10 Date Ideas On A Budget

Lately, we have been making a point to not go out and spend a quadrillion dollars on dinner or entertainment on the weekends. I mean, we still go out, but we definitely consider when, where and what we are doing, more than not. Sometimes, we just stay in on a Saturday night. Maybe, because I have done the all nighters at the bar or club many times before, I am starting to feel okay with staying in on a Saturday night. Here are some ideas to keep date night and date day within a reasonable budget and still quite enjoyable. xo RCN

1. Rent a movie on Netflix and order in from a restaurant rather than go to a restaurant. BUT, try a new cuisine you are unfamiliar with. Order a few dishes and appetizers on the menu that you've never had, share and try together. Indian? Lebanese? Ethiopian? Thai? Try it!! 

2. Organize his closet. This may sound pretty lame, but he may not mind you helping organize everything for/with him. Help him donate old sweaters or throw out some super old white undershirts. Make piles, and drink beer!

3. Pick a favorite board game or card game. We love to play Rummy 500 or Cribbage. Throw a bunch of pillows on the floor, get comfy in your pajamas and just relax and play. Sometimes we even blow up the air mattress in our living room. Light a seasonal appropriate candle and put on your favorite tunes. We have been listening to Bon Over and Kaleo a lot lately, and burning a Yankee Seaside Autumn candle (bought it at Homegoods -it's a grayish color w/ starfish wreath on label). 

4. Sift through some food mags together. Take a quick pic of the ingredient list. Grab a coffee and go grocery shopping together. Then come back home and cook dinner together.

5. Borrow a Wii or Xbox from someone if you don't already have one. Have a video game tournament, just like you are in middle school again. 

6. Plan a workout together on a nice day (or just go to the gym together). I always push myself more when Zach is working out with me. When finished, stop for a fresh smoothie or make one together at home. Avocados, banana, kale, peanut butter, and almond milk are a few of my favorite ingredients.

7. Go to a local farm market or garden nursery where you can do browsing, chatting, and minimal shopping. Bring home a plant or fresh ingredients you can pot or snack on together. I love when Zach comes succulent shopping with me and weighs in on his favorites.

8. Pull out an old puzzle or pick one up from Target, Kmart, wherever, and spend the night working on that and drinking a bottle of wine. 

9. If you like football, how about going to a HS game? Look up the best teams in your area and pick a rival game and go blend in somewhere on the bleachers or hillside. You don't have to know someone on the team to watch a good game. And the snack bar is super cheap! Pack a flask.

10. Picnic lunch to your favorite park, lake, or beach. We usually fill the Yeti with watermelon, wine coolers, and hoagies and head to the beach for an afternoon. One of my absolute favorite date days!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

Zach loves chicken pot pie, so I figured since yesterday was my food shopping day, I would get the ingredients to make the latest and greatest pot pie recipe I have seen. That would be Kate Lee's recipe I discovered in the Food Network magazine a couple months ago. I was a little nervous at first to undertake this recipe for dinner last night - as it was only yesterday afternoon I decided to make it. It turned out to not be too difficult and nothing super fancy involved ingredient or direction wise. The recipe notes it takes 2 hours and 10 minutes...took me more like 2 hours and 40 minutes, but I was Insta snapping all along the way, which added some time. After all, I am not an expert, but with following directions I completed this recipe and both Zach and I loved it. Two thumbs up! xo RCN

Ingredients: Recipe yields 4

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 sheet puff pastry (I used Pillsbury), thawed as the label directs

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

3 sprigs thyme, plus 1 tablespoon chopped leaves

2 bay leaves

1 large onion, quartered

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed (I used frozen thawed chopped onion)

2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

1 cup sliced white mushrooms

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 cup milk

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

FOR CRUST & CHICKEN: Sprinkle a little flour on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roll out crust on parchment paper to about 12 inches square. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to prep for baking.

Combine the chicken broth, peppercorns, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and quartered onion in a large pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer 30 minutes. Then add the chicken breasts to the pot.

Increase the heat and return to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate to cool. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve. You'll need 2 1/2 cups for the filling; reserve the rest for another use. When the chicken is cool to the touch, cut it into bite-size chunks and set aside.

FILLING: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pearl onions and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes then add peas and mushrooms, cook for another five minutes. Stir in 5 tablespoons flour and cook, stirring, 1 more minute. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the chicken and chopped thyme; season with salt and pepper.

FORM PIES: Set out four 2-cup ovenproof bowls or ramekins. Transfer the pastry to a floured surface. Using a paring knife, cut out 4 rounds of dough that are slightly larger than the mouth of the bowls.

Place the bowls on a baking sheet and spoon in the filling. Place 1 dough round on each pot pie, pressing the pastry against the side of the bowl to seal. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Cut a slit or X across the center of the dough to vent. Bake until the pastry is puffed and dark golden brown, about 35 minutes.

Kale Soup

My Inlaws gave me a recipe book for my birthday called Eat Beautiful. It is written by Wendy Rowe, a world renowned beauty expert, well known as the Artistic Director for Burberry makeup. I love everything about this book. Not only is it informative and have beautifully styled images that make your mouth water, but the chapters are very organized, by season. Each season lays out a glossary of the foods and ingredients used within the season's recipes and specifies the health benefits for your skin, inside and out. It is a clever and simple way of understanding what is good for you and how it is good for, whilst providing great tasty recipes using the foods that are best.

I picked five recipes from this book and bought all the ingredients to make five new recipes this week. I thought I would share with you the Kale soup which we tried out last night. I found it to be absolutely delicious. I have to admit, Zach was not a fan, but he is also not really a veggie fan in general. I did forget the leeks in this recipe, (whoops!) because I forgot them on my grocery list. The soup tasted just fine without them and the apartment still smelled deliciously green. I also added in some additional kale leaves (handful more than recipe notes below), as I tend to like a soup that is a little thicker. Recipe below and link to purchase book HERE, from Anthropologie. Enjoy! xo RCN

Ingredients, serves 2-3 people:

1 Large Fennel bulb, roughly chopped

1 Leek, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp raw coconut oil

1 Onion, chopped

2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tbsp vegetable bouillon powder or 1 vegetable stock cube

10 Kale leaves, large stems removed, roughly chopped

Handful of spinach

Sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp ground nutmeg to serve

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop fennel and leeks and place onto foil lined baking sheet. Evenly drizzle olive oil onto fennel and leeks, mix all together and spread flat on tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes. While baking, chop onion and garlic. Then melt coconut oil in large saucepan on low heat. Add onions and garlic and cover pan with lid. Let sweat for five minutes or until onions are translucent and softened. Pour 5 cups of water into pan, add vegetable bullion, roasted fennel, leeks, and half of the chopped up kale leaves. Season with salt and pepper and stir. Bring to a boil and let bubble for 20 minutes. Add the remaining kale and spinach. Simmer on low/medium heat for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for a little while. Purée until smooth in a blender or using an immersion blender. Reheat before serving and sprinkle nutmeg on top.