ATTN: TO ALL the COOKS, CHIEFS, and EXPERIENCED HOME COOKERS- I NEED ADVICE, COULD YOU HELP?

Question

I am a non-experienced 20 year old cook, and I was asked to cook dinner tonight for my boyfriend, I don't have much money ($20) and I don't know what I should make.

My boyfriend is a 'Meat and Potatoes' kind of guy- He IS SO PICKY, so of course this makes it harder for me to cook.

If you have ANY ADIVCE, OR RECIEPES that I could try (around the meat and potatoes concept) and how much time it takes to make, you would be literally saving me from a disaster waiting to happen. I have 6 and 1/2 hours until the dead line (8:00 p.m Central).

Thank you.

Answer 1

If it is just the two of you, I would go and get a couple of rib-eye steaks-about $12, a bag of salad $1.50, a bag of frozen steak fries $2.50 and a bottle of Italian dressing $1. Also, get a couple of peaches/plums, and some cool whip. $2 OR $3.
Use the dressing to marinade the steaks (about an hour) and dress the salad. You can grill or broil them in about 15 minutes. The fries should bake in 15-20 minutes, as well.
Cut the fruits in half, remove the pits and sprinkle the cut sides with sugar and Cinnamon. Put them on the grill or under the broiler with the steaks, let them cook til soft and BARELY charred, and serve with a little cool whip.

If there are going to be more people, get a London broil instead of the rib-eyes, and treat it just the same. When it is cooked, slice thinly across the grain--across the short side of the piece of meat. For $10, you can get one big enough o feed 4-5 adults. Use the extra $2 to get more fruit. Everything else should stretch to cover more people.

And remember, your boyfriend will love you, regardless of how well you can cook.

Answer 2

For the meat cook chicken. I buy the frozen boneless skinless chicken in the freezer section. Or you can buy it non-frozen in the meat dept. I start by putting some butter in the pan with some fresh garlic (no I don't buy garlic completely fresh I buy mine in a jar in the salad section). Sprinkle some adobe in the pan. Turn you heat up on the stove, let the butter melt and the kitchen begin to smell of the butter and garlic. Place the chicken in the pan and sear it on both sides. Then turn the heat down and let it cook slowly all the way thru. When done it should not be pink inside. Now for the potatoes part I would buy some hungry jack instant potatoes and mix according to box. And cook the boy a vegetable. Next time don't let some one put you in this position.

Answer 3

Meat loaf (you can get the Hunts starter kit, bascially it's jazzed up tomato sauce and the recipie is on the can, just follow it to the letter

Mashed potatoes (just goto recipes.com)

Green beans.

OR,

Speghetti. dice an onion and a green pepper, cook in pan on medium heat with a little oil, just enough to coat the veggies, until the onions are see through. Add the beef and brown. When brown, add your favorite store bought speghetti sauce and let simmer for about 5-10 min. That can sit for however long you need it to. Boil the pasta (and it doesn't really matter what kind you get, but I like small shell pasta because it catches all of the sauce and meat!) till done, and then serve.

It's easy, it's cheap, and if he doesn't like it, tell him you're gonna leave him for a real man who isn't so dam finnicky and will just appreciate the fact that you went out of your way to make him happy!

Answer 4

Make chicken Fried Steak and baked potato's.
Go buy some cubed steak and put egg in on bowl and flour with a little salt and pepper in the other bowl. Take each steak and dip it in egg to coat and then in the flour. Make sure you coat it well with both. Then in a frying pan - I use an electric skillet, heat veg. oil - when it is good and hot, turn down heat just a little and put the steaks in grease. Brown on one side good before turning over - cook until juice is clear.
Wrap the potato's and poke holes in foil. Bake at 400 for about 45 min. or so - until you can put a fork through it and it is tender.
Have butter and sour cream and cheese, etc. for the potato's and you can buy a salad in a bag to go with it, or just open a can of some kind of veggie.
Good luck.

Answer 5

prep time, 5 minutes or so.
Put in the oven at 4:00 pm

Buy:
1 1/2 pounds of cut up stew meat
1 can Campbell's mushroom soup
1 envelope Lipton onion soup in box (or Knorr, yuck to me)
1 cup 7 up
Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees.
Spread raw stew meat into a single layer in a 9X13 inch pan or baking dish.
Season with salt/pepper.
Spread mushroom soup over meat.
Sprinkle onion soup mix on top.
Pour 7 up over top. (This substitutes wine)
Bake (covered with foil) in 275 degree oven for 4 hours. No need to peek.
Serve over wide or extra wide egg noodles. Follow package instructions Or serve over rice (use boiling bags, since you are a beginner and no time to practice). Personally, I would go with the egg noodles. after you drain them, toss with a little butter so they won't stick and clump. Start making the noodles or rice about 30 minutes before you are going to serve this (it takes the water about 15 minutes to boil). This is also a non messy, simple, recipe that will keep your kitchen clean, smell your house up good when he walks in, and you will have more time to set the table/atmosphere and get ready. Don't forget a candle on the table and some flowers from outside somewhere in a yard.

Now ya better get going. You have an hour and a half to get this into the oven. Good luck. Enjoy your evening.

Oh yes, to serve put noodles on the plate and top with meat mixture. Serve package Ceasar Salad&dressing and heated whole fresh french bread (just put the bread in the oven when you put the noodles in the water, uncovered on cookie sheet, about 10 minutes). You can zap a can of Leisure Peas if ya want a green veggie, too.

Answer 6

Marinate beef tenderloin tips (about 5.99 a lb, one pound should be more than enough for two). If you have onions and garlic in the house, marinate with those, and s&p. You can substitue onion/garlic powder. Get a bag of shredded cheddar (about $2) a bag of brown potatoes (about $3) some sour cream (1.50) and chives ($2). Poke the potatoes with a fork, rinse them off, and cook in the microwave until soft, about 7 minutes. When cooled, cut in half, scoop out potato, mix with cheese, minced chives, and cream cheese. Re-stuff the potatoes, top with a little more cheese, pop in the oven @ 350 for about 15 minutes (until top is golden brown and cheese is melted) and voila, twice baked potatoes.
Back to the steak-you have two options. Pop them on the grill, or after the potatoes are cooked, move the rack to the top rung, turn on broil, and broil the tenderloins. It takes about 7 minutes for med-rare.
Prep time is about 20 minutes, cooking time about 25 minutes. Quick and easy!
You will spend approximately $15 and have a delicious, easy, meat and potatoes meal sure to please your man. Good luck and enjoy!

Oh, and here is a cheap and easy dessert:
1 Graham cracker crust $2
1 box Strawberry Jell-O $1
1 8 oz container cool whip $2

Boil 2/3 cup water, and mix with Jell-O, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 c cold water, 1/2c ice cubes, and stir until thickened. Add cool whip, stick in fridge for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, put it into pie crust and refrigerate about 4 hours, until set. Bon appetite!

Answer 7

Looks impressive, but is VERY easy to make. Don't let the ingredients scare you, they won't be expensive, and you can get a bottle of wine with the money you have leftover! My suggestions are in parenthesis.

Roasted Tenderloins with Mushroom Shallot Gravy

Recipe Ingredients:
1-4 lb. Farmer John® Pork Tenderloin ($6)
8 Garlic Cloves (1 head, $0.50)
coarsely ground Salt (use what's in your cabinet)
coarsely ground Pepper (use what's in your cabinet)
4 large sprigs of Rosemary ($1, produce section, don't use dried)
2 lbs. Red Potatoes ($1)
4 Tbs. Butter
2 cups Chicken Stock (buy generic, $1)
1 medium Onion
1 lb. Baby Carrots
2 Fuji Apples
8 oz. sliced Mushrooms (buy presliced, $2)
1/4 cup minced Shallots (or onions)
2 Tbs. Olive Oil
1 Tbs. Sherry (optional)
1 tsp. finely crushed Oregano (fresh or dried)
Garnish: Fresh Parsley finely minced

1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place tenderloin in roasting pan, fat side up and rub finely minced garlic and salt and pepper over the top. Place 3 sprigs of rosemary on top of tenderloin and roast for 15 minutes. Lower oven to 375 degrees F. after that.

2: Quarter the potatoes (leaving skin on), onions and apples and toss them along with the baby carrots in a bowl with the olive oil, 1 sprig of finely minced rosemary, 1 tsp. finely crushed oregano. Place these vegetables around the roast after it has been cooking for one hour. Dot the top of the roast with 2 Tbs. of butter.

3: Remove the tenderloin after it has cooked for 2 hours. Remove the vegetables to a platter. Sauté the shallots and mushrooms in the 2 Tbs. of butter until tender. Pour two cups of chicken stock into the roasting pan and scrape the sides and bottom to remove the pan drippings. Pour into the pan that has the shallots and mushrooms. Thicken the gravy with a small amount of flour and add 1 Tbs. of sherry and rosemary from the roast. Slice the tenderloin, place a few vegetables around it and pour the gravy over the meat. Garnish with finely minced parsley.

Answer 8

Roasted Flank Steak with Potatoes & Portobello Mushrooms

4 medium baking potatoes
12 cloves garlic, smashed -- roughly chopped
1 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
4 portobello mushrooms -- 3/4-1 lb total
stem ends trimmed and caps wiped clean
2 pounds flank steak -- trimmed of fat

Place one oven rack on lowest level and one rack on the next level above. Heat oven to 500 degrees.
Forty minutes before roasting the steak and mushrooms, use a fork to prick the potatoes once or twice each. Place them directly on the sides of the upper rack of the oven, allowing enough room for the mushrooms, which will cook on the same rack.
Put the garlic in the blender or food processor with 4 tablespoons of the oil. Blend until smooth. Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Add remaining oil and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
Put the mushrooms in a 12-by-8-by-1 1/2-inch roasting pan.
Using the spatula, scrape out half of the garlic mixture into the pan. Rub the puree into both sides of each mushroom cap. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Put steak in shallow container large enough to hold it. Pour over remaining garlic mixture and rub into both sides of steak. Let marinate on kitchen counter at least 30 minutes or until meat comes to room temperature.
Before roasting the steak and mushrooms, put a 14-by-12-by- 2-inch roasting pan on the lower oven rack and preheat for 10 minutes. Remove pan.
Immediately, put the steak with all of its marinade in the pan. Place on the lower oven rack, the thickest p art of the steak to the rear of the oven. Place the mushrooms on the upper rack at the same time.
For rare, roast the steak on one side for 6 minutes (for medium, 8 minutes).
Turn the steak and the mushrooms. Roast 6 minutes more. Remove steak, mushr ooms and potatoes from oven. Let steak rest about 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain at a 70-degree angle.
Per serving: 734 calories, 53 gm protein, 40 gm carbohydrates, 40 gm fat, 115 mg cholesterol, 11 gm saturated fat, 601 mg sodium
NOTES : (4 servings)
Here the oven is used to turn out the steak and vegetables. The potatoes must be started as soon as the oven is cranked up. The mushrooms go in at the same time as the meat.

Answer 9

Grill a couple of steaks and make mashed potatoes! Tips:

Spend most of your budget on the steaks. Get something nice but not too expensive; talk to the guy at the butcher counter and see if he has some recommendations. I'd go for rib-eye if you can find any in your price range, they have a great flavor. If not, you can't go wrong with New York strip, top sirloin, or a neat (and not too expensive) cut called a "culotte steak."

Make a "dry rub" for the steaks: it can be as simple as salt and pepper or as complicated as you like. I like to use a little garlic salt, some dried thyme, and a bit of paprika as well as ground black pepper. Sprinkle it lightly on both sides of the steak, then let them stand for about 5-10 minutes so that the seasonings get into the meat. After that, brush on a little cooking oil, over the dry rub -- it helps conduct the heat evenly into the meat, and it prevents sticking.

To cook: They're best on a grill of some kind but you can cook them in a large flat skillet (non-stick is best) if necessary. Turn the skillet on medium-high heat; it's hot enough when you flick a few drops of water on it and they skitter and "dance" as they evaporate. Place the steaks on the hot skillet or grill.

How long to cook them: Total of 10 minutes per inch of THICKNESS for medium-rare. This means five minutes on each side. Somehow I suspect this fellow likes his more well-done, so raise it to 12 for medium (6 per side) or 14-16 for "burned beyond recognition."

Potatoes: get yellow Finnish potatoes or "Yukon Gold," they have the best texture when mashed. To cook them: peel them, cut them into four pieces (one cut the short way, one cut the long way), and boil in salted water for about 30 minutes OR until they break apart slightly when poked with a fork. (The fork test wins over the time.)

To mash: DON'T use a food processor, it'll turn them into potato glue. Best solution is a food mill/food ricer, but you probably don't have one; while you're at the store, see if they have a "pastry knife" (it looks like a piece of wood or plastic with five to ten "bows" of steel from end to end). Shouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks and you can use it to make pie crust as well as mashed potatoes. In an absolute pinch... use a fork, but that takes a LONG time.

Now -- to make mashed potatoes, you need to remove the potatoes from the boiling water BUT DON'T THROW THE WATER AWAY -- you'll use a little in a couple minutes. Start breaking the potatoes into smaller and smaller pieces. Add a few ounces (half a cup) of the water they were boiled in, some butter or margarine, and (if you really like the guy :-) a little cream. Keep mashing, whipping them with a fork or your pastry knife till they're smooth. Don't forget the salt.

Optional: Make gravy. You can do this right in the same skillet you cooked the steaks in. With the steaks removed but the skillet still on the burner, sprinkle (or better yet, sift) a small amount of flour -- a tablespoon or so, no more -- onto the skillet, then use a spatula to mix it in with the meat juices. Scrape up the burned bits from the bottom of the skillet and mix them into the juices. Then slowly add about a cup of liquid -- beef broth is great, wine is better, water will do in a pinch -- to the skillet, continuing to scrape the bottom to loosen all those tasty morsels. (If the flour forms lumps, mash them with the spatula to dissolve them into the liquid, but this is easier if you do it in the meat juices before adding the broth/wine/water). It SHOULD be pretty salty if you used a dry-rub on the steaks, but test it for seasoning. It may look a little thin; leave the heat on medium-high for a couple of minutes and it will thicken as the water evaporates. (If too much evaporates, just add a little more broth and stir.)

So what order should you make these in?

1. Start by peeling, quartering and boiling the potatoes. It'll take 30-40 minutes for this.

2. When the potatoes are done, remove the pan from heat but leave the potatoes in the water -- they'll stay hot for a long time. Then start the steaks.

3. When the steaks are done, remove them from the skillet, put them on a platter, cover with foil, and put them aside while you make the potatoes. (They'll continue to cook for a few minutes, and the flavor will improve if they stand for up to 15 minutes -- as long as they're covered.)

4. If you're making gravy, do it now; when you add the broth or water, let it simmer while you...

5. Mash the potatoes. (Keep an eye on the gravy if you're making it; stir it occasionally to keep it smooth and make sure it doesn't get TOO thick.)

6. Serve -- steaks on plates, potatoes in the big bowl you mashed them in, gravy in a bowl with a spoon or ladle.

7. Say "Oh, this is so SUDDEN!" when he shows you the ring. :-)

Total cost: You should be able to get two pretty good steaks for $12-$14, and a bag of potatoes for a couple of bucks. Beef broth is 79 cents if you buy the store brand, and even if you have to buy a small carton of cream and butter, you're out for under $20 for both of you.

Answer 10

marinate 200 gram Beef slices or 200 gram pork chops in oriental soy sauce and small lime juice. 2 Tbsp soy sauce in 1 Tbsp lime juice. for 30 min.

Fry some potato wedges. set aside and drain in paper towels.

in non-stick frying pan, heat 2 tbsp olive oil. pan fry meat on both side under low-medium fire until water evaporates. Add sliced yellow onion. add 1/4 cup water and let it boil. dissolve 1 tsp cornstarch in 3 Tbsp water and put the mixture in.

When it thickens, put on a serving dish topped with potato wedges...

Hope you enjoy and reaches you in time! Appreciate the feedback!