We had dinner twice at TGI Friday’s last month, and it typically sets us back by over rm250 each time. Although my kids love the food there, I’m sure there must be a more homey, less expensive option.

How about this? A sumptuous homemade meal of black pepper lamb chops, soft potatoes and mesclun salad for a fraction of the price. Sound good?

I bought 5 large slices of black pepper lamb chops from Jusco for rm20+. Besides the price, the other thing I love is that they’re pre-marinated and ready to pop on the pan when I get home.

Hey, tell me, what’s not to love about someone having done your homework, eh ?

So all I do is cut one large onion into rings. I heat up my non-stick pan on high, and add a fairly big drizzle of olive oil. First I throw in some of the onions and leave for a minute before layering on the first batch of lamb chops.

I lower the heat to medium and cook each side of the meat for about 5 minutes before turning over. In fact, I add two tablespoons water into the pan to make absolutely sure the meat is cooked through.

Once the water evaporates completely and the oil sizzles again, the lamb chop goes on a plate with the parboiled potatoes, lightly sauteed in olive oil.

I use a bag of prepacked fresh mesclun salad that comes with lots of rocket (aragula) and lettuce. To that, I add whole baby carrots and cut celery with a generous squeeze of thousand island dressing.

That’s it! This whole meal costs me about rm40 for the four of us. And yummy doesn’t even begin to describe the taste of this homemade Western meal. My kids booked me for an encore right there .

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