Recipes that won't bust your budget

While you are often advised to plan a week's menu ahead, make a shopping list and stick to it, I think it's important to have some flexibility to take advantage of seasonal specials, meat cabinet markdowns to shift stock that is nearing its use-by date, the sudden price reductions as a market nears closing time.

Try to set aside a few dollars for store-cupboard items that are on special - pasta, canned goods like tomatoes, tuna, sweet corn, chickpeas, kidney beans, baked beans; tomato sauce, cooking oil, rice, dried milk powder (for white sauces), dried beans, lentils, pre-packaged soup mix. Some like tomatoes, tuna and pasta can be combined to make a quick meal. Others like canned beans or well-soaked dried beans can be used to bulk out a meat casserole at little cost.

Herbs and spices are great for giving a dish a lift but don't but these in large quantities as they lose their flavour if stored for too long.

And try making your own biscuits. Both the recipes linked to below yield a good quantity for little labour.

Soups

• French onion soup
• Hearty Weekend Soup
• Minestrone
• Potato and Leek Soup - With Variations
• Spiced Pumpkin Soup

Meat dishes

• Breaded herb chicken
• Chicken aloha
• Irish Stew
• Lamb steaks with citrus tabbouleh
• Merguez with spicy chickpeas

Make your own biscuits

• Coconut crisps
• Fruity oat biscuits

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