I love holding dinner parties for my friends. I also love showing people what I have learned from years of watching my mother cook for groups of 5+ people. As a student, the price can get quite steep when cooking for other people. However, I have found a way to make celebrating with food cheap and easy, while still looking relatively extravagant. And I can assure you that if you're a student, your friends will be grateful for a home cooked meal!

1. Picnic in the park for $15

veggie batons - $2

Get together a bag of carrots and a cucumber and shop them into batons to dip into hummus

pasta salad - $4

My recipe is very easy: cold, cooked pasta, Italian dressing, and a chopped up tomato

grapes - $2

baguette - $2

hummus - $2

wine - $3

Trader Joe's sells Charles Shaw wine for $2.99 and it has become a staple in my house!

2. The Sunday Roast $20

roasted potatoes - $5

roasted vegetables and lentils - $5

onion

zucchini

sweet potato

carrots

lentils

rotisserie chicken - $7-8

Find one of these bad-boys at Ralphs (I'm vegetarian, so they are a god-send when cooking for my boyfriend)

salad - $3

3. Romantic Rendezvous $20

chocolate covered strawberries - $5

melting chocolate chips

strawberries

spaghetti - $6

spaghetti

marinara sauce (preferably without garlic to save your breath for the late night!)

parmesan cheese

champagne or sparkling wine $6-12

4. Brunch $14

bagels - $2.50

cream cheese - $3

fruit salad - $4

apple

banana

kiwi

canned pineapple

lime/lemon juice

orange juice - $2-3

scrambled eggs - $2

5. Comfort cooking $15

mashed potatoes - $5

butter

potatoes

pepper

salt

spring onions

baked beans - $2

waffles/pancakes - $3/4 depending on brand/if you cook them yourself

bacon - $5