Going Out vs. Staying In

One of the things I really enjoy doing is going out for dinner.  I love looking at the menu and having a glass of wine while deciding what to eat.  I enjoy the fact that someone else set the table and will bring me my food.  I especially like someone else cleaning up the mess.  We used to go out quite often, but over the last few years it has been harder and harder for me to go out to eat.

First off, (as with a lot of people right now) we're on a pretty tight budget.  We're making conscious decisions on how/where to put our financial energy.  We've decided that good, healthy food is towards the top - going out to eat is at the bottom.

Then there's the fact that I love to cook and I mean I LOVE TO COOK!  So this weekend we stayed home for date night.  Nathan and I cooked a fantastic meal of shrimp cocktail ($5.45 + sauce we had on hand), scallops with basil oil & bacon ($8.06), and lamb/feta fatayer ($18.21).  We spent hours cooking, laughing, drinking a couple glasses of boxed wine, and eating awesome food.  Not only did we spend less then $35 on a great meal, there's enough left overs to make the fatayers again today :)

*cheers* to at home date nights and if there are any other foodies out there, I'd love to have you over for dinner!