Tenderloin dinner for two, with wine, under $29

[GON]

Simple dinner, made in under 20 minutes. Using packaged bread and vegetable helped.

Two tenderloins- $17
Bottle of Portuguese red wine on clearance at COSTCO $4.97
Air fryer asparagus $3.49 (fantastic)
Ciabatta garlic bread with three cheese $3.79

Made the steaks on a cast iron skillet. Two minutes each side on the stovetop, blazing hot skillet. The eight minutes in the oven, with two ounces of butte on each steak in the oven. The asparagus was fantastic, zero prep, just place in the air fryer, and shake halfway.

Super easy to make meal- hard to screw it up. Under $29 for the whole shebang.

 

[Oillover]

Pfft, aint nobody got time fo dat!

Joking aside, I appreciate the effort in showing others' on this board other menu options that exist besides fast food.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Simple dinner, made in under 20 minutes. Using packaged bread and vegetable helped.

Two tenderloins- $17
Bottle of Portuguese red wine on clearance at COSTCO $4.97
Air fryer asparagus $3.49 (fantastic)
Ciabatta garlic bread with three cheese $3.79

Made the steaks on a cast iron skillet. Two minutes each side on the stovetop, blazing hot skillet. The eight minutes in the oven, with two ounces of butte on each steak in the oven. The asparagus was fantastic, zero prep, just place in the air fryer, and shake halfway.
View attachment 126137 View attachment 126141 View attachment 126139 View attachment 126138 View attachment 126143 View attachment 126145 View attachment 126144
Super easy to make meal- hard to screw it up. Under $29 for the whole shebang.

View attachment 126142 View attachment 126140

Man if you were my neighbor, you'd eventually get tired of me showing up unannounced for dinner haha!

I love PictSweet frozen vegetables, it's all I buy! I buy their asparagus and halved brussels sprouts all the time. 😋

You would need to retitle your post, "Tenderloin dinner for three"

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'm definitely going to try your steak technique. They look amazing!

 

[Lubener]

You don't get much for a $29 home meal these days. I never spent $29 for a cook at home dinner for two before. I usually eat for three days for $29. However, your meal does look very good.

 

[PharmerMike]

@GON-

Great job with the meal! I just naturally default to putting steaks on the grill, but with cold weather coming, I'll be giving this method a try.

Thanks.

 

[Jdeere562]

Looks delicious GON! I could eat that every day.

My clean up helper was at my house today. I'm crippled up and can't do much anymore. (but I'm a good supervisor) LOL
She cleaned my gutters, raked leaves, picked up walnuts and installed my A/C units covers for winter in Iowa.

Really nice little gal. 36 years old, Mother of three Daughters, divorced with a deadbeat Dad that does not support their family. Of all places, I met her over our local Facebook page, wanting to earn extra $. So i hired her a month ago for my first go around of leaves. Hard worker and did a great job. Today was her third time here. Works for our local school as a teacher, so she must pass background checks.

For lunch today with her and the Daughters, I took them to www.catfishlakeatthelodge.com/

My old retired neighbor gal has seen her outside working and call me, wanting her yard cleaned up. So I gave her Justina's phone#. They decided to meet and discuss work to be done. Justina brought me a bowl of homemade chili...nice!

 

[joekingcorvette]

Tenderloin is my go-to steak and yours looks awesome. My wife and I spent almost that much money at Culver's last night.

 

[GON]

Man if you were my neighbor, you'd eventually get tired of me showing up unannounced for dinner haha!

I love PictSweet frozen vegetables, it's all I buy! I buy their asparagus and halved brussels sprouts all the time. 😋

You would need to retitle your post, "Tenderloin dinner for three"

ACSM,

Thanks for pointing out PictSweet is good stuff. It is a brand new to us. The asparagus in the air fryer was fantastic. And zero effort.

 

[GON]

I'm definitely going to try your steak technique. They look amazing!

A new tip for a cast iron skillet- pre heat the skillet in the over at 400 or so degrees for 15 minutes. According to a video I watched, cast iron gets hot spots and does not cook as evenly on the stovetop with a hasty stovetop heat up. The oven preheat eliminates the uneven hotspots. Never would have guessed cast iron would not uniformly heat up- always learning something new.

 

[GON]

You don't get much for a $29 home meal these days. I never spent $29 for a cook at home dinner for two before. I usually eat for three days for $29. However, your meal does look very good.

Lubener,

Thanks- had enough left of steak for two steak sandwiches. I try to make a nice meal for my Wife on Sundays. It is a challenge to get a meal with a nice protein under $30.

 

[GON]

@GON-

Great job with the meal! I just naturally default to putting steaks on the grill, but with cold weather coming, I'll be giving this method a try.

Thanks.

PM,

Like you, we almost always cook steaks on the grill. Tenderloins can be the exception. This method worked really well, hard to screw up and easy clean up.

Only risk- and I have done it, grabbing the cast iron skillet handle without a rag- not a pretty ending.

 

[GON]

Looks delicious GON! I could eat that every day.

My clean up helper was at my house today. I'm crippled up and can't do much anymore. (but I'm a good supervisor) LOL
She cleaned my gutters, raked leaves, picked up walnuts and installed my A/C units covers for winter in Iowa.

Really nice little gal. 36 years old, Mother of three Daughters, divorced with a deadbeat Dad that does not support their family. Of all places, I met her over our local Facebook page, wanting to earn extra $. So i hired her a month ago for my first go around of leaves. Hard worker and did a great job. Today was her third time here. Works for our local school as a teacher, so she must pass background checks.

For lunch today with her and the Daughters, I took them to www.catfishlakeatthelodge.com/

My old retired neighbor gal has seen her outside working and call me, wanting her yard cleaned up. So I gave her Justina's phone#. They decided to meet and discuss work to be done. Justina brought me a bowl of homemade chili...nice!

JD,

That is awesome you are employing the mother looking to make things better for her daughters- that is great. After looking at the catfish lodge memo, I see you are in Western Iowa- a place that might be tougher to make some money. I have a friend in Western Iowa, he states one can still get a decent but basic home for 50k, in a very small town. I didn't check into his claim, but his comment suggested to me Western Iowa might be rough to make a robust living for many.

The food at the lodge looks great- I liked every single thing on their menu- except the catfish. I have never tried catfish.

 

[GON]

Tenderloin is my go-to steak and yours looks awesome. My wife and I spent almost that much money at Culver's last night.

I love Culvers- although your meal cost a pretty penny, good chance you had some significantly better ingredients at Culvers than one might find at McDonalds, Burger King, Sonic, etc.

Last time I was at Culver's I noticed the cheddar cheese- was in fact cheddar cheese, not some processed stuff. And the custard, cheese curds, definitely a real nice step up from most major fast foods. I might guess Culver's has better quality ingredients than chains like Applebee's, Chilis, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.

 

[Jdeere562]

JD,

That is awesome you are employing the mother looking to make things better for her daughters- that is great. After looking at the catfish lodge memo, I see you are in Western Iowa- a place that might be tougher to make some money. I have a friend in Western Iowa, he states one can still get a decent but basic home for 50k, in a very small town. I didn't check into his claim, but his comment suggested to me Western Iowa might be rough to make a robust living for many.

The food at the lodge looks great- I liked every single thing on their menu- except the catfish. I have never tried catfish.

GON...in my area it takes about $150,000 to get a livable home. Too close to Omaha / Council Bluffs and it is a "bedroom town" so to speak.

She took me to her trailer the other day to see where she lives. Pretty new and fairly nice. But it was about 55F in there because she has no $ to fill the propane tank. Trying to heat off two electric heaters. Not working well, plus no gas hot water. It has to suck having no hot water.

I need to find out her propane situation, in a non embarrassing manor. Around here, if the tank is leased, nobody else will fill it except the tank owner. If she owns the tank, we can go on the open market for propane purchase.

I just want to buy her propane, without her knowing where it came from. Don't want her to think that she owes me. She is a really sweet little gal with three lovely Daughters, though I have only met the two younger ones. Even invited me to church with them and her Daughter's volleyball games!

 

[racer12306]

I usually eat for three days for $29.

You're also not eating tenderloin for any of those days. That meal in a restaurant is probably in the area of $100, $25-30 per plate, 1 bottle = 4 glasses at probably $5-6 each plus tip. That meal at home is a bargain compared to a restaurant if you don't mind putting in a little effort.

Plus for me, I'm having a harder time with restaurants due to how loud many of them can be. My hearing always tests fine (such as for employment screens) but I know I damaged my ears badly in my youth standing at the starting line of the drag strip with no hearing protection.

Great job with the meal! I just naturally default to putting steaks on the grill, but with cold weather coming, I'll be giving this method a try.

The cast iron method is impressively easy and makes it that much easier for dealing with two different levels of doneness, especially if they're drastically different. My steak gets medium rare and my wife's gets well done.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Saturday's dinner was Costco top sirloin, cut carrots, dinner rolls with cooked chocolate pudding for dessert. A growler of Irish Blonde before dinner followed by margaritas with Grand Marnier floater while barbequing. Serves five and a good time was had by all.

The very sound point OP was making is eating in is worth it.

 

[53' Stude]

Simple dinner, made in under 20 minutes. Using packaged bread and vegetable helped.

Two tenderloins- $17
Bottle of Portuguese red wine on clearance at COSTCO $4.97
Air fryer asparagus $3.49 (fantastic)
Ciabatta garlic bread with three cheese $3.79

Made the steaks on a cast iron skillet. Two minutes each side on the stovetop, blazing hot skillet. The eight minutes in the oven, with two ounces of butte on each steak in the oven. The asparagus was fantastic, zero prep, just place in the air fryer, and shake halfway.
View attachment 126137 View attachment 126141 View attachment 126139 View attachment 126138 View attachment 126143 View attachment 126145 View attachment 126144
Super easy to make meal- hard to screw it up. Under $29 for the whole shebang.

View attachment 126142 View attachment 126140

My brother and I are coming up GON with some creamy beers and some steaks from his buck he just shot Saturday. 😍🇺🇸

 

[GON]

My brother and I are coming up GON with some creamy beers and some steaks from his buck he just shot Saturday. 😍🇺🇸

53 S,

Glad you are going to have a nice meal with your brother! Nice to read you are taking a second look at your beverage choices- a nice closeout hefeweizen (on clearance) will surely be something special when compared to that alcohol water you drink that somehow gets labeled and marketed as a beer. Heck, maybe you should look into dumpster diving in Pottsville, PA. I wonder what one could find in their dumpster.😁

Take pictures of the meal!

 

[PharmerMike]

You're also not eating tenderloin for any of those days. That meal in a restaurant is probably in the area of $100, $25-30 per plate, 1 bottle = 4 glasses at probably $5-6 each plus tip. That meal at home is a bargain compared to a restaurant if you don't mind putting in a little effort.

Plus for me, I'm having a harder time with restaurants due to how loud many of them can be. My hearing always tests fine (such as for employment screens) but I know I damaged my ears badly in my youth standing at the starting line of the drag strip with no hearing protection.


The cast iron method is impressively easy and makes it that much easier for dealing with two different levels of doneness, especially if they're drastically different. My steak gets medium rare and my wife's gets well done.

@racer12306- I'm interested in how you use this method to get two levels of doneness. Are you putting the more rare steak on the stove later for the sear? Less time in the oven?

I like my plate to look like a crime scene when the steak is put on it (rare). My wife is much closer to medium.