Cheap, healthy meals ...
The other day I bought some pork mince ... I made steamed dumplings with gee gaw pastry, cooked in water ... I also made Vietnamese spring rolls using rice paper and vegetables as well as the pork. This easily fed the two of us ...
Add pork mince to saucepan, with water. Cook and use wooden spoon to separate the mince and brown gently. Add finely chopped onion, garlic (1 tspn or to taste), soy sauce. You could add some finely chopped vegetables, like mushrooms or zucchini to make the meat stretch more.
Dumplings
Take gee gaw pastry and place about a tspn of the meat mix inside. I have a cute little gadget that you put the pastry in and then close the gadget firmly and it makes the dumpling ... it cost me about $2.00 on eBay. But, you can just close the pastry manually and use a fork to seal the edges. Then, add the pastries to boiling water, about 5 at a time. Serve with soy sauce.
Spring rolls
Soak rice paper in warm water until flexible. Add a couple of tablespoons of the pork mix to the rice paper and then fold into a package with some finely chopped celery (including leaves).
San choi bao (I'd have made some of these if I had had a little more pork mince.
Spoon a couple of teaspoons (or more depending on size) into a lettuce leaf. Fold up and eat.
I had about 300 g pork mince for $5.00 ... this fed me and my teenage son (who loves his food). This kind of a meal is also fun and you can work it so each family member can add their own additions.
Yesterday, I realised I had bought dried peas instead of split peas for a pea and ham soup. I couldn't find any recipes that used them instead of split peas ... so I used the split peas I had left over in the cupboard to make the soup.
With the dried peas ... I cooked them in water (didn't soak them, didn't have time), for about an hour/hour and a half. Then I added finely chopped potatoes and cooked them further. Then, I drained the mix and added tomatoes and olive oil and cooked until the tomatoes were soft. Then I added garlic, cummin, coriander seeds and garam masala. I was really pleased with the result as it was my first experiment with Indian food without using a recipe.
However, I served them on top of supermarket cheap white bread 😉 with butter. I liked it ... I do like vegetarian food. My son wasn't as keen.
This is really simple, but delicious and cheap as.
Cheesy Spaghetti
Cook spaghetti according to package instructions ... meanwhile grate a decent cheddar. When spaghetti is ready, drain, return to saucepan, add butter, and serve. Sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper and cheese.
Fish Cakes
Canned Salmon on special ... around 425g.
4 large potatoes, cooked and mashed (better if left overnight)
Sweet corn kernels/frozen peas/finely chopped spring onion ... works with a few different veges.
Chopped onion.
Open can, drain juices and add salmon to potatoes. Mix. Add veges. Combine.
Add oil to frying pan, heat, and then form salmon/potato mix into patties and fry. Leave until you are easily able to lift with spatula and turn to cook other side until brown and crispy. Serve with a vinaigrette sauce, if you like (awesome mix, in my opinion).
LOL ... am I on the right track?
