Table For Five

This week, The Living Room promised us so much in the headline “Feed Your Family For Under $100” but, like so many before them, delivered so  very little for far too much.

A hearty soup served with a side of crusty bread. It's the ultimate winter warmer. The addition of chorizo adds a depth of smokey, well spiced flavour which, coupled with the diced tomatoes, seems like a match made in heaven. Romantic jargon translation: It’s got a spicy sausage in it and it’s bloody delicious!

Entering this fortnight after a low cost two weeks weighing in at $170 I knew I had little chance of replicating those results. Supplies were low, it was school holiday chaos and the plan was not properly thought out. Still, in the interest of keeping it real, here it is.

I have a whole collection of what I call “Blank Canvas Recipes”. These are recipes in their most basic form that can be changed up to create any number of variations. This is one such recipe. We’ve curried it, we’ve pepper steak and mushroomed it, we’ve hidden extra veggies, herbed, spiced and, on the odd occasion, made a real mess of it. What can I say? It happens. When you like to get experimental in the kitchen (we’re cooking here, stay with me) there's no guarantees you'll get it right first time, every time. But at least with a good base recipe, I'm always off to a good start. Why puff pastry on the bottom? That's just how I like it. If you prefer to use shortcrust, the method is still the same. Beef mince pie

Pasta, Gnocchi, Pizza, Baked Potatoes…. I use this sauce as a base for a number of different meals. It's so simple. It can be premade and refrigerated or frozen in portions and can be added to or used as is. It's also super cheap, coming in at less than $1.50 per 500g. Versatile Stir Through Tomato Sauce ---Ingredients---  1 teaspoon oil 1 brown onion 3 cloves garlic 1x 400g can diced tomatoes 1 Tbls tomato paste 2 tsp basil ¼ tsp sage 1 tsp sugar

Meal plans are always the key when it comes to keeping costs down but I must admit, I'm more of a free form plan kinda gal myself. I like to have options, or at least think I do, and be able to alter the plan to fit

Damper, otherwise known as Bushman's Bread, is Australia’s soda bread. Traditionally this bread was made from nothing more than flour, salt and water, making it a convenient option for drovers and stockmen who needed to rely on non perishable ingredients while travelling. Thankfully I've never had to traverse the Australian outback without an Esky, or even a car for that matter. We love this bread with soups, casseroles or even just smeared with butter while the bread is still warm. Fresh bread is at it's best when it's still warm. Damper ---Ingredients---  3 ½ cups self raising flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons caster sugar 40g butter ½ cup milk

The price comparison right now for Blueberries in Sydney is about $39 per kilo for fresh vs as low as $8 per kilo for frozen. Now I'm not going to tell you that frozen blueberries are as good as fresh but they are close enough, particularly considering the price difference. Mr.4 loves to 'help’ with this recipe and by “help”, I mean munching down on frozen berries while I cook. Although I protest at how many he eats, secretly I'm celebrating a win. Blueberry Slice