The ingredient I selected for Dave was couscous. Dave won on the budget side as he spent less than $5 on ingredients. He used chicken breasts from our freezer instead of drumsticks per the recipe ingredients. He had to buy couscous, chick peas, carrots and a turnip. 
The recipe he used was from Food & Wine Magazine's Quick from Scratch One-Dish Meals Cookbook titled Couscous with Chicken and Chickpeas. It is a Moroccan-inspired dish that has a very earthy flavor. I think this would be a great cool weather dish served in the fall. The use of the various spices provided a very earthy, rich, deep flavor (think Cabernet Sauvignon) and the cayenne pepper provided a little kick at the end. I enjoyed this dish, it was a nice change for us. However, Dave felt it was okay, not one of his favorites. 
Ingredients
2 T cooking oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 t salt
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1 onion, cut into thin slices
1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 T tomato paste
2 T tomato paste
1 t paprika
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1/8 t cayenne pepper
6 c water
3 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 c packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 1/3 c couscous
Even Kaitlyn enjoyed the couscous! She didn't have the chicken because of the heat from the cayenne.
The ingredient Dave selected for me was zucchini. I unfortunately went a little over budget and spent $11.63, but won in the taste department. I decided to find a recipe for a zucchini soup and add a salad for a nice light meal.
I found a Barefoot Contessa recipe that looked easy enough to try. It is called Zucchini Vichyssoise and the link is below.
You may be saying Vichy - WHAT? You say it vish-e-swa. The name is based on the town Vichy in France and the key components to this soup are the potatoes and leeks used in it along with cream and chicken stock. It is my understanding that it is traditionally served cold, but if you refer to the Joy of Cooking, it indicates that you can serve it warm or cold. I'm sure detailed information can be found on the net detailing the origination of this dish.
My mom used to make vichyssoise when I was in high school and I think I teased her relentlessly about eating 'cold' soup, but now that I've matured, it's actually quite nice. I recommend giving it a try. We didn't taste the zucchini as much as the leeks and potatoes, but nonetheless, it was quite tasty. It would work great in place of a salad with a complete meal. Dave said he enjoyed this dish better than his couscous dish.
A couple of notes... a small garnish is nice. We used cucumber, parsley and cream. However, a baguette slice, crouton, some chives and/or a little sour cream might work well too.
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