Mar 29: Roast Chicken Leg with Lemon Ricotta Ravioli

Lunch

A shopping trip to Trader Joe’s bought a Spanakopita, that we reheated and served for $4.49 or $2.25 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg cleverly steamed the Chicken then used the pot to boil the Ravioli.

  • The Chicken was $3.62 with a coupon and we each had a leg, or 91c per serve
  • The Pasta was $3.69 or $1.85 per serve
  • Add 20c for Radicchio.

The Pasta was quite good, with a notable Lemon flavor in the Ricotta filling, contributing to a decent meal for $2.96 per serve.

Mar 28: Pasta a la Norma

Lunch

For lunch we each had a Sausage Roll we’d prepared Sunday afternoon, along with another six we can enjoy later. We served with a simple Garden Salad.

  • Breakfast Pork was $5.99 or 75c per serve
  • Bacon was $6.69 and we used half, or 42c per serve
  • The Puff Pastry was $6.99 or 88c per serve
  • Onions and Celery add 20c per serve
  • Sage was free from our garden
  • Two Eggs were 76c or 10c per serve
  • 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 75c per serve
  • Add 40c for Butter Lettuce and Cherry Tomatoes.

The Sausage Roll was the best ever, including commercial offerings in Australia, for $3.10 plus 40c for the Salad: $3.50 per serve.

Dinner

Our Meatless Monday is a Pasta dish: Pasta a la Norma featuring Eggplant.

  • The Pasta was $1.89 and we used half, or 48c per serve
  • The Organic Marinara Sauce was $1.69 or 85c per serve
  • The Eggplant was $1.76 or 90c per serve
  • Add 15c for Parsley
  • Add 40c for Quattro Formaggi.

A quite tasty meal for $2.78 per serve.

Mar 27: Beef Tenderloin Steak with Roast Scallions and Twice Baked Potato

Lunch

Lunch was Pork Chili Verde Enchiladas from Viva La Fiesta for $17.00 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

When on special we purchased some “Beef Tenderloin Steaks,” which are a less attractive part of the muscle that gives us Filet Mignon. We seared and served with Roast Scallions and Twice Baked Potato. We served with a Mushroom Pan Sauce.

  • The two generously portioned Steaks were $14.74 or $7.39 per serve
  • The Double Stuffed Potatoes were $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
  • The Scallions were 99c and we used 3/5, or 30c per serve
  • The sliced Mushrooms for the Pan Sauce were $4.99 or $2.50 per serve
  • The Demi Glacé was $2.65 for two packets, or 66c per serve
  • Add 30c for other ingredients.

The quick sear on the Steak was perfectly to our taste. The Roast Scallions were new to us, and we enjoyed the slightly garlicy flavor and will be roasting them again. The Twice Baked Potato is a classic Steak side and was very appropriate in this meal. The Mushrooms in the Pan Sauce were probably redundant, but did provide another vegetable on the plate. A very good meal for $12.65 per serve.

Mar 26: Sous Vide and Seared Duck Breast á l’orange with Wild Rice Blend and Radicchio and Kumquat Salad

Lunch

We enjoyed our final Beef Rissoles hot in a hot Ciabatta Roll, with Semi-dried Cherry Tomatoes and Butter Lettuce and Carolina BBQ Sauce.

  • The Ciabatta Roll is 58c per serve
  • We shared a $2.72 serve of Rissoles, or $1.36 per serve
  • We used semi-dried Cherry Tomatoes for 30c per serve
  • Butter Lettuce adds 10c per serve
  • Add 15c for the Carolina BBQ Sauce.

As always a tasty sandwich for $2.49 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight’s Duck á l’orange was served with Wild Rice Blend and Radicchio and Kumquat Salad

  • The Duck Breasts were $13.25 or $6.63 per serve
  • Wild Rice Mix is 64c per serve
  • The Radicchio was $4.44 and we used about ⅓, or 74c per serve
  • The Kumquat was $5.99 for a punnet and we shared ⅓, or $1.00 per serve
  • Add 26 each for Stock Concentrate
  • Add 35c for other ingredients.

The Duck was perfectly cooked, with a nice render and sear on the fat. The bitter Radicchio and citrus burst of the Kumquat balanced the fattiness of the Duck. An excellent meal for $9.58 per serve.

Mar 25: Smoked Trout Caesar Salad

Lunch

Foodie Greg did a shopping excursion to Amazon Fresh to take advantage of their excellent BBQ Chicken deal. We had a par-baked Baguette from Aldi, and Semi-dried Cherry Tomatoes, so with the addition of a bit of Duke’s Mayonnaise we were set!

  • The Chicken was $3.62 with a coupon and we shared a Breast, or 45c per serve
  • The Aldi ‘Bake at Home’ Baguette was $1.89, but we shared half, or 48c
  • Semi-dried Cherry Tomatoes add about 40c per serve
  • The Duke’s Mayonnaise adds 10c per serve.

A tasty and inexpensive lunch for $1.43 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight’s Caesar Salad was topped with canned Smoked Trout and Parmesan Crisps as Croutons.

  • The Butter Lettuce was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • We each had a 3.5oz can of Smoked Trout for $3.49 per serve
  • The Parmesan Crisps we substituted for Croutons were $2.86 and we used about ¼, or 36c per serve
  • An Egg for the Dressing adds 19c per serve
  • Lemon Juice came from Lemons out of our garden
  • Add 30c for other Dressing Ingredients.

A really tasty Salad where the lemony Dressing was a good foil for the slightly oily Trout, while the Parmesan Crisps added texture and flavor. A pretty good meal for $5.34 per serve.

Mar 24: Gyro Pita Pocket Sandwiches

Lunch

For lunch we toasted some Dave’s Killer Bread and built a Ham Salad Sandwich on it.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • Breakfast Ham is 60c per serve
  • Add 40c for Salad ingredients.

A favorite sandwich for $1.74 per serve.

Dinner

Our take-out dinner tonight harkened back to our lunch purchases from Skewers Halaal before we discovered the joy of their Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich! We have been enjoying their various Kebab meals, but tonight we both felt like a change. We decided on a Gyro Meat and Salad Pita Pocket each for $10.94 per serve.

Mar 23: Turkey Bacon Chipotle Meatloaf with Grapefruit Salad

Lunch

As we had not been able to contact our regular Sushi place at night, we decided to try for lunch, which was successful. We each had a Spicy Tuna focused Bento Box for $17.24 per serve.

Dinner

We seared most of the remaining Turkey, Bacon, Chipotle Meatloaf with a Grapefruit, Ridichio, and Blue Cheese Crumbles.

  • The Meatloaf is $3.13 per serve
  • The Grapefruit was $1.83, or 92c per serve
  • Blue cheese crumbles were $3.49 and we used half or 44c per serve
  • The Ridichio was $4.44 and we used about ⅓, or 74c per serve
  • Add 30c for Balsamic Vinegar.

A nice balance between the Citrus Salad and the Meatloaf, which we dressed with Sweet Chili Sauce. A nice meal for $5.53 per serve.

Mar 22: Beef Rissoles with ‘Aussie’ Salad

Lunch

Today’s lunch was Shin Ramen with Coleslaw for $1.63 per serve.

Dinner

An early taste of Summer made it attractive to grill Beef Rissoles on the outside grill. We were even able to quickly eat outside before the temperature dropped after sunset.

  • Ground beef $5.99 or $2.00 per serve
  • 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 50c per serve
  • A Pastured Egg is 38c or 13c per serve
  • The onion is 8c per serve
  • Pickled beets in vinaigrette are $1.69, of which we used about ⅓ or 28c per serve
  • We used about ½ of the $3.95 Sharp Cheddar, or 66c per serve
  • Add 40c for sugar free Ketchup.

A very tasty meal with a very good balance between meat and vegetable components, for $4.06 per serve.

Mar 21: Mushroom Stuffed Tortellini with Hayashi (Rice)

Lunch

We repeated the Bell Pepper, Chorizo and Gouda toasted sandwich because it’s a good one.

  • The Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • Gouda is 34c per serve
  • The Chorizo was $4.72 and we used half, or $1.18 per serve
  • Fire Roasted Peppers cost $1.99 and we used half, or 50c per serve.

It’s an excellent sandwich for $2.76 per serve.

Dinner

We had some Mushroom Stuffed Tortellini on hand, although not enough to be a meal by itself, and about one serve of the Hayashi Rice Beef Mix, so we combined them to make two serves.

  • The Hayashi Rice is $2.42 per serve
  • The Tortellini was $1.49 or 75c per serve.

An inexpensive meal at $3.17, but the Mushroom Stuffed Pasta was just plain disappointing. It had almost no Mushroom flavor, and an unpleasant mealy texture. Once again, if you shop Aldi, stick to ‘Specially Selected’ items.

Mar 20: Turkey Bacon Chipotle Meatloaf with Baked Sweet Potato and Chipotle Coleslaw

Lunch

The Foodies had a brunch of Oatmeal Pancakes for about 95c per serve.

Dinner

Tonight’s Turkey Bacon Chipotle Meatloaf was served with a less common (and less sweet) Japanese Sweet Potato and Chipotle Coleslaw.

  • The Meatloaf is $3.13 per full serve
  • The Japanese Sweet Potato was $2.80 or $1.40 per serve
  • Sour Cream was $3.59 and we used about 1/10, or 18c per serve
  • Add 20c for Onion Salt
  • Add 65c for Coleslaw and Dressing.

While not our regular Japanese Sweet Potato, the variety we purchased was much less sweet than the typical orange Sweet Potato, with more flavor. A pretty decent meal for $5.56 per serve.