For those of you who consider yourselves amateur chefs, but often find yourself unable to afford the premium ingredients your favorite recipes call for, don’t fret. Guys, if you want to treat a special lady to a fancy dinner but are broke and don’t know how to cook, skip the restaurant; we’ve got you covered. There are plenty of online resources that provide great recipes for low budgets. Many of them will even generate recipes based on ingredients you already have in your fridge. MyFridgeFood.com, Recipe.com and SuperCook.com are just a few worth mentioning. To give you a little taste of all the delectable food you can whip up, check out this delicious and incredibly simple full-course meal of garlic bread, pesto pasta and sautéed peaches that can most likely be made for under $30, assuming you have some ingredients already in your kitchen.
What you will need:
16 ounces or 2 cups of basil
1 bag of pasta (Linguine, angel hair, bow tie, fusilli, or penne)
Small tub of cherry tomatoes
1 can of black olives
2 ounces or 1/4 cup of pine nuts
Lemon juice or 1 lemon
4 cloves of garlic (2 can be replaced with garlic powder)
Shredded Parmesan cheese
1 loaf of French bread
4 large ripe peaches
1 tub of vanilla ice cream
Sugar (You’ll only need 2 tbps.)
Butter (You’ll only need about 5 tbps.)
Olive oil (You’ll only need about 1/2 cup.)
Salt (1 tsp.)
The cheapest place to find any ingredients will most likely be Winco, where you can buy small amounts of dry ingredients in the bulk food section. For fresher produce and bread, try Trader Joes. They typically have the best prices for high quality ingredients, and also stock Charles Shaw wine, otherwise known as “Two Buck Chuck,” some of the best cheap wine available.
Appetizer: Garlic bread
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
1 loaf of French bread
2 garlic cloves or 1 tsp. of garlic powder
Butter
Olive oil (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the French bread vertically or horizontally. Spread the butter on, then drizzle with olive oil if desired. Chop garlic cloves in blender and spread sparingly on each slice, or shake the garlic powder over each slice if you have that instead. Top with shredded or grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Bake for 15 minutes. To make things even cheaper and simpler, you can always replace the garlic bread simply with warm French bread and butter, or olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.
Entrée: Homemade pesto pasta
Cooking time: Roughly 30 mins.
2 cups fresh basil
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 can of black olives
Small tub of cherry tomatoes
Pasta of your choice
Cook the amount of pasta you will need, according to the instructions on the package. Cut cherry tomatoes and olives into halves and set aside. Throw the remaining ingredients in the blender until mixed, then pour sauce over cooked pasta and toss in the tomatoes, olives. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired.
Dessert: Sautéed Peaches
Cooking time: 10 mins.
4 large ripe peaches
2 tbsp. of butter
2 tbsp. of sugar
Vanilla ice cream
In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat then stir in the sugar. Add peaches. Cook about two to five minutes, stirring frequently until the sugar has dissolved, the peaches are warmed through and evenly coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream.
This meal would be great paired with a red or white wine, which can also be bought for a good price at Trader Joe’s. If you’re striving to impress someone with your culinary techniques, try doing a little research on what kind of wine will go well with your meal. Certain types of grapes have been known to bring out the flavors of the food you pair it with, but you have to know what you’re doing for it to really work.
When cooking a full-course meal, you always want to make sure to plan ahead in terms of when to start cooking each part. Take note of how long each course will take to cook, and be sure not to start it too late, to avoid the food getting cold before you serve it. To make the cooking faster for you, it would be a good idea to do the prepping for each meal first and all at once. For instance, slice the bread and peaches, and put all the pesto ingredients in the blender before the cooking begins. That way you can simply turn the blender on and the sauce will be totally fresh and ready to pour on top of the pasta as soon as it is done cooking.