Budget Friendly Fall Date Night

Happy fall, love birds! To celebrate our favorite season,  we wanted to give you a couple of budget-friendly date night recipes to enjoy with your boo thang. This time of year is perfect for a fire, hot cocoa, & cuddles. Start your fall off right with a fun-filled date night!

*Want more date night ideas? Check out our free Brunchin’ with Babe digital date!

Butternut Squash Chili

Ingredients:

-2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch chunks

-1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

-1 15-ounce can black beans, drained

-1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained

-1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, plus 2 tablespoons for sautéing

-1 cup cooked quinoa

-1 yellow bell pepper, diced

-2 chipotle peppers, chopped

-5 garlic cloves, minced

-1 1/2 teaspoons paprika

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1/4 teaspoon pepper

-Cilantro for garnish

-Toppings, such as avocado, tortilla chips, and cheese

 

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable broth in a large pot over medium heat.
2. Add garlic, chipotle peppers, and butternut squash to the pot, cooking for about 10 minutes and stirring occasionally. Add more vegetable broth if the pot gets dry.
3. Add the bell pepper, and continue cooking for about 5 minutes.
4. Add black beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes (including the liquid in the can), 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, quinoa, and all the spices (paprika, cinnamon, salt, and pepper). Mix well. Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes. Check that the butternut squash is cooked; if not, simmer for longer.
5. Serve in a bowl and garnish with cilantro. Add toppings as desired — avocado chunks, tortilla chips, and cheese are all great toppings!

Cozy up together and enjoy. Next, is a fall favorite dessert drink! 

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:

-4 cups milk

-1/2 cup sugar

-1/4 cup cocoa

-1/3 cup water

-1 teaspoon vanilla

-2 teaspoons sea salt

-2 tablespoons 0f hazelnut syrup (or Starbucks toffee nut syrup)

-2 tablespoon caramel sauce or caramel drizzle

-1 can Reddi Whip

Instructions:

1. Mix sugar, cocoa, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add water and boil for 1 minute.
2. Add milk and heat until warm.
3. Mix in vanilla, hazelnut syrup, and caramel sauce.
4. Pour into coffee cup and top with Reddi Whip, caramel drizzle, and sea salt.

Take Time to Connect

Now, you can take time to connect with your S.O. and chat while sipping your hot chocolate. Communication tip: Set a timer for 15 minutes and allow your partner to talk about anything they want without interruptions, then vice versa. The key here is to talk about whatever! Talk about the things that are weighing on you or maybe just catch up  after a long week. Either way, you’re both getting quality communication in!

If you want to take the conversation a bit further we have included a few conversation starter questions below.

–What’s your favorite thing about fall?
– If you could spend a whole day with me doing anything, what would we do?
– How would you describe your sweetie in three words?
– If you could start a collection of one kind of item, what would it be?
– What do you enjoy most about our date nights?

 

We hope you have the best date night with babe!

 

Cheers!