Cheap, meal recipes

There is an Alison Holst book called Dollars and Sense which is really good.

Try your local library.

Mince:
spaghetti bolonagse, lasagna, meat balls.
> make the mince the same way (brown up and add 1 onion, some mixed herbs, salt and pepper.
i make the sauce the same for all 3 (1 can pasta sauce and 1can chopped tomatoes) and just use lasagna sheets & white sauce to make lasagna vs spag bol where i just put it on pasta. to make meatballs just roll the mince into balls, cook them (either fry in pan, or bake in oven on a tray), then add sauce.
meat loaf
>can add sausage meat to it to make it go further and use less mince, and add onion, grated carrot (if you want), and add breadcrumbs/flour until its not sticky anymore. Shape and put in dish. can make a sauce of 1-2T vegemite/marmite to 1C hot water and baste it if you want.
nachoes
>brown mince, onion, herbs, add can of chilli beans and can of chopped tomatoes. serve on corn chips.
can add more chilli if you like it hotter
curried mince
>brown it & an onion, and add some curry powder to taste and thicken with cornflour paste

chicken:
just grilled chicken pieces
butter chicken, apricot chicken, sweet & sour (add a can/jar - can use nibbles/legs/thighs too, doesnt have to be cubes of chic breast)
Chicken pie
>cubes of breast (about 400g should be enough) & 1 onion browned in fry pan. Make a sauce of: 1cup chicken stock, 1cup milk, 2T flour. add to chicken and onion. can add mixed vege,mushrooms, capsicum etc if you like. Roll out flaky puff pastry to fit a oven proof dish. make a base with sides and a lid. put filling in. close it up. brush top with milk. cook in oven for 35-45min at around 180* or 160* fan forced)

steak:
casseroles
>the packets work best, but can easy make one with beef stock, worchestor sauce (sp.) and flour to thicken. add herbs, salt & pepper to taste. can use cheaper cuts of meat if you cook it on a lower heat for longer.
a typical casserole made with chuck steak should take about 2hs on 150*
steak and cheese pie
>similar flavour base to casserole but less water is added. This can use any type of meat but again cook it lower temp for longer if cheapest cuts of meat. we like to add tomato sauce to the mix as well.
put some thin cheese slices on top and put into a pie like the chicken pie, and bake the same way.

sausages:
curried sausages
devilled sausages
tomato and onion sausages...the Maggi packets/pams brand packets work great for these, or they are fairly easy to make from scratch but just as cheap (if not cheaper) to buy the packet.

We just had a stirfry as it is Friday and we come back late with swimming. This is our quick meal that feeds everone and fills them up.

Take one pack of meat. We use either like $5 pack tenderised steak or some chicken pieces.

A tiny bit of oil in the pan or wok. Then let that heat up. At this stage add some garlic if you want other wise the beef goes in. (if you use chicken what is nice is put some light soy sauce and a tiny bit of rice wine and let that soak for like 5 minutes then put about a heaped tablespoon of cornstarch with the chicken before frying it. )

When the meat is ready take it out. Then do a pack of strifry veg. Add some dark soy sauce to this. And that takes a few minutes. Add the meat with.

Now you can put some feta cheese on top. With the chicken one we like adding some cashew nuts towards the end. What works nice is some lemon juice at the last minute as well.

Seriously this meal is like $10 to $12 at the most (depending on the meat cost) and it feeds 4 of us with hubby having doubles and having enough over for a salad the next day for one of the adults.

The Healthy Food Guide website is good - gives you the cost per serving.

Also, Sophie Gray's cookbook $10 meals (or something like that?!) is another good one - I got it with my flyby points.

lilfatty wrote: There is an Alison Holst book called Dollars and Sense which is really good. Try your local library.

I second this recipe book. Its fantastic and has heaps of cheap recipes for cooking, baking and dessert etc and they are easy recipes.

We have a meat free meal every monday or more than once a week but EVERY monday. That way DF knows it and doesn't complain - makes it a bit more of a novelty. Our meatless faves are lentil curry and pumpkin soup.

We have reduced the amount of meat we use and increased vegetables. Mince bulks up really well with grated carrots or zuchini, peas & corn, tinned tomatos & kidney beans etc....

whole chicken (med) lasts us a couple of meals (use for pizza, quiche, wraps, chicken pie, torillas, fried rice, pasta) plus a lunch (sandwich).

Also every fortnight I have leftover night and we have the dinner leftovers from the previous 2 nights- saving me cooking and E can then choose what she wants for dinner.

 

I've found buying a 800g pkt bacon when it's on special, cut it up and freeze it in individual bags makes a really good addition to a meal. I normally egt 4 serves out of 800g.

Things like pizza, make or buy a base, spread with tom paste and cooked bacon and cheese.. yum!
Or penne pasta, cooked bacon, onion and a few broccli florets with a tin of tom puree and some herbs. Cover in grated cheese and baked. Works well for leftovers aswell (I always find chicken tastes funny reheated..)

Re: stews - if you have a look for the meat thats like beef cheek/topside or chuck or something like that.. it makes delicious stew and is very underated. Cheek esp has a high amount of collagen which makes for a nice thick gravy. It's normally one of the cheapest cuts too.. you just have to have the time to cook it. :P

Also corned beef lasts for more than one meal and makes nice sanwiches :)