Budget meals for every day

 

When it comes to being budget friendly in the kitchen, we have some great budget cooking tips for you.  You can significantly lower your weekly food bills, by using a combination of the ideas below. To help you even more, we have chosen some simple and healthy budget recipes, which can be made even cheaper if you apply some changes to the recipes, which we have also listed under each recipe as extra savings ideas.

Budget friendly tips for the kitchen:

• Cook what’s in season, as this is what is cheapest in store, due to a plentiful supply
• Look for cheaper meats and proteins
• Cook cost effective meal styles like rice and pasta
• Use the best price meal additions like canned beans and frozen/fresh vegetables
• Try and buy in bulk or on when produce is on sale
• Always try to use what is in your cupboards first
• Make things yourself, rather than buying premade, as much as possible.

 

Ki si min

Image courtesy of: www.taste.com.au/recipes/ki-si-min/adbf4f7d-29c7-4dd8-9df5-e31d64899485

1 tbsp olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

500g beef mince

1 tbsp curry powder

1 pkt chicken noodle soup

1-2 large carrots, coarsely grated

1-2 celery sticks, finely diced

1 cup white rice

300g green cabbage, shredded

1 cup frozen peas

Coriander sprigs, to serve

 

Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic, stirring, for 5 minutes. Increase heat to high. Add beef and cook, stirring, to break up any lumps, for 3 minutes or until browned. Stir through curry powder, until fragrant. Stir through carrots, celery and rice until well combined. Add 2 ½ cups water, or enough to just cover everything, and stir. Season. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Add cabbage and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add peas and cook for 2-3 minutes or until rice is tender (add a little boiling water if you prefer a creamier consistency).

Serve sprinkled with coriander.

 

Extra saving ideas: use the cheapest mince available, if that is pork or chicken, it will still taste great. Add in extra vegetables to make the meal go further and be healthier (leftovers can be frozen), use 2-3 large carrots and 2 -3 celery sticks, extra cabbage and maybe add a cup of frozen beans and or corn too. If you do increase vegetables, you will probably need to increase the seasonings too. Substitute the more expensive vegetables with what’s in season to save even more. Skip the garnish to save a few dollars!

 

 

Tuna and avocado pasta

Image and recipe courtesy of: www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/tuna-and-avocado-pasta

1 avocado, diced

1/4 cup continental parsley

350g shell pasta

1 lemon, zested, juiced

40g rocket leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250g sweet solanato tomatoes, halved

2 cans 185g Woolworths tuna with chilli in oil

 

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water following packet instructions until tender. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup pasta water.

Return pan to medium heat. Drain oil from tuna into pan and add tomato and garlic. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or until tomato softens.

Add tuna and chilli from can. Flake tuna with a fork and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through.

Stir in zest and lemon juice. Return pasta to pan with reserved pasta water and parsley. Gently toss to combine. Divide between serving bowls, top each with avocado and rocket and serve immediately.

 

Extra saving ideas: rather than 2 smaller cans, buy a larger can of tuna in chilli oil, use alternate brand or flavor if cheaper. Buy rocket leaves from the fresh produce section, that way you only buy what you need rather than a whole packet. Use the cheapest fresh tomatoes available and dice instead of using cherry tomatoes. Alternatively use a can of diced tomatoes and cook for an extra few minutes.  See if you can get lemon and parsley from yours or your neighbours’ gardens.

 

 

Cauliflower and chick pea curry

Image and recipe from: www.budgetbytes.com/easy-cauliflower-and-chickpea-masala/

2 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional or vary quantity for heat)

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly cracked pepper

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1/2 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp olive oil

350g cauliflower florets

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 can crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup cream or coconut cream

Salt to taste

 

In a small bowl, combine the spices for the masala spice mix (garam masala, cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper).

Finely dice the onion, mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Add all three to a large frying pan along with the olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent (about 3 minutes). Add the spice mix and continue to sauté for one more minute.

Add the cauliflower florets to the pan with the aromatics and spices, and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes more, or until the cauliflower has softened and is completely coated in spices.

Add the drained chickpeas, tomatoes, and 1/4 cup water to the pan. Stir to combine, and then allow them to simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. This will help mellow the acidity of the tomato sauce and allow the spices to blend. If the mixture becomes too dry as it simmers, add a couple more tablespoons of water.

After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Season as required. Serve in a bowl either over rice or with a piece of bread for dipping.

 

Extra saving ideas: cauliflower is in season, so buy fresh if it’s cheap, otherwise frozen florets maybe more economical. If you don’t already have a large range of spices in your kitchen, it may be cheaper to get a small curry paste for this recipe, rather than buying 5 or so spice packets. If you use jar garlic and ginger that’s fine too, these are more economical and last longer if you don’t use the ingredients often.

 

 

 

Yiros wraps

Image and recipe from: damndelicious.net/2020/02/23/greek-chicken-gyros/

1 tbsp olive oil

400g chosen meat, chicken, lamb, pork, diced or cut into strips

1 tbsp Yiros, Souvlaki or Greek style seasoning

2 tomatoes, diced

½ cucumber, diced

¼ lettuce, shredded

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup Greek style yogurt

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

Juice of small lemon, optional

8 wraps or Lebanese bread

 

Heat up olive oil in a medium sized frying pan on a medium to high heat. Add in chosen meat and cook until it’s just starting to brown. Add in seasoning, with a few tablespoons of water if pan is starting to dry out. Cook for several more minutes, until browned and meat has cooked through.  Add more seasoning if required. Remove from heat when cooked.

Meanwhile prepare salad ingredients and combine in a small bowl. Add the garlic and lemon juice to the yogurt and mix well.

Heat wraps, as per package instructions, serve on plates with yiros meat, salad, cheese and yogurt dressing, fold or roll up and serve.

 

Extra savings idea: varying the meat for this meal depending on what is cheapest will assist in lowering the cost. You can make your own yiros/souvlaki seasoning; there are many recipes available online. Lettuce isn’t a must for this recipe, leave it out if it’s too expensive. If you use jar garlic that works great in the sauce, and its more economical and lasts longer if you don’t use fresh garlic often. Shop around for the wraps that you use, prices vary a lot with wraps and thin breads.

 

 

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