Boxed Macaroni Grill

JP made me some delicious pasta last night that came from a box! It was Macaroni Grill's Creamy Basil Pasta. We added shrimp, fresh spinach, and red bell pepper and enjoyed a glass of 2009 Alexander Valley Vineyard Cabernet. The entire meal was so scrumptious that we finished the entire meal between the 2 of us! It's a way of making a quick meal that is also price friendly. I highly recommend making this... Don't let the box trick u!

try broccolini! Eat Healthy less than $10

So JP and I had another steak dinner.
We had another bone-in ribeye left... this one was only $5.58! CHEAP!
This meal only takes about 20 minutes tops including prep time.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR THIS MEAL:
bone in ribeye ($5.58 depending on how much it weighs. you can use any steak!)
7spice
salt and pepper
bundle of broccolini ($2.89)-- this is not broccoli. its broccoliNI
3-4 garlic cloves (you should still have some leftover or 2/$1)
1/4 of a red onion
2T butter
Morton Natures Seasoning (I use this stuff alot! Im not sure of the price and Im sorry about that... it shouldnt be more than $3 and it truly is an amazing seasoning for so many meals as you will see in future meals!)


The first thing I did to prepare for this meal was chop, slice and dice the garlic for the broccolini.
I put in 1T of butter in the sautee pan along with the garlic and sprinkled the Morton Nature Seasoning along in there as well before placing the broccolini in.
I allow the butter to melt and sit with the garlic and seasoning on low heat.
While the butter is melting is when you start the gas grill and let it preheat for about 5 minutes.

We seasoned it the same with the 7Spice ($4.99 at Kroger or Saltgrass) and we also have a salt and pepper mix we add as well. yum.

Once the ribeyes are on the grill we cook it for 4 minutes on each side for a medium rare. This isnt a consistent time since steaks are sometimes super thick or thin. ya know?

Once the ribeyes are flipped is when I turn the heat up to medium add another Tablespoon (T) of butter and put a lid on the pan.
While this is cooking I cut my red onion up. We cut about 1 inch pieces.
I add the onion in the last 2 minutes. Broccolini only needs about 5 minutes to cook and I really enjoy the crunch and flavor of the red onion with broccolini. yum :)

The time the ribeye is done is when the broccolini is done and your meal is ready.
DONT FORGET THE MILK :)

and yes... this may seem really quick and easy... and well... IT IS!

Happy Eating,
Ava Chino

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EAT HEALTHY FOR LESS THAN $8

So I got off work tonight and decided to go to HEB to find dinner.
I didnt want to spend that much money since I didnt make that much mula tonight, so I went with fresh spinach ($1.48), salmon ($4.99), and garlic(2/$1).
The meal I made was sauteed garlic spinach, left over mashed potatoes, and a traditional salmon.

Here's what you need:
Tablespoon of olive oil
sprinkle of salt
fresh spinach (or you can get the bagged baby spinach($2.99)
3-4 garlic cloves per person
salmon
foil

First thing I do for this meal is take some cloves of garlic and chop, slice, and dice them. Since this was a meal for one, I only used 3-4 cloves... But if youre cooking for more than 1, i would use up to 8 cloves... it really depends on how much you love garlic.
So I set the stove on low/medium and place a sautee pan on the stove with some olive oil.
As the garlic is chopped, sliced, and diced I add them to the olive oil.
I do this first so that the garlic taste can sit in the olive oil. Its awesome.
I have a gas grill so I take my salmon put it in the foil and place it on the grill.
Salmon doesnt need to cook too long; if you cook salmom too long, it will dry out.
Once the salmon is on the grill, I add the fresh spinach to the olive oil and garlic.
You must move the spinach around or else it wont all cook.
This was my first time to cook fresh spinach instead of the bagged baby spinach... the difference is (1) you must for sure rinse, rinse, rinse the fresh spinach! It is for sure fresh and so its dirty! Rinse it and then rinse some more. (2) baby spinach wilts a ton and the fresh spinach is much, much larger and therefore has more texture. i love it a lot more. plus, its cheaper! :)
Sprinkle some salt over the spinach once you add it to the pan... you really dont need much salt at all.
By the time the spinach is cooking all the way, the salmon should be finished as well (5-7 minutes)
So take the salmon off the grill, take it out of the foil, add the spinach to the plate and viola... dinner is served!

I had leftover mashed potatoes and so I added that to my meal. One thing i have learned is a great thing to do is take a leftover vegetable and add it to a freshly made meal... that way leftovers arent completely awful! haha

I had taken more pictures of this meal to post; however, I accidently deleted them when uploading the pictures. yah. it wont happen again! promise :)

Happy Eating,
Ava Chino

AND DONT FORGET TO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!
IF YOU HAVE ANY MEAL IDEAS LET ME KNOW!
IF YOU HAVE RECIPES SEND THEM MY WAY!
THANKS! :)