What are some dinner meals that taste expensive but don't cost a lot of money?

Question

I want to make a really nice meal for my boyfriend as a surprise, and I don't want to spend a lot on the ingredients to make the dish.

Answer 1

Spaghetti marinara with fresh grated Parmesan and Basil

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Answer 2

Chicken Parmigian

Answer 3

Country Fried Steak

Breaded Hamburger meat in flour, milk gravy from the drippings

serve with rice

Shesh Kabobs

Chunks of Stew meat, skewer with pieces of Green Pepper, Tomatoes, Onion and Pineapple ..either cook in the oven or grill

serve with Rice

Answer 4

Filet of Sole Veronique

2 filets of sole

fresh lemon juice

fresh parsley (optional)

salt & pepper

½ cup dry white wine

2 T flour

¼ pound seedless green grapes

¼ cup heavy cream

paprika

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Sprinkle the filets with lemon juice & season with salt & pepper.

3. Roll the fish up, starting with the skinny end, & arrange in a shallow baking dish.

4. Pour wine over fish, cover with foil, & bake at 350° F. for 20 minutes.

White Sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.

2. Add the flour & simmer for about 1 minute without letting it brown.

3. When the fish is finished baking, pour the liquid left in the baking     into the flour mixture, & stir well with a whisk until it boils.

4. Simmer for about 2 min.

5. Add the grapes & heavy cream.

6. Pour over the fish.

7. Sprinkle with paprika, garnish with fresh parsley, & serve.



Serve with rice, salad, & French bread.

Answer 5

i recently made this chicken cacciatore when chicken was on sale at the store; it was very easy but tasted gourmet! i served it over rice with some garlic bread & a salad, & it was a hit!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Cac...

you could also try a spaghetti dish like spaghetti bolognese, or fettucini alfredo (i like it with broccoli & chicken!), or spaghetti carbonara. (i'm italian, can you tell?? :-p)  

another GREAT meal that you can make pretty cheaply is eggplant parmesan, because eggplant is usually much cheaper than meats. i don't have a specific recipe, but there are several on allrecipes.com; it's basically just breaded & pan-fried eggplant slices, whatever tomato sauce you want, & LOTS of mozzarella cheese. hope this helps! :-)

Answer 6

Chicken marsala with mushrooms, any vegetable he likes, and roasted potatoes with Italian seasoning.  The most you'll spend is for the Marsala, a wine, and I find the least expensive I can, because I know it will all be used for cooking.

You can use any chicken you want, but if you have any boneless, skinless b*****s or thighs, that is wonderful.  Melt two large pats of butter or margarine in a pan, add the chicken and cook for five minutes, then add chopped mushrooms and 1 cup of marsala and cook until there is a 'sauce' on the bottom.  

To make the potatoes, just cut them into wedges, put them in oil (canola or olive oil is best) and shake the seasoning over, then put them into the oven for 45 minutes (start the potatoes before you start the chicken, which takes about 1/2 hour).  Steam the vegies or put just a tiny bit of water on them so they seem 'fresh' and tender, not boiled to death ... serve with iced tea.  A good dessert with this is whatever you want ... my husband makes this for me for dinner all the time ... one bottle of marsala will make 3-4 dinners for two.  

Answer 7

Did you ever try the Engagement Chicken recipe from Glamour? Yum.

http://www.glamour.com/lifestyle/dobette...

My husband loves:

Steamed fresh green beans or:

Pan roasted zucchini (spray skillet pan with Pam, cut up 2 zucchini and season with salt and pepper. Toss in pan until browned or blackend, according to taste

For fresh mashed potatoes, I always go with red (the skins stays on). I buy 2. Boil the heck out of them (for about an hour). Add some butter, salt, pepper. If you want garlic, roast some in a pan and add that to the mix too. Mix and the potatoes will fall apart for yummy mashed potatoes.

This is all economical and tastes great!

Have fun!

Answer 8

You can make a nice delicious chicken and rice dish, or even a beautiful roast. Generally the roast would be better as you can buy the pieces and they are quiet cheap about $2.99 a kilo (ie drumsticks, wings, maryland pieces) for you and your b/f buy a kilo. Buy also some corn, sweet potato, carrots, onions and garlic, very inexpensive veggies.Cut the fat off the chicken(you can also use lamb, but it is much more expensive!) Cut all of the veggies up and toss them all into an oven proof tray, a little dash of olive oil and some white wine at the bottom of the tray, Put the chicken pieces in, on tip of veggies and sprinkle some paprika, italian herbs, salt and pepper. Put on 180 degrees for fan forced oven for about 1 hr, 200 if its not fan forced. You can also buy a packet of chocolate mousse for dessert which takes a few minutes to whip up. Serve the roast with the veggies and you ca also make some rice... Boil water and add two cubes of chicken stock to the water. Add the rice and when the rice is nearly tender, add some corn kernels and some italian herbs.

I make this dish for my husband all the time. With the preparation, depending on your skills it can take about 10-20 Min's, but at least you don't have to be stirring, you can sit back and relax!

Answer 9

i recently made a dish called chicken, cheese and pasta bake, its really nice. you will need the following:

1 cooked chicken (or you can cook your own chicken)

take the skin and bones of.

2 cheese

3 pasta sauce

4 pasta (any kind expect the long one)

this is how you cook it:

1 take the skin and bones of the chicken and add the sauce and cheese, mix it

2 cook the pasta

3 once the pasta is cooked mix all the recipe together

4 then put more cheese on top

5 and then put it in a bowl in the oven until it is gooked or golden brown.

Answer 10

Add some smoked salmon, it's delicious and not so expensive any more.   Also, unique pastas are cheap and you can be creative, your guests will appreciate your efforts

Answer 11

make some chili and grill cheese sandwiches.