Cheap Recipes

Preparing and cooking cheap recipes is really not hard.

I know you are reading this and wondering how you are going to find the time to clip coupons; where you are going to store all of those bulk buys and how you are going to manage the extra planning and cooking time.

But, the reality is different from your fears!

Cooking cheap recipes can be easy and quick and the whole point of this lens is to show you how.

The first step you can take is to choose a favourite family recipe and look at how you can substitute cheaper ingredients. That's saving number 1.

For example, perhaps you want to cook a beef casserole for a family meal. The first saving is to choose either the cheapest cut of beef or substitute turkey instead. A cheaper cut of beef may need overnight marinading and longer, slower cooking but you will find the flavour is more intense as a result.

Another example is a steak dinner. Decent steak is pricey but a cheaper cut of beef can be just as good provided you marinade the meat overnight and don't overcook it on the grill.

Saving number 2 can be achieved by simply cutting down on the quantity of the expensive items in your recipes. Going back to our beef casserole, reduce the amount of beef you use by half and substitute it with black eye or kidney beans, chopped celery, mushrooms or potatoes.

Cooking cheap recipes just requires a little creativity and imagination.

When shopping look for the less expensive food items, what do they remind you of? How could they be used instead of a more expensive item?

Vegetables are usually cheaper than meat and fish so introduce more vegetable only meals into your diet and, on the days you choose to have meat or fish, have a much smaller portion, making up the overall quantity on your plate with vegetables and pasta or potatoes.

Saving number 3 can be achieved by utilising left overs.

In our house we have a weekly 'deja vu' soup! The constituent parts have 'already been seen'. It's fast becoming the most popular night of the week. A large pot of steaming delicious soup, lots of fresh bread, cheese and fruit. Everyone enjoys the informality and it has become a real family occasion.

To work with left overs you need to be sure to cool food quickly and store it at the right temperatures as no-one is going to thank you for upsetting their stomach.

Left overs can be made into soups, pies, casseroles, sandwiches or simply served with a sauce.

It really is possible to significantly reduce the household budget by preparing food from cheap recipes and we hope some of the ideas here have given you food for thought.