Week 3 $70 menu for family of five

Cottage Pie.

Last week I did a radio interview with Di on Radio Rhema and we talked about my $70 menu plan series.

Di asked what sacrifices needed to be made when shopping on a limited budget, and I told her there were two things that really stood out to me:

The first was the lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. When shopping at a supermarket, it's hard to get your 5+ a day on $70 a week for a family of five. I think you would have more luck shopping at fruit and vegetable stores and only buying the cheapest items.

The second was flavour. If you're trying to decide between a box of spice and two loaves of bread that can make sandwiches for a week, the bread will always win. However, spices are another thing that can be bought a lot cheaper from places other than the supermarket. Good places to look for them are bulk food stores and Indian groceries. I'd recommend pooling your resources with another friend or two and splitting the herbs/spices between you, as they tend to be cheaper when bought in bulk.

With this week's menu, you'll start to use up some of the chicken stock you made in week 1 and 2. Like last week, this menu makes use of leftover ingredients from previous weeks to give us more wiggle room in our budget.


Countdown Shopping List (Total $69.94)

• Cucumber = $2.00
• Oranges 1.6KG = $4.00
• Carrots 50g = $1.25 (Save all carrot peels and tops and ends to make chicken stock. Store in a bread bag in the freezer until you're next ready to make stock.)
• Broccoli = $1.50
• Homebrand Mixed Frozen Vegetables 1KG = $2.29
• Countdown Ham shaved prepackaged 200g x 2 = $5.00
• Butchery Northlands Beef Mince 1KG = $8.99 (Divide into three portions in clean bread bags. Put two portions in the fridge and freeze the third for Day 7's dinner.)
• Meadowfresh Sour Cream 250G = $2.80
• Signature Range Cheese Block Colby 1KG = $8.50
• Countdown Milk Powder 1KG = $8.99
• Homebrand Sandwich Bread x 4 = $4 (Save the bread bags for storing/freezing food)
• Essentials Coconut Cream 400mls = $1.39
• Essentials High Grade Flour 1.5KG = $1.80
• Farmer Brown Eggs dozen size 7 = $3.80
• Homebrand Crackers Traditional 250g = $1.50
• Homebrand Rolled Oats 750G = $2.00
• Select Raspberry Jam 500G = $3.00
• Essentials Diced Tomatoes 400g = $0.80
• Homebrand Peach Slices in Syrup 415g = $1.19
• Select Baked Beans 420g = $0.85
• Watties Bean There Mexican Beans 420G = $2.20
• Homebrand Worcestershire Sauce 500ML = $2.20
• Sun Valley Foods Pearl Barley 500G = $1.69

(Items leftover from previous weeks - tomato sauce, brown sugar, rice, rice bran oil, flour, soy sauce, potatoes, homemade chicken stock, peanut butter.)

Menu

Day 1 Breakfast 

• Poached eggs on toast. (5 eggs, 5 pieces of bread.)

Day 1 Lunchbox fillers and snacks for five people

• Sandwiches - Cucumber and ham. (Use half of one of the ham packages.)
• Apple wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  
• Crackers and jam or cheese (one per person).
• Carrot sticks - Peel one large carrot and divide between five lunch boxes. Save the carrot peel and tops in a bread bag in the freezer for making chicken stock.

Day 1 Dinner - Cottage Pie

• Use this recipe to make the Cottage Pie. Since we don't have onions, cook the mince first in its own fat and then add 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables and cook them through before adding homemade chicken stock (that you prepared and froze in weeks one and two) and Worcestershire Sauce. We also haven't purchased butter this week, so mix 1/2 cup grated cheese through the mashed potato instead. 

Day 2 Breakfast 

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with brown sugar if desired.

Day 2 Lunch - Leftovers from dinner or lunchboxes filled with:

• Sandwiches made with ham (use half of one of the ham packages), grated carrot, cucumber slices and cheese.
• Orange wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  
• Crackers and jam (one per person).

Day 2 Dinner - Tortilla stack

• Make eight tortillas following this recipe (it uses 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup warm water and 3 Tablespoons oil). (You'll only use four of these tortillas tonight, so save the other four for tomorrow's lunches.)
• Brown one of your three mince portions in its own fat, then stir through Mexican beans.
• Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a 6cm-deep, 20cm (base) springform pan. Place pan on a baking tray. Place 1 tortilla in base of pan. Spoon one-third of the mince mixture over tortilla. Repeat layers twice with remaining tortillas and mince mixture, finishing with a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden. 
• Cut into wedges. Serve with sour cream. (Save half the sour cream for Day 6's Potato Wedges dinner).

Day 3 Breakfast (defrost 1 cup of chicken stock for tonight's dinner now)

• Baked beans on toast. 

Day 3 Lunch - Simple folded quesadillas and other lunchbox fillers:

• Simple folded quesadillas made with the remaining tortillas from last night's dinner, tomato sauce, one half package of ham (diced) and grated cheese. Cook in a frying pan. Cut into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes. 
• Carrot sticks - Peel one large carrot and divide between five lunch boxes. (Save the carrot peel and tops in a bread bag in the freezer for making chicken stock in the future.)
• Crackers and peanut butter (one per person).

Day 3 Dinner - Nonya Curry on Rice

• Nonya curry - Use the other half of the Asian Home Gourmet Nonya Curry spice packet started last week. To make the curry, partially follow the instructions on the back of the packet, but stir-fry the potatoes in oil and half the spice mix for three minutes, then add the coconut cream and the tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer until a nice sauce has developed. Tonight's curry won't have any chicken in it.
• Serve with 1/2 head of broccoli and cook all the rice you have remaining from last week's grocery shop in a mixture of homemade chicken stock and water. You'll save half of this cooked rice to make fried rice tomorrow night. 

Day 4 Breakfast

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder. Serve with tinned peaches if desired.

Day 4 Lunch - Leftover Nonya Curry or lunchboxes filled with:

• Cheese toasties made with bread, tomato sauce, cheese and butter
• Carrot sticks - Peel one large carrot and divide between five lunch boxes. (Save the carrot peel and tops in a bread bag in the freezer for making chicken stock in the future.)
• Orange wedges - Cut two oranges into wedges and divide between five lunchboxes.  

Day 4 Dinner - Chinese Fried Rice

• Use this recipe and make with other half of last night's rice, rice bran oil, soy sauce, 2 eggs, 1 half packet of ham and 1 cup of mixed frozen vegetables. 

Day 5 Breakfast (Get four cups of chicken stock out of the freezer to defrost now and also soak pearl barley soaking for tonight's soup)

• Homemade Hash Browns served with tomato sauce. (Hash Browns are made with potatoes, egg and rice bran oil.)

Day 5 Lunch - Lunchboxes filled with: 

• Peanut butter or cucumber and cheese sandwiches.
• Orange wedges - Cut any remaining oranges into slices and divide between five lunchboxes. 
• Crackers and cheese or jam or peanut butter.

Day 5 Dinner - Chicken Barley Soup

• In the morning, soak 1 cup pearl barley in four cups of water and leave to soak all day, then rinse and strain. At dinner time, saute 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables in a little rice bran oil for several minutes and then pour over four cups of chicken stock and an additional 4 cups water. Stir in the rinsed and strained pearl barley and simmer on a medium heat for at least an hour, or until the pearl barley is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste if you have it.
• Serve with toast cut into strips and sprinkled with grated cheese 

Day 6 Breakfast

• Porridge made with rolled oats, water and milk made with a mixture of water and milk powder.
• Serve with tinned peaches if desired. 

Day 6 Lunch

• Leftover chicken barley soup served with toast, or peanut butter sandwiches, carrot sticks. 

Day 6 Dinner - Potato Wedges

• Potato wedges prepared following these directions and topped with melted cheese. Serve with sour cream and the other half of the broccoli - cut into florets and boiled for one to two minutes. 

Day 7 Breakfast

• Homemade Hash Browns served with tomato sauce. (Hash Browns are made with potatoes, egg and rice bran oil.)

Day 7 Lunch

• Sandwiches or cheese pizzas made with tomato sauce, cheese and bread. Use up any leftover snacks - crackers and oranges. If you have any eggs left, boil these for lunch too. 

Day 7 Dinner - Cottage Pie

• This is a repeat of Day 1's dinner. Use this recipe to make the Cottage Pie. We don't have onions so cook the mince first in its own fat and then add 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables and cook them through before adding homemade chicken stock (that you prepared and froze in week one and two) and Worcestershire Sauce. We also haven't purchased butter this week, so mix 1/2 cup grated cheese through the mashed potato instead. 

Find Week 1's $70 menu here.
Find Week 2's $70 menu  here.