5 Ways To Dine “Fancy” At Home | The Cheap Way

Disclaimer, I have never been to a resturant where you have to reserve your spot. There were only two times in my life I’ve experienced something close to those places, and both times I walked out, haha! Also, when I say drink, I do NOT mean alcohol. I do not drink alcohol. So everything is kid friendly, unless you want to stay away from caffinene. 

All of what I am going to share here is what you can do right at home. This is not about eating out, but rather, have maybe a nicer/fancier way of an eating experience by yourself or with others, and of course, save that money 🙂

Obviously what my version of “fancy” is will be WAY different than someone else. For today’s post think more delicate, small portioned, appetizers, snacks, drinks, that kind of thing.

These would work well if gathering with some friends, an event (maybe), or what have you.

After writing this post, and looking back, I feel like I’m making a menu haha! 

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Simple Refresher Drinks

And no, totally not talking about Starbucks.

I started doing this YESTERDAY which is what inspired this post. I’ve been, for the past few months, working on drinking more water.

A “refresher” from what I looked up is simply a drink that is refreshing. It does not have to have all of these elements to it.

Fruit Refresher– You will need water, ice (if desired), and fresh fruit. Let the fruit naturally flavor the water.

But if you don’t have that? Or one of those containers that have a little fusion piece to help mix the fruit and water.

My Version Of A Refresher– You will need water, ice (if desired), and any flavor of tea in a single tea bag. Tea is fairly inexpensive, which is great! And there is a bounty of floral teas, calming teas, citrus teas, you name it. You don’t have to add sugar. You don’t even have to have your tea “set” in your water long or at all. I’ve been placing my tea selection in my water with my ice, swishing it around a little bit, sip, and go.

That’s it! And tea boxes have quite a bit of tea bags too. Also if you’ve drunk 8oz or 16 oz you can always refill for the day without a new tea bag. Last night, I had a lemon ginger refresher, and for lunch, I had a bergamot and citrus refresher.

Pick your tea and then say the name of the tea and add “refresher”.

Fancy! 🙂

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Crackers And Cheese

When you see people do a cheese tray, you usually have an assortment of cheeses, crackers, and then fruit. This is what lead up to my take on a really cheap version of a cheese tray.

You will need- Saltine crackers (or your choice of crackers), cream cheese, and if you want, jam, raisins, seeds, go wild.

That’s it.

I’ve been making a toast of cream cheese and flax seeds, and I sometimes like making a snack of crackers, cream cheese, and flax seeds.

I also like marmalade on cream cheese with my crackers. I’ve added raisins for more of a chewy texture.

Fancy! 🙂

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Tortilla Wheels 

These are really good for parties, easy to make, and of course cheap.

You will need- cream cheese, seasoning (if desired, like a ranch dressing packet or taco seasoning packet, but use only about half till you have tried how it tastes), dried beef, flour tortillas, plastic wrap, and knife.

There are many ways to make these, this is the recipe I’ve tried that my husband enjoys. Mix the seasoning with the cream cheese (taste to make sure it is not too strong). You want to have the dried beef cut up into small pieces and then add and mix that into the filling. Spread all throughout on a flour tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly and wrap in plastic wrap. Repeat process till all of your filling is gone. Set the tortillas in fridge for about an hour. Then unwrap and thinly slice tortillas into “wheels”. You are good to go. Could place on a plate with toothpicks.

Fancy! 🙂

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Light Sandwiches 

Think cucumber, tuna salad, ham salad, or egg salad. You could even do avocado toast.

These would work well as a brunch or with tea. Perhaps even a Refresher Water.

Fancy! 🙂

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Dips, Cheeseballs, & Veggies 

Veggie trays are always fun and they are healthy. When I was younger I thought the cucumbers with flesh partly cut off made the cucumber slices fancy looking. Veggies work by themselves or with dips.

Dips could always be included with crackers. There’s a cheeseball recipe my family makes around Christmas. Cream cheese mixed in with finely chopped pieces of dried beef, and sometimes people add chives or even nuts to it.

There are also dessert dips and dessert cheeseballs you can make. These would be served with animal crackers, pretzels, or something similar. Dessert cheeseballs could have, as an example, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and chocolate chips. Dips would be similar to frosting or a more loose cheeseball recipe.

Fancy! 🙂

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Did you find something you might enjoy? 

What kind of “fancy” foods or drinks do you like making that save money?

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