maleficent

Ok cooking fans, let's see if we can play a little and see how creative you can be with five dollars in creating a dinner.. (Wasn't this a game show onthe Food network eons ago, only I think they had 20 dollars to spend? Well I'm cheap - we get 10 dollars0

You have to put together a dinner for no less than 2 people... Staple ingredients are not added into the cost, and use close enough costs...

So -- with your ten dollars (what that translates into canadian/australian/euro/other dollars I don't know but guesstimate...Create a meal...

Should be a two course meal... (appetizer and dinner/dinner and dessert)

Impress us with your creativity... List your ingredients, and give us the recipes.. have fun...

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Hanxter

Chicken Tetrazini

1 whole chicken 3 - 5 lb's

1/2 lb. mushrooms sliced
1/2 c. chopped onion

1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
16 oz. chicken broth
1/2 pt. light or whipping (NOT whipped) cream
1/4 c. DRY white wine

8 oz. spaghetti pasta, cooked
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
paprika and parsley for color

in a large pot cover the chicken in water and boil till done, when a leg pulls off easily

strain broth into a seperate bowl and save the broth

when the bird has cooled shred the meat off (no skin) & save the carcass and any remaing broth for soup if you want

melt some butter in a fry pan - add mushrooms and onions sauteing for 5-10 minutes over low heat - when done set aside

melt 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan, slowly add flour and salt - when thick, blend in cream and broth stirring constantly until thickened - stir in the wine

cook the pasta according to the box

in a greased baking dish combine 1/2 the shrooms & spaghetti - make a well in the middle and place in it the chicken and rest of the shrooms - pour sauce over chicken and spaghetti - sprinkle with grated parmasan cheese over top, then paprika and parsley for a little color

bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or when the pasta on the edges starts to brown

a ceasar salad is great with it

chicken $3, pasta $1, shrooms $1.50, onion $.30, whipping cream $1.60, wine on hand = $7.40

maleficent

Grilled Margarita Chicken Breasts with Strawberry Sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3.00)
3 limes (1.00)
3 cloves of garlic, smashed (on hand)
1 shot tequilla (on hand - least in my house it's on hand)

Strawberry Sauce
1 lb strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced (1.50)
1 orange (25 cents) (juiced and zested)
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced (25 cents)
1 clove garlic, minced (on hand)

1. Combine the strawberries, the juice of the orange and the zest of the orange, garlic and jalepeno in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cover with a lid and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the strawberries are softened and release their juices, about 10 minutes. Let cool. Sauce will thicken up a little bit.
2. Pour the strawberries into a blender and blend until smooth.

Put chicken breasts, tequilla, lime juice, zest from limes and garlic into large ziplock bag (or a bowl, but i'm all about easy cleanup) Let marinate for minimum 30 minutes, longer is better (I tend to marinate overnight, but i'm really lazy)

Grill chicken breasts til done in either grill pan, or on outdoor grill.

Slice chicken breasts and serve with strawberry sauce on the side

(for an interesting touch, and not serving to children, you could add tequilla to the strawberry sauce for an additional kick...)


Dessert
Strawberry Shortcake
1 package of refridgerator biscuits (1.00)
1 container of heavy cream, whipped (1.00)
1 lb strawberries, hulled and sliced (1.50)
1 tbs sugar (on hand)
2 tbs good balsamic vinegar (on hand)

Cook biscuits according to package instructions
whip cream and set aside

Mix strawberries with vinegar and sugar, and set aside

Split biscuits in half, spoon on a dollop of whipped cream, put strawberries on cream, put biscuit half on top of berries and another spoonful of cream...


I think t he grand total is 9.50 ...

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Dilbert1234567

I’ll go for broke with a 3 course meal.

Garlic cheese Stuffed chicken, salad with strawberry vinaigrette, and strawberry sorbet

2 chicken breast, $1.50
Garlic (on hand)
Butter (on hand)
Heavy cream (always on hand around here)
Parmesan cheese (on hand)
Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, basil (on hand)
2 lb strawberries $3.00
1 cup sugar (on hand)
One packet ‘good seasons Italian’ dressing mix $0.50
White balsamic vinegar (on hand, Trader Joes has it, it’s wonderful)
Salad for 2 $.075
Sprig of mint $0.25
Toothpicks (on hand)
Small handful of candied pecans, $2.00
Small handful of white stilton cheese $2.00

Juice the strawberries; place all but half a cup on the stove with some sugar over low heat, slowly dissolve the sugar into the strawberries taste add more sugar if desired. Take off heat and freeze in ice cream maker as per ice cream maker’s instruction.

Take the remaining half cup of strawberry juice; add 1/8 cups of extra virgin olive oil, half a cup of White balsamic vinegar, and the spice packet, mix completely. I use white balsamic here because it has the taste of balsamic, but it’s clear and colorless, so the red berry color shows through.

Wash and de fat chicken breast, take a sharp long knife and cut a 1.5 inch slice into the top fat part of the chicken, half way through, peel the flaps open and slowly work the knife around the inside creating a pocket, do not puncture the pocket, if a puncture does happen, suture it up with tooth picks.

On the stove cook 2 cloves of chopped garlic in butter till they are almost soft throughout, cool. In a food processor, mix the cooled butter garlic mixture, with 2 tsp heavy cream, Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Oregano, basil, mix. Add parmesan cheese and mix until it is thick and moldable. Carefully as to not tear the pocket, stuff as much as you can cram into the pocket, then suture incision with toothpicks.

Lightly crumble the pecans and white stilton onto the salad, toss with the vinaigrette. Let sit 5 minutes so the flavors mingle. Throw chicken in the oven at 300F for 45 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes (depending on thickness). Eat salad. Remove chicken from oven; make sure it’s cooked through; eat, remove toothpick from mouth, remove the rest of the toothpicks from the top of the chicken; eat.

Dish up sorbet and add a sprig of mint to each.

Eat sorbet
Do dishes.
Grumble about the toothpick that you bit into…


total $10.00

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Donate Blood!

"Love is not finding the perfect person, but learning to see an imperfect person perfectly." -Sam Keen

snowy

Two of my $10 dinners can be found in this thread: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=98918

This just reminds me that I need to start cooking more often again.

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If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau

noodle

Fresh spinach and strawberries with vinagrette (I mix vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper to make my own).

BBQ pork butt

cut butt into large chunks, place in slow cooker, add water until three inches above the chunks. Add garlic powder and three tbs of bbq sauce, stir. Cook 6 hours on Lo. Pull out chunks with slotted spoon, place in large bowl. Clean out slow cooker to remove fat residue. Add rest of bottle of bbq sauce to bowl with pork chunks. Mix with fork, shredding the pork. Return to slow cooker, cook 20-30 min on Hi to reheat.

Dessert: parfait with slivered almonds (always on hand at home), strawberries, and fat-free vanilla yogurt layered in a wine glass.

Pork Butt (w/bone): $4.00
Strawberries (1 qt): $2.50
BBQ sauce: $1.50
Spinach: $0.99
Yogurt: $0.50

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kutulu

Pan seared halibut with a lemon butter sauce and risotto

Halibut and sauce
2 6oz portions of halibut - $10/lb - $7.50
1 clove garlic
1/2 stick butter - $0.25
1/4 C white wine -
1 shallot - $0.25
Zest from one lemon
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1 C Aborio rice
1/2 onion
3 C veg or chicken stock $0.25 if you use a bullion cube
1/2 stick butter - $0.25
1/2 C white wine
1/2 C parm cheese
5 mushrooms - $0.50
1 stalk broccoli - $0.30
salt and pepper
3T olive oil
Pinch of saffron - $3 for a bottle at TJ's you'll get at least 10-15 servings

Halibut
Brush both sides of fish with oil, salt and pepper
Heat pan to medium high and saute the fish till almost done (4-5 min per side). Hopefully, you'll only have to flip once.
Deglaze pan, get rid of excess fishy parts
Saute shallot and garlic (I prefer thin slices of the garlic) in butter for 30 seconds, add wine and zest and reduce to desired consistancy

Risotto
Heat stock to near boiling, add saffron
Sweat onion in olive oil
Add rice, coat with oil and cook for a couple min
Add wine, stir till almost absorbed
Add 1.5 C of stock, 1 ladle at a time, stir till absorbed each time
Add remaining stock about a half ladle at a time, always let it absorb completely before adding more. Check each time to see if the rice is done.
Add butter, stir till melted, then fold in cheese and S&P to taste. If you have it, you can fold in some parsley or basil and a few sun dried tomatoes but they aren't necessary.

While the risotto is going, slice the shrooms and chop the broccoli. Saute it in olive oil (and garlic if you want). Set aside. Fold into risotto when rice is done.

Spread the risotto in a thin layer across the plates, set the halibut right on top and pour sauce over the fish. Sprinkle with parm cheese.

Adding the little things you are right at $10. If you increase the amount of mushrooms and broccoli, you can go down to 4 or 5 ounce portions of halibut.