Two Yanks In Oz

A few friends have told me I should start writing down a weekly recipe for good, cheap meals that are nutritious and can be made in bulk. I'm not saying I'm that great at cooking on a budget- but I definitely learned a few tricks when I got here and had a food budget of $150/ month ( and, for example, four chicken breasts will cost around $14.00 pre-packaged like we're used to in the States)!

First though, let me share the things I've learned while grocery shopping here.
#1: ALL the food is going to be 1.5-3 times more expensive than in the United States and it doesn't help to complain- so adjusting the grocery list and learning to use the local, cheaper items is the best option.

#2: Buying non-refrigerated eggs is less expensive ( at first it grossed me out, but apparently the USA is one of the few countries that only sells eggs in the refrigerated section).

#3: Long life milk. It's $1.00 per liter and yes, it's not cold. BUT before you drink it, just pop it in the fridge for a day and it tastes like the normal thing- especially when you consider that regular cold milk can be around $3/ liter.

#4: Canned veggies and huge packages of ground beef or chicken are your best friend. Get the meat that's on price cut- if you freeze it it will last for a long time; and if you mix some canned veggies, meat and rice w/ chicken stock, you have 3 days worth of stew/ soup for cheap.

#5: Speaking of rice, it's my best friend here. That and $0.59 spaghetti.

#6: Buy Coles/ Woolworths brand. Don't be too proud to buy the store brand. It will save your life.

#7: Bread is always on sale. So buy it in bulk and freeze it.

#8: SALE SALE SALE~ every day, the stores have things on sale- including staple items. I always buy things with the yellow price cut sticker on them. It takes some time to go through the store and plan a menu around what's on sale but it's worth it. You can also keep the coupons that come in the mail for the weekly sales and plan menus around those.

#9: Buy Aussie brands. I know we love Ritz and Oreo, but Jatz and TimTams are way cheaper because they don't have to be imported...so get over it and try a new product.

#10: Produce. Only buy what you can eat that week so it doesn't spoil; that's just wasted money.

10 Things that are always in my pantry:
Flour
Eggs
Oil
Rice
Spaghetti
Cans of 4 bean mix
Diced tomatoes
Sugar
Cereal
Peanut Butter

Essential/ versatile spices and other materials:
Baking powder and soda
Cinnamon
Italian Herbs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic (powder's good but I buy a huge jar of minced- it's the size of Jelly jar and actually less expensive than minced in the US)
Ginger (root is cheap but dried is good too)
Onion powder
Cayenne pepper
lemon juice

Of course at the beginning of the month there are other things in the pantry. But if I only had those things, I could survive until the next paycheck.

Here's the recipe. I made it tonight and have calculated the cost. It made 4 servings, so I think I'm getting a good deal.

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts $6.00 ( around $10/ kilo from the deli but tonight I had to buy pre-packed)
1 green pepper $0.80
2 ears of corn $2.00 ( the package of 4 was on sale the other day for around $4.00)
1 ginger root $1.00
Spoonful of minced garlic ...minimal
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

Bake the chicken breasts at 180 C (350 F) for 30 minutes. Put them in a shallow pan with a little water in the bottom; cover with foil
Dice the whole green pepper. Shuck the ears of corn; put them in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Slice the kernals of corn off the cobs.
Put the green pepper and the corn in a stir fry pan.
Peel the ginger root and grate about half of it over the pepper and corn. You can put the rest in the fridge and use it in other asian dishes or even in pancakes, tea, cookies or on sandwiches.
When the chicken is done, take the breasts out of the pan and use 2 forks to gently shred the meat. Then pour the chicken into the stir fry pan and turn the heat on medium high.
Once the veggies and chicken have started to cook, add about a tablespoon of minced garlic.
Let the chicken become golden, then remove from heat. Let cool.
Once cool, add lemon juice and salt to taste.
I also added a little Cayenne pepper because I like spicy.

This makes a really good lunch salad. I'll be eating it for a while because it makes about 3 cups of salad and I don't need that much at once.

I would also like to add that I still had 2 ears of corn and 2 chicken breasts after I made this, so you can easily make a whole mess more.
And for 4 meals the total cost would be: $9.80 (let's round it to $10 to include the spices)
So for each serving, the cost is $2.50.
Not bad!
It's really good with some fresh fruit too. It's also better to let it chill overnight and then eat it. It's kind of ucky warm. :)

Enjoy!

<3