Feasting on a Budget: London broil

You may remember I've mentioned my weekly Dr. Who Girls' Night, where I invite a few friends over to make dinner and watch Dr. Who. Dinner is usually a delicious feast that feeds anywhere from four to eight people (usually five or so). You may also remember that I've learned to live on a budget.

How does a woman feed four people without breaking the bank?

She shops sales and buys the right foods. Our menus are usually planned around whatever's on sale this past week.

So here begins a semi-regular feature: What We Had For Dinner, or Feasting on a Budget. These are meals that can feed more than four people for under $40 (we always make extra just in case).

First menu:
London Broil, French Onion Potatoes, and Lemon Garlic Spinach
Cost: $30 not including on-hand ingredients
(We already had garlic, olive oil, and red wine vinegar on hand - last month's unfinished, now undrinkable red wine works just fine for cooking purposes)
Feeds: about 5
Big sale item: London Broil BOGO
(and thanks to Mary, our chef, for typing up the directions!)

Shopping list:
6 cloves garlic
Worcester sauce
1-2 cups red wine vinegar
1 package bacon
London broil, 2 lb
Spinach
1 lemon
6-8 medium-sized Russet Potatoes (buy them by the bag for best deal & have potatoes later in the week)
1 package Lipton's onion soup mix
1/4-1/3 cups olive oil (or butter if you prefer)

Directions:

London Broil
Chop two large cloves of garlic
Marinate in Worcester sauce (shake out to cover side or roast; flip roast and cover other side)
Pour about one glass of red wine vinegar over roast, being sure to coat both sides
Sprinkle with half the garlic; flip and sprinkle other side
Let sit for about an hour and a half, turning occasionally
Preheat oven on broil (for us this was after we cooked the potatoes, so it was a quick heat)
Lay strips of bacon on the London broil – we used 4 strips per side for a good sized just over 2 pound roast, but it’s going to depend on the size of your roast
Cook 8 minutes per side; it can be as low as 6 or as high as 10 depending on your oven. Generally they cook in about 15 – 20 minutes total

Spinach with lemon and garlic
Wash spinach well and remove stems
Zest and juice one lemon
Chop 4 cloves of garlic  
Place frying pan on stove to begin to heat – the bacon seems to cook faster if the pan is heated already
Take two strips of bacon and cut into small pieces using scissors (tip; do them at the same time, as the thickness makes them stiff enough to hang straight and are therefore easier to chop. You can run the scissors through the dishwasher later) directly into the frying pan you intend to use
Add garlic and saute until translucent
Add spinach and lemon juice and zest; saute until to desired wilt on spinach

Oven-roasted potatoes
Preheat oven to 450°F
Coarsely dice about 6-8 medium russet potatoes and put into an oven-safe pan large enough to contain them (I prefer glass for stirring and cleaning purposes)
In a separate bowl mix one package of Lipton Onion Soup mix and about ¼ to 1/3 cup olive oil
Pour olive oil and soup mixture over potatoes – stir well to evenly distribute mixture
Bake in oven for 35 minutes – it’s hard to really overcook these, and I usually leave them in for 45 minutes because I like that texture better. When in doubt, read the package – the directions are on the box.


Hungry yet? If you try the recipe (or any part thereof), drop back by and leave some feedback!