The semiSerious Foodies

Lunch

The Southwest Chopped Salad kit from Aldi was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve.

Dinner

A rare warm Winter evening was an opportunity to grill our Smoked Salmon Pizza and even eat outside!

• Sockeye Smoked Salmon Pieces are $5.49 and we use about 2/3, or $1.83 per serve
• The Pizza Dough was $1.29, or 65c per serve
• We used semi dried Cherry Tomatoes for 60c per serve
• About two ounces of Neufchatel went on each Pizza, or 25c per serve
• Add 30c for Capers and Shallot.

Now that we’ve perfected the crust this is a most enjoyable Pizza for $3.63 per serve.

Lunch

The Foodies were running an important errand around lunch time, so didn’t eat until snacking mid afternoon for about $1.00 each.

Dinner

A return to the Soutzoukakia with Dolma, Hummus and Tabouli. We get three serves from this recipe.

• Australian Ground lamb was $5.99 at Aldi or $2.00 per serve
• An egg is 51c or 17c per serve
• 8 oz Panko breadcrumbs are $2.99 and we used half, or 25c per serve
• Cotija cheese, substituting for Parmesan is $3.99 for 8oz and we shared 2 oz or 50c per serve
• 1/4 cup and a tablespoon of red wine – halved – is 34c per serve
• Parsley was $1.49 for the bunch, but we only used 1/4 or 13c per serve
• Fresh mint came from our garden
• Stuffed Eggplant Dolmas were $1.79 or 60c per serve
• The Tabouli is $2.99 and we served half, or 36c per serve
• Hummus is 55c per serve.

An excellent meal, as always, for $4.90 per serve.

Lunch

Since Foodie Philip scored another half boulle of homemade Sourdough Bread, we lightly toasted it, topped with Branston Pickle & Cheddars and served with Pickled Onion and Apple, a combination known as a Ploughman’s Lunch.

• The Sourdough Bread was free
• Branston Pickle adds about 40c per serve
• The Cheddar was from Aldi was $3.59 and we shared about half, or 90c per serve
• Apple adds 40c per serve
• Pickled onion adds 10c per serve.

An excellent lunch for $1.80 per serve.

Dinner

The Eggplant and Prosciutto Ragú was a new recipe for us, but it turned out really well and made four serves. We served it on top of Cauliflower Gnocchi.

• The Prosciutto was $4.99 or $1.25 per serve
• The Eggplant was $1.39 or 35c per serve
• Chipotle Chile adds 30c per serve
• Garlic and Onion add 10c per serve
• Parmesan adds 46c per serve
• Tomato Sauce adds 35c per serve
• Add 15c for other ingredients
• Cauliflower Gnocchi was $2.79 or $1.40 per serve.

This was an excellent dish. Intensely flavored it really hit the spot, for $4.36 per serve.

Lunch

For lunch we purchased Heuvos Rancheros from La Fiesta for $10.54 with tax and tip.

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was a repeat of the Duck l’orange, but served on Buttered Gnocchi with a side Salad.

• The Duck was $16.48 or $8.24 per serve
• The Christmas Gnocchi was $3.99 or $2.00 per serve
• The Orange and Lemon mix adds 30c per serve
• The Mixed Greens and Cherry Kumato add 50c per serve
• Add 30c for Butter for the sauce
• Add 35c for other ingredients.

A very satisfying and extremely tasty meal for $11.69 per serve. The sugars from the Citrus raised more caramelization on the Duck Skin that would be ideal, but it didn’t detract from the flavor at all.

Lunch

We finished the other half of the Hebrew Temptation for $3.14 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg found a 13 Bean Mix at Whole Foods, so we made it into soup using a stock made from a Ham Bone we had in the freezer.

• The Ham Bone was free
• Add 25c per serve for Bay Leaf, Carrot & Onion
• The 13 Bean Mix was $5.49 and we used half, or 69c per serve
• Half Brioche Bagel is 29c.

The Soup was excellent. Thanks to the rich Ham Stock, it had a great unctuousness. The Beans added flavor and a textural variety. Overall a really excellent soup for 94c, or $1.23 with the Bagel, per serve.

Lunch

Even though we had no errands nearby, we decided it had been long enough, so we drove down to New York Chicken and Gyro for one of our favorite lunches: the Lamb Gyro for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

A regular returns: Thai-Style Cod à la Nage although we used Bok Choy instead of Edamame.

• The cod fillets were six for $12.99 or $2.17 per serve
• Coconut milk was $1.89 or 95c per serve
• Limes were 68c or 34c per serve
• A Onion works out at 21c per serve
• Add 32c per serve for Baby Bell Peppers
• Add 55c per serve for fish sauce, garlic, chili, ginger and seasoning.

Always a tasty dish for $4.54 per serve.

Lunch

Today we had some prebaked Hebrew Temptation, otherwise known as Smokey Cheese and Pumpkin Slice. I told the story of how it became known as Hebrew Temptation earlier and the recipe is there too. It makes four generous serves.

• The bacon was $6.99 for 12 slices, and we used five, or 73c per serve
• Five pastured eggs at 48c each is $2.40 or 60c per serve
• A small bag of organic flour is $2.69 and we used about 1/3 or 23c per serve
• A Butternut Squash was $2.99 and we used half, or about 75c per serve
• The Smoked Gouda was $2.99 or 75c per serve.
• An onion adds 8c per serve.

While it might seem odd to have cake for lunch, because this is indeed a savory cake, it is great cold and was a fulfilling lunch for $3.14 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we were testing a NY Strip Steak from Aldi that was organic but not dry aged. It would be interesting to compare so we sous vide the Steak and finished with a sear in a hot pan, to treat it as close as we can to our previous supplier.

Served with a simple Asian Inspired Roast Cauliflower it was a pretty good meal.

• Two Strip Steaks in a single pack were $16.29, and shared one for $4.07 per serve
• The Cauliflower was $1.35, or 68c per serve
• Add 30c for other ingredients on the Cauliflower
• The Béarnaise sauce was $3.29 and we used about ⅓, or 55c per serve.

By way of comparison, each serve of this steak was 6oz for $4.07 per serve, while the dry aged NY Strip from Keller Crafted is a 5oz serve for $10.09 per serve! The Keller Crafted meat was definitely more tender, but these had all the flavor you’d expect, and were not tough. The Cauliflower turned out to be very tasty and a good companion to the Steak. Definitely a good meal for $5.60 per serve.

Lunch

We heated the remaining Beef & Mushroom stew and a Panini Roll for a very messy, but tasty, lunch.

• The Panini Roll is 63c per serve
• The Beef & Mushroom is $4.48 per serve, or $2.24 per roll.

As I said, messy but very tasty for $2.87 per serve.

Dinner

While the Beer Bratwurst are a regular item, the Gigante Beans in Tomato Sauce is new.

• Beer Bratwurst were $4.49 or $2.25 per serve
• Gigante Beans were $14.85 for one pound, and we used half, or $1.85 per serve
• Canned Tomatoes were 49c or 12c per serve
• Add 50c for other ingredients.

The Beans had structure, unlike canned, and the dish had great flavor. A good meal for $4.72 per serve.