Budget recipes and $saving ideas

Hey nzpiper where is the butcher you go to? I am sorting out the freezer today so I can bulk buy some meat and freeze it and I like the idea of going free range/organic.

oh and honey and soya sauce make a good marinade.

oh and not sure how practical or cost saving it is but you can make porridge in the crock pot overnight too!

oh whats your recipe for Minestrone soup? YUM!

Okay... this is going to be a long one...
We save lots of money by growing our own veges. Luckily we have a big garden, but you don't really need that much space to grow a few basics - even put them in your normal garden or in pots. Easy to grow: lettuce, brocolli, capsicum, tomatoes, beans, peas, strawberries, corn etc.Potatoes, zucchini, pumpkin - also easy but require more room. We don't even really bother spraying - just plant, water and weed! If you are new to gardening, either go to your local garden centre and ask them what to plant (you can plant some things during winter - depending on frosts, but maybe wait until early Spring), or buy NZ Gardener HOMEGROWN - it's about $11 and is a whole mag about how to grow your own veges and has recipes too. There is also a system called "square foot" gardens - where everything grows in one square foot - your bound to find something on google!

We froze and preserved heaps of homegrown tomatoes, capsicums & beans this year, so will be cheaper than buying during winter. Some tomatoes I bottled/froze whole, others made into easy pasta sauce (cook onion & garlic, add chopped tomatoes (roughly chop in food processor - don't even bother peeling or seeding) and cook. Add herbs, capsicum, bacon etc as needed.

Also you can freeze milk, bread & butter etc when they are on special.

Hope these ideas help!!!

lizzle wrote: we are adding pulses to our stews - more fibre and cheaper. Healthy Fod mag has ideas for cutting food bills by $50.

Do u mean the dried pea things or the canned c hickpeas and beans or what? Lol! Sorry I have no clue! We do use the dried soup mix packets to add to homemade soup or stew, but would be cheaper to get the generic brands and make my own mix I think?

Does anyone know how to dry apples and pears in the oven? I know that u can, you slice thinly and place on tray and bake at 50 degress,..but how long? These will make great snacks for Isla,..and pears are cheap at the mo and will last a while when dried!

Where do u buy uncanned beans that u talking about? Are they cheaper that way? DH hates the bakes bean/ chilli bean/bean salad type of beans, so ideas on how to include other types of pulses into stuff and where/how to buy would be great!

cool thanks Liz!

Kellz... I can remember my sister drying apples and pears in the oven when I was a teenager. They tasted really good, but I also recall my parents going ballistic when they received the powerbill. It takes a long time to dry them sufficiently, so I doubt it would be cost-effective to do it yourself compared with buying them already dried from the bulk bins.

For using pulses etc, the Alison Holst Meals without Meat cookbook is great. I often add a bit of meat (bacon is good) to the recipes.