Romantic Tapas Night at Home

We ate half of it before I realized I should take a picture!

I had all intentions of being productive with various projects.
As the day went on, I didn’t really feel like doing anything. Now, usually I beat myself up for not getting my to-do list done. But lately, I’ve been doing what I feel like doing and have found myself a lot more happier. An even better reward? I’ve felt more satisfied with myself.

So today I cleaned the house and decided to make a great dinner for my husband to celebrate his new job!
Recently, I went to a great tapas place and wanted to recreate a few dishes, but not at that price.
I googled ‘free tapas menu templates’, edited it with the nights dishes, and even named it ‘La Casa De Ferrante’ after the mock restaurant set up. The menu:
– Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with cream cheese & almonds on a bed of endive leaves
– Roasted Brussel Sprouts
– Stuffed peppers with rice, chorizo, & cheese
– olives
– portabella mushrooms
– bread
– watermelon
– strawberries
– chocolate cake

Sounds like I spent a lot of money right? Not at all. Here is what I spent:
– dates $2.49
– cream cheese $ 1.99
– endive $0.69
– brussels sprouts $2
– 1/4 lb shrimp $2
– 2 small orange peppers $0.60
– Olives $3.29
– Portabello mushroom $0.78
– bread $1.99
– watermelon slice $2.29
-strawberries $1.99
– slice of chocolate cake $2.49
– bottle of wine $8.99
$ 31.59 total

I used leftover rice/chorizo/cheese that I had in the freezer to stuff the peppers. I already had some basics like garlic, spices, and olive oil. I only buy what I need, so if produce is sold by the pound-I just get enough for the dish. It is cheaper and nothing goes to waste ( I hate waste). It took me a little over an hour to prepare all of this but I took my time to enjoy it and not feel rushed. I let the brussel sprouts roast next to the peppers before stuffing them, then sauteed the shrimp in olive oil & garlic, sauteed the mushroom, added a few spices to the olives to jazz them up, sliced the bread. I laid them out on the table and voile! Way more affordable, romantic, and I could eat without shoes on at the table 🙂 Plus my husband Joe was really suprised.