The Start Menu » Budget Meals

Creamy Mayo – Easy on the Budget

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 19:42:50 +0000

2 Egg yolks
340ml vegetable oil (12fl oz)
1tsp-2tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1-2tsp Mustard
Salt & Pepper

Beat egg whites until stiff (for you kiwis, like a pav!)
Dribble a tiny bit of the oil in and continue beating
Keep dribbling small amounts of oil in and beating until 1/2 the mixture is done
Add in the lemon, mustard , then resume adding in oil. As you get further into the mixture you will be able to add more oil each time, and eventually have a thin trickle going at all times.
Once all oil has been added and its thick and creamy, add salt/pepper to taste, and refrigerate

The bonus of this recipe is that you can take out the lemon and mustard and throw in other things like garlic or onionetc for a Aoli or other flavour. Make sure you keep refridgerated, this will only keep for around 4-7 days due to the eggs not being pasteurized .

This recipe makes a fairly large portion of mayo, you may want to half it.

Winter Durchfall (my own recipe of vegetable stir fry)

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:15:34 +0000

Ingredients

1/2 pumpkin (I used Crown/Grey Pumpkin)
3 Onions Sliced
3 Capsicum
2T Garam Masala
1t Cumin
1t Salt
1/2t Pepper
1 1/2t Garlic (crushed, fresh, however you like it)
700gms Beef Schnitzel

Preperation

Roast pumpkin in oven, or cook in microwave, either whole or in large chunks
Whilst pumpkin is cooking, slice Onions and Capsicum
Lightly fry the Onions and Capsicum together , feel free to sprinkle salt to flavour
Once pumpkin is cooked, remove skin and dice into bite sized cubes
Put pumpkin cubes into large bowl or bag, add Garam masala, Cumin, Salt, Pepper and carefully mix together
Dice the meat into bite sized squares, fry quickly in the frypan with the Garlic and a little salt.
Put the pumpkin into an serving tray and mix Capsicum & Onion mixture gently into it, then sprinkle meat over it.

Notes: Feel free to drop the meat out of this one for a vegetarian option.

PS. Sorry for anyone speaking German, my daughter named it after asking what was in it, and i replied ‘lots of shit from the fridge’

Quick easy Pesto Pasta with or without chicken

admin — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 07:58:27 +0000

Ingredients

Chicken Breasts (optional)
1500gm packet pasta
2T Finely chopped basil
1 Cup blueberries
Any vegetables, eggplant, beans, etc you want
2 T crushed/chopped fine Garlic oil Sprinkle of cheese (parmesan works best)

Instructions

Cook pasta
Mix Equal amounts of basil and garlic with oil. I find food processor is great here!
Put mixture with the pasta, feel free to add more/less depending on taste.
Add any vegetables into it here if you have any. Sliced eggplant is great, as is carrot, zucchini, mushrooms etc
Sprinkle cheese over the top
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes whilst you brown/cook the chicken.
Brown/cook Chicken in a frying pan. You can slice it or leave it whole.
Stir the Blueberries into the pasta
Serve with chicken on the side, or mixed in if you sliced it (up to you!)

Spicy Lemon Pepper Pasta with Broccoli

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:29:22 +0000

Found at this lovely website with wonderful creations http://veganyumyum.com/2008/01/spicy-lemon-pepper-pasta-with-broccoli/ . Worth checking out if you ever get the time.

Ingredients

Dried Fettucini, enough for one
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Broccoli Florets
1/4 Cup Sliced Sundried Tomatoes (oil packed)
1/2 tsp Hot Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice, or more to taste
1-2 Pinches Kosher Salt
Black Pepper, Lemon Zest to taste

Instructions

Cook the Pasta in well-salted water
Chop the broccoli florets in to small pieces (about the size of a nickel).
Slice the sundried tomatoes.
When pasta is nearly finished cooking, heat a wok over medium-high heat until it’s quite hot.
Add oil and broccoli and toss to coat, adding more oil a little at a time if needed.
After 1-2 minutes, add tomatoes and pepper flakes.
Let cook undisturbed for another two minutes, then toss.
Repeat this process until broccoli and tomatoes have some color on them, and the broccoli is bright green and becoming tender.
Drain pasta very well and add to the wok, adding just enough oil to coat the pasta (if needed).
Add lemon juice and salt and taste, adjusting if necessary.
Plate and grind fresh black pepper over the top, adding lemon zest if desired.
Serve immediately

This also makes a nice room-temperature pasta salad, so it’d be great for picnics, work lunches, or potlucks.

Dont Judge Me – Quick easy pasta dish

admin — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:15:54 +0000

Recipe: Dont Judge me

Ingredients

500g bag of uncooked pasta
750gm Bag mixed vegetables
1 cup grated cheese
3-5T balsamic Vinegar

Instructions

Put the Pasta in a large pot with hot water, bring to the boil and then switch off and let them sit (basically just cook it, but leave it in the water to stay warm)
Boil the vegetables until well cooked.
Put the cooked vegetables into a blender or food processor until its a puree (this is the ‘sauce’)
Mix the Balsamic Vinegar with the vegetables
Mix in the grated cheese whilst its still hot, if its not you may need to reheat in microwave.
Combined Pasta and sauce together and serve with a little grated cheese on top.

Quick Notes

Feel free to use any other herbs and spices to taste, by default this is a fairly blandish recipe, thats filling, healthy, cheap, and the kids love it. Its called ‘Dont Judge me’ because it looks green and yuck to the kids, and yet tastes yum. (its very similar to Jonos Lunch)

Jonos Lunch (quick easy pasta)

admin — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:58:44 +0000

Summary: This recipe originates as something derived from my boss ‘jono’ who used to bring in pasta for lunch most days. This is a quick easy recipe the kids love to eat both hot and cold. It goes along side most other dishes, and is easily customizable.

Ingredients

1 Packet of Pasta (500gm packet)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (440gm)
1 Tablespoon of sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon Cumin
1/2 cup Grated cheese/Parmesan

Instructions

Cook the packet of pasta boiling it.
When cooked, mix in the can of chopped tomatoes, sugar, and cumin.
Sprinkle cheese over the top.
Microwave for 3-5 minutes until heated through, and cheese is melted.

This meal is primarily pasta with a vague tomato/cheese/herb taste.

Also tastes great with Chilli if you like it hot, and/or Meatballs or chunks of meat,

The sugar isn’t needed if you use pre-flavoured tomatoes of any kind.

Cooking time (duration): 2

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): Reduced fat

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: lunch

My rating: 4.0 stars