Week #2 - Easy Budget Meals
Welcome to another post with a few cheap and easy meals to help spread the budget and still have a filling meal for your family. I have broken down each meal into price per portions as well as the overall meal and will then total up what our even meals cost us for the week.
The number of portions I need each day varies, as my fiancé works shifts, so sometimes I feed him and sometimes I don't. Most meals are for 2 people, or cooked as a meal for 4 and give us a left over portion to freeze or use as an easy dinner in the week.
Day 1: McDonalds - 3 portions
Today was our treat day for the month! Due to the limited takeaways that were open on this particular day, we ended up with a McDonalds, which was very nice but also not exactly cheap. I did have a 20% off voucher however which made me feel a bit better about it 😂
We ordered, a Nugget Happy Meal, A chicken Sandwich Meal, A Large 20 Nugget Meal and extra 9 nuggets to share.
Total meal £16.32 = £5.44 a portion.
I must admit, it was an eye opener to see that this one meal, cost more than the total meal spend for Week 1.
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Day 2: Meatball Bake - 3 Portions
I bought the "3 for £10" meat deal in ASDA, and then half those 3 packs to make it 6 meals worth, making them £1.60 each.
12 meatballs - £1.60
1 onion - £0.20
1 Bell pepper - £0.31
Jar of ASDA Pasta Sauce - £0.70
Conchiglie (shells) pasta - 30p
Total meal £2.91 = £0.97 a portion.
Method: Chop the onion and pepper and chuck into a pan, with a drizzle of oil, fry them off a little, I also added a sprinkle of mixed herbs and garlic granules. Add the meatballs and stir gradually till they are brown. Place the pasta into another pan, add water and bring to the boil. Let it cook for about 10 mins, till soft. Drain and serve the pasta, and pour into a baking dish ( pyrex) placing the meatball mixture on top. Give it all a big mix and add some grated cheese on top. Into the oven for 20 mins / til crispy and golden.
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Day 3: BBQ
We went to a BBQ on the beach with some friends, so we didnt spend anything on the food, but we did spend £5 on parking.
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Day 4: Chicken Pie - 3 portions
I made a chicken casserole in the slow cooker as my filling for this pie. I served it with boiled poatoes and veg.
Casserole -
3 chicken thighs - £1.70
1 onion - £0.20
1 bell pepper - £0.31
Colmans Chicken Casserole sachet - £0.65
I cooked this in the slow cooker on high for 5-6 hours, with a tea towel under the lid to catch condensation and prevent it from being too watery.
ASDA Ready Roll shortcrust pastry - £1.00
4 potatoes - £0.40
Frozen beans - £0.20
Frozen carrots - £0.20
Day 5: Slow Cooked Lasagne - 3 portions
A very easy and basic lasagne, simply because I didnt have much fresh veg left in the fridge. ASDA has changed their meat offer from 3 for £10 to 2 for £7, which I divided into 4 meals worth, making them £1.75 each
Mince 750g (beef/pork combo) - £1.75
Jar of ASDA pasta sauce - £0.70
Jar of ASDA white sauce - £0.65
Total Meal £3.10 = £1.03 a portion.
Asda lasagne sheets are 70p for a box, and you pay use 1/3 or a 1.4 of a box depending on the size of your lasagne, ours were free however from my Mum who had them going spare in the cupboard.
Into a large bowl, break up the mince, add a sprinkle of garlic granules and mixed herbs and gravy granules from the cupboard. Add the jar of pasta sauce and mix well. Use approx half of this bowl to make the first layer in your slow cooker. Top with dried pasta sheets- you may need to break them up to fit the oval shape. then half the white sauce jar and do a layer. then repeat again with the meat, pasta sheets and white sauce. Top with grated cheese. Cook on high for 6 hours with a tea towel under the lid to stop condensation.
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Day 6: Sausage, chips and Beans - 2 portions
Sausages are currently 2 packs for £4 in ASDA. As it turns out this meals isnt that cheap for 2 people, it could be eked out for 3 however with 2 sausages each rather than 3.
Sausages - £2
Chips - £0.20
Beans - £0.50
Hoops - £0.50
Total Meal - £3.20 = £1.60 a portion
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Day 7: Pizza - 2 portions
This is not the cheapest option, but it was easy. Our local Spar had 2 pizza for £5. We had a pizza each as I didn't do anything with them.
Total Meal - £5 = £2.50 a portion
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This week was an expensive one in comparison to Week 1, mostly due to my own laziness with the McDonalds and the overpriced Pizzas from Spar. My homemade chicken pie worked out as one of the most expensive meals coming in at £4.66.
Total Week - £35.19 for 16 portions.
That total spend is more than double last week, and solely because we had Mcdonalds, which in itself cost more than the whole of Week 1. I must do better for week 3.
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