So, you meet your wife. Well, she is not your wife yet, but someday she will be, of that you’re certain. There’s only one gigantic hiccup in the way – your first at-home date is coming, and you’ve got no idea what to cook for her.
Fear not! Here are 10 easy date night recipes for couples that are surprisingly easy to make and are sure to impress!
1. BBQ Chicken Skillet Pizza
First off, an all-American recipe for couples who like to treat themselves.
Ingredients
- Boneless skinless chicken breast pieces, half a pound
- Dough flour
- Pizza dough, half a pound
- Barbecue sauce, two tablespoons
- Shredded fontina, half a cup
- Shredded cheddar, half a cup
- One small sliced red onion
- Chopped chives
- Extra-virgin olive oil, one tablespoon
- Ranch dressing
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 500°. Heat the oil and add chicken. Cook for six minutes on each side. Season with salt and pepper.
- Brush a skillet with oil.
- Roll out dough and transfer onto skillet.
- Spread barbecue sauce on the dough, then add chicken, cheddar, red onion, and fontina.
- Add salt
- Brush olive oil on the crust
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Add barbecue sauce, chives, and ranch.
2. “Marry Me” Chicken
The name may be a little on the nose, but what’s important is that it works.
Ingredients
- Boneless chicken breasts, eight ounces
- Chopped sun-dried tomatoes, half a cup
- Crushed red pepper flakes, one teaspoon
- Chicken broth, three-quarters of a cup
- Thyme leaves, one tablespoon
- Heavy cream, half a cup
- Grated parmesan, a quarter of a cup
- Torn basil
- Salt
- Two chopped garlic cloves
- Extra-virgin olive oil, three tablespoons
- Ground black pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet. Season chicken with salt and black pepper.
- Cook for five minutes per side. Move the chicken to a plate.
- Heat the other two tablespoons of oil on the skillet. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and stir.
- Cook for a minute. Add broth, parmesan, cream, tomatoes, and salt. Simmer and re-add the chicken.
- Put the skillet in the oven. Bake chicken for 12 minutes.
- Serve the chicken and add basil and sauce.
3. Creamy Kale & Gnocchi Bake
If you know she’d appreciate something special and with extra greenery to it.
Ingredients
- Refrigerated potato gnocchi, 16 ounces
- Kale, 10 ounces
- Unsalted butter, three tablespoons
- Whole milk, four cups
- Dijon mustard, two teaspoons
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- Flour, three tablespoons
- Shredded cheese, eight ounces
- Two finely chopped shallots
- Three chopped garlic cloves
- Extra-virgin olive oil, two tablespoons
- Grated parmesan, one ounce
- Ground black pepper
- Salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat oil in a large pot. Add kale and season it with half a teaspoon of salt. After five minutes, transfer it into a baking dish.
- Melt butter in the kale’s pot. Cook the shallots and garlic for five minutes. Add flour and cook for another minute.
- Add milk and whisk until smooth. Add mustard, three quarters teaspoon salt, a quarter teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the gnocchi and cook for one minute.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add cheese. Re-add the kale, and cover with the rest of the cheese and parmesan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then let it cool for 10 minutes.
4. Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Not all Italian cuisine is pizzas or pasta!
Ingredients
- Four boneless chicken breasts
- Grated parmesan, a quarter cup
- Baby spinach, three cups
- Cherry tomatoes, one and a half cups
- Dried oregano, one teaspoon
- Butter, three tablespoons
- Three minced garlic cloves
- Heavy cream, half a cup
- Lemon wedges
- Extra-virgin olive oil, one tablespoon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Salt
Directions
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add chicken, season with oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook for eight minutes per side.
- Melt butter in the same skillet. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add cherry tomatoes, salt, and pepper.
- Cook until tomatoes start bursting, add spinach, and cook until spinach starts wilting.
- Add heavy cream and parmesan, then simmer the mixture until the sauce is reduced. Re-add the chicken and cook for seven minutes.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
5. Buffalo Chicken Parm
Another idea for the lovers of good old US cuisine.
Ingredients
- Two boneless chicken breasts
- Two large eggs
- Shredded mozzarella, eight ounces
- Bread crumbs, one and a quarter cup
- Grated parmesan, one cup
- Vegetable oil, one cup
- Hot sauce, a quarter of a cup
- Unsalted butter, four tablespoons
- Sliced chives and ranch dressing
- Dried oregano, one teaspoon
- Flour, a third of a cup
- Salt
Directions
- Cut the chicken breasts into thin strips. Tender each piece until it’s a quarter of an inch thick. Pat each piece dry and season with salt.
- Put flour in a shallow bowl. In a second bowl, beat the eggs. In a third bowl, combine half a cup of parmesan with oregano and bread crumbs.
- Heat oil to 350°. Prepare a wire rack inside the oven with a baking sheet on top. Put two cutlets in the hot oil. Fry for two minutes per side and transfer to the prepared rack. Repeat with the other cutlets.
- Cook hot sauce and butter until the butter is melted. Spread some of the sauce on the cutlets and keep the rest for serving.
- Add the rest of the parmesan and the mozzarella on top of the chicken.
- Broil for 4 minutes or until the cheese is melted
- Serve the chicken. Add chives, reserved sauce, and ranch dressing.
6. Nabeyaki Udon
Did you happen to meet your wife on an international dating site, such as BridesUniverse? If she happens to be Japanese or East Asian, she’s sure to love this!
Ingredients
- Cooked udon noodles, twelve ounces
- One large kombu piece
- Spinach, one cup
- Mirin, one tablespoon
- Boneless chicken thighs, six ounces
- Shiitake mushrooms, one cup
- Three sliced scallions
- Sliced kamaboko, two ounces
- Sliced kabocha, kuri squash, or butternut, four ounces
- Sliced snow peas, one cup
- Bonito flakes, three cups
- Two beaten eggs
- Soy sauce, one tablespoon
- Salt
Directions
- And the kombu to nine cups of cold water. Simmer for 10 minutes and turn off when it starts to boil.
- Add bonito flakes and let them sit for two minutes.
- Remove the kombu and bonito flakes with a mesh – the boiled water is your dashi.
- Simmer the dashi and add mirin, soy sauce, and salt. Add squash, chicken, squash, scallion whites, and mushrooms. Cook for six minutes.
- Add spinach, snow peas, eggs, kamaboko, and scallion greens. Cook for two minutes.
- Add udon noodles.
- Serve and add shichimi togarashi.
7. Miso Salmon & Farro Bowl
Another great idea for lovers of East Asian cuisine!
Ingredients
- Filets salmon, six ounces
- Unseasoned rice vinegar, four tablespoons
- Grated ginger, one inch
- White miso paste, three tablespoons
- Soy sauce, one tablespoon
- Brown sugar, two-and-a-half tablespoons
- Three scallions
- Two crushed red pepper flakes
- One sliced (lengthwise) cucumber
- One sliced (lengthwise) carrot
- Shredded red cabbage, two cups
- Uncooked farro, one cup
- Neutral oil, five tablespoons
- Toasted sesame oil, one teaspoon
- Three grated garlic cloves
- Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, two tablespoons
- Salt
Directions
- Whisk soy sauce, miso, sesame oil, ginger, vinegar, teaspoon of brown sugar, red pepper, and garlic cloves.
- Pat salmon dry and season with salt. Coat salmon with miso mixture. Refrigerate for up to an hour.
- Add the remaining brown sugar and salt to the cabbage.
- Stir one teaspoon of salt into a pot of water. Boil and add farro. Simmer and stir for 25 minutes, then drain it, return it to the pot, and cover it.
- Put a rack with foil high in the over and turn the broiler on. Put scallions on a rack and drizzle with neutral oil and salt.
- Remove most of the miso from the salmon and arrange next to scallions.
- Broil salmon and scallions for up to 12 minutes.
- Chop the scallions and move them into a bowl. Add and whisk the rest of the garlic, vinegar, red pepper, cilantro, four tablespoons of neutral oil, two tablespoons vinegar, and pinch of red pepper. Combine two tablespoons of the scallion dressing with farro.
- Add carrots, cucumber, and the rest of the scallion dressing to the cabbage. Serve with salmon.
8. Thai-Inspired Basil Beef Bowls
Continuing with the Asian recipe ideas, oyster sauce and beef go surprisingly well together!
Ingredients
- Lean ground beef, one pound
- Four large eggs
- Oyster sauce, a quarter of a cup
- Soy sauce, a quarter of a cup
- Fish sauce, two tablespoons
- Granulated sugar, one tablespoon
- Molasses, three tablespoons
- One sliced red bell pepper
- Cooked white rice
- One cut carrot
- Two sliced red chiles
- Three sliced scallions
- Two sliced garlic cloves
- Fresh basil leaves, one ounce
- Chopped ginger, one tablespoon
- Neutral oil, four tablespoons
- Salt
Directions
- Heat one tablespoon of oil and cover the skillet. Add sliced beef and salt. Cook and stir for 6 minutes.
- Whisk fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, molasses, and a quarter cup of water.
- Cook carrots, bell pepper, a tablespoon of oil, and salt in the skillet for five minutes.
- Add chiles and cook for two more minutes.
- Add ginger, garlic, and white scallion parts for two more minutes.
- Simmer the sauce for up to four minutes. Reduce the heat and add basil for two more minutes. Return the beef and top with the green scallion parts.
- Heat the last two tablespoons of oil and cook a salted egg in them for three to four minutes.
- Serve the beef, egg, and sauce on top of cooked rice.
9. Sesame Tofu & Broccoli
Some couples know not to underestimate the power of well-cooked tofu.
Ingredients
- Firm tofu, fourteen ounces
- Two small broccoli heads
- Steamed white rice
- Maple syrup, a quarter of a cup
- Soy sauce, half a cup
- Rice vinegar, two tablespoons
- Vegetable broth, three-quarters of a cup
- Toasted sesame oil, two tablespoons
- Two scallions
- Two garlic cloves
- Cornstarch, a third of a cup
- Chili crisp, three tablespoons
- Ginger, one inch
- Neutral oil, four tablespoons
- Salt
Directions
- Dry off tofu by pressing it under a pan and between several layers of paper towels.
- Preheat the oven to 425° and cut broccoli into florets. Grate ginger and garlic and add the broth, maple syrup, vinegar, white scallion parts, soy sauce, chili crisp, vinegar, one tablespoon of cornstarch, and sesame oil, and whisk to combine.
- Cut tofu into pieces, throw in a pot, and sprinkle with neutral oil, salt, and the remainder of cornstarch.
- Put the tofu on a baking sheet and drizzle with two tablespoons of neutral oil.
- Bake both sides of tofu for 25 minutes.
- Heat the last of the neutral oil. Add broccoli and salt, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Cook cornstarch sauce for four minutes. Add the broccoli and tofu, then top with sesame seeds and the green scallion parts and sesame seeds.
- Serve over cooked rice.
10. Enchilada Stuffed Shells
If you’re feeling like going for a Latin-inspired date night, this is a great idea.
Ingredients
- Enchilada sauce, two cups
- Shredded rotisserie chicken, two cups
- Green chiles, four-and-a-half ounces
- Mexican shredded cheese, two cups
- Jumbo shells, half a pound
- One minced garlic clove
- Ground black pepper
- Chili powder, one teaspoon
- Half a chopped onion
- Cumin, one teaspoon
- Olive oil, one tablespoon
- Cilantro, one tablespoon
- Sour cream
- Salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Cook pasta in salted water until al dente, then drain it
- Heat oil over medium heat. Cook onions for two minutes. Add garlic and keep cooking for one more minute. Season with cumin, pepper, salt, and chili powder.
- Stir green chilies and enchilada into a pan and cook for up to five minutes.
- Add a cup of the prepared sauce, cilantro, and one cup of cheese to the chicken. Stir with salt and pepper.
- Spread a thin layer of the sauce in a casserole dish. Put chicken mixture in shells and place the shells in the casserole dish. Spread the rest of the sauce on the shells and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Serve with a topping of sour cream and cilantro.
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