Quick eggy meal for kids

And adults, everyone loves this one. Especially the cook, as it only takes about 20 minutes to make. Chop an onion finely, maybe some garlic, and saute in oil. At the moment I'm using some yummy pasture-fed organic pig fat that I keep in the freezer and just slice off when I need a bit to fry with. The butcher actually gave me a shopping bag full of the stuff for a few bucks. He was going to chuck it out. What a waste! I think he was quite happy when I showed up willing to pay for the stuff. Thing is, it's full of Vitamins A and D. Great for growing kids' brains. Anyway, I digress.

So, while you're sauteing the onions, chop your veges, whatever you have at hand. I used broccoli, zucchini, and red pepper. Nice and colourful for the kiddies. Then as they are frying, beat together 5 or 6 eggs, depending on how many you are feeding, with some salt, cream if you have it (I used some bubbly kefir cream I happened to have) and pour onto the veg mix in your pan.

Wait till it's nearly set, then grate some cheese on top and whip it under the griller for a few minutes to brown on top. I reckon the whole meal would cost under $5. And that's using the best quality pasture-fed eggs.

Nearly forgot, I had a bit of left over ham I threw in, but bacon would also work well. Add 50 cents.

Yum!

Old fashioned stew

I found a recipe in one of my 70s cookbooks from an op shop. It was for an old fashioned English stew and it turned out to be just delicious. Very simple too. But quite meaty. I browned about 750g of beef and 250g of bacon and some onions, then put them into a slow cooker with some chopped potatoes, carrots, cabbage (out of the garden, last of the season) and a good dose of salt and pepper, thyme and bay leaves. Oh, and stock. It called for beef stock, but I'm always trying to use up my fish stock, so I put 750ml of that in. Sounds weird I know. But when I took it out of the slow cooker the next day, it was delicious, and not even vaguely fishy. So we have the yumminess of the beef and bacon and the goodness of the fish stock. And very reasonably priced too folks. Lasted two meals, nearly three, so probably $5-$6 per meal.

I've been time poor looking after littlies, so I've been on easy street with the lunches this week. All it said on my meal plan was 'sandwiches'. Some of them have been quite yummy though I must say. Ok, I'll admit here that dearly beloved made most of them. Bread, butter, avocado, fresh sliced tomato, some sort of meat (ham, proscuitto), cucumber etc. Very tasty and economical.

Breakfasts. I've been all out of ideas here. But loving the eggs at the moment. Fried eggs on toast with bacon have been a staple this week. Yum, yum, good fats, good for you.

Budget cuts

We eat for $150 a week. We eat healthy, quality, gourmet, organic food, on $150 a week. That's a family of 2 adults and 2 littlies. One of the secrets to eating well on a budget, is eating the cheaper cuts of meat. And stay with me here, I'm talking organ meats. Along with the fat, they are the most nutritious part of the animal. And yet our modern society shuns them! Gives them to the pets! Our ancestors would shudder. They used to eat the fat and organ meats first, they revered them. Then the muscle meat last, if they ate it at all (they would sometimes feed the muscle meat to their pets).

So, dinner last night was lamb's fry (liver). I know what you're thinking. The yucky stuff your mother used to feed you once a week. But it doesn't have to be that way. It CAN be delicious. What you do, is first, buy organic. The stuff's cheap as chips. It costs about $2.50 to feed a family for one meal. Buy a bunch of it and store it in the freezer. Once thawed, peel the thin membrane off the liver, cut off the vein-y bits, slice it as thinly as you can, and soak it in lemon juice for a few hours. Then pat dry, dredge in flour/salt/pepper, heat your fry pan to high, and only just cook through (or leave a bit of pink). Eat immediately. We had ours with roasted veges. Total meal cost probably $6. And our chickens (meat eaters too) had a feast on the offcuts.

Lunch was very yummy. Had heaps of veges in the fridge, so stirfried brocolli, snow peas, cauliflower, onion, pumpkin, with some pepita and sunflower seeds in ghee and coconut oil. Added sweet chilli sauce at the end, and feasted. Delicious and very quick. Might have cost $5.

The porridge (soaked the previous night) got burned (we were distracted by kids) so we had eggs on toast for breakfast - always a favourite anyway. Not just eggs either, but we also had fried tomatos, fermented ginger carrots, and parsley and chives from the garden.

Snacks - Our mulberry tree is laden with fruit at the moment. So any chance we get we pick a big bowl full and gorge out with mulberries and cream. Our little person just loves them. She has a huge red mulberry smile afterwards. Just about free, cream maybe 20 cents.

Cheap food, good food

Had a bit of an egg day today. Good quality pasture-fed eggs. Rich golden yolks. These chickens know what the outdoors is like. So dinner was a fritatta. Fried an onion, broccoli and zucchini in plenty of coconut oil, till soft. Then mixed 8 eggs and a pinch of salt, and poured it into the frying pan on top of the veges. Sprinkled some cheese on top (raw is best) and finished it under the griller to give a lovely tan. I was eating with a friend, who cooked up some roast veges and stirfried greens. I'd say we fed 3 adults and 3 kids for $4 (fritatta) plus $9 (veges) = $13.

Lunch was meaty. A tomato-y kangaroo stew. Kanga mince is only $7/kg. I fried an onion and the mince in coconut oil plus ghee (kanga is a bit lean, so need to add extra fat) then added 3 cups of beef stock, lots of veges, and bits and pieces from the condiments cupboard (leftover chutneys and tomato sauces etc). Reduce to a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper, herbs. A sprinkle of cheese on top. Finish with kimchi. Even my little person liked it. Plenty of leftovers too. I reckon it cost $5.

Eggs for breakfast. Scrambled is little person's favourite egg dish, so we did that (scrambled with plenty of butter and some cream) with toast (home made sourdough). I also had liberal kimchi and parsley. Mmmm. Couldn't be more than $3.