Nov 28: Lamb Gyro; Poke Bowl with Brown Rice, Avocado, Cucumber and Pickled Ginger

Lunch

Normally we’d coordinate a trip to Lowes or Home Depot with a trip to our favorite Gyro outlet, New York Chicken and Gyro, but the order I placed was cancelled through lack of stock, so we went for the Gyro anyway, for $8.17 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Our Fishy Friday was moved to Saturday this week (and Meatless Monday from next week was last night), and tonight we returned to the Poke Bowl with Ahi Tuna from Aldi.

  • 12 oz Tuna was $5.19, or $2.60 per serve
  • Avocados were 30c per serve
  • Brown Rice adds 33c per serve
  • Cucumber adds 40c per serve
  • Add 30c for Pickled Ginger
  • Add 50c for Dressing ingredients.

Thanks to the excellent deal on Ahi Tuna at Aldi, this is both luxurious, and inexpensive at $4.32 per serve.

Nov 27: Beef Bourguignonne Pie; Potato Soup with Panini Roll

Lunch

For lunch we reheated the remain Beef Bourguignonne pie for $8.48 per serve.

Dinner

We changed our Fishy Friday plans until tomorrow and had a warming Harvest Potato Soup from Aldi, that we served with a hot Panini Roll.

  • The Soup was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The Panini Roll is 63c per serve.

A pretty decent soup for $1.63 per serve.

Nov 26: “Grazing” Lunch; Beef Bourguignonne Pie

Lunch

For lunch we replicated the sort of “pre dinner” Thanksgiving ‘Pou Pous’ of previous years, by laying out Caramelized Onion Dip, Endive, some very ripe Brie, Raspberries, Cheddar & Chicken Liver Paté.

Grazing meals are very hard to calculate, but average out around $8.00 per serve.

Dinner

Foodie Greg decided to make a Beef Bourguignonne Pie for our Thanksgiving dinner, starting the night before making the Bourguignonne filling using Top Sirloin from our meat box. As we prepared to assemble it was obvious it was a full on pastry crusted Meat Pie, just a little larger at four huge servings. It would probably feed six comfortably.

  • The top sirloin from the Keller Crafted delivery was $24.16 or $6.04 per serve
  • Mushrooms were $2.69 or 68c per serve
  • The Puff Pastry was $3.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • Frozen pearl onions are $1.69 but we only used ¼ of the pack, or 11c per serve
  • Add 65c for Egg Wash and other Gravy ingredients
  • The Green Beans were $2.99 or 75c per serve.

An intensely flavorsome Pie that was worth the effort, for $9.23 per serve.

Nov 25: BBQ Chicken, Heirloom Tomato & Garlic Spread on a Baguette; Cuban Roast Pork with Black Beans and Plantain Chips

Lunch

Instead of the fresh Baguette from Jon’s we finished half a par-baked one from Aldi, but otherwise we repeated yesterday.

  • The Chicken was $7.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The Heirloom Tomato was $3.24 and we used about half, or 81c per serve
  • The Baguette was $1.49 or 38c per serve
  • Add 40c for Garlic Spread.

The Aldi Baguette is smaller, and much cheaper, than the fresh one from Jon’s, but still a great sandwich for $2.79 per serve.

Dinner

Tonight we repeated the Cuban-Style Roast Pork meal with Black Beans and Plantain Chips for $7.60 per serve.

Nov 24: BBQ Chicken, Heirloom Tomato & Garlic Spread on a Fresh Baguette; Moules Dijonnaise (with Baguette)

Lunch

We made a pilgrimage to Jon’s and picked up a BBQ Chicken, Fresh Baguette and a Heirloom Tomato, which makes one of our favorite sandwiches.

  • The Chicken was $7.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The Heirloom Tomato was $3.24 and we used about half, or 81c per serve
  • The Baguette was $3.49  or 87c per serve
  • Add 60c for Garlic Spread.

A favorite because great ingredients make a great sandwich, for $3.28 per serve.

Dinner

A new Mussel recipe: Moules Dijonnaise.

  • The Mussels were $2.49 or $1.25 per serve
  • The Baguette was $1.49 or 38c per serve
  • Add 10c for Shallot
  • The Whipping Cream was $1.79 and we used half, or 45c
  • Add 60c for both Mustards.

Foodie Greg found the flavor a little too intense, which it certainly was. Still a nice change from our usual Mussel preparation for $2.68 per serve.

Nov 23: Prosciutto, Smokey Cheddar & Semi-dried Cherry Tomato Sandwiches; Roasted Kabocha Squash Soup

Lunch

A colder day suggested toasted sandwiches, & with “leftover” Prosciutto, we decided on a “Ham,” Cheese & Tomato Toasted Sandwich each.

  • Dave’s Killer Bread is 74c per serve
  • The Prosciutto was $4.99 and we shared about 30% or $1.50 per serve
  • Smokey Cheddar was $2.69 for 10 slices, or 54c per serve
  • The slightly dried Tomato add 37c per serve.

The Prosciutto wasn’t as fabulous in this application as we expected, but still a decent sandwich for $3.15 per serve.

Dinner

A new version of Pumpkin Soup with a Japanese twist: Roasted Kabocha Squash. We got three serves from this recipe.

  • The Kabocha Squash was $2.47 and we used about half, or 42c per serve
  • The Broth was $1.99 or 67c per serve
  • An Onion adds 10c per serve
  • A Carrot adds 10c per serve
  • Heavy Cream is $1.79 but we used under half, or 30c per serve.

While it was tasty, it lacked “zest” so we added some pepper. An enjoyable, but unexciting, soup for $1.59 per serve.

Nov 22: Smoked Salmon Bagel; Cuban Roast Pork with Black Beans and Plantain Chips

Lunch

We used the remaining Smoked Salmon on a Brioche Bagel.

  • The Brioche Bagel is 58c
  • The Smoked Salmon was $1.38 per serve
  • Add 20c for Neufchatel
  • Add 20c for Shallot and Capers
  • Add 30c for Tomatoes
  • Add 30c for Sprouts.

An indulgent and tasty sandwich for $2.96 per serve.

Dinner

Since we haven’t had a Boston Butt in our meat box for a while, we’ve not been able to cook Cuban-Style Roast Pork with Mojo Sauce. We did tonight and served with homemade Black Beans and Plantain Chips.

  • The Pork Butt was around $18.50 or $4.62 per serve
  • Navel Oranges were $3.83 or 96c per serve
  • Limes were $2.45 or 62c per serve
  • Black Beans were $2.45 and we shared ¼, or 15c per serve
  • Add 40c for other ingredients for the Beans
  • Plantain Chips were $1.70 and we used half, or 85c per serve.

The Pork was excellent – again – and the new Black Beans recipe was basically a fresh version of canned Beans. A great meal for $7.60 per serve.

Nov 21: Caesar Salad with White Anchovy; Saltimbocca with Buttered Spinach and Gnocchi in Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce

Lunch

Something different for lunch while our virtual conference continues.

  • The Caesar Salad kit was $1.99 or $1.00 per serve
  • The Anchovies were $3.19 or $1.60 per serve.

Foodie Greg wasn’t fond of these particular Anchovies, but otherwise a nice meal for $2.60 per serve.

Dinner

With a backup of Pork Cutlets, we decided to repeat our Saltimbocca with Buttered Spinach, but this time pair with Potato Gnocchi and Roasted Garlic Alfredo Sauce.

  • At 1.1 lb it was a very generous serve of pork cutlets costing $13.99 or $7.00 per serve
  • The Prosciutto was $4.99 and we used about 70% or $1.75 per serve
  • Alfredo Sauce was $1.69 or 85c per serve
  • The Gnocchi was $1.79 or 90c per serve
  • Spinach was $1.45 or 72c per serve
  • Add 30c for Butter.

This is definitely the best way to prepare the Pork Cutlets. Very tasty for $11.52 per serve.

Nov 20: Pho; Smoked Salmon Pizza

Lunch

Continuing our ‘conference week’ of meals out, we ordered Pho from Pho Saigon 1. Since our choice includes rare Beef we were unsure how it would travel. Would the meat be cooked instead of beautifully rare?

To their credit, Pho Saigon 1 pack the Pho as a “do it yourself” kit. Broth in one container, Noodles etc in another, and the Beef, Sprouts and Chili in another. While an ecological disaster, it meant that the dish was every bit as good as it would have been eating in. A very decent meal for $13.40 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

Although not quite four weeks since our last Smoked Salmon Pizza, Pizza is one of those foods you might eat while traveling to a conference.

  • 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.

This time we got the Pizza crust cooked perfectly and had a most enjoyable pizza for $3.63 per serve.

Nov 19: Afghani Pita Pockets; Gus’s BBQ

Lunch

We’re still going our ‘conference week, eat take out’ kick, and lunch today were Pita Pockets from Skewers Halaal. Foodie Greg had Falafel while Foodie Philip had the Chapli. Two great meals for $10.30 per serve with tax and tip.

Dinner

It was Gus’s BBQ on rotation this week, although having noted the punctuation I may not be able to go again!

We got the same Fried Chicken with Two Meats Sampler for $35.41 or $17.71 per serve.

Gus’s redeemed themselves this time and the Chicken was perfectly tender and the sides excellent.