The semiSerious Foodies

Lunch

For lunch we finished the Popeye’s Fried Chicken, cold, with the remaining Mango Sriracha Slaw from last night.

• 11 Piece Special is $16.41 with tax – $1.49 per chicken piece – or $2.98 per serve
• The Mango Sriracha Slaw kit was $2.99 and this is the last of four serves, or 75c per serve.

Lunch was pretty good for $3.70 per serve.

Dinner

Thursday night is traditionally our “steak” night and tonight we had dry aged Rib Eye from our Keller Crafted meat box. We grilled it rare and served with a bed of Spinach topped with Blue Cheese, Truffled Almonds and Pomegranate Seeds.

• At 10 oz the rib eye is $8.22 per serve
  
• Truffled Almonds are $5.99 for the packet and we used about half, or $1.50 per serve
• Organic Spinach was $1.99 and we used about ¼ or 25c per serve
• Pomegranate Seeds were $4.49 and we used half, or $1.12 per serve
• Crumbled Blue Cheese was $3.49 and we used ¼ or 44c per serve.

A great steak perfectly cooked and served with an interesting and tasty salad is hard to beat! The Truffled Almonds played well with the funkiness of the Blue Cheese. A very enjoyable meal for $11.53 per serve.

For those interested in the photography: due to a flat battery in my regular camera, a Sony RX-10, I reverted to an iPhone 8+ with the same lighting setup. I love the convenience of the iPhone camera but it does not stack up well against the Sony.

July was a very normal month with only two evenings not at home.

The averages for this month:

• Lunch prepared at home $2.32 ($2.73 in June)
• Lunch eaten or purchased outside the home: $10.32 ($10.10)
• Dinner eaten at home: $5.38 ($4.77)
• Dinner eaten out: $14.33 ($10.24).

Our lunches at home average in a fairly narrow band and this month is only a few cents per serve down from last month.

We ate ten meals prepared outside the home (mostly take out for lunch). Our most expensive meal for the month was lunch at The Country Deli.

Our most expensive at home meal was the Souse Vidé and Grilled Pork Chops with Mango Avocado Salad at $13.52 per serve per serve. Even taking that into account our evening meals are toward the low end of “normal” range.

This month, lunches at home cost 23% of the cost of eating food prepared outside the home.

Had we purchased every lunch and prepared none it would have cost us $319.92 per person in May. We actually spent $48.69 for lunches at home plus $82.52 for lunches purchased or eaten out:  $131.21 in total.

Had we purchased every evening meal out and prepared none at home, it would have cost us $444.23 per person. We actually spent $150.77 for dinners at home and $28.65 for dinners out, or $179.42 in total.

This month’s savings from preparing most of our food at home is $453.55 and we had a lot more control over what we eat.

Over the month we prepared 21 different recipes for evening meals.

Lunch

One sandwich we know we’ll like – the Cheddar & Kumato – and an experiment – the Smoked Tuna and Sprouts.

• Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• The Smoked Tuna is on special for $1.00 or 50c per serve
  
• The sprouts cost $1.99 and we shared about 1/8 or 6c per serve
• The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 45c per serve
  
• Five Kumato were $3.49 and we each had one, or 35c per serve
• Add 10c for Garlic Spread.

We enjoyed both sandwiches for $2.62 per serve.

Dinner

For dinner we reheated the remaining pork from the Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Bowl, and served on top of brown rice along with a Mango Sriracha Slaw.

• The Caramelized Pork is $2.59 per serve
• The Mango Sriracha Slaw kit was $2.99 and we’ll get four serves, or 75c per serve
• Brown rice is 33c per serve
• Add 10c for soy.

This combination worked very well. The slaw was interesting with just a little heat, but it bought wetness to the dish that went well with the rice and meat. An enjoyable meal for $3.77 per serve.

Lunch

Foodie Philip stopped in at a convenient Popeye’s on the way home from Burbank.

• 11 Piece Special is $16.41 with tax – $1.49 per chicken piece – or $2.98 per serve
• Red Beans and Rice is $4.36 with tax or $2.18 per serve.

We like fried chicken for $5.16 per serve.

Dinner

Among our meat box is always “beef for Fajita” or other stir fry. We never do Fajitas, but tonight we used the beef in a Beef and Mushroom Stir Fry, which we served on steamed Bok Choy.

• 1 lb of Keller Crafted ground beef is $8.25 or $2.75 per serve
• Sliced Portabella Mushrooms were $2.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The Bok Choy were $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Add 30c per serve for seasoning.

A flavorsome stir fry for $5.05 per serve.

Lunch

As well as a fairly conventional Turkey Breast, Sun-dried Tomato Paste and Swiss Cheese, we used a final half eggplant and paired it with Peanut Butter for an unusual, but good, sandwich.

• Daves’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• Swiss slices are 12 for $3.99 or 16c per serve
• The turkey is $3.49 and we shared ⅓ or 58c per serve
• Add 20c for Sun Dried Tomato Spread
• The Eggplant has already been accounted for
• The peanut butter was $1.99 and we used about 1/8,  or 13c a serve
• Add 20c for garlic spread.

The Eggplant and Peanut Butter was unusual but good. Both sandwiches account for $1.93 per serve.

Dinner

Because it was a hot night we returned to a favorite: Nigella Lawson’s Watermelon Salad, although tonight we dropped the black olives and, sadly, our supply of pickled onion was “off” so it was very much a simplified version.

• The watermelon was $2.99, or $1.00 per serve
• The feta is $6.49 for 10.5 oz and we shared 1/2 or $1.63 per serve
• Mint came from our garden
• Limes were $1.95 or 98c per serve
• Olive oil and seasonings add another 20c per serve.

Simplified, but still good for $3.71 per serve.

Lunch

A trip to Jon’s always results in a BBQ Chicken, Heirloom Tomato and fresh Baguette. Add some garlic spread and it’s a great meal.

• The Chicken is $6.99 and we shared a breast, or 88c per serve
• The Baguette is $2.79 and we shared half, or 70c per serve
• The Heirloom Tomato was $1.56 or 78c per serve
• Add 20c per serve for garlic spread.

As always great ingredients make for a great sandwich and this is a good one for $2.56 per serve.

Dinner

We struggle on how to best use our ground pork that comes as part of our Keller Crafted meat box. One of our favorite ways to use it is as a Caramelized Pork Bowl

• The ground pork was $8.35 and we’ll get four serves from that, or $2.09 per serve
• Add 40c for ginger, shallot, garlic and chili, etc
  
• Add 10c for grated carrot
• Soba noodles add 40c per serve .

The wet and spicy sprouts are a perfect balance for the spicy meat mix to create a great meal for $2.99 per serve.

Lunch

Today’s sandwiches used up the remaining Heirloom Tomato and finished our current supply of Old Crock Cheddar. The Smoked Tuna pouch paired well with the sprouts adding some crunch.

• The Tuna pouch was on special for $1.00 or 50c per serve
• The Dave’s Killer Bread is 66c per serve
• The Heirloom Tomato was $1.92 and we used the remaining half, or 48c per serve
• The sprouts cost $1.99 and we shared about 1/8 or 6c per serve
  
• The Old Crock cheddar was $5.45 or 45c per serve
• Add 30c for the Garlic Spread.

Each sandwich had it’s own flavor and it’s good to sample two sandwiches at lunch, for $2.45 per serve.

Dinner

A simple weekend dinner using the BBQ Chicken Legs and serving it with a Roast Garlic Chopped Salad kit.

• The Chicken Leg (thigh and drumstick) is $1.75 per serve
• The Salad Kit was $3.99 or $1.00 per serve
• Add 30c for Garlic Spread.

The salad had a flavorsome dressing with crouton dust that provided a textural change. The Garlic Spread really enhances the chicken – think Zankou Chicken – and elevated the meal for $3.05 per serve.

Lunch

A trip to Jon’s always results in a BBQ Chicken, Baguette and Heirloom tomato that we enhance with Garlic Spread.

• The Baguette was $2.79 and we each had ¼, or 70c per serve
• The Chicken was $6.99 and we shared a breast, or 88c per serve
• The Heirloom Tomato was $1.92 and we used half, or 48c
• Add 20c for Garlic Spread.

An excellent lunch for $2.26 per serve.

Dinner

Sticking with the ‘fishy Friday’ theme tonight was a return to the Baked Cod with Beans and Olives recipe.

• The beans were $1.00 per can or 50c per serve
• The cod fillets were six for $6.47 or $2.23 per serve
• The olives come in a $4.49 jar, and we used half, or $1.25 per serve
• The lemons were $1.78 or 89c per serve
• Add 30c per serve for seasoning and oil
• We served with the rest of the Baguette at 70c per serve.

Largely because of the olives and lemon, this gets Foodie Greg’s approval because it doesn’t taste strongly of fish. A decent meal for $5.87 per serve.

Lunch

As we were nearly out of bread we had open faced sandwiches of Trader Joe’s Chicken Curry, which was great.

• Dave’s Killer bread is 33c for a single slice
• The Curry Chicken Salad is $4.49 and we shared ⅔ or $1.50 per serve.

The bread was more a convenient serving device but the meal was good for $1.83 per serve.

Dinner

Grilled Lamb Loin Chops with a Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Salad feels like a perfect summer evening meal.

• The Lamb Loin Chops were $15.51 or $7.76 per serve
• Tomatoes were $2.79 and we shared about half, or 70c per serve
• The Persian Cucumber was 88c or 44c per serve
• Mint was $1.79 and we used ¼ or 23c per serve
• The olives come in a $4.49 jar, and we used half, or $1.25 per serve
• Add 30c for dressing ingredients.

An excellent salad made a perfect accompaniment to the grilled lamb chops, for $10.68 per serve.