Part 3/3 $15 Budget Dollar Tree Date Night Appetizer, Dinner, & Dessert!

Full Recipes and Price Breakdown:

Appetizer: Pickle Fritters

Dill pickles $1.25
Southern fry mix $1.25
Ranch for dipping $1.25

Appetizer Cost $3.75

Drain entire jar of pickles and chop finely. Mix chopped pickles with dry fry mix until a tacky dough forms (for me this was about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of fry mix) I pan fried these fritters in oil until cooked and then I drained on paper towels and I fried them a second time to get them ultra crispy. Serve with ranch for dipping.

Main course: Creamy Gnocchi Skillet

Gnocchi $1.25
Sausage $1.25
Frozen Pepper stir fry $1.25
Cream cheese blend $1.25
Parmesan cheese $1.25
Mozzarella cheese $1.25

Main course cost $7.50

Bring a large pot of water up to a boil, cover and set aside.

In a skillet, fry and crumble the sausage until brown, do not drain. The sausage fat will add extra flavor. Add 2 handfuls (about half the bag) of pepper stir fry (mine was thawed) and sautee for a few minutes. Stir in 6 oz of cream cheese blend cut into cubes and about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of the boiled water we had set aside earlier. Continue to heat and stir until you have a smooth and creamy sauce and stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese to taste. Taste and season if desired. Set aside.

Return to your boiling water and cook your gnocchi for 3 to 5 minutes until it starts to float to the top. Do not overcook this or it will be gummy. As each gnocchi floats transfer them to your prepared cream sauce. Gently stir the gnocchi and sauce together, top with mozzarella and broil until brown on top.

Desert: Cherry Cobbler

Muffin mix (mixed berry or blueberry) $1.25
Cherry pie filing $1.25
Vanilla ice cream $1.25

Desert cost $3.75

Mix muffin mix with 1/2 cup of water or milk. Add cherry pie filling to the bottom of a baking dish and top with muffin batter. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes and serve warm with ice cream.

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For the dessert we are making a very simple but delicious cobbler I mixed the muffin mix with a/2 cup of water the package calls for milk but we can use water just fine to stay under our $15 budget pour your cherry pie filling in a baking dish and pour the prepared muffin

Mix over the top bake this at 400° for 20 to 25 minutes and serve it topped warm with the vanilla ice cream