The semiSerious Foodies

Lunch

We thought about burritos for lunch, but a Bahn Mi is only 2 more minutes away, and we like them a whole lot more, so Pork Bahn Mi for lunch at $8.50 per serve.

Dinner

The best way to enjoy sauerkraut is definitely in a Choucroute Garnie: sauerkraut, potatoes, carrot slow simmered with your choice of porky products. We paired it with Trader Joe’s Oktoberfest Bratwurst and prepared Pork Belly, two more pork products for our ‘day of pork.’

The recipe makes four portions.

• The bratwurst are $3.49 for the pack, or 87c per serve
• The Pork Belly is $6.49 or $1.63 per serve
• The sauerkraut is $2.99 a pack or 75c per serve
• The carrots were 50c or 13c per serve
• Potatoes add 53c per serve
• The onion, garlic, bay leaf and juniper berries add another 26c per serve
• White wine adds another 54c per serve.

Dinner tonight was tasty, warming and filling for just $4.71 per serve.

Lunch

A trip to Jon’s Market always results in a BBQ chicken (because they have the best) and a baguette. Today we also were able to get heirloom tomatoes for a ridiculous $1.50 per pound: cheaper than regular! We added some grated carrot and watercress for a more interesting sandwich.

• The chicken is $6.99 and we shared a breast or 88c per serve
• Three heirloom tomatoes were $2.87 and we shared half of one, or 48c per serve
• Watercress was 79c for the bunch and we used 1/4 or 10c per serve
• The baguette is $2.79 and we shared half for lunch, or 70c per serve
• Add 10c for grated carrot
• Add 20c for mayo.

The basic sandwich is a favorite and the extra ingredients added a little more depth for $2.46 per serve.

Dinner

Massaman Curry is a staple in cold weather because it is so rich and filling. Tonight we dropped the potato from the recipe and served without rice, as we had fresh baguette to dip in the delicious broth!

Beef Sirloin steak still in the freezer from our meat delivery and while  beef massaman curry isn’t a conventional use, it works well. We use a curry base we buy from Amazon for this simple, quick meal for two.

• The top sirloin steak was $13.43 or $6.72 per serve
• The curry is $3.38 per can or $1.69 per serve
• Coconut milk is $1.69 per can or 85c per serve
• Peanuts were $2.99 but we only used half, or 75c per serve
• Peal onion adds 20c per serve
• Carrots add 15c per serve
• The baguette is $2.79 and we shared half for lunch, or 70c per serve.

Tonight’s dinner was $11.06 per serve and very tasty, as always.

Lunch

Now that the ham is gone, it’s on to finding new lunch ideas. Today we took Trader Joe’s Gyro slices, heated them in the panini press and combined with hummus and tabouli on a wholemeal wrap. Yum.

• The fully cooked sliced gyro/yeros meat is $3.99 per 10oz pack. There are really four serves, so $1.00 per serve.
• The flatbread is 50c per serve
• Hummus is $3.99 per container and we used about 1/6 or 33c per serve
• We served 1/2 of the tabouli salad or 67c per serve.

Lunch today was tasty, filling and only $2.50 per serve.

Dinner

A long time favorite has been a salmon chowder, but tonight we tried a smokey fish version using smoked trout, that we now think is better than the salmon version!

We prepared half the recipe so we used both serves tonight.

• The rainbow trout fillets are $7.49 or $3.75 per serve
• Three slices of bacon are $$2.05 or $1.03 per serve
• Onion, leek and celery add 35c per serve
• The clam juice was $3.39 and we used ⅓ or 57c per serve
• The organic red potatoes were $1.25 or 63c per serve
• Heavy cream was $1.79 and we used half or 45c per serve.

We really liked this chowder. The smoked trout carries more flavor than salmon or canned fish and made a great meal for $6.78. Foodie Philip added a rustic roll for 63c more, but it was really too much and unnecessary.

Lunch

The very last of our ham went into another toasted ham, spreadable brie and watercress sandwich that we paired with a pastrami & Swiss sandwich. Both were good, as usual.

• Two slices of bread are 32c per serve
• Ham is 4c and ounce, and we probably had an ounce each, or 4c per serve
• Watercress was 79c for the bunch and we used 1/4 or 10c per serve
• The brie was $6.49 and used 1/3 or $1.08 per serve
• The pastrami was $6.96 for 16 oz and we used two, or 44c per serve
• Gouda slices are 12 for $3.99 or 17c per serve.

Lunch today was two good sandwiches for $2.15 per serve.

Dinner

Sometimes you need a meal on the table with minimum fuss, but you don’t want to compromise on flavor. Tonight was such a night and this dish comes together really quickly.

We’ve had Trader Joe’s Pork and Shrimp gyoza in the past, and thought them very good, but tonight’s vegetarian version were even better. The ginger miso broth also comes prepared from Trader Joe’s, with the egg adding a little protein.

• The Miso Ginger broth was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
• The gyoza were $3.99 and, or $2.00 per serve
• Add 20c for seasonings.
• A pastured egg is 50c.

Tonight’s meal was excellent. Really tasty and full of Thai flavors for $3.70 per serve, and on the table in about 20 minutes.

Lunch

Because it’s Sunday we made an extra effort for lunch, doing scrambled eggs with the remaining grill asparagus and smoke salmon. Yum!

• Two eggs are 55c each or $1.10 per serve
• The smoked salmon was $6.49 or $3.25 per serve
•  The remaining asparagus was 33c or 17c per serve
• A slice of toasted bread adds 16c.

Lunch was excellent and we got to enjoy our $4.68 lunch outside in the sun.

Dinner

Tonight was a new recipe: Skillet Pork Chops with Cabbage. It reminded us a lot of Choucroute Garnie, which is very similar but starts with sauerkraut instead of raw cabbage.

The recipe made two serves.

• The Prather Ranch pork chops were $11.24 for 12 oz or $5.62 per serve
• Shredded cabbage was $1.29 or 65c per serve
• The Granny Smith apple was 58c or 29c per serve
• Onion, garlic and seasoning add 15c per serve.

The pork chop was perfect, but the cabbage mix was disappointing. Choucroute Garnie has a lot more flavor from the cabbage we think it’s a lot better. Still, tonight’s meal was good for $6.71 per serve.

Lunch

We reheated the chicken and served with a Avocado Ranch Salad, and ate outside! California does Winter my way! The salad was uninspiring, but decent.

• The chicken is $2.98 per serve with tax
• The salad was $3.49 or $1.75 per serve.

Lunch today was reasonable for $4.73 per serve.

Dinner

Continuing our experiments with tostadas we decided to take the Mexican ‘chili’ from a couple of nights ago and serve on a tostada with avocado and some freshly chopped heirloom tomato. A dusting with cotija cheese completed the serve.

We had two each.

• The tostadas are 22 for $2.29 or 44c per serve
• Avocado was $3.49 for four and we shared one, or 44c per serve
• The tomato was $1.49 or 75c per serve
• The chili was $2.99 per serve, and we had half a serve each, or $1.50
• Cotija cheese is $3.99 for 8oz and we shared 1oz or 25c per serve.

The Mexican ‘chili’ was better served this way, with the avocado and tomato adding moisture the otherwise dry mix. We really enjoyed these for $3.48 per serve.

Lunch

I’ve raved about Pho Saigon 1’s Bahn Mi before. It was every bit as good today, for $8.50 per serve.

Dinner

Trying to decide what between asparagus and other choice for vegetable to go with tonight’s rib eye, Foodie Greg walked into the supermarket to discover a bundle of good, thick asparagus on special for 99c!

We had previously decided on an onion, blue cheese and cream sauce for the steak that we’d had before and enjoyed immensely.

• The .75 lb rib gave two good six ounce serves for $10.12 per serve
• We used ⅔ or the asparagus, or 33c per serve
• Heavy cream was $1.79 and we used half or 45c per serve
• An onion is 12c, or 6c per serve
• Blue cheese crumbles are $3.49 for the pack but we used about 1/3 or 75c per serve.

The steak was perfectly cooked. The asparagus had good smokey flavor from the grill and also cooked so it still had some ‘tooth’ but was not crunchy, and the cheese sauce was – as it always is – spectacular for such a simple sauce. While the dry aged beef from Prather Ranch puts the price up a bit, this was an exceptional meal for $11.71 per serve.

Lunch

Instead of toasted sandwiches, we finished baking a par baked rustic roll and filled it with spreadable Brie, Ham and Watercress.

• The rustic roll is 63c per serve
• Ham is 4c and ounce, and we probably had two ounces each, or 8c per serve
• Watercress was 79c for the bunch and we used 1/4 or 10c per serve
• The brie was $6.49 and used 1/3 or $1.08 per serve

Lunch today was two good sandwiches for $1.89 per serve.

Dinner

A new recipe for us – Lamb Meatloaf with Yoghurt Sauce – turned out to be a little disappointing for the amount of effort required in preparation. Despite what the recipe says, we got three serves, although we only had ⅔ of the amount of lamb.

We served with roasted cauliflower and tabouli.

• The ground lamb was $7.99 or $2.67 per serve
• An egg is 55c or 18c per serve
• The cauliflower florets were $2.29 or $1.15 per serve
• Add 50c per serve for the other ingredients
• Add 75c for the yoghurt dressing ingredients
• Tabouli is $2.69 for the tub, and we had 1/4 each, or 68c per serve.

As I said, the meatloaf was disappointing, but still made a decent meal with the rather good yoghurt dressing, for $5.33 per serve.