One night recently, both daughters were out and didn't want dinner saved for them. This is fairly rare for them both to be gone at dinner *and* not want something saved. Usually at least one daughter will want us to save a plate for them to eat later or have at lunch the next day. Not so this time.
My husband and I were completely free to do whatever we pleased for dinner. We talked about going out for dinner. We did that last fall when both daughters were out. But then I thought of the abundance of wonderful foods that we have in the freezer, fridge, pantry, and garden. So I set out to put together a first class meal using what we have.
Here's the menu:
sautéed mushrooms -- rehydrated dried mushrooms given to me at Christmas from son and daughter-in-law
grilled zucchini -- from the garden
tossed salad -- garden greens, homemade croutons, homemade mustard vinaigrette
baked potatoes -- from a bag in the pantry
and let's not forget dessert!
strawberry sorbet topped with homemade dark chocolate magic shell -- sorbet, s & dil brought at birthdays; magic shell, melted chocolate chips, unsweetened chocolate and coconut oil
My husband asked what I thought we'd pay at a restaurant for this type of dinner. My guess -- if we split a steak dinner at a casual steakhouse, but each got a small scoop of ice cream for dessert, I think we'd spend around $30 plus tax and tip. I'm certain our own cost for a steak dinner at home was under $10, likely closer to $7.
Every last bite was delicious!
What's one of your best homemade meals in recent memory?
Around here, you'd be very lucky to get a meal like that for just $30. It sounds delicious, and it's nice to do something out of the ordinary.
ReplyDeleteThat is something we would do also. We have a discount store near us that sold strip steak for around $4.99 to $5.99 per lb packaged individually in shrink wrap. To me that is a deal because the steaks are tender and delicious and I can pull out one at a time.We use them sparingly. Grilling them or in a cast iron pan makes a delicious steak pared with whatever we want makes for a meal well under $30. Last night we did an instant pot one pot pasta that had such basic ingredients that I pared down for a small recipe for two of us. It was mostly pasta and veggies but I added a handful of cooked sausage and it was absolutely filling and delicious. The simpler, the better.
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I think a restaurant would have cost easily $60ish plus tip. Not only did you save money and use your freezer bits you had quiet, uninterrupted private time as a couple and that's a fun thing too!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so good!
ReplyDeleteI'd guess in a restaurant, it would cost more than $30, with the way prices are now. Say the entree is $25, and sometimes the restaurant will even charge a fee to split the meal. Dessert would probably be $7 each, so $14. Let's round up to $40. Add about $4 in tax (it's more than that in my county) plus 20% tip of $8, and you are at $52.
So, you saved yourself a lot of money.
Add me to the group of people who think you would be paying substantially more than $30/plate. Your meal looks delicious. I'm wondering who did dishes. ;)
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