Category: Daily recipe

Lunch

As we were still climbing out of an unseasonably gloomy period our days have not been warm, so heating up some Trader Joe’s meat pies for lunch not only gave us a hot lunch, but contributed to warming the room as well.

Foodie Philip had the Steak and Stout while Greg had the Balti Chicken. Each pie is $3.25.

Dinner

We didn’t grill this Thursday night because the deck is being refurbished for summer, but we enjoyed pan seared pork chops with an apple endive salad.

• The Keller Crafted pork chops were $11.39 or $5.70 per serve
• The Envy apple was 86c or 23c per serve
• The endive was $2.27 or $1.14 per serve
• Add 20c for dressing ingredients
• Add 40c for nuts.

An excellent pork chop with a salad that perfectly pairs the sweet crispness of the apple with the bitter endive. A great meal for $7.67 per serve.

Lunch

Before lunch we were shopping at Jon’s supermarket and picked up a fresh (still warm) baguette, fresh roast chicken and a couple of heirloom tomatoes, so that’s exactly what we had for lunch!

• The chicken was only $5.99 and we shared one breast, or 75c per serve
• The baguette was $2.79 and we had 1/4 each, or 70c per serve
• Two heirloom tomatoes were $3.47 and we used 1/2 of one, or 87c per serve
• Add 25c per serve for mayo.

When all the ingredients are first rate, the result of even a simple meal is very good. This one was great for $2.57 per serve.

Dinner

After the success with the Massaman curry paste, we ordered a variety pack of four flavors (including one Massaman), which arrived this afternoon so we decided to deploy the Penang curry with some ground pork and roast kabocha squash. The recipe made four serves.

Expecting the curry to be thin like a Massaman we kept some baguette for dipping!

• The curry paste was $2.29 for the can, or 56c per serve
• The ground pork, from our meat delivery, was $8.42 or $2.10 per serve
• The kabocha squash was $4.36 and we used half in the curry, or 55c per serve
• Coconut milk was $1.89 or 47c per serve
• Add 20c per serve for other ingredients
• Add 70c for the baguette.

A decent curry for $4.58 per serve. Perhaps we went a little too untraditional and didn’t do the Penang justice, but our curry preference remains Massaman!

Lunch

We returned to the classic “baked beans and cheese” waffle, but with giant baked beans and Swiss cheese and a generous spread of the Garlic dip/spread we’ve been enjoying lately.

The garlic dip provided just the spicy edge this sandwich needs to elevate it.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• Trader Joes Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce cost $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve
• Add 45c for butter and garlic dip.

This was a great sandwich for $1.94 per serve.

Dinner

As we still had “meat for fajita” in the freezer we returned to a favorite: Stir-Fried Beef With Snap Peas and Oyster Sauce with brown rice.

• The ‘fajita’ beef cost $14.41 for a full pound of beef, or $7.21 per very generous serve
• Snow peas add $1.00 per serve
• Bok Choy added 46c per serve
• The various sauce and marinade ingredients add $1.00 per serve
• Brown rice is 33c per serve.

The stir fry is a good weeknight meal, for $10.00, mostly because we get all our beef aged from Prather Ranch, which is definitely more expensive than conventionally sourced beef.

Lunch

When we grilled the extra asparagus last week, we planned on using it in a frittata, which we finally did today, with a little feta on top.

• Two eggs per serve are $1.00
• The asparagus was $5.14 but we used the remaining half, or $1.30 per serve
• The feta is $6.49 for 10.5 oz and we shared 1/4 or 81c per serve
• Add 30c for cream.

Today’s frittata was very tasty for $3.41 per serve.

Dinner

We’ve definitely enjoyed our steak and satay sauce over recent months, so we decided to do a vegetarian version using eggplant instead of steak, but marinating it the same way and using the same satay sauce.

The eggplant took up a lot of the marinade, which gave it great flavor, although no smokiness as there is no fat to burn on the grill. The satay sauce was a perfect accompaniment, as usual.

• The eggplant cost $1.03 or 52c 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
• Add 50c for marinade ingredients
• 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.

We enjoyed the eggplant version as much as the steak, especially as it’s a lot less expensive at $2.75 per serve, with the Vietnamese inspired salad.

Lunch

We decided to repeat yesterdays’ pastrami, garlic spread and tabouli, but make a pseudo Rueben with pastrami, creating our own sauce with a mix of mayo and shrimp sauce.

• The pastrami was $12.73 for .98 lb and we used 2 oz per sandwich, or $1.63 per serve
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• The Tabouli is $2.69 and we put about 2 oz on the sandwich, or 33c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve
• Add 40c for garlic spread.

Two good pastrami sandwiches for $2.85 per serve.

Dinner

We decided to prepare 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 served half of the $2.79 of tomatoes we dehydrated, or 70c 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 four and we used only one each, or $1.25 per serve.

Tonight’s Cobb Salad was still the best Cobb variation we’ve had for $6.93 per serve.

Lunch

After discovering that the pastrami we liked on yesterday’s bagel was Boars Head, we picked up some from our local supermarket and made toasted sandwiches with the garlic spread, pastrami and tabouli.

• The pastrami was $12.73 for .98 lb and we used 2 oz per sandwich, or $1.63 per sandwich
• Sprouted Rye bread is 32c per serve
• The Tabouli is $2.69 and we put about 2 oz per sandwich, or 67c per serve
• Add 40c for garlic spread.

The garlic spread adds a tangy edge to the sandwich which enhanced the tabouli and melded well with the pastrami for $3.02 per serve

Dinner

A new recipe – Shrimp and Andouille Étouffée – build on a dark roux it wasn’t as flavorsome as we felt it should be.

• The andouille sausage was $7.98 or $3.99 per serve
• The shrimp was $7.99 for the pack, and we used half, or $2.00 per serve
• The yellow bell pepper was $1.19 or 60c per serve
• The orange bell pepper was $1.19 or 60c per serve
• Organic celery was $1.55 and we used half or 39c
• The butter is $3.99 per block, and we used about 1/4 for two serves, or 50c per serve
• Add 30c for flour and seasonings
• Add 33c for brown rice.

Dinner tonight was okay, but for the effort really should have had more flavor. Overall, slight disappointing for $8.71 per serve.

Lunch

As we were out, we decided to try a Western Bagel, something we haven’t had since we lived in West Hills. We share a tuna salad on pumpernickel and a pastrami on pumpernickel for $7.50 each. They were both good sandwiches.

Dinner

Our meat delivery – now Keller Crafted after a name change – included some pork filets that make great stir fry. Combine with red curry paste, bell pepper and sugar snap peas and we have a great meal.

• The pork was $15.11 or $7.56 per serve
• The organic yellow bell pepper was $1.72 or 86c per serve
• The sugar snap peas were $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
• Add 25c for seasoning
• Add 33c for rice.

A filling and tasty meal for $10.25 per serve.

Lunch

Today we toasted two identical sandwiches stuffed with “buffalo” chicken breast, moon touched tomatoes and Swiss cheese. With a little smear of the garlic spread it made a really tasty sandwich.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• Tomatoes  add 40c per serve
• The chicken breast is $5.99 for 8 oz and we shared 4 oz or $1.50 per serve
• Add 45c for butter and garlic dip.

A tasty toasty for $2.67 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner we picked a New York Strip Steak from our meat delivery and paired it with grilled asparagus and crash hot potatoes.

• The steak was $19.97 or $9.99 per serve
• The asparagus was $5.14 but we used just under half, or $1.25 per serve
• The purple potatoes were $2.99 or $1.50 per serve.

A great steak, perfect potatoes and exceptionally good asparagus for $12.74 per serve!