Author: Philip

Apr 3: Cheese & Tomato Toasted Sandwich; Bacon and Black Bean Chili

Lunch

Back to toasted sandwiches and today we made a Heirloom Tomato and Swiss each.

  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • The heirloom tomato was $3.78 and we used about ¼ or 48c per serve
  • Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve
  • Add 20c for mayo.

Two tasty sandwiches for $1.17 per serve.

Dinner

Time for a return to a favorite: Bacon and Black Bean Chili with Sour Cream and Cotija cheese. The recipe makes six serves.

  • The ground beef was $9.89 or $1.64 per serve
  • The beans are $1.00 per can and we used two, or 33c per serve
  • Canned tomatoes were $1.29 or 22c per serve
  • Tomato paste was 79c or 13c per serve
  • Bacon is $6.99 for the pack and we used half, or 39c per serve
  • Add 30c per serve for seasoning
  • Sour cream cost $3.99 but we used 1/4 on tonight’s meal, or 50c per serve.
  • Add 20c for a dusting of cotija cheese.

This is a great recipe and we always enjoy it. The chili is $3.01 per serve and the toppings add 70c for a total of $3.71 per serve.

 

Apr 2: Tomato & Swiss, Ham & Swiss; Pan Seared Pork Chops with Roast Kabocha Squash and Asparagus

Lunch

Back to toasted sandwiches and today we made a Kumato and Swiss, and a ham a Swiss. We preferred the Kumato and Swiss one.

  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • Five kumato were $3.49 and we used one, or 35c per serve
  • Ham is $5.99 for 12 slices, or 50c per serve
  • Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve
  • Add 20c for mayo.

Two tasty sandwiches for $1.54 per serve.

Dinner

Pan seared pork chops, roasted kabocha squash and the remaining asparagus sounds like a great dinner. And it was. Foodie Greg perfectly pan seared the boneless pork chops in ghee, and the roasted kabocha squash was a perfect balance. The asparagus had been cooked with last night’s in the panini press, and was served cold.

  • The pork chops were $11.69 or $5.85 per serve
  • The kabocha squash was $1.94 and we used half, or 97c per serve
  • The asparagus cost $2.23 and we used half for this meal, or 56c per serve.

A drizzle of balsamic glaze set off a really well balanced meal, that cost $7.38 per serve.

Apr 1: Bahn Mi; Braised Lamb Shoulder Chops with Tomato and Rosemary, with Asparagus

Lunch

In what might become a “Christian Holiday” tradition, we had a Bahn Mi on Easter Sunday, as we did on Christmas Day. As always, it’s a great sandwich for $8.50 per serve.

Dinner

Having grown up in Australia, the Foodies occasionally get a craving for lamb. Tonights lamb should chops featured rosemary from our garden.

  • The lamb chops were $8.18 or $4.09 per serve
  • The canned tomatoes were $4.99 and we used half, or $1.25 per serve
  • Rosemary came from our garden
  • Red wine adds 25c per serve
  • Black olives are $6.99 for the jar, but we used about 1/4 or 88c per serve
  • Add 25c for shallots, oil and seasoning
  • The asparagus cost $2.23 and we used half for this meal, or 56c per serve.

We were concerned that the should chops would be tough after the relatively short cooking called for by the recipe but they turned out fine: not fall apart tender but not tough. The sauce was flavorsome and the asparagus  had been well prepared in the panini press. A really good meal for $7.28 per serve.

March 2018 Summary and Observations

March was largely free of major events, and we spent the month at home.

The averages for this month:

  • Lunch prepared at home $2.40 ($2.20 in Feb)
  • Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $6.77 ($5.95)
  • Dinner eaten at home: $5.81 ($5.11)
  • Dinner eaten out: $15.20  ($11.04)

The averages are fairly consistent with previous months, with some averages slightly higher, some lower. There has been a slow trend for our evening meals to be a little less expensive on average.

Our most expensive meal was the night at Gordon Biersch at around $17.92 per serve. Our most expensive at home meal was the Rib Eye with Roast Kabocha Squash and Buttered Balsamic Mushrooms at $12.84.

Lunches at home cost 21% of the cost of eating food prepared outside the home, while dinners at home cost 45% the average of dinner out this month.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $308.07 per person in March. We actually spent $39.99 for lunches at home plus $119.67 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $159.66 in total.

Had we purchased every evening meal out and prepared none at home, it would have cost us $381.30. We actually spent $160.29 for dinners at home and $24.59 for dinners out: $184.88 in total.

We saved $344.83 by preparing and eating most meals at home, plus we have better control over what we eat.

Over the month we prepared 28 different recipes for evening meals.

Mar 31: Quesadilla; Sous Vide Shrimp with Vietnamese Salad and Black Rice

Lunch

Instead of toasted sandwiches, we decided to create a quesadilla.

  • The flatbreads add 50c per 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 was pretty good for $1.26 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to prepare some souse vidé shrimp to serve with the Vietnamese salad we had left over. Some black rice rounded out the meal.

  • The shrimp was $7.99 for the pack, and we used half, or $2.00 per serve
  • The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 1/4 for two serves, or 50c per serve
  • The remainder of the organic green cabbage was  63c per serve
  • Carrot adds 30c per serve
  • Salad seasonings add 20c
  • Mint came from our garden
  • Black rice adds 44c per serve.

The shrimp were perfectly cooked and had good flavor from the butter and chili garlic paste, although we felt we could do more of the chili. The salad and rice were good accompaniments. A good meal for $4.07 per serve.

Mar 30: Avocado & Sardine Toasted Sandwiches; Smoked Trout Cobb-style Salad

Lunch

We each had an avocado and sardine sandwich.

  • Skinless, boneless sardines in water are $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • The avocado was 50c or 25c per serve
  • Add 25c for butter.

It’s a decent sandwich for $1.82 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to repeat the Smoked Trout Cobb Salad using the full fillets from Trader Joe’s rather than canned smoked trout. We also decided to drop the bacon from the meal.

  • The rainbow trout fillets are $7.49 or $3.75 per serve
  • A pastured egg is 50c
  • We substituted semi-dried tomatoes – about ⅓ each of the $2.79 of tomatoes we dehydrated, or 93c per serve
  • Spinach is $1.99and we used 1/8 or 13c per serve
  • The avocado was $2.99 for a bag of five or 60c per serve
  • The burrata was $4.99 for two, or $2.50 per serve.

Tonight’s Cobb Salad was still the best Cobb variation we’ve had for $8.41 per serve.

Mar 29: Skirt Steak Sandwich, Potato Sandwich; Top Sirloin with Satay Sauce and Vietnamese Salad

Lunch

For lunch we harvested the bounty of leftovers from just one of yesterday’s lunches from The Country Deli: steak and potatoes. This after also sending our guest – the originator of the leftovers – away with a skirt steak and semi-dried tomato sandwich.

  • Two slices of rye bread are 32c
  • The skirt steak and potato were paid for as part of yesterday’s lunch, so have no additional cost
  • Add 20c for butter.

Lunch today was a good toasted steak sandwich, which reheated the meat nicely, for only 52c per serve!

Dinner

Once again our “Thursday night steak night” was our deconstructed satay: grilled top sirloin with satay sauce and a Vietnamese inspired slaw.

  • The top sirloin from the Prather Ranch delivery was $11.99 or $6.00 per serve
  • The peanut butter was $3.99 and we used about 1/8,  or 25c a serve
  • Other seasonings in the satay sauce add 35c per serve
  • The remainder of the organic green cabbage was  63c per serve
  • Carrot adds 30c per serve
  • Salad seasonings add 20c
  • Mint came from our garden.

Even though thin, the steaks were perfectly cooked, the satay sauce bought umami, sour and salt to the party and the black rice was a nutty carrier for the other flavors. The Vietnamese/Thai inspired salad contrasted with a sharp sour, but fresh, bite.  A good meal for $7.73 per serve.

Mar 28: The Country Deli; Pizza

Lunch

Having picked up a friend from the train, we headed straight to The Country Deli, where Foodie Philip had his usual steak – as did our guest – and Foodie Greg had a French Dip.

Lunch at The Country Deli runs $21.62 per person (average) with tax and tip.

Dinner

Our monthly LACPUG meeting followed by pizza. We each contribute to the meal, and for our group of three we  contributed $6.67 per serve.

Mar 27: Cheese and Tomato Toasted Sandwich; Split Pea Soup

Lunch

A simple lunch of toasted tomato, cheese and mayo sandwich. Sometimes a classic is a classic for good reason.

  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • Half a heirloom tomato works out at 48c per serve
  • Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve
  • Add 20c for mayo.

Lunch today was good because the ingredients were good, for $1.17 per serve.

Dinner

A simple meal that we’d been planning to have for a couple of days, but got sidetracked because of work pressures and consistently ran out of time. Well tonight we managed it.

  • The stock has no real cost
  • The pack of split peas was $1.59 or 27c per serve
  • The frozen peas is 99c a pack, or 16c per serve.

For dinner tonight the soup cost 43c per serve. We chose not to do a roll or bread with the soup as it is very filling on its own.

Mar 26: Avocado & Smoked Trout; Roasted Potatoes with Peppers and Onion and Fried Eggs

Lunch

We’ve become fans of the smoked trout. Since avocado and a can of smoked trout provide enough for two sandwiches, it was two – delicious – sandwiches the same.

  • Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
  • The avocado was 50c or 25c per serve
  • The smoked trout is $3.49 per can or $1.75 per serve
  • Add 25c for butter.

The smoked trout on avocado is a great combination for $2.57 per serve.

Dinner

We had planned on split pea soup, but time got away with us, so a quick meal, on the table fast was called for. We had a pack of Trader Joe’s Roasted Potatoes with Peppers and Onion, which we prepared and topped with a fried egg (or two).

  • The roast potato mix was $2.99 or $1.50 per serve
  • The pastured eggs are 50c each: Greg had one, Philip two.

We felt the roast potato mix was disappointing. Prepared to instructions it was not at all crispy (although we could have gone longer) and it was almost entirely potato. Not terrible, but slightly disappointing for $2.00 per serve.