Gourmet, Home-Cooked Meals for Less Than $10

Rachael Ray has her 30-minute meals and her $40 A Day schtick. We have our gourmet, home-cooked dinners for two less than $10.

How do we do it? We keep our pantry stocked with essentials (DO splurge on good quality condiments because these, along with the freshest ingredients, are key to turning a home-cooked meal into a gourmet meal). We stock up on non-perishable items when they go on sale. We buy what's fresh that day, and we keep an eye out for manager's specials in the meat/seafood section.We keep food preparation extremely simple.

A few key ingredients and voila, easy gourmet dinners for two for less than $10.

Here are some of the gourmet dinners we've prepared and enjoyed this week:

• Caesar Salad a la L.G.'s Steakhouse with Spaghetti Bolognese & Garlic Bread
• Salmon Fillet with Soy-Lime Dressing & Sauteed Spinach
• Bacolod Chicken (a specialty from the town in the Philippines that Dezzi Rae grew up in) with Garlic Rice
• Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce We'll have the recipes to you shortly.