It’s dinner time, five days till pay day and you’re hungry for something tasty but healthy.
Here’s your saviour – four simple dinner recipes that are nutritious and delicious. Plus they won’t break the bank!
Each recipe makes enough to serve 4 people.
Chicken and Mushroom Fettuccini 300g of dry fettuccini (about 2/3 of a packet) 1 teaspoon oil 300g chicken breast, skin removed 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced 1 teaspoon crushed garlic 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce 375 ml can Carnation evaporated milk Light and Creamy 1 egg yolk
Cook pasta as per instructions on packet. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a pan, cut chicken into small pieces and brown in a large frying pan. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until chicken is done. Add the sweet chili sauce and Carnation Evaporated Milk and bring to the boil, stirring the mixture. Turn down the heat, add the egg yolk and quickly stir in to the mixture. The egg yolk will help thicken the mixture. Add the cooked pasta and mix through the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Approximate cost per serve: $3
Beef and Vegetable Casserole Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you, this one’s easy peasy and tastes great, just make sure you’re going to be home for a while as you’ll need to wait while it cooks.
1 teaspoon oil 1 onion, diced 1 teaspoon garlic 1 cup of pumpkin or kumara cut into cubes 75g mushrooms, diced 400g blade or rump steak, fat trimmed off and cut into pieces 1 420g can of chickpeas drained 2 tablespoons plain flour 500ml beef stock 2 tablespoons of tomato paste 1 teaspoon each of Soy and Worcestershire sauce
Heat the oil in the pan and add the onion, garlic and pumpkin. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Take out of pan and put aside in a bowl. Next, brown the meat in the pan and add the drained chickpeas. Shake over the flour and mix in well. Put the vegetables back in with the meat and add the beef stock, tomato paste, and Soy and Worcestershire sauces. Mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 ½ hrs until the meat is tender. Stir occasionally. Serve with freshly steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. A great Sunday night winter meal.
Approximate cost per serve: $4.20
Fish Cakes
425g tin of tuna 1 large kumara, mashed with a little milk and reduced fat margarine 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce Breadcrumbs (enough to be able to shape the fish into cakes)
Put kumara in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Mash with a little milk. Drain tuna well and add to mashed kumara. Add in the chopped onion and sweet chili sauce. Mix together well. Add enough breadcrumbs so you can make patties. Season with salt and pepper. Mould the mixture into patties. Heat around 2 teaspoons of oil in frying pan and cook the fish cakes for 5 -7 minutes, turning only once, until hot and golden. Serve with steamed veges or salad.
Approximate cost per serve: $2.80
Bean and Beef Wraps 300g premium beef mince (lower fat than regular mince) 1 onion diced 1 425g can of kidney beans drained 1 sachet of burrito seasoning 4 burrito wraps To serve: Lettuce Tomato Low fat sour cream Grated Cheese
Brown mince in a large frying pan. Drain any fat. Add diced onion and cook till soft. Add the drained kidney beans and mix into the mince. Next add the burrito seasoning as per instructions on the packet. Simmer until mince is cooked. Place the beef and bean mix in the burritos with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and a sprinkle of grated cheese and roll up.
ething tasty but healthy. 
1 teaspoon oil
Approximate cost per serve: $4.20
Bean and Beef Wraps