Date Night Done Right

When we went out for my birthday last Friday, we enjoyed the time without the kids but the meal left something to be desired. The food was substandard and over covered with cheese, the plates were cheap looking, and the service was sketchy. Plus the food was ridiculously overpriced!

We have been questioning why we even bother going out to eat at all? I can make food just as good if not better, for far cheaper. One night, Mark had to work late and so I fed the kids and put them to bed. When he got home I fixed the 2 of us some dinner so we could have some time together, and it was so nice that we figured we should do it more often. We decided Friday nights would be the best times to do that.

With this week being so full, somehow, Mark and I really haven't seen a lot of each other. And when we have it's been dinner with the kids, all noisy, and putting children to bed just so we can fall asleep too. Friday seemed like a good night for a "date night" to me! The kids had spaghetti, got baths, and tucked into bed. Mark relaxed a bit while I worked on our dinner. The table even got all dressed up in my "new" lace tablecloth from the thrift store, and my "fancy" china that I got 75% off last Christmas and hadn't even opened yet...

We enjoyed some artisian cheese bread from Walmart's reduced rack with Country Crock spread placed lovingly in individual serving ramekins. For the first course, a delightful lemon linguine! Which I had posted the recipe for on my food blog already and so I didn't take a picture of the pasta in my fancy dishes.

The spinach-stuffed chicken breasts, however, were not on my blog yet. These were lots of fun to put together, very low maintenance during cooking, and looked delicious on the plates.

Last, but very much not least, the chocolate mousse! If you ever make a chocolate mousse, this is the way to do it. In the blender! So rich and decadant!

Dinner and a movie, at home. Date night done right!