Inexpensive Meals

In preperation for next week’s meal, I looked online between Aldi, Coles and Woolworths (Australian Chain Supermarkets) the price of longrain rice to see where was cheapest. Note this is based on online prices – I am sure the price within the shops (for Coles and Safeway in particular) will vary suburb to suburb…but just with 10min of looking online I can see that Aldi has the cheapest rice per 100grams.

Check it out…

Aldi 2kg Rice

Safeway 2kg Rice

Coles 2kg Rice

Technorati Tags: Affordable, cheapest, rice

Look I don’t know about you, but WHO doesn’t love a great baked potato! Yes it has carbs, and yes if you cover in garlic butter, cheese and sour cream it’s probably not the best thing but hey – this is a great tasty lighter version, that is VERY affordable! I am not saying it is the authentic version, but it is my interpretation of a GREAT idea. Most recipes for this soup are based on a roux with milk added but I think that could be quite bland, so I am using chicken stock as the base of my soup.

Check out the video here….

Light Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 1.5 litres of chicken stock 
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 brown onion finely diced
• As many crushed garlic cloves you can handle
• 3 rashers of bacon, finely diced
• 3 spring onion stalks finely sliced
• 1 cup of butter milk/cream or similar
• 2 tablespoons of cheddar cream cheese
• Grated cheese of your choice
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1. In the pot you plan on making your soup, lightly fry up your bacon until it is crisp and all delicious looking. You may add a little bit of oil if you have very lean bacon.
2. Drain your bacon and reserve as a topping.
3. In the same pot, add your onion and garlic and gently fry until tender.
4. Add in your chicken stock and diced potatoes and bring to a boil.
5. When the potato is tender (approx 7-10min) blend or mash up your potatoes to your desired consistency. You can also leave it chunky if you wish. Remember to do this off the stove top so you don’t burn yourself!
6. Check for salt and pepper and adjust as required.
7. Add in your buttermilk/cream and cream cheese.
8. Return to the stove and bring back to the simmer.
9. When hot serve into large bowls and top with as much grated cheese, sour cream, bacon bits and spring onions as you like!

Enjoy!

Note: If you want a creamier soup feel free to add more potato, milk or similar. You can also add in more vegies and blend all together like potato, pumpkin, zucchini etc.

Technorati Tags: Baked, Budget Cooking, Cheap Recipe, Inexpensive Meals, Lite, Potato, Soup

Well I’m back everyone, after some terrible gastro (eww)….anyway back on track today.

Here is a recipe for Cheese and Ham Breakfast Loaf. It’s actually a basic muffin recipe which I cook in a loaf tin and then slice up into 5 (one for each day of the week) and my partner has for breakfast. This means that each portion is only $1.20!!! Woooo!!!

mmmmm delicious

I keep them in the fridge in cling film and then he microwaves one portion each morning on his way out the door.

Enjoy!

Cheese & Ham Breakfast Loaf

Ingredients

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1 cup of cheese
• 2 thick slices of ham (I used smoked)
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• Mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of oil (I used garlic flavoured)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Onion powder and curry powder to taste
• Herbs of your choice. I used chives and thyme

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. Combine half of the cheese and every other ingredient (except the ham) into a bowl.
3. Gently stir until JUST combined. DO NOT OVERMIX otherwise you will be make a rock loaf.
4. If your mixture is too wet or dry, add more milk/flour as required.
5. In a greased loaf tin, add 1/3 of your batter mix and spread evenly.
6. Add a thin layer of mayonnaise. This is just for moisture, don’t worry it doesn’t taste very strong of mayonnaise.
7. Add a slice of ham (folded in half if it’s too big for your tin).
8. Add another third of your batter mix, ensuring that you cover right to the edge of the tin.
9. Add another slice of ham, then mayonnaise (we’re repeating the above steps baby)!
10. Top with the final layer of batter mix and spread to right into the corners.
11. Top with the other half of your grated cheese and I freshly ground some more pepper on top
12. Bake in your oven until when inserted with a knife or cake tester, it comes away clean. Approximately 15-18 mins.
13. If your loaf seems to need more cooking but the top is getting too golden, drop the temperature and loosely cover with foil.
14. ENJOY!

Cheers

Technorati Tags: Breakfast, Budget Cooking, Cheap Cooking, Cheese & Ham, Inexpensive Meals, Recipe

Sorry everyone, currently unwell in bed (posting this from my iPhone in bed)!

Will get a new recipe as soon I can!

Cheers

So, we are now going to start taking request from readers – do you need inspiration or help for an affordable meal using a particular ingredient you have in your pantry that’s about to go expire….or perhaps you have an abundence of something in your cupboard…

Well leave a comment and we will get our kitchen fired up and find something for you to feed your family, that’s affordable and tasty!

Cheers

Technorati Tags: Affordable, Requests, Tasty

I love the crumble on any fruit crumble….the buttery sweet delicious topping that is crunchy and soft at the same time….mmmm

My version below with apples and pears is (dare I say) the best I have ever eaten. To save even more money you could make this just with a tin of apples, but I think fresh is nice

Check out the video and recipe below.

Apple & Pear Crumble

Ingredients

• 3 Apples of your choice, peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
• 1 Pear of your choice (nice and firm), peeled, cored and chopped into chunks
• Cinnamon Sugar to taste
• 1 cup of Flour
• 2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of coconut (desiccated, shredded, you choice)
• 1 Tablspoon of Oat Bran
• Handful of Pecans, chopped (or nuts of your choice, alternatively omit entirely)
• 50grams of Butter, chopped and softened.
• Squeeze of lemon
• Extra melted butter (optional)

Method

1. Add your peeled and chopped apples and pear to a saucepan and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar to taste.
2. Cook with lid over low heat until apples are tender but still firm.
3. Meanwhile rub the butter into the flour until it resembles damp sand or breadcrumbs. You can use a pastry cutter, fork or just your finger tips.
4. Add in your brown sugar, oats, coconut, chopped nuts and nutmeg.
5. Grease a 20cm baking dish.
6. Add in your cooked fruit and make an even layer.
7. Sprinkle over your crumble topping and pat down firmly.
8. Drizzle over the extra melted butter if you decided to add in the extra step!
9. Bake in a 180 degrees celsius oven until golden brown on top (about 12-15 minutes).
10. Serve with custard, cream or icecream.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Affordable Dessert, Apple, Budget Recipe, Crumble, Dessert, Pear, Topping

Whilst getting some apples for my apple crumble, my local greengrocer had a dozen medium eggs (500g) on sale for $1.29!

This is pretty cheap, with each egg equating to 11 cents each. Coles online has a dozen (700g) for $2.71

Eggs

Now I am making no judgement if you want to get these or not – they are cage eggs I just wanted to let you know. But they ARE an amazing deal!

Basically keep your eyes peeled for any deals that you will benefit from.

Cheers

Technorati Tags: Benefit, Budget, Cheap, Deals, Eggs

If you have the time and don’t mind a little bit of fiddly work, then this soup is delicious and wonderful on your budget! At only $6.50 for the whole pot, I don’t know why you wouldn’t have an endless supply of it in the fridge for when you’re hungry, to take to work for lunches or even as a snack for the kids when they get home from school and a cold afternoon.

I bought the chicken wings for $3.50 from my butcher (they were $4.00 a kilo in the supermarket next door) so I instantly saved 50 cents by going to the butcher. To prove it here is the receipt

Chicken Wings Receipt

Check out the video below to see how it’s made and the recipe is included below.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1 Kilo of chicken wings
• 1 Carrot, finely diced
• 1 stick of Celery, finely diced
• 1 Brown Onion, finely diced
• 1 Garlic Clove, crushed
• 170g Whole Corn Kernels (from a can is okay, but drain first).
• 1/2 cup of Apple Juice
• 1/2 cup of White Wine
• 100g of Noodles or Soup Pasta of your choice.
• 1 1/2 – 3 litres of boiling water
• Oil
• Chicken/Gourmet Stock
• Pepper and Dried Thyme to taste
• Corn Starch to thicken
• 1 Bay Leaf

Method

1. Add oil to the bottom of a heavy based saucepan and add your chicken wings, carrot, celery, onion and garlic.
2. Gently cook on medium heat until the vegies have softened and the chicken has a little colour.
3. Add all other ingredients except corn, pasta and cornstarch.
4. Bring back to the boil then simmer your soup mix for 15minutes on low heat.
5. Take off heat and remove chicken wings. When chicken is cool enough to handle, pull remove the meat only from the bones and return to your soup base and
6. Bring the pot back to the boil and then add in your pasta, cooking to the directions on the packet.
7. When cooked, decide on whether you want to use the cornstarch or not. If so, dissolve in some colder water and add to your soup mix and cook for a further few minutes until you have reached your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: Affordable, Butcher, Chicken Noodle Soup, Inexpensive Meals, Reduce Cost, Seconds, Video, Winter

Well, you might be wondering IS it possible to make a hearty dinner for your family that is nice on your budget? I am here to say, IT IS!

The first habit you should get into is buying meat from a butcher. Meat from a butcher as apposed to those plastic trays in the supermarket is better for several reasons;

1. It’s fresher. Good butchers turnover their meat quick so nothing sits around for very long.
2. It’s better quality. There is nothing sitting around on a absorption pad wrapped in plastic for a week.
3. It’s CHEAPER! Look at the price per kilo when comparing meat from the butcher and the supermarket. You will be shocked of the price difference.

Take for example the Shepherds Pie recipe I posted earlier today. I used about 600 grams of diet beef mince and it cost me $4.40 from my butcher. As a comparison in the supermarket it would have definitely cost more.

So my tip – always try and buy from your butcher.

Technorati Tags: Beef Mince, Butcher, Reduce Cost

The wonderful homely cooked aroma of Shepherds Pie is wafting up into my nose as I type this, because guess what, there is a nice steaming bowl of it in front of me. I just pulled it out of the oven and it’s delicious!

Here is the video instructions and below is the recipe.

Sheppards Pie – Serves 4 HUNGRY people!

Remember that everything here is replaceable for more affordable ingredients if you already have them on hand.

Mashed Potato Topping

• 4 Large Potatos, peeled and diced
• 2 Tablespoons of butter or margarine
• 1/4 Milk
• 1/2 cup of grated tasty cheese
• Salt, Pepper and Garlic Powder (optional)

Meat Filling

• 600grams of beef mince
• 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
• 1 peice of celery, finely diced
• 1/2 large onion, peeled and finely diced
• 1/3 cup of frozen peas and corn mix
• 1 garlic clove
• 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups of beef stock
• Wocestershere sauce to taste
• Salt, Pepper & Olive Oil
• Fresh parsley (optional) fincely chopped

Rice Base

• 1 cup of boiled rice ( I used medium grain)
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
• 1/2 cup of grated tasty cheese
• Salt, Pepper & Olive Oil

Method

1. Add some olive oil to your nonstick pan and begin to fry up your beef mince (ground beef), breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you stir it over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. When your mince is partially cooked add in your finely diced onion, carrot, celery and crushed garlic clove. Continue to cook and stir constantly until the onion is soft and meat is cooked through (about 5 minutes).
3. Add in your tomato paste, stock, wostershire sauce and ground pepper and return to the heat and let it simmer on low for about 15 minutes until everything is cooked and the mixture is much thicker.
4. Take off the heat and add in your peas and corn and parsley and stir through and sit to one side.
5. In the mean time on a medium heat, fry up the the other half of the rice in some olive oil for a few minutes until soft and translucent.
6. Add in your cooked rice, season well with salt and pepper to taste and stir it through until every bit of rice is coated in the onion mix.
7. Cook your potatos until tender enough to mash. You can either do this on the stove top with a pot full of water, or in the microwave with a jug and a few tablesppons of water down the bottom of the jug.
8. When cooked, add in your butter or margarine and mash the potatos to your desired consistency.
9. Add in your mlik, salt, pepper and any other seasonings that you prefer and mix well.
10. Begin to assemble your pie in a dish approximately 18cm x 18cm x 6 cm
11. The first layer will be your rice mixture, then half of the grated cheese.
12. The middle layer will be your meat mixture.
13. The top layer will be your mashed potatoes with a final sprinkle of the rest of the cheese on top.
14. Pop your pie into a preheated 180 Degrees C oven until the top is melted and golden (approx 20 min).
15. Enjoy!

Total Cost: Just under $10!

Technorati Tags: 10%, Beef Mince, Shepherds Pie, Video