Tuna Pasta Bake
This is a firm family favourite in our house and we have it quite often. It's very easy to make and really cheap too.
You need:
One tin of tuna
Half a tin of sweetcorn (if you buy the cheap, large tins)
Pasta to serve 4 (see pack for details - I usually just use about 300g)
A jar of creamy tomato pasta sauce (cheating!)
A regular sized packet of ready salted crisps
100g your favourite cheese
1. Cook the pasta separately
2. Meanwhile mix the tuna, sweetcorn and sauce in another pan and heat very gently.
3. Once the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pan. Add the sauce mixture and decant into an ovenproof dish.
4. Crush the crisps and sprinkle over the pasta, then top with cheese and grill until the cheese has melted.
Cost: Approximately £2.50 to serve a family of 4
Spaghetti Bolognese
This is a really quick and simple dish - and really filling too.
You'll need:
Beef mince
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A teaspoon of oregano
A beef Oxo cube
An Onion
Spaghetti
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
Optional: Parmesan and sweetcorn
1. Fry the onion and mince in a large frying pan and sprinkle the crumbled Oxo cube into the pan.
2. Add all the other ingredients
3. Serve with the spaghetti
Simple!
Cost: Approximately £4 for a family of four, using herbs from the cupboard.
Chicken Curry & Rice
This was a rushed dinner and I used a jar of sauce - something I don't usually do.
So there isn't really a recipe apart from to say I used ready to cook chicken breast strips, fried them up with an onion and two halved tomatoes before adding a jar of tikka massala sauce.
Served with rice and naan bread.
Cost: Approximately £5 to feed the four of us including rice and naan bread.
Chilli Con Carne
Since an unfortunate experience with left over kidney beans, my husband no longer eats them if he can possibly help it and so our chilli con carne is made with baked beans.
This recipe does require quite a lot of ingredients but if you're going to make this regularly (or any Mexican inspired dish) it's worth the investment.
To make this tasty dish you need:
Beef mince
A tin of chopped tomatoes
A tin of baked beans
One onion, sliced
A dash of Worcestershire sauce
A teaspoon of chilli flakes
A teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of chilli powder
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
Salt & Pepper to taste
1. Fry the mince and onion in a little oil and drain the excess fat from the mixture once the mince is browned and the onions are soft.
2. Add all of the herbs & spices and the Worcestershire sauce.
3. Add tomatoes and beans and simmer for around 20 minutes
4. Add salt & pepper as preferred
5. Serve with rice or pita bread & salad.
Cost: Approximately £4 for all four of us without the herbs and spices. Each of those will probably cost between 80p and 1.50 each depending on where you shop.
Chicken Salad
This was a really delicious meal. Preparation of salad always seems to take ages to me but it's always worth it! The combination of flavours is always a pleasant surprise.
We had sliced salad tomatoes, baby leaf pre-prepared salad, slices of carrot, cucumber and red onion, olives, a chicken breast cooked in the oven and a jacket potato topped with coleslaw.
Delicious!
Cost: Approximately £4.50 to make enough for all four of us.
Sticky Chicken and Savoury Rice
This is one of my favourite dishes. It's really quick and it's so easy to make.
To make this you'll need:
A bag of cook from frozen chicken strips
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 packet of savoury rice per 2 people
1. Mix the honey, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar together.
2. Toss the chicken in the mixture and fry in a wok or large frying pan for 10-15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rice according to packet instructions.
4. When everything is cooked, mix together and serve!
Cost: Approximately £5 if you need to buy the honey, vinegar and soy sauce. These will obviously last you a lot longer than one meal.
White fish and savoury rice.
Rather than buying cod or haddock as we usually do, I decided to buy 'white fish' from the supermarket. I thought it might not be as tasty as the more expensive options but for the sake of research we gave it a try. On closer inspection of the packaging at home I found that the fish was Pollock.
I found that the fish was just as tasty as any other I have bought in the past. I didn't flavour it at all to be able to truly taste it and it didn't need any seasoning even on the plate.
The savoury rice was Asda Smart Price and is really tasty. I add a small dash of soy sauce to this just before serving.
A really easy, simple meal that everyone enjoyed.
Cost: £2.52 for a family of four
