Author: Philip

Lunch

We had left over pulled pork to use, so we finished cooking some par-baked rolls and stuffed them with pork with just a few pickled onion shards for crunch.

• Par-baked roll is 63c
• The pork shoulder chop cost $10.97 and we’ll get four serves, or $2.74 per serve
• Add 5c for the civiché onion.

You can’t go past a pulled pork sandwich, and this is a great one for $3.42 each.

Dinner

In freezer clean-out mode, and because we’re focused on a deadline, we settled for Trader Joe’s Steak and Stout pies, with an Australian-style salad: iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickled beetroot and cheddar.

• Trader Joe’s Steak and Stout pies are $6.49 for two or $3.25 per serve
• The cheddar was $4.41 but only used half or $1.10 per serve
• The beets in vinaigrette were $1.69 and we used about 1/3 or 28c per serve
• The lettuce was 99c and we used about half tonight, or 17c per serve.
• Tomatoes were $2.99 and we used about half, or 50c per serve.

Dinner tonight was tasty enough for a meal prepared in a hurry, and cost $5.30 a serve.

 

Lunch

You can’t make just one sardine and avocado sandwich, so we each had one.

• An avocado is $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Sardines in spring water are $1.99 per can, or $1.00 per serve
• Two slices of bread are 39c.

Lunch today was pretty good – it’s an Alton Brown favorite – for $2.39 per serve.

Dinner

A pork shoulder cut “chop” was the starting point to see if we could make pulled pork from such a small piece of meat. We can and it turned out as well as a pork shoulder for pulled pork.

We served it on a bed of steamed lentils with the remaining Sweet Kale Salad.

• The pork shoulder chop cost $10.97 and we’ll get four serves, or $2.74 per serve
• The salad was $2.99 but we used only half, or 75c per serve
• Steamed lentils are $2.99 for the pouch at Trader Joe’s and we used half, or 75c per serve.

You really can’t go wrong with pulled pork! The lentils captured the flavorsome liquid from the pulled pork and the salad was a fresh, crisp accompaniment. Not bad for $4.24 per serve.

Lunch

On our way back from a hardware store trip, Foodie Philip had the marinated skirt steak with eggs and home fries, while Greg had the Pastrami on Rye with fries, although half the sandwich was retained for dinner.

Lunch cost an average of $21.52 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A fried chicken thigh, with a Sweet Kale salad kit made a very quick and easy dinner.

• The chicken thigh is 1/10 of the pack or $1.53 per serve
• The salad was $2.99 but we used only half, or 75c per serve
• The brown rice, beans and corn was 95c per serve and we shared less than one full serve, or 48c per serve.

Dinner tonight wasn’t bad, especially when you consider it was only $2.76 per serve.

Lunch

We decided to move the lettuce cup to a Kaiser roll and make a loose meat ‘burger’ with tomato, pickled beetroot and cheese. It turned out surprisingly well, with a lot of flavor from the ground beef.

• The Kaiser roll is 50c each
• The beef was $9.91 but we less than half of a half, or $1.24 per serve
• A shared tomato is 30c
• Lettuce is 20c per serve
• The baby peeled beets were $1.99, or 35c per serve
• 12 slices of yoghurt cheese are $4.79 or 40c per serve.

Lunch today was a really tasty burger for $2.99 per serve.

Dinner

Sockeye salmon on a bed of asparagus cooked in a mustard cream sauce  “en papillote” (or in a paper parcel). This is a tasty meal but takes longer than expected to cook because of the foil barrier. We served on

• Generous sockeye salmon fillets were $8.63 or $4.31 per serve
• Asparagus spears were $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• Cream was $2.49 for a pint, or 42c per serve
• Mustard adds 40c per serve
• Steamed lentils are $2.99 for the pouch at Trader Joe’s and we used half, or 75c per serve.

Although slow to cook, this is a great way to prepare salmon for $7.88 per serve.

 

Lunch

Driving back from Santa Monica we stopped and picked up some supermarket sushi, which was pretty good for $9.69 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to pull two bone-in pork chops from our Prather Ranch supply. We brined them and then grilled them to a perfect medium rare on our outside grill.

We served with a Trader Joe’s pre-mixed Riced Cauliflower Stir Fry which Foodie Greg really like, but Philip was ambivalent about.

• The pork chops averages $10.39 per 12oz serve
• The stir fry was $2.99 or $1.50 per serve.

Tonight’s pork chops were exceptionally good, because Prather Ranch sources heritage breed pork, which is nicely marbled with fat. The meal was $11.89 per serve and worth every penny.

Lunch

Philip was heading back around lunch time so he collected some Popeye’s Fried Chicken on the way, which we enjoyed.

A trip back from a class in Burbank came directly past a Popeye’s, so what were we to do?

• 10 pieces of dark and spicy chicken is $15.25 or $3.05 a serve with tax
• Half the Large Red Beans and Rice is $2.17 with tax, per serve.

Lunch today cost $5.22 per serve.

Dinner

Another in Greg’s series of experiments with lettuce cups. This time a dry fried ground beef with the Mexican rice from September 4.

• The beef was $9.91 but we used less than half, or $2.48 per serve
• The brown rice, beans and corn was 95c per serve and we shared less than one full serve, or 48c per serve
• Lettuce is 20c per serve
• Cotija cheese is $3.99 for 8oz and we shared 2oz or 50c per serve.

Tonight’s dryer ingredients worked much better in the lettuce cup. The beef and rice were tasty, but the finely grated cotija cheese really made the dish great, for $3.66 per serve.

Lunch

As our regular wraps are – again – out of stock, we tried some Fold-it flatbread from the same company. We don’t know what the intent is with these fold its but they are terrible.

• The Fold it cost $3.99 for a pack of six, and we needed two for a serve, or $1.33
• The pastrami beef was $4.99 for 8 oz, and we used about 3 oz in this sandwich, or 94c per serve
• Add 25c for spicy labné
• The salad kit cost $3.00 and we served the remaining 1/3 or 50c per serve.

Lunch today was – at best – average for $3.02 per serve.

Dinner

With beef chuck steak in the freezer, a stew seemed like a good idea so Greg settled on the All American Beef Stew. It was initially prepared the day ahead so it had time to meld overnight.

We cut back on the beef and upped the mushroom component, but it still was not the umami bomb we were expecting. It was good, but not “amazing.”

• The beef chuck steak was $6.83 or $3.42 per serve
• Stock, gelatin, tomato paste etc adds 85c per serve
• Oyster mushrooms add $2.79 or $1.40 per serve
• Baby portobello mushrooms are $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• Carrot adds 50c per serve
• Add 50c for other ingredients.

Dinner tonight cost $8.67 per serve. It was good without being great.

Lunch

While it wasn’t a normal Burbank Monday, we headed off to In and Out where Philip had a Double Double, while Greg had a regular cheeseburger. Double Double is $4.26 per serve.

Dinner

Greg created a rice bowl with corn and black beans, to serve with shrimp cooked in the cold tomato sauce of a few nights ago.

• 1 lb of shrimp is $6.99 (on special), but we only used half, or $1.75 per serve
• Brown rice adds 33c per serve
• Black beans come in a 99c can, or 25c per serve
• The fire roasted corn is $2.49 per pound but we used half, or 37c per serve
• The heirloom tomato sauce cost 79c per serve.

Dinner tonight cost $3.49. The tomato sauce was perfect on the shrimp as it provided a lot of subtle flavor that didn’t dominate.

Lunch

Since we still had a hamburger bun and a remaining portobello mushroom we grilled the mushroom and made a simple burger with some caramelized onion and regular labné. The other sandwich was a corned beef, tabouli and spicy labné.

• Hamburger rolls are $1.88 for 8 or 12c per serve
• One slice of bread is 16c per serve
• The pastrami beef was $4.99 for 8 oz, and we used about 3 oz in this sandwich, or 94c per serve
• We served 1/4 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve
• Add 25c for spicy labné
• Add 20 for regular labné.

Even without the bacon and brie, half a mushroom burger was still very good, while the other sandwich is always good, for $2.24 per serve.

Dinner

A slightly (very slight) cooling and we decided to pull our frozen lamb pies (Bronzed Aussie) from the fridge and heat them up. We served with a spinach, toasted quinoa, smokey bacon and blue cheese salad kit.

• The salad kit cost $3.00 and we served 2/3 or $1.00 per serve
• The lamb pie is $9.90 per serve.

A slightly expensive meal for $10.90 per serve. The pie was – as always – exceptionally good, but we felt the salad was lessened by an overly aggressive dressing that tended to dominate the meal.