Quantcast
Channel: Recipes – Savings Guide
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

4 Low Cost, Money Saving Meals You Need To Master

0
0

What has happened to the art of cooking in modern society? When I was a little girl, dad packed my school lunch every day and mum cooked dinner every night, usually with dessert, and we had takeaway only on special occasions.

These days, people are eating more takeaway, buying more lunches and complaining they don’t have any money left over at the end of the week. So does it cost more to cook for yourself? Well, yes, sometimes it does, but it really depends on what you cook.

Here are a few meals you need to learn to cook if you want to master the art of frugal living.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Every guy I’ve ever dated has known how to cook a spag bol, if nothing else. This is the quintessential modern Australian dish, probably the first thing everyone learns to cook, and definitely worth learning.

While every household has their own variant on the recipe, the basics involve beef mince and crushed tomatoes in some way or another. Bulk your bolognaise with the addition of grated carrots, zucchini and lentils. It’s still a delicious dish, the family won’t notice the difference and you’ll be cutting the costs in half.

Stir Fry

Stir fry is an almost exotic way of saying, “let’s throw all the leftover veggies in a pan and see what we get”. Ok, so maybe not all the veggies (I’ve never had stir fried potato…) but pretty much anything will go. The other marvellous thing about stir fry is you don’t need nearly as much meat as you might think.

Down to one solitary chicken breast? Chop it up, fry it with a big bowl of veggies, serve on a bed of rice and you can generally get 3 serves. If you’re worried about the lack of protein, ramp it up with some shredded omelette or raw nuts.

Curry

Curry was traditionally a masterful way of disguising ingredients past their prime, the rich intoxicating spices and slow cooking technique masking wobbly carrots and dodgy proteins for centuries. Now, I’m not suggesting you use rotten food (please don’t!) but if your veggies aren’t as crisp as once they were, they’ll do nicely in a big ol’ pot of curry.

Bulk it out with starchy potatoes, pumpkin, lentils and chickpeas and you’ve got a crowd pleaser that costs hardly anything.

Pizza

I like to think of pizza as a big, tasty, toasted sandwich. Truly, it’s the best thing since sliced bread! Pre-bought bases are going to set you back but if you learn to make the dough yourself (and it’s not that hard, Italians have been doing it for a long time and you don’t hear them complaining) it’s cheap as chips. Flour, yeast and a little oil: done.

Add to that a smidge of tomato paste, some dried herbs, a sprinkling of cheese and some skerricks of whatever you’ve got lying around the kitchen and you’re sure to come up with a popular meal.

Get creative with toppings and expand your repertoire… remember the Ninja Turtles? Coco Pop pizza, anyone? Ok, maybe not, but you’ll be surprised at what works. And all without a single trip to the supermarket.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images