Nutritious family meal for 4 people under $15 AUD
Let's face it. Cost of living is high. My favourite fruit loaf is now $9.2 whereas it was just around $6 not too long ago.
I have collated eight budget-friendly recipes designed to serve four, each costing under $15.
1. One-Pan Chicken and Vegetable Bake:
Ingredients: 250g of pasta e.g. penne, 300g Chicken thighs, mixed veggies (around 3 metric cups), olive oil, and seasonings. Optional home-made Bechamel sauce.
Cost: Approximately $12.00
Method: Toss chicken with olive oil and seasonings, then bake in one pan. Add boiled pasta and sauce in the last 5 minutes of the baking. Serve with steamed vegetables.
2. Vegetarian Chickpea and Spinach Curry:
Ingredients: Canned chickpeas, spinach, tomatoes, curry spices such as Cumin seeds and garem masala, and rice.
Cost: Around $11.50
Method: Simmer chickpeas, spinach, and tomatoes with curry spices, serve over cooked rice.
3. Pasta Primavera with Roasted Vegetables:
Ingredients: 250g Pasta, assorted vegetables for roasting such as capsicum, eggplant, pumpkin, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese (or nutritional yeast for vegan).
Cost: Roughly $13.00
Method: Roast veggies, toss with cooked pasta, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with Parmesan.
4. Beef and broccoli stir-Fry:
Ingredients: 350g Beef (thinly sliced), a small knob of ginger, broccoli, soy sauce, and 1 cup Basmati rice.
Cost: Approximately $14.50
Method: Marinate beef with salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger and a little corn starch first. Bleach vegetable in hot water then set aside. Stir-fry beef on high heat add in bleached veggies Serve over rice.
5. Pumpkin and lentil
Ingredients: 1 kg Pumpkin, 1 onion and 1/4 cup red lentil. Sourdough bread
Cost: Around $12
Method: Peel and diced pumpkin. In a heavy pot, fry on high with the diced onion. Add in the rinsed lentils. Add enough water to cover the pumpkin. Once all is tender, blend in hand-held stick blender and serve with crusty bread.
6. Salmon and Vegetable Foil Packets:
Ingredients: Salmon fillets, mixed veggies, lemon, and herbs.
Cost: Roughly $20.00
Method: Place salmon and veggies on foil, squeeze lemon, sprinkle herbs, fold into packets, and bake.
7. Creamy basil pesto penne with mushroom
Ingredients: Half a bunch of basil, one handful of cashews, 2 cloves of garlic, 250g penne, olive oil, 500g mushroom
Cost: Around $13.50
Method: Boil the penne in a large pot of water. Puree the basil with cashews with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic. Add a little water to thin the peso. Sliced the mushrooms and crush the garlic. Pan fry the mushroom and garlic in a pan. Once mushroom is cooked, add the pesto and penne. Stir to combine.
8. Eggplant and Chickpea Casserole:
Ingredients: Eggplant, canned chickpeas, tomatoes, and herbs.
Cost: Around $13.50
Method: Layer eggplant, chickpeas, and tomatoes, sprinkle with herbs, and bake until bubbly.
While the salmon meal is over $15, on average each meal is under $15. As a result, the higher ticket items can still be included in a overall quite a budget friendly meal plan.
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