spread with a little Carolina Style BBQ sauce and topped with pickled onion.

  • Pulled pork is 4.62 per serve or $2.31 each
  • The panini roll is 63c
  • Pickled onion is 35c
  • Add 20c for Carolina BBQ Sauce.

We really enjoyed this sandwich for $3.64 per serve.

Dinner

After some searching Foodie Greg found a chickenless chicken strip that wasn’t breaded or otherwise flavored. It became the basis of a chickenless Tikka Marsala.

  • The chickenless “tenders” were $2.99 per serve
  • The Tikka Vegetables were $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Brown rice adds 33c per serve.

The fake chicken did not have a texture like a tender because there were no muscle fibers, but the texture and flavor was a reasonable substitute on a Meatless Monday (night) and worked well with the Tikka vegetables and sauce. A decent meal for $4.32 per serve.

Apr 28: Bacon & Kumato on Panini Roll; Pulled Pork, Pickled Red Onion, Brown Rice and Cuban Beans

Lunch

With a little more time for lunch we finished baking some par-baked panini rolls while frying off some bacon. Bacon, sliced Kumato and Garlic spread made an excellent sandwich for lunch.

  • The panini roll is 63c
  • Bacon was $4.99 for 16 slices and we had two each, or 63c per serve
  • Five kumato were $3.49 and we shared one or 35c per serve
  • Add 20c for garlic spread.

An excellent sandwich for $1.81 per serve.

Dinner

A two pound pork butt makes for great pulled pork! Combine with brown rice, canned cuban black beans, and some pickled red onion and you have an great meal.

  • The pork was $21.15 and we will get six good size serves, or $3.53 per serve
  • Onion and garlic add 25c per serve
  • Chicken stock adds $2.00 or 40c per serve
  • Add 33c for brown rice
  • The pickled onion adds 35c per serve
  • Cuban style black beans were 99c for the can or 50c per serve.

The pulled pork came out extremely well: tender, moist and tasty. All up a really good Sunday dinner for $5.44 per serve.

Apr 27: Popeye’s Fried Chicken with Slaw; Caramelized Vietnamese Pork with Slaw on Black Rice

Lunch

We reheated a chicken breast each – despite requesting dark meat only – and served with a simple slaw.

  • A 9 piece special was $12.99 and we had one piece each, or $1.44 per serve
  • A Nappa Cabbage was $2.39 but we split half between lunch and dinner, or 30c per serve
  • Add 15c for carrot and other ingredients.

A tasty lunch for $1.89 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner we finished the Caramelized pork on black rice with some more of the Cabbage Slaw.

  • The ground pork was $8.35 and we’ll got four serves from that, or $2.09 per serve
  • A Nappa Cabbage was $2.39 but we split half between lunch and dinner, or 30c per serve
  • Add 35c for carrot and dressing ingredients
  • Add 44c for black rice.

The caramelized pork is really good, despite cutting the sugar dramatically. It went well with the slaw and black rice for $3.18 per serve.

Apr 26: Egg Salad & Asparagus Wrap; Coconut Curry Mussels with Panini Roll

Lunch

For lunch we took a wholemeal wrap and stuffed it with Egg Salad and grilled Asparagus.

  • The wraps were $3.99 for six, or 67c per serve
  • The egg salad is $3.69 for 10 oz and we used 2 oz per serve, or 92c per serve
  • The asparagus was $2.59 but we used ⅓, or 43c per serve.

The wrap worked well and tasted fine for $2.02 per serve.

Dinner

Being “Fishy Friday” we chose a Coconut-Curry recipe and served with pre-cooked Mussels.

  • The mussels were $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
  • The bell pepper was $1.02 or 51c per serve
  • Coconut milk was $1.89 or 95c per serve
  • The shallots was 78c and we shared one, or 39c per serve
  • Add 55c per serve for fish sauce, garlic, ginger and seasoning
  • A rustic panini roll was 63c.

The curry is full of flavor and, while the mussels are tasty, they were the least interesting part of the curry. Overall, a good meal for $4.53 per serve.

Apr 25: Popeye’s Fried Chicken; Flat Iron Steak with Slow Cooked Broccolini

Lunch

Since it’s been almost a month, and Foodie Philip was driving nearby, so we decided to have Popeye’s Fried Chicken.

  • A 9 piece special was $12.99 and we had two piece each, or $2.89 per serve
  • The red beans and rice is $3.99 or $2.00 per serve.

An enjoyable lunch for $4.89 per serve.

Dinner

We ordered some Flat Iron steak as an extra in our meat box this month. We sous vidé them before searing to give color. We served with slow cooked broccolini, which was a departure from broccoli.

  • Two were $24.30 but at 9oz were too small to split, so we had one each for $12.15 per serve
  • The broccolini was $2.75 or $1.38 per serve
  • The shallot was 18c or 9c per serve
  • The feta was $6.49 but we used ¼ or 82c per serve.

While we have enjoyed long cooked broccoli in the past, the broccolini went tough and became inedible. The steak had a very strong “beefy” taste that we enjoyed and it was reasonably tender. A good meal for $14.44 per serve.


Apr 24: Avocado & Smoked Trout Sandwiches; Pizza

Lunch

We still had an avocado that needed using, so we opened a can of Smoked Trout and toasted the sandwiches.

  • The Avocado was $1.50 or 75c per serve
  • Rye bread is 32c per serve
  • The smoked trout is $3.49 per can or $1.75 per serve
  • Add 30c for butter.

Perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but we enjoyed it a lot, for $3.12 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight was our monthly user group meeting that ends with pizza fort $10.00 per serve.

Apr 23: Bacon, Tomato & Watercress Wrap; Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls

Lunch

Wholemeal wraps are back, so we fried some bacon, sliced the Kumato and spread on the Watercress for a really good wrap.

  • The wraps were $3.99 for six, or 67c per serve
  • Bacon was $4.99 for 16 slices and we had two each, or 63c per serve
  • Five kumato were $3.49 and we shared one or 35c per serve
  • Add 25c for Watercress
  • Add 20c for garlic spread.

A good lunch for $2.10 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we returned to the Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls. We will get four serves from the pork, and two from the salad.

  • The ground pork was $8.35 and we’ll get four serves from that, or $2.09 per serve
  • Add 40c for ginger, onion, garlic and chili, etc
  • Add 10c for grated carrot
  • The Nappa cabbage was $2.39 but we used half, or 60c per serve.

It’s probably better with bean sprouts, but tonight’s version was still very good for $3.19 per serve.

Apr 22: Thai Style Tuna & Avocado, Roast Turkey Breast & Avocado; Peanutty Noodles with Tempeh Crumbles

Lunch

Today two toasted sandwiches: Thai style Tuna, which turned out to be not as good as the Sweet & Spicy Tuna we normally get, with Avocado, and a Roast Turkey Breast and Avocado. No cheese in today’s sandwiches!

  • The Rye bread is 32c per serve
  • The Thai style Tuna is $1.00 per serve
  • The turkey is $3.49 and we shared ⅓ or 58c per serve
  • The Avocado was $1.50 or 75c per serve
  • Add 30c for butter.

Both decent sandwiches for $2.95 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg has been looking for a reason to test a Tempeh recipe for a while and decided on Peanutty Noodles with Temeh Crumbles. Although nominally for four, we finished most of the recipe.

  • The peanut butter was $1.99 and we used about 1/2,  or 50c a serve
  • The three grain Tempeh was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Soba noodles add 40c per serve
  • Add 50c for oil and seasoning.

While the peanut sauce had a different flavor profile than the one we enjoy with steak or eggplant, it was still very tasty but without the funkiness that Fish Sauce brings. The Tempeh had a good nutty flavor and a texture that added a meaty toothiness to the dish, which went well with the peanut sauces. A good dish for $2.40 per serve.

Apr 21: Baked Beans, Spinach & Feta Sausage with a Fried Egg; Mustardy Pork Chops with Cauliflower Gnocchi

Lunch

Because it’s Sunday we took a little more time with lunch and had Trader Joe’s Giant Baked Beans, Spinach and Feta Sausages and a Fried Egg.

  • An egg per serve costs 51c
  • The bread is 16c
  • Add 10c for butter to cook the eggs
  • The baked beans work out at $1.00 per serve
  • The sausages were $5.00 for the pack or $2.50 per serve.

A hearty lunch for $4.27 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we tried Nigella Lawson’s Mustard Pork Chops although we didn’t pound our chops thin, but adjusted cook time to get a perfect medium rare. We substituted a Apple Cider Vinegar with sweetener instead of hard cider, which provided an enjoyable ‘tart’ edge to the mustard sauce

  • The pork chops are $10.30 or $5.15 per serve
  • The gnocchi was $2.69 or $1.35 per serve
  • Add 30c for mustard
  • Add 25c for cider vinegar
  • Add 30c for heavy cream.

The gnocchi and mustardy cream sauce worked well together and paired with perfectly cooked pork it was a great meal for $7.35 per serve.

Apr 20: Bahn Mi; Japanese Style Fried Rice with Stir-fried Shrimp

Lunch

After the trip back from San Diego we picked up a Bahn Mi from our favorite local Vietnamese restaurant for $8.27 per serve with tax.

Dinner

Having missed “Fishy Friday” yesterday, we substituted tonight with Trader Joe’s Japanese Style Fried Rice and some frozen shrimp that we stir-fried and placed on top of the fried rice.

  • The Japanese Style Fried Rice was $2.95 or $1.48 per serve
  • The shrimp were $7.99 but we shared half or $2.00 per serve.

A simple, but very tasty meal for $3.48 per serve. The Japanese Style Fried Rice was pretty good, but could use a little flavor boost.