I created this blog to not only help others keep on track with feeding a family on a tight budget, but also to keep myself accountable as well. Just recently, we have gone back to only one income - and we need to eat!! This was a personal choice, and something that we both agreed on - the question is ~ how long can we do it for?? And therein lays the challenge!
My philosophy is to create meals that taste great, are filling, are not going to break the budget, and that we can get more than one meal out of the larger cuts of meat.
I have unusual tastes - and if I find something in a restaurant or cafe that I've tasted I have this internal challenge that says "I can make that myself, at a fraction of the cost!!" A classic example of this was many years ago when we were travelling around the South Australian vineyards, and we stopped for a ploughman's lunch (I'd never had one before) - and there on the serving platter was dukkah with balsamic reduction, with fresh Italian bread for dunking - all I can say was yummy - and in my head "I can do this!"
And YES, I CAN!
And so, Make Food Go Further was born - out of a challenge to create food at a fraction of the cost, and also to keep my tastebuds happy on a tight budget.
Usually on the weekends, we cook up a roast of some nature. Depending on the price of the meat, most of the time we end up with at least 2 meals out of the cut, and hopefully meat for lunches.
We avoid 2 minute noodles - although I do have one recipe which is an absolute winner which uses these noodles as a quick and easy meal.
We buy meat on special - with the aim of freezing it for later (break it into portions). Looking at meat prices, if I purchase meat at the supermarket which is close to its use by date, then I can save in some instances 50% of the full price. Some meat I am really cautious about buying close to its date - chicken for example - if I buy it on special then I buy it to use it today or tomorrow (no later).
Just this weekend I was at our local butcher - I don't usually buy packs from the butcher as I buy meat when I do the rest of my groceries (convenience and laziness I guess). Yesterday I bought a meat pack for $100 from the butcher. Using this as an example, when I got it home I organised my portions for the freezer.
The pack contained:
- 2kg pork rolled for roasting
- 2kg pork belly
- 2 kg of pork ribs
- 1 kg of mince
- 1kg beef sausages (12)
- 1kg pork sausages (13)
- 1 kg crumbed steak (6)
- 1kg bbq steak (6)
- 1 kg rissoles (8)
The pork belly, I cut in half for 2 meals. The mince I separated into 3 portions and froze. The sausages I separated into 4 lots; the steaks and rissoles into 2 lots each. I estimate that I will get about 15 meals for the 3 of us out of this pack.... do the maths......not bad pricing eh? The pork roast will be a meal and a curry (easily). If I can get 15 meals from this pack, then that is nearly 3 weeks worth of meals without counting left overs. Not bad for the budget.
I also use my pressure cooker - a lot. Anything that needs "low and slow" cooking - I blitz in the pressure cooker. I have done curries and casseroles that simply melt in your mouth and fall apart - there is no compromise on flavour, there is less cleaning up (no oven to clean) and it seriously is quick and easy. I bought a Ronson pressure cooker from Target when it was on special (about $60) and I would seriously buy another one.
As my eldest son pointed out to me today when I told him I am doing this blog, he said "that's great mum, but you aren't good at measuring stuff"... so I will try and put in measurements, but a lot of my cooking with meat has been by trial and error....cook it, taste it, modify it - work out what you like and use the recipes as a guide - a starting point to get to the flavours you like.
Much love and happy cooking!!
Mel
Much love and happy cooking!!
Mel
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