gourmet dinner in

eating out is one of the easiest ways to unexpectedly spend a ton of money, and it's easy to justify too - you need to eat, and you're generally catching up with friends or family. plus, there is no denying, especially in toronto, that there are delicious options on every corner.

but, in the year of the budget, dinners out have to be fewer and further between. so, this weekend instead of going out for dinner i made a delicious, high end meal in. pinterest is amazing inspiration for someone like me, with minimal skills and limited imagination when it comes to food prep.

salmon was on the menu - after buying enough for 3 weeks in the most recent flyer sales excitement. i cook my salmon in a frying pan, and my "trick" is to fry all sides - not just top and bottom, to make sure it is crispy on the outside and just a little pink on the inside.

but, we have salmon often - and there wasn't anything really unique about it this week either. but, what was unique was our side - normally we have asparagus but this week, having recently had a great bocconcini salad at a restaurant, i was going to try that and pinterest helped me track down a recipe that i then added spinach to.

Recipe:

- 1 cup Bocconcini cocktail balls cut in half

- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in half

- 2-3 handfuls of spinach

- 1/2 cup olive oil, mix with 1-2 cloves of garlic and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

mix all ingredients together in a bowl, and serve. my only warning is be careful with the garlic, we were happy to be spending the evening in isolation because our breath was mighty deadly. 

it turned out really delicious - by changing our side, we really took an average dinner and made it special. and better yet, saved us from dropping $75 on dinner for two in the city.