$25 Budget to Make Lunch

Lovelight

Say you've a $25 budget to make lunch for you and a friend. Takeout is an option you can purchase for $5. What would you make/order?

PS. We can assume that you've condiments and spices at home.

How hungry? I don't know. Hungry like you both had a good, satiating breakfast. So you could skip lunch with ease if you had to. Lol.

ernesto_2

How hungry are we? I have a great recipe I saved from HelloFresh that I like to make as a short snack-and-chat option.

https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/charred-tomato-herby-ricotta-toasts-61a8e570b9bcf94ce77bfe3a

RadiantHugs

Not my own recipe, but I am plant based now and I made this one recently from the Forks meal planner. Pretty tasty and filling.

RadiantHugs

And this recipe was another I recently made, so delicious and nutritious. https://www.kindearth.net/sweet-stuffed-pepper-with-beet-sunflower-seeds-video-gluten-free-vegan/

CuddleDuncan

Assuming pounds for dollars, and modest portions .....

Scallops and black pudding

Roast partridge with juniper and parsley
Bread sauce, game chips, carrots and parsnips roasted in a little garlic, braised cabbage, and redcurrant jelly

Rose posset with a ginger tuile

If the budget was $25 each I'd add a bottle of nice Saint Emilion.

Sheena123

I would pull the lazy route and take us both to Wawa. A fast food/gas station here in Florida. I actually really like the food, they make amazing frozen cappuccinos and smoothies and they have a hoagie and soup deal for $5 🤩 so you can get a nice toasted, packed to the brim hoagie and a delicious soup with an incredibly tasty salted caramel iced cappuccino for around 8 or 9 dollars.

RadiantHugs

Pizza is also a great way to feed multiple on a budget. And you don't have to even do standard stuff - for well under $25 you can make this gourmet style pizza and have change to spare for drinks, etc. You can simplify the process using a premade crust and still be well under budget. https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/caramelized-onion-fig-goat-cheese-pizza-arugula-video

KYtransplant

I would make this any day of the week.

And it's even better as leftovers because the sauce soaks into the rigatoni.

https://www.centercutcook.com/spicy-chicken-rigatoni-like-buca-di-beppo/

JasonCuddles

Cooking at home, pizza maybe. I don't eat out really. Pizza is a nice cook together thing I find.

Lovelight

Those look* quite good y'all.

Omnivore lunch:

Sesame seeds, Smoked steelhead salmon, basma frozen okra, whole wheat tortillas, 2 lemons, mint, organic kale, 3 crown peppermint tea, mango, garlic, 2 kiwis, canned chick peas. Total: $24.20 with tax.

Lunch: Tortillas, salmon, kale, mint, okra, with hummus.

Drink: Peppermint tea.

Side: Spicy mango and kiwi.

Or vegetarian lunch:

Sesame seeds, okra, whole wheat tortillas, 2 lemons, mint, mango, garlic, 3 crown peppermint tea, cremini mushrooms, fresh chick peas, 2 kiwis. Total: $23.50 with tax.

Lunch: Tortillas, spicy cremini mushrooms, mint, okra with hummus.

Drink: Peppermint tea.

Side: Spicy mango and kiwi.

Babichev

Salmon cooked over coals with a balsamic vinegar reduction over it, steamed broccoli with a little melted butter and parmigiana over it, and some pan fried potatoes on the side. Maybe a small green salad. That would be easy to pull off within that budget. It’s too cold to cook outside, though, so I’d have to cook the salmon on the stove.

Mela_B

I would make beef bourguignon. I already have red wine.

35 bags of Sour Skittles and spend the afternoon jumping up and down together!

Lovelight

@atmosphere114 🤣

4 large orders of Cajun fries from Five Guys Burgers. And a large soda to share. If you eat in, all the peanuts you can eat for free to top off. Followed closely by a cuddle-food coma.

Lovelight

@Babichev "Salmon cooked over coals..." that sounds delish!