Times have been hard recently and everyone wants to keep a hold of their money. One of the first places people tend to scrimp is with their food shopping. This is understandable, however, it shouldn’t affect the quality of your food. Great and tasty meals do not have to cost a fortune, and there are simple recipes out there for anyone looking to escape the chaos with an impeccable meal.
Don’t Miss Out On a Takeaway – Chicken Kebabs
January comes with a lot of reasons for you to rip up your takeaway menus and say goodbye to some of your favourite naughty foods. Whether you’re trying to go sober, lose some weight or save some money, skipping the takeaways will leave you a little better off in your bank account. But, this doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all your favourite weekend classics.
What You Will Need (Serving 4)
Chicken (boneless and skinned) – 9 thighs
Onion or Potato – 1 Whole
Garlic Powder – 1tsp
Curry Powder – 1 tbsp
Paprika – 1tsp
Salt – 1tsp
Cinnamon – 1 pinch
Lemon – Just the juice.
- Step 1: Mix all ingredients in a bowl, except the chicken
- Step 2: Add the chicken and coat it in the mixture, make sure you mix well
- Step 3: Refrigerate for a couple of hours, wrapped in cling film
- Step 4: Remove the end of the potato or onion and add it to three skewers
- Step 5: Pierce each chicken thigh onto the skewers firmly
- Step 6: Place in the oven. Cook for 1 hour and a half at 180 degrees
- Step 7: Allow the chicken to sit for a few minutes
- Step 8: Slice it and serve it
Eight easy steps and you have yourself a healthy and tasty chicken kebab. It is served traditionally with flatbread. However, any additional extras are up to you. Fans of spice should add some peppers and a chilli sauce to give the meal a kick. This will save some money whenever you feel as if you’re craving a trip to the takeaway.
Eat In For Savings – Chicken Parm
Saving money might mean you have had to give up eating out. However, giving this up does not mean you have to give up eating good food. It’s possible to whip up a fancy meal in your kitchen no problem, so here is a quick recipe that will impress your family, friends or partners.
What You Will Need (serving – 2)
Chicken Breast – 2
Breadcrumbs – 100g
Chopped Tomatoes – 1 Tin
Chopped onion – 1
Tomato puree – 1 tbsp
Oregano – 1 tbsp
Grated parmesan – 15g
Grated cheddar – 35
Cooking spray
Salt and Pepper – To taste
- Step 1: Cover a baking tray with cooking spray
- Step 2: Place the chicken breast and then cover in spray
- Step 3: Add salt, pepper and breadcrumbs to chicken
- Step 4: Cook chicken at 200 degrees in a preheated oven – 20 mins
- Step 5: Fry onions and garlic whilst chicken is cooking
- Step 6: Add tomatoes, puree and oregano to frying pan
- Step 7: Remove from heat until chicken is cooked
- Step 8: Pop the sauce on cooked chicken then add both cheeses
- Step 9: Insert back into oven for 10 mins
This pairs well with linguine for a great restaurant meal at home. Additionally, this meal is very healthy so it serves as the sensible option when compared to dining out. Bring date night home, with a nice white wine to help alleviate the stress you may be going through right now.
Feeding the Family – Cuban Beef
Families have been hit hard recently. Whether you have suddenly become your children’s teacher during homeschooling, or things have become difficult whilst working from home, food may have become an addition to your ever growing chore list. Cooking doesn’t need to be an afterthought, so blow the dust off your slow cooker and have dinner ready easily no matter your schedule with this recipe.
What You Will Need (Serving 4)
Steak – 500g
Boiling water – 240ml
Beef Stockcubes – 2
Chopped tomatoes – 2 tins
Tomato puree – 2 tbsp
Onion – 1 sliced
Green Pepper – 2 sliced
Red pepper – 2 sliced
Garlic – 4 crushed
Oregano – 1 tbsp
Cumin – 1 tbsp
Turmeric – ½ tsp
Red or white wine stock – 1
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper to taste
- Step 1: Season meat with salt and pepper and heat frying pan with cooking spray
- Step 2: Brown off the meat
- Step 3: Mix stock cubes in boiling water
- Step 4: Add all ingredients
- Step 4: Set cooker to high for the meal to be ready in around 6 hours
- Step 5: Shred meat when cooked
This is an ideal to opt for, as it’s a meal that essentially cooks itself while you work away. It serves well with rice, although such a versatile meal can go with anything you fancy. During the cooking process, if you take off the lid and see that it’s looking thinner that you like, simply leave the lid off and give it time to thicken.
No matter what your budget is like currently, you and your family still deserve to eat well. These adjustments can help you save money and keep you well fed. Life is too short to miss out on good food, especially when 2020 has had us miss out on so much already.
