Surprise romantic meal ideas for husband?!
Surprise romantic meal ideas for husband?
I would like to make a romantic meal for my husband. I would appreciate recipes and/or ideas for this meal. We are on a fixed food budget, so I try to find recipes that have 5 ingredients or less with an occassional recipe over 5 ingredients (and that's total including all spices and liquids) in order to stretch our money for the whole month. Any ideas for a romantic dinner on a budget?
Answers:
Although many of these recipes have more than 5 ingredients I believe you should have most of the ingredients already. Feel free to subtract or substitute ingredients that you wont be able to get. They should still turn our great.
Cranberry Spinach Salad
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
* 1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
* 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
* 1/2 cup white sugar
* 2 teaspoons minced onion
* 1/4 teaspoon paprika
* 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
* 1/4 cup cider vinegar
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.
Minetrone soup
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 onions, chopped
* 2 cups chopped celery
* 5 carrots, sliced
* 2 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups water
* 4 cups tomato sauce
* 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
* 1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can green beans
* 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
* 3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup seashell pasta
* 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
1. In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.
3. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.
4. Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. Spray with olive oil and serve.
Broiled Tilapia Parmesian
* 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
* 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
* 2 pounds tilapia fillets
1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.
or
Baby Back Ribs. Simple but delicious!
* 2 pounds pork baby back ribs
* 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
1. Tear off 4 pieces of aluminum foil big enough to enclose each portion of ribs. Spray each piece of foil with vegetable cooking spray. Brush the ribs liberally with barbeque sauce and place each portion in its own piece of foil. Wrap tightly and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
3. Bake ribs wrapped tightly in the foil at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours. Remove from foil and add more sauce, if desired.
Delicious Cheesecake
* 15 graham crackers, crushed
* 2 tablespoons butter, melted
*
* 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 3/4 cup milk
* 4 eggs
* 1 cup sour cream
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.
Porterhouse steak(on sale). Montreal steak marinade by McCormick for one day. Mashed potatoes, plus an egg, and sour cream and chives. Some steamed broccolli, or fresh veggie of your choice, and a Gallo wine. Not too bad. It is one of my favorites, and can be inexpensive. Sorry a couple more ingredients than you wanted, but decent wine cheap, an all in one seasoning, and the fresh veggies are worth it.
Simple is the best turn down the lights, turn on a couple of candles, light music in the background. Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and for dessert lemon bars. Simple and inexpensive.
If finances are an issue, try the same things in different styles. Make the meatloaf into a heart shape?
Anything on the grill is a good winner for most men. My favorite, if I can't pick the meat, is the potato baked on the grill and corn on the cob still in its shuck. Soak the corn in salt water and keep moist while you cook it over medium smoke/heat. The corn should not be soggy like when boiled, but still crisp and flavorful. I do the potatoes the same way as in the oven, but over the grill: wash, dry, pierce, rub with butter Crisco, wrap in foil, then scratch the foil to let the smoke inside. Corn and large potatoes usually take 1 hour to 1 hr 15 minutes depending on size and heat.
If all else fails, think about a "superbowl" theme. Dips, finger food, snacks, low light, a 12 pack iced down, and watch a romantic (but not too "chick flick") movie on the floor with blankets.
try a cute theme like all hungarian or dining in Paris or just go italian make mini pizzas by putting tomato sauce and mozzarela cheese with some oregano on circled crackers and go with some simple spaghetti and meatballs dim the lights and light some candals spend a little extra and buy a frank sanatra CD and serve special wine!!! wear a red dress with sexy barrel curls just to make him feel special dont forget the red lipstick and make sure your sitting close together!!!!!!!!!
Steak, baked potato, and wine. Chocolates for dessert.
Pizza, Beer, Movie, something Silky on you, & a lot of time! Enjoy each other
Spinach-Stuffed Chicken Breasts for Two
1/3 cup water
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing, divided
2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
2/3 cup STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken in the Canister
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped roasted red peppers
2 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness
1/4 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Reduced Fat Mozzarella Cheese
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Bring water and 1 Tbsp. of the dressing to boil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Stir in spinach, stuffing mix and peppers; cover. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 min. Set aside.
PLACE chicken, top-sides down, on large cutting board; spread evenly with stuffing mixture. Starting at one of the short ends, tightly roll up each chicken breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 8-inch square baking dish. Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp. dressing.
BAKE 35 min. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through (170°F).
**serve chicken with baked potatoes & a simple tossed salad (romaine lettice, carrots, red onion, croutons, almonds, dressing)
For dessert:
Chocolate Fondue for 2
What you'll need:
11oz. Dark (or milk) Chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
Fresh strawberries, shortbread cookies, bananas (basically, anything you want to dip into it!)
What to do:
In a small pot, heat the heavy cream to boiling. Place chocolate in a bowl and pour the heated heavy cream on top. Let the mixture sit about 5 minutes; stir to make sure the chocolate is melted.
Can be made in advance and re-heated when ready to serve.
Marinate boneless chicken breasts with one package of dried onion soup mix,one can of whole cranberry sauce,and one bottle of French salad dressing.Day 2,bake ,uncovered at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes,check for donenes,serve over steamed white rice.I like to cook the rice in chicken broth for extra flavor.A nice green veggie like steamed brocoli tastes great and makes the plate look pretty.I like making a baked apple for dessert.Core out the apple.fill with butter ,brown sugar and cinnamon,bake until soft and in a pan filled with a little water or wine.Serve on top of a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Can't go wrong with roasting a chicken! Place in pan and rub a little olive oil (any kind of oil will work) and sprinkle your favorite spices (salt, pepper, rosemary, basil, anything) on top. Put garlic or sprigs of cilantro or lemon or orange wedges inside. Serve with a salad and some type of simple pasta or potatoes. Very good, pretty easy, and makes for great soup with the leftovers. The aroma of the cooking chicken will have him drooling for dinner!
I would go with something really elegant and classic.
Like shrimp cocktails to start, goes perfect with champagne.
A simple, wonderful chicken dish, with maybe some green beans and simple potatoes.
Then some really fresh strawberries with melted chocolate.
Again, it all goes perfectly with champagne and is a wonderfully light meal that is sort of a "romance enhancer".
Also, something fun is just a snacky dinner.
SUch as the shrimp to start (4 per person is really plenty). Some good crusty bread with great goat or blue cheese and some fruit, nuts and olives as sort of the "main course". Again for desserts, any berries are really good.
SUch a fun way to eat dinner and youcan feed each other!! :-)