Date Night: What to do about the baby & the budget?

As anyone who has raised an infant knows, it can sometimes be hard on your relationship. It is even harder when you don't have the convenience of nearby family who can provide free babysitting.  My husband and I rarely get to go on a real, honest-to-goodness date.  In fact, I think there was 3 months between our last two dates.  So we improvise.  The other day I decided that after I put Ethan to bed that night I would make us a nice dinner and eat it while we watched a movie.  It was Saturday and we had hardly any food in the fridge, so I left the kiddo with Chris and went out in search of some good grub.  I ended up stopping at two different stores.  I bought:  

Filet mignon (which I had never prepared, but it was on sale at the grocery store)

A bag of mixed greens

A bottle of Shiraz 

A large wedge of Brie cheese

Crackers

A pound and a half of dark chocolate covered almonds for dessert

Spent just over $25.  Pretty economical if you ask me, considering a full course dinner like this in a restaurant would likely cost two people between $75- $100 after tax and tip, not to mention the cost of a babysitter.

I highly recommend buying your wine and cheese at Trader Joe's.  They tend to have a better selection and prices than the grocery store.  I also bought the chocolate-covered almonds at TJ's.  They were selling 24 oz containers for the same price as the grocery store's 16 oz container.  Gotta love that place.

Aside from the fact that I had to prepare the food myself, it was the ideal meal.  I followed a simple recipe for the meat that only took 15 minutes, tossed the salad greens with some apple slices and candied walnuts that I had on hand, poured a couple glasses of wine, and we had dinner.  I've included the recipe I used for the meat below. Chris thought the sauce was so good that he was drinking it straight from the pan when the filets were done cooking.

And because pictures are worth a thousand words, here are a few...

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Glaze

2 filet mignon steaks

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry red wine 

1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette

1 TBSP brown sugar

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

Let the steaks sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.  Mix together the wine, balsamic vinaigrette, and brown sugar.  Set aside.  Season steaks with salt, pepper, and minced garlic.  Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat on a skillet.  Once the pan is hot, add the steaks.  Brown for 1 minute on each side.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and add wine and vinaigrette mixture.  Cover and cook steaks 4-5 minutes on each side, basting with the sauce as you turn them over.  Serve steaks with sauce drizzled on top or serve sauce on the side for dipping. 

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