Two course meal for two with a budget of £25....

carlamarie_2

Can anyone give me any. Ideas on what to cook for my dh on Saturday for his birthday?

I can cook and went through a stage of having a meal night once a week where I did a 3course meal once the kids are in bed. I did this for about 4 months and we enjoyed it. But then my inspiration fizzled away!

So i want to relive this for his birthday, but i am completely at a loss on what to do!

I need a starter and main ( he will have his birthday cake for afters)
£25 is my absolute top budget (roll on payday!) and doesn't include drinks.

Any ideas?

Pooky

A favourite of ours is a starter of bacon, avocado and cherry tomato salad. Chop the bacon into bits and fry off until crispy, cook the cherry toms in the resulting fat for extra flavour. Add to some nice ripe avocado chunks and mixed leaves, a dash of homemade dressing at the last minute....yum! Can be served with a warm baguette slice or two if you need it a little more filling.

Main course of chicken breast stuffed with mex cheese (the one with the chillis in) and wrapped in bacon, bake them off in the oven in tin foil parcels to keep the flavour locked in, open the parcel carefully and pop under the grill to crisp the bacon off without losing the juices. I normall do some garlic roasted new potatoes with this, another foil parcel, pop in cut potatoes, lots of garlic (unpeeled), some herbs of choice and a splash of oil. The garlic is lovely when you pop it out of its skin. A selection of steamed veg along side, sugarsnap peas and baby corn is nice.

But it all depends on your tastes, what sort of stuff do you like?

[Deleted User]

Go retro 60s style and make the starter a perfectly ripe ogen melon cut in halves and filled with port, then for the main course Tournedos Rossini, fillet steak with a pate topping on a butter fried crouton with a cream wine sauce, new potatoes and steamed fresh podded peas and new seasons carrots. You should get that for £25. The other main course options would be Beef Wellington or Beef Stroganoff with noodles, Yummy, Cheers Lyn x.

double_mummy

what do you guys like?

anything thats a deffo no no?

what shops have you got nearby?

what cuisines do you like?

do you want stuff you can prepare ahead of time or all cook and then serve?

what will you be drinking?

carlamarie_2

Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Mydh likes just about anything except avacados and courgettes (sorry I should have mentioned that first!)
I am a bit more picky, but I would prefer to cook something he will love and do a seperate version for myself omitting anything i dont eat on this occasion since its his bday.

I have a sainsburys local, however you can't always get what you want from there.
I do have a morrisons which is about half hour walk away for me, but not a problem. I need to decide what to get tonight tho if I need to go to morrisons (as its the next sale on Saturday which is next door and I am avoiding at all cost, can't afford!) so ill need to go tomoro.

Not really bothered about how long it takes to prep or cook. Kids are out for the day so other than taking the dog for a walk i have no commitments.

We will be drinking.... Pepsi:o lol we don't really drink. Maybe a couple of cans of fosters but its unlikely!

carlamarie_2

I like the idea of the beef Wellington but I have attempted it before and failed.... Miserably!

The chicken parcels i cook quite regular sometimes with phillydelphia in or sometimes with cheese, spring onions and mushrooms cut really small.


I have just been flicking through the morrisons magazine and seen a recipe for jerk chicken, he would probably love this, I would eat alongside a couple of litres of milk lol.
Do you think this would be 'special' enough? And if so what kind of sides? Would rice and peas be enough?
And what kind of starter would you suggest?

[Deleted User]

M&S do a double pack of Beef Wellingtons for under £10, they are very nice too!!

carlamarie_2

Might be an idea for next time, dont think I'd be able to get to an m+s tomorrow

double_mummy

jerk chicken with beans and rice and coleslaw (homemade preferably)

something light and not too strongly flavoured for starters then

maybe something like this http://www.tropicalsunfoods.com/recipe/39/bbq-shrimp-wrapped-in-bacon.html

carlamarie_2

That is perfect! Thank you so much

sillysid

main - cod n mushroom risotto - cod loins - rocket

I use 2 decent sized cod loins served alongside risotto, pan fried, or oven baked in foil, plus a smaller bit of cod added to risotto.

So you have timbale of risotto, portion of cod, plus rocket with french dressing.

Starters - These are my 'go to' starters - delias recipe for garlic mushrooms is delish or if u want I have an excellent recipe for crab n seafood salad (tinned crab) Or smokey haddock pots with oatcakes.

If that's too much fish, you could do an antipasto starter, meats, olives, melon, tomatoes flavoured with oil/vinegar, salt, black pepper and oregano - bit of cheese and a wee side of spiced cannelini beans, crusty bread.