Gourmet Mother’s Day Dinner for $25

This post is sponsored by ALDI, however, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Pampering mom on her day doesn’t mean you have to crack open your piggy bank. You can certainly make a lovely and fancy-looking Mother’s Day dinner for $25 or less! Don’t believe me? Well, ALDI challenged me to cook a complete dinner for mom with a $25 budget and I made a feast for mom including chuck roast, avocado risotto, and horchata pie. Even a bottle of wine made the cut! I’ll tell you how it went and some tips & tricks for shopping and getting the best for your buck. At the end of this post, you can also participate on a $50 gift card giveaway!

I started out my quest in the produce section. ALDI is known to work with local farmers and growers to make sure their veggies and fruits arrive from the field to the store in the shortest amount of time. And freshness is very important when you’re trying to cause a good impression! I got some yummy-looking raspberries and cebollines (green onions). I was also in luck since avocados were on sale!  Which reminds me, here are some tips & tricks to get the most out of your budget:

• Take advantage of weekly deals: my meal included 2 ALDI deals of the week, avocados and diezmillo de res (chuck roast). I bought 3 Hass avocados but only ended up using 2, so I had extra for next day’s breakfast.
• Think of recipes that utilize the same ingredients. I used the green onions in both my rice and the roast. Things like rice are also very versatile because they work as a side dish and a dessert (I used mine to make my horchata pie dessert).
• Count on pre-made things that will also save you some time: time is money, and if you can use something like a premade pie crust, you can save so much more! And luckily, no ALDI exclusive products have artificial colors, trans-fats, any added monosodium glutamate or MSG, unfortunately found on many other pre-made options out there.

After the produce section, I headed over to the meats. I knew there was a good diezmillo de res (chuck roast) sale and I was very happy about this because that cut is very versatile. At first, I wanted to make a roast with potatoes and a cheesy sauce but I did the math in my head and cheese was going to make me go over budget for a bit. Thus, I decided to stick to the challenge and I grabbed inspiration from Cuban cuisine to make my diezmillo in the slow-cooker, in a way similar to ropa vieja. I really appreciated that I didn’t need a club membership to get the ALDI deal of the week. I’m sure my fellow Latino friends will be pleased to know this too; after all, whenever Latino families get together there are a LOT of mouths to feed, especially on holidays like Mother’s Day when the tías and abuelas pay a visit.One thing that surprised me in my quest was that for offering really quality foods, ALDI had the lowest possible prices. They state one can save up to 50% compared to other supermarkets. I know this to be true because I tried shopping for the components of this same meal at another place and I didn’t get past the main dish ingredients without nearing the $25. The same cut of beef was at least $15 at another store! At ALDI I was able to get the meal, a dessert AND a bottle wine, which is great because I can offer the wine as a gift besides cooking her a delectable dinner. I found a yummy full-bodied Shiraz, good for my red-wine-loving mami.

GIVEAWAY

If you haven’t been at an ALDI just yet, why don’t you visit one? I think you’ll get to enjoy your shopping experience as much as I did, I found so many possibilities to make for under $25! To help you adventure into one, I’m hosting a $50 ALDI gift card giveaway (US residents only)! All you gotta do is share on social media why do you think your mom deserves a special dinner? To be considered, you have to use the hashtag #PrimeroconALDI. The winner will be chosen at random but you’ve got to share with the hashtag and you must be following ALDI on Facebook (ALDI Usa), Twitter (@ALDIUsa) and Instagram (@ALDIUsa). I can’t wait to see your submissions and to know what you think of the store! 🙂 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This gourmet meal is not only affordable but also super convenient! The three recipes can be easily done in less than an hour’s prep time and they’re all good to make a day before surprising mom. Hope you like the recipes below and that you and your family have a fantastic Mother’s Day celebration!  

GOURMET MOTHER’S DAY DINNER 

Prep time: 30 min    Cooking time:  6 h    Total time: 6h 30 min

INGREDIENTS (makes 3-4 servings)

Cuban-style Chuck Roast

• one 2 lbs chuck roast
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 2 cups of beef broth
• minced garlic (I added about 3 Tbsps because I love it!)
• 2 Tbsps of paprika
• 6-8 green onions, chopped
• 1 Poblano pepper, chopped into squares
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil to sear the roast

Avocado Risotto

• 1 ½ cup of white short-grain rice
• juice of 5 limes
• 2 green onions
• 3 ½ cups of water (or mix water with beef broth, which is what I did!)
• 2 small Hass avocados (I got 3 within my budget but used the remaining one for breakfast the next day!)

Horchata Pie

• homemade horchata mix: using ½ cup of rice + 1 cup water + 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 pre-made Graham-cracker pie crust
• ⅓ can of sweetened condensed milk (or ¼ cup)
• 1 instant pudding package
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• raspberries to decorate

Enjoy with a glass of Winking Owl Shiraz (ALDI exclusive brand)

STEPS

1. Heat olive oil in a big pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear chuck roast on each side for about 2 minutes.
2. Add seared chuck roast to slow cooker, along with chopped green onions, poblano pepper, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper, tomato paste. Pour in beef broth and stir everything together. Cover with lid and cook on low heat for at least 6 hours. After that time, check, and if the meat is tender, you can turn off the slow-cooker.
3. Make the horchata pie:
   1. Leave rinsed rice soaking in water overnight or at least 4 hours. After time has passed, transfer everything to a blender along with the cinnamon. Blend until puréed and strain liquid part of the mix.
   2. Mix horchata “essence’ with sweetened condensed milk.
   3. In a separate bowl, beat heavy whipping cream with a hand beater and slowly add in the sweetened horchata mix. Then add the instant pudding mix bit by bit until it’s all incorporated. This will start getting denser in a few minutes, so transfer it quickly to the premade pie crust.*
   4. Transfer pie to the fridge and let it set for 20 mins before frosting it.
   5. To make the frosting, use a chilled, medium-sized bowl and add heavy whipping cream and start whipping it at high speed. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar while beating, and whipping cream will stiffen. Cover your pies with this 2-ingredient frosting and decorate with raspberries along the edge.
4. Make the risotto:
   1. Add olive oil to a pot and sautée onions and garlic. Add rinsed rice and sautée for about 3 minutes.
   2. Pour in water or broth and salt to taste.
   3. Once it boils for about 5 mins, mix your risotto for a bit. Let it cook until almost all water is reduced and mix again. Do not overmix or it will be mushy.
   4. While risotto is cooking, make avocado sauce: scoop avocado into a food processor along with the lime juice, salt, and pepper. Add about 2 tablespoons of water to make it more liquid.
   5. A few minutes before serving, transfer avocado sauce with cooked risotto and mix with a fork, carefully trying not to overmix to avoid it getting mushy.
5. Serve chuck roast steak with your risotto and dessert and enjoy with a glass of red wine!

*for a nicer presentation, break the premade graham-cracker crust and transfer it to your own pie mold. I made 2 mini pies with it and added just a bit of butter and baked it for 6 mins at 400F to help keep it together.