Budget: Feed your family for less than €50 a week : The Creative Yoke

We’ve all been there, most of us are paid monthly and often there’s “Too much month, too little money” I’m going to share some recipes for dinners which alone roll in at under €32, leaving you with €18 to spend on lunches and essentials! I’ve spent the past week doing this so I could share with you and prove that it works.
My family are serious food snobs and my Mum raised me to buy the best of everything which is not always the best way and certainly not economic! Nowadays there is so much competition that you can get great tasting food for pittance, Tesco, for example are king at their own brand pricing, their ‘Every Day Value’ brand is great for basics like Basmati Rice, Chopped Tomatoes, Vegetables, Cheese…. if you use the right seasoning and combinations, you can come up with a scrumptious meal the whole family will love!
I have fallen in love with Aldi and even converted my food-snob Mother as they’ve great Irish produced foods and free range poultry and eggs, my Husband and I converted a couple of years ago as for the past 4 years we’ve always been saving for something, our wedding, paying off the wedding loan, vacations to Orlando and now, we’re saving to get on the property ladder and buy our own house, so we’re saving any way we can. It’s easy once you become savvy.

I’ve also got to suggest buying the biggest bag of porridge oats that you can get your hands on, not only does it make a yummy slow release energy breakfast that goes well with everything from preserves to Nutella or Maple Syrup but it makes GREAT Flapjacks. If you have kids it’s great news too as the flapjacks can be made with Maple Syrup and Pecans or even chocolate chips to make it more appealing.. and the beauty is that it’s usually in and around the €3 per kilo bracket..don’t worry, I’ll give a recipe for those too!
So I shall begin, most of the seasonings you should already have in your larder, like:
Chicken Stock
Vegetable Stock
Salt & Pepper
A basic array of herbs and spices (Oregano, Basil, Thyme, Parsley & Garlic)
You may even have rice and pasta already and that will save you even more and help you use up what you already have!

Basically, I totted up the following and it came to €31 and you’ll need these for the ingredients but have a read through the recipes to make sure you have everything before you begin.

1 Roast Chicken
2kg White Potatoes
2 X 1kg bags of Carrots
1 bag of Rice
Chicken Stock (I prefer Marigold Chicken Low Sodium)
12 Pork Sausages
1 can of Ale, Smithwicks always works well
Tomato Puree (Tube)
1 bag of brown onions
1 packet Aldi Mediterranean wraps (see Photo)
Mozzarella Cheese
2 cans of Chopped Tomatoes
Salami/Pepperoni (or other pizza toppings of choice)
1 packet of Panchetta or bacon lardons
Garlic
Cannelini beans
Kidney Beans
Spaghetti (broken into about 1″ pieces)
Celery
Red Peppers
1 large Sweet Potato
Red Onions
Feta Cheese
1 Pack of Chicken Fillets
1 Jar of Red Pesto

Dinner Menu for 7 days