#budget lunch

[housemousecooking]

Cheap Pasta Dishes - Marinara

*** I am using prices from the Walmart in the college town my sister lives in. Your area may be different***

Cheap Pasta 1 - 7 servings

Spinach - Frozen $1.48 Fresh $2.18

Mushroom - Fresh $2.08 Frozen $1.98 Canned $1.24

Marinara Sauce -$1.40

Rigatoni - $.92

$5.88 for the whole recipe. $.84 a serving

Cheap Pasta 2 - 7 Servings

1 small zucchini - fresh $.81 frozen(mix includes yellow squash) $1.74

1 small summer squash - fresh $.89

1 cup corn - Frozen $.84 canned $.54

Marinara - $1.40

Penne - $.92

$4.86 for the whole recipe. $.70 a serving

Roasted Vegetable Gnocchi 3 - 7 Servings

Gnocchi - 2 16oz containers $5.64

6 Cups broccoli - Frozen $2.24

Butternut Squash - Frozen $1.74

Marinara Sauce -$1.40

This is a roasted dish. Toss the gnocchi and vegetables in 1tbsp oil and roast in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes. Toss in the Marinara after. 

$11.02 for the whole recipe. $1.58 a Serving. 

[leahj]

Lazy Lasagna - Memorial Day Edition

For this week’s lazy lasagna I went with

3/4 box of Barilla rotini (trying to just do 4-5 servings instead of 6-7)

Jar and half of Prego (whatever was on sale)

One box of sliced button mushrooms

One zucchini

Half a bag of frozen broccoli (to avoid chopping broccoli myself)

A bag (2 cups) of shredded mozzarella (again, whatever was on sale)

I pre-cook everything before cooking this pasta casserole. That means cooking the pasta in well-salted water to al dente and cooking all the vegetables in my cast iron skillet. Mushrooms have a LOT of water, so you definitely need to pre-cook them. 

After everything is cooked and drained, I mix the veggies, pasta and a jar of sauce in a baking dish lined with aluminum foil (I’m lazy). Then I stir in some of the cheese (maybe half). Then I judge the sauce and usually add another half jar, before topping it in a layer of cheese and baking for one episode of Anne with an E.

I let it cool for another episode of Anne with an E before putting it into the fridge. When I divvy up my lunch servings, I use the last half jar of sauce between the servings. I find it helps me reheat without worrying about extra liquid.

[hithisiseli]

Food hack: Ramen plus siracha, spinach and egg

Food hack: Ramen plus siracha, spinach and egg

Greetings!

Nothing says ‘on a budget’ like a $2 12-pack of ramen.

We are determined to get to the ocean – and the Magic Kingdom – in the spring time.

That salty sea air will be so good for my lil buddy. The salt air is great for CFers’ lungs. Eli needs to be a surfer.

As part of that savings initiative — and a boost to our savings overall — we’re working to control grocery and supply costs.…

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[rootsandbeets]

Is it really possible to cook a 3 course meal for 4 people for £8.50?

Every time i have mentioned the budget lunch exam to anyone they have been utterly shocked at the thought of having to prepare a three-course family lunch for under £10, but incredibly, all twenty people in my year managed to devise an utterly delicious menu, which could be prepared in 2hrs 45mins and cost exactly £8.50 (based upon the ingredients used).

In addition to ensuring the menu fit within the budget and time constraints, marks were awarded on the number of different skills shown within the menu.  It was recommended to include pastry or bread making, fish filleting or meat preparation, gelatine and piping - which in some ways actually made it easier when planning what to cook.

In the end i decided on a caramelised leek tart with a flaky pastry base, a fish pie served with broccoli, followed by a rhubarb and ginger cheesecake.  One third of the marks were based on the paperwork which accompanied the meal, which was predominantly made up of a costing sheet.  As you can imagine there was no shopping at Waitrose for the budget lunch, i discovered you can buy eggs from Tesco at 9p each (!), a whole sea bream from Fulham Quality Fish on the Northend Road for £2.50, rhubarb in season for £5 per kilo and flour from ASDA for 3p per 100g!  Very insightful and whilst i will stick to buying organic milk and eggs, some of the basics i will certainly shop around for, and use my local grocers and fishmongers more regularly.

Having prepared and practiced the dishes more than a few times at home (please no one offer me leek tarts or fishpie anytime soon!) I was over-tired and a little scatty in the exam itself, which was very frustrating.  My fish filleting went much smoother than at home, and thankfully the weather was less muggy than it had been when practicing my pastry.  Unfortunately after blind baked my tarts, i returned them to the oven to dry out the base and accidently left them in the oven a little longer than planned - cue slightly bronzed tart cases - and was running a little behind my time plan as my gelatine didn't want to set on time, meaning i actually served my dishes slightly after the 12.15 deadline (forfeiting cleaning up my over-bubbling pie dish so as not to fall any further behind time.

Overall i was pleased with the dishes served, but a little disappointed with the slightly disorganised way i got through the morning.  However, having said all that, i'm very excited to say i got 77%! Knowing i could have done better was a little frustrating, but hearing that i'm generally on the right track was a huge confidence boost and to know that 30% of the practical exams are now completed and with decent scores to carry me through to next term i'm feeling very relieved!

Next term we have a bit more freedom with a £25 budget for a celebration lunch, but for now, whilst i'll certainly be more mindful of how much things cost I don't think i'll be budgeting so precisely (unless of course Ben sees the bill for the latest ocado delivery and i have to start reigning it in a bit!)

[monimargo]

Cubicle Cuisine: Tuna Salad Redux

Trying to eat healthy on a budget is rarely fun. And lunches at work can be challenging. The past couple of weeks, I've been making a batch of something versatile on Sunday that I can take for work, with a few options on how to put lunch together. This week's feature? Mediterranean Tuna Salad. Enjoy.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

2-3 servings

1 can of albacore or chunk light tuna in water, well drained and flaked

1 small roasted red bell pepper (I used 3 strips from the jar), diced

1 ripe roma tomato, seeded and diced

small palmful of pitted kalamata olives, diced

1-2 Tbsp capers

zest of one small lemon

1 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (what I had on hand, but feta would also be nice)

1 Tbsp minced fresh Italian parsley

salt & pepper

olive oil

red wine vinegar

In a medium storage container with a lid, begin to add the ingredients as you prep them, starting with the tuna.

Season with salt & pepper to taste and then mix well. Drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar ... just enough so that the mixture is moistened but not soggy ... and mix.

Today, I just plated it with some fresh salad veggies, but you could fill a pita with it, or toss it with any cold plain pasta left over from the previous night's dinner, and maybe add some drained marinated artichokes and some spinach. Yum!