Author: Philip

Lunch

Our normal lunch of toasted sandwiches. Today we shared a tuna pouch with capers and Swiss, and a sandwich of elements of the Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini Melange with Swiss. We used the panini press to defrost and heat the eggplant and bell pepper.

• The roast vegetables are about 5c per serve
• The tuna was $2.00 or $1.00 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• Add 45c for butter, mayo and capers.

Both are decent sandwiches for $1.85 per serve.

Dinner

We returned to the  Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowls, tonight with mung bean sprout and grated carrot that was drizzled with rice wine vinegar instead of rice

Again, we cut the sugar back from five, to two tablespoons.

• 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
• Bean sprouts were $1.49 but we used only 2/3 or 50c per serve
• Add 10c for grated carrot.

Dinner tonight was tasty for $3.09 per serve. It is yet another example of “pork and beans” although the beans are just sprouts!

Lunch

Today’s plans were disrupted so Foodie Philip finished the Ground Beef with Onion, Garlic and Spinach at $4.69 per serve.

Dinner

We’re reducing meat consumption by going for a meatless Monday (night). Tonight we prepared an Organic Apple Dijon Salad, but dropped the shredded cheese that comes with the salad, and adding some good cheddar instead.

• The salad kit was $4.49 or $2.25 per serve
• The cheddar was $3.99 or 50c per serve.

A decent salad for $2.75 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we took another three eggs and scrambled them. Toward the end we mixed in one serve of last night’s Ground Beef, Garlic, Spinach and Egg dish, which made a much more satisfying dish.

• The beef dish is $4.69 per full serve but we shared one, or $2.35 per serve
• Three eggs are $1.50 or 75c per serve.

This version was much more satisfying for $3.10 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we took the remaining shredded beef and put it on top of cauliflower gnocchi with a creamy blue cheese sauce.

• The shredded beef is $2.61 per serve
• The gnocchi was $2.69 or $1.35 per serve
• Blue cheese crumbles were $3.49 and we used half or 87c per serve
• Heavy cream is $3.29 per pint, but we used only ¼ or 42c per serve
• Organic frozen peas were $1.99 per pack or 50c per serve
• Add 30c for other ingredients.

A very tasty meal for $6.05 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we had our favorite sandwich: a Bahn Mi from our local Vietnamese restaurant. A great sandwich for $8.75 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Tonight we tried a new recipe: Ground Beef with Garlic, Spinach and Eggs. The recipe makes four serves. We used fresh spinach instead of frozen.

• Dry aged ground beef is $8.99 or $2.25 per serve
• Eggs are 50c each or $1.00 per serve
• 1.5 packs of spinach at $3.29 per pack, or $1.24 per serve
• Add 20c per serve for garlic and seasoning.

We felt there could have been more flavor. It seemed a little bland and we thought it would be more “eggy”, which is why we added the hot sauce. Not a bad meal for $4.69 per serve.

Lunch

Back to the sweet and spicy tuna pouch, but still with shallot and Swiss and a return to a favorite: tomato, mayo and Swiss.

• Five kumato were $3.49 and we used one per sandwich, or 70c per serve
• The tuna was $2.00 or $1.00 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• Add 45c for butter, mayo and shallot.

A pair of good sandwiches for $2.80 per serve.

Dinner

The hot weather continues to inspire salads, and being Friday (a fish meal in some Christian traditions) so we returned to our smoked salmon “Cobb” style salad. We dropped the bacon because, with smoked salmon, we didn’t want two salty elements in the dish. The burrata also replaced the salty cheese element.

• Smoked salmon is $5.99 for the 4oz pack or $3.00 a serve
• A pastured egg is 50c
• The cherry tomatoes were $3.49 and we used about half, or 88c per serve
• Add 20c for spinach
• The avocado was $1.49 or 75c per serve
• The burrata is $4.99, or $2.50 per serve.

This is a great variation on a Cobb for $7.33 per serve.

Lunch

A different tuna pouch, but still with capers and Swiss and a return to a favorite: tomato, mayo and Swiss.

• Five kumato were $3.49 and we used one per sandwich, or 70c per serve
• The tuna was $2.00 or $1.00 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• Add 45c for butter, mayo and capers.

A pair of good sandwiches for $2.80 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night grill night, and fortunately our Keller Crafted meat box arrived right on time with tonight’s rib eye! Served with a simple salad of balsamic drizzled beets, feta and pomegranate seeds, it was really good.

• The rib eye was $16.20 or $8.10 per serve
• The French feta is $9.99 for 10.5 oz and we shared 1/6 or 42c per serve
• The pomegranate seeds were $4.99 and we used half, or $1.25 per serve
• Peeled baby beets were $1.99 or $1.00 per serve.

At medium rare Foodie Philip slightly overcooked the steak but it was good anyway, and the salad had a great combination of earthiness, sweetness and acid from the balsamic drizzled beets all balanced with the slightly funky saltiness of the feta. Not a bad steak and salad for $10.77 per serve.

Lunch

Because we didn’t want to put the oven on, we did a pair of toasted sandwiches. On one we put the shredded chuck roast with a smear of BBQ sauce and Swiss; on the other we did a pouch of sweet and spicy tuna with capers and Swiss.

• The roast was $20.88 or $1.74 per serve for this meal
• The tuna was $2.00 or $1.00 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 33c per serve
• Add 45c for butter, BBQ sauce and capers.

Two decent sandwiches for $3.84 per serve.

Dinner

A new – and intriguing – recipe for Hot Beef Salad, which is a savory meat sauce over Romain lettuce.

We’ll get three full serves.

• The dry aged ground beef was $9.35 or $3.12 per serve
• Romain lettuce was $2.00 or $1.00 per serve
• Add 75c for the other ingredients.

A surprisingly good meal for $4.87 per serve. We thought the meat sauce would be better over a bowl of bean sprouts!

Lunch

Lunch was a do-over of Sunday night’s dinner! The Shredded Chuck Roast on a rustic panini roll with Kale Sunflower Crunch salad. We did not have the dipping liquid but made sure there was plenty of juice on the roll.

• The roast was $20.88 or $2.61 per serve for this meal
• The panini roll is 63c
• The salad kit was $3.49 and we’ll get four serves, or 88c per serve.

The pulled beef is every bit as tasty as pulled pork, and it was an excellent lunch for $4.12 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to rethink the Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Rice Bowl of a couple of nights ago. Instead of rice we filled the bowl with bean sprouts and carrot, drizzled with some rice wine vinegar. The pork was sprinkled across the top.

• The ground pork was $8.35 and we shared the third serve, or $1.39 per serve
• Add 25c for ginger, onion, garlic and chili, etc
• Bean sprouts were $1.49 but we used almost the rest of the bag or 40c per serve
• Add 20c for grated carrot.

This was an experiment that worked really well. The bean sprouts are a crunchy wet counterbalance to the umami of the pork while the carrot bring a hint of sweetness to the dish. We both really liked it for $1.24 per serve!

Lunch

A return to the Burbank Monday routine for Foodie Philip so naturally he headed to In and Out Burger for a Double Double Animal Style for $4.34.

Dinner

We opted for a simple vegetarian meal tonight by heating two Indian meal pouches and serving them with some pressure cooked brown rice.

One pouch came from Trader Joe’s at $1.99: the other from Ralph’s at $3.99. It is quite obvious that these have the same manufacturer, yet the OEM version at Trader Joe’s is half the price of the brand name that manufactures the product. It pays to shop around.

• The Yello Tadka Dal was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The Paleek Paneer was $3.99 or $1.98 per serve
• Brown rice adds 33c per serve.

Both sauces were tasty contributing to a decent meal for $3.31 per serve.