Royal Britainia!

 With the arrival of Britain's newest (and cutest) monarch, baby Prince George Alexander Louis, there's no better excuse for a British tea party!

Now, I'm not completely ga-ga over the little Prince (although he IS adorable!), but any excuse for cake, scones and tea is a good one. And so, without further ado, I present my hastily cobbled-together British High Tea recipes.

My first cake is a classic recipe, but with a bit of a twist! Feel free to substitute your own flavours here, I'm dying to try an orange butter cake next!

Rosewater Butter Cake

Feeds - Myself, Hungry Boyfriend and the Royal Family (roughly 8 slices of cake or 15 muffins)

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Total Cost: $3.20

Ingredients:

Cake:

- 1/3 cup butter, softened ($1 - $4.70/kg)

- 1/2 cup caster sugar (20c - $1.66/kg)

- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (45c - $1.85/2kg)

- 2 eggs (60c)

- 3/4 cup milk (20c- $1/L)

- 1 teaspoon rosewater essence (15c - $1.80/50mL)

Icing:

- 4 tablespoons icing sugar (40c - $1.80/500g)

- 2 tablespoons milk (10c - $1/L)

- 1/2 teaspoon rosewater essence (7c - $1.80/50mL)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Beat butter, sugar and rosewater essence until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

4. Gradually stir in flour and milk, stirring continuously.

5. Pour into a greased cake tin (or muffin trays) and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

6. For the icing, gradually add the milk to the icing sugar whilst stirring continuously. Add the rosewater essence at the end.

7. Pour icing over cake (or muffins) once cooled. 

And of course, what British High Tea would be complete without scones?

My scones(pictured) are what I like to call 'The Lazy-Woman's Drop Scones'. Before baking, you're technically supposed to knead out the scone dough and cut out little circles with a biscuit-cutter. Since I was A) too short on time/lazy to cut perfect circles out and B) short on actual biscuit-cutters (read: I don't have any), I simply scooped out a tablespoon of the mixture and plonked it onto a baking tray before baking. It's easier, but not quite as attractive, so if you're thinking of having the Royal Family over, it's probably best to invest in biscuit-cutters!

As always, I encourage you to mess around and try your own versions. Common variations are fruit scones with chopped sultanas or dates, spiced scones with cinnamon or allspice, chocolate scones or savoury scones with chopped olives, sundried tomatoes and/or Parmesan cheese.

The Lazy-Woman's Drop Scones

Feeds: Myself, Hungry Boyfriend and the Royal Family (12 scones)

Cooking Time: 5 minutes preparation time, plus 10 minutes per batch of scones.

Total Cost: $2.25

Ingredients:

- 2 1/4 cups self-raising flour (75c - $1.85/2kg)

- 2 tablespoons icing sugar (40c - $1.80/500g)

- 1 cup milk (25c - $1/L)

- 2 large tablespoons butter (80c - $4.70/kg)

- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla essence (less than 5c)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

2. Combine flour and icing sugar.

3. Rub in butter with your fingertips (make sure you wash your hands before this part!) until the mixture loosely resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Make a hole in the middle of the 'breadcrumb' mixture (or a 'well' as professionals like to call it) and pour the milk and vanilla into the hole.

5. Mix together until everything has just combined. Don't keep mixing for ages, otherwise your scones won't have that wonderful fluffiness. 

6. Using two tablespoons, drop a heaped tablespoon of mixture onto a lined baking tray, leaving plenty of room between drops (I was able to fit 4 tablespoons on mine).

7. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the scones sound hollow when tapped on top. 

8. Serve buttered with tea, or with jam and cream if you prefer. 

Best of luck with your tea party, and I'll be back very soon with some more cheap and tasty meals!

Lots of love,

(broke) Masterchef Mel 

Sunday Roast - Student Style!

I'm baaaccckkk! Sorry for the enormous delay in posting, but I've been extraordinarily busy lately with my new job (finally I'm employed again!) and exciting internship :D

But enough about me, let's talk about the classic Sunday Roast. I expect most of you remember winter-time including a few old-fashioned roasts at home, a luxury we've been forced to forgo since moving away from those money-trees we call parents (just joking Mum and Dad!). However, since securing a little cash from my new job, Hungry Boyfriend and I decided we'd splurge on a whole chicken and see if we could whip up a good old Sunday Roast.

While you'd expect roasts to be complex, with all the stuffing nonsense and trying to avoid watery gravy, I managed to cruise through my roast (and a bottle of wine) surprisingly easily. All you need is a good recipe (I merged two together) and soon enough, you'll be looking like this!

I've done a chicken roast, as they're often the cheapest and served it with potatoes, pumpkin and carrot. As with all my recipes, please feel free to mess around with it, throw in a few individualised pieces and let me know how it turns out!

Spiced Roast Chicken with Potatoes, Pumpkin and Carrot

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend to bursting point

Cooking Time: 70 - 80 minutes (but don't let that scare you!)

Total Cost: $9.65

Ingredients:
- 1 small whole chicken, roughly 1kg ($6)
- 3 medium potatoes ($1.50)
- 1/2 small butternut pumpkin, roughly 250g (90c - $1.70/400g)
- 1 carrot (30c)


Spice Rub (pictured):
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder (less than 5c)
- 1 teaspoon paprika (less than 5c)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin (less than 5c)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (less than 5c)
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper (less than 5c)

Gravy:
- 3 teaspoons instant gravy* (roughly 65c - one tin costs $2and you'll use slightly less than a third)
- 1 cup boiling water
- Pan juices from the chicken
- Roughly 1-2 tablespoons plain flour, to thicken (less than 5c)

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius.

2. Wash and peel potatoes and pumpkin. Chop the potatoes into quarters and the pumpkin into similarly-sized chunks. Slice the carrot in half crossways, then lengthways. Set the pumpkin and carrot aside in a large mixing bowl and place the potatoes in a saucepan of water to boil**.

3. While the potatoes are boiling, combine the spices in a small bowl. Remove packaging from the chicken and pat dry with paper towel. Using your fingertips, rub the spices onto the skin (I enlisted Hungry Boyfriend to do this for me :P) You should have a little left, but don't worry if you don't.

Spice Rub

4. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan and put into the oven. Since this chicken is only 1kg, it will take about 50 - 60 minutes to cook. If you're cooking with a larger chicken, you'll want to leave it longer.

Pre-Roasted Chicken with Spice Rub

5. By now, the potatoes should be boiled enough to be slightly soft, but not cooked through. Drain, rinse with cold water and place in the mixing bowl with the other veggies.

6. Splash a little oil (roughly 1 tablespoon) over the veggies and stir through the remaining spice mix. If you didn't have any left over, just mix in some more cumin, paprika and chilli powder.

7. Place vegetables on a lined baking tray and put in the oven. The vegetables should take about 40 -50 minutes and, in this case, be ready around the same time as the chicken.

8. To tell if the chicken is ready, poke a sharp knife into the thigh joint. If the juices running out are clear, the chicken in cooked. If the juices are a little pink, the chicken will need a little longer. When your chicken is cooked, remove from the pan and place on a chopping board for carving.

Yum!

9. Combine instant gravy powder, boiling water and the juices in the bottom of the roasting pan in a small saucepan over a low heat and whisk until thickened to a desirable consistency. If you think your gravy is too watery, sprinkle in a little flour at a time until you're happy with it.

Instant Gravy Powder = Worthwhile Investment

10. By now, your potatoes should be lovely and crispy. Take them out of the oven and serve with your roast chicken with gravy poured over the top.

 Carving the Chicken

Viola! 

*Instant gravy powder is a worthwhile investment. The tin pictured above set me back $2 and it saved me ridiculous amounts of trouble. However, I do recommend adding a little extra flour for thickening, as it's quite watery by itself.

**The reason you boil the potatoes at the beginning is to get rid of that horrible starchiness. It seems like an unnecessary extra step, but it's well worth it.

So there you have it! Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezy Sunday Roast! Even the dishes don't need much of clean ;)

Hopefully I'll be back soon with some more easy, cheap and tasty eats. Best of luck in the kitchen!

Lots of Love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Winter Is Coming - Part II

Okay, I know 'Winter is Coming - Part II' makes no sense, since A) it's already winter and B) winter doesn't have a 'part II' of coming, it's either here or it's not. 

But lately, I've been experimenting with a few more winter warmers and I felt like they needed to be shared. Unfortunately, this week's recipes are slightly more expensive than the ones I generally put up, but trust me, they're properly worth it! 

As I've mentioned in past posts, I try to make my chicken stretch further by only using 1 breast per meal and bulking the dish up with more veggies. You guys are perfectly welcome to use more chicken, or mess around with the recipes as much as you like. That's what I love about cooking; taking a recipe, adapting it to suit yourself better and creating something different!

Now I love a good curry, especially in winter. They warm you up all over and make the house smell incredible! This is possibly my favourite curry discovery ever, and it gives me an excuse to use up that Tandoori paste I've had sitting in my fridge since post one! I've pictured it with my homemade naan bread which is an excellent addition, but takes a little more effort and time. If you'd like the recipe, please comment below or Facebook me :)

Easy, Creamy Butter Chicken

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 large serving each.

Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes plus a few hours marinating time.

Total Cost: $6.35

Ingredients:
- 1 large(ish) chicken breast, cut into cubes ($2.75 - $11.10 for 4 breasts)
- 1 generous tbsp Tandoori paste (roughly $1 - $5 for a jar and you'll use about one fifth)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1 tin condensed tomato soup ($1.35)
- 1/2 small bottle (roughly 300mL) light cream (65c - $1.30 for a bottle)
- 1 teaspoon garam masala (Indian spice mix - less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes (virtually nothing- $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Marinate chicken cubes in Tandoori paste for as long as possible, it can be anywhere between an hour or overnight if you're super-organised.
2. Gently fry onion and garlic in a splash of oil until there's that yummy smell coming from the pan, then add the chicken and fry until sealed*.
3. Pour in tomato soup and cream.
4. Stir in spice and bring to a gentle simmer. Keep simmering for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
5. Serve over cooked rice with naan bread.

*'Cooking until 'sealed' is basically cooking until the chicken is white on the outside, but still pink on the inside. 

Of course, winter usually means someone getting sick and passing it to everyone they have contact with, including you. This recipe is loaded with cold-kicking ingredients garlic, ginger and chilli. Although fresh ginger is quite expensive, minced or ground ginger can be fairly reasonable. Minced is best for this dish, but ground will work fine :)

Ginger Chilli Chicken

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend for 1 large serving each.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Cost: $5.60

Ingredients:
- 1 large(ish) chicken breast, cut into cubes ($2.75 - $11.10 for 4 breasts)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 large cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1 tbsp minced ginger (60c - $2.50 for a small jar and you'll use a little less than a quarter)
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (20c - $2 for 700mL)
- 1 cup chicken stock (30c)
- 1 carrot, sliced in circles (30c)
- Small handful snow peas (80c)
- 1 chilli, finely chopped (free from my pot plant)
- Sprinkle flour (less than 5c)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes (virtually nothing- $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Gently fry the onion, garlic and chilli in a splash of oil until onion is soft.
2. Add chicken and stir-fry until white all the way through.
3. Stir in stock, chilli sauce and ginger. Bring to a gentle simmer and sprinkle in a little flour (1-2 tablespoons should do it).
4. Stir over a medium heat until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add carrot and snow peas.
6. Stir for 5 - 10 more minutes until veggies soften slightly and serve over rice.


Cuppa-Soups are so lovely in winter, especially yummy homemade varieties. There are tons of combinations you can work with, but this one is a particular favourite of mine. I left mine chunky, but you're welcome to use a handheld mixer or processor to puree it into a smoother soup. I also apologise for the picture, but it was rather difficult to work with the crappy lighting. Just trust me when I say it's good :)

Homemade Cuppa-Soup - Corn and Potato

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend for 3 days worth of lunch.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $4.40 or $5.40 with bacon

Ingredients:
- 1 tin corn ($1)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 medium potatoes, diced into tiny chunks ($1)
- 2 tablespoons butter (10c - be generous!)
- 1L, or 4 cups, chicken stock ($1.20)
- 1/2 small bottle (roughly 300mL) light cream (65c - $1.30 for a bottle)
- Sprinkle flour (less than 5c)
- 2 rashers bacon, optional ($1 - $5/500g)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (less than 5c)

Method:
1. Over a low heat, melt butter in a large saucepan and fry the onion, garlic and bacon (if you're using it) until fragrant, which is a fancy word for 'smells nice'.
2. Add tinned corn and potato chunks.
3. Sprinkle in flour (1 - 2 tablespoons should do it) and stir until everything is coated.
4. Pour in stock and bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Simmer for 10 minutes or until potato is soft.
6. Stir in cream, season to taste and enjoy on a cold day - morning or evening!

And last, but not least; dessert! A classic crumble is cheap, flexible and practically impossible to get wrong. I used tinned apricots in this recipe, but apples, pears, peaches, strawberries or any other fruit you can get your little hands on will work. I also served my crumble with ice-cream, but regular cream and/or custard is equally good. Enjoy!

Apricot Crumble

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 large serving each

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $3.35

Ingredients:
- 1 400g tin apricots ($1.65)
- 1 cup flour (30c - $1.85/2kg)
- 1/2 cup butter (90c - $4.70/kg)
- 1/2 cup sugar (20c - $1.66/kg)
- Sprinkle cinnamon (less than 5c)
- Ice-cream (25c - $2 per 2L)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Drain tinned apricots and place in the bottom of a cake tin. Stir through a little cinnamon.
3. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.
4. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the top of the fruit and top with sugar.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until sugar has caramelised slightly. 
6. Serve hot with ice-cream. Or cream. Or custard. Or anything yummy :)


Good luck in the kitchen guys! I'll be back sometime next week with more tasty meal ideas, and hopefully they'll be cheaper than this weeks :P

Also, if you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment below or contact me on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to hear from you :)

Lots of love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Procrastibaking

Over the last 13-and-a-bit years of my experience in education, I've perfected procrastinating to a fine art.

The instant those good ole' exams roll out, I'm suddenly exceedingly interested in the lamest Facebook statuses and thoroughly determined to re-arrange my entire desk/room/apartment. Lately, I've discovered a very enjoyable, if fattening, form of procrastinating that I believe is (slightly) more beneficial than flicking through countless albums of cats. Don't get me wrong, I love a cute cat picture as much as any other red-blooded human, but these sugary snacks will keep you going through those all-nighters we love to pull.

Let's start with a favourite of my mum's. My mum has this wonderful way of cooking things - toss ingredients in a bowl, mix a little and throw in oven. And thus was born, the greatest banana bread of all time!

Mum's Best Banana Bread
Makes: 10 thick slices or 20-odd of the little squares pictured

Cooking Time: 35 minutes

Total Cost: $3.75

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour (35c - $1.85/2kg)
- 1 cup brown or caster sugar (40c - $1.66/kg)
- 1 cup dessicated coconut (75c - $3/kg)
- 270mL (a little over 1 cup) coconut cream (roughly 55c - 90c/400mL can)
- 2 eggs (60c)
- 2 bananas, mashed ($1.05)
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla* (less than 5c)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl, pour into a greased cake/loaf tin.
3. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.



*Note: You can feel free to use proper vanilla essence, I've bought imitation because it's about $2-something compared to the $5-something it costs real vanilla essence.


This next recipe is a touch on the exxy side, compared to my other recipes, but too delicious to resist. In fact, I had to give half the batch to a friend to stop myself gaining about 5 more kgs.

Choc-Honeycomb Brownies
 Makes: About 10-15, depending on how much batter you eat!

Cooking Time: 1 hour (don't let that deter you - it's all baking time!)

Total Cost: $7.90

Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain flour (30c - $1.85/2kg)
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder (70c - $2.10/kg)
- 1 cup caster sugar (40c - $1.66/kg)
- 3/4 cup butter ($1.50 - $4.70/kg)
- 1 packet cooking chocolate ($2.30)
- 3 eggs (90c)
- 1 packet honeycomb pieces, roughly chopped ($1.80)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Combine flour, cocoa and sugar.
3. Melt chocolate and butter together, pour onto dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Add most of the honeycomb pieces, reserving about 1/4 and stir.
5. Pour into a greased cake tin, top with remaining honeycomb and bake for 45 minutes or until cooked.
6. Leave to set for 10 minutes before serving.


Sugar biscuits are super-simples, cheap and taste delicious with a nice cup of tea. I've spiced mine with cinnamon, but I've heard ground ginger works equally well for a gingerbread-type flavour. Likewise, cocoa powder would make lovely chocolately biscuits. Feel free to experiment with flavours and find one you like :)

Cinnamon Sugar Biscuits

Makes: About 18, again depending on how much dough you eat!

Cooking Time: 10 minutes prep time + 15 minutes per batch baking time.

Total Cost: $2.80

Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter, softened ($1.85)
- 1/2 cup caster sugar (20c)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon (less than 5c)
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla (less than 5c)
- 1 1/2 cups flour (45c)
- Tiny pinch of salt (less than 5c)
- Extra cinnamon for coating (about 15c worth - you need quite a bit!)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Mix butter, vanilla and sugar together until light and fluffy. This is easiest if you have a hand mixer, but I did it by hand with a fork and it's not that hard.
3. Stir in the cinnamon, salt and flour.

4. When you've got a firm dough (you may need to get your hands dirty mixing the dough together with your fingertips), roll the dough into small balls and coat in cinnamon. They should look like the picture below:

5. Place on a greased baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until light brown.


My best friend moved out of home a year earlier than me and has been absolutely wonderful in providing me with a few of her own tried-and-tested student recipes. I'm told this is perfect when told to 'bring a plate' (I've just kept it for myself as a study-snack) and to quote, 'is almost too good to share'. Enjoy guys :)

Couscous Slice

Makes: 8 thick slices, as pictured.

Cooking Time: About 1 hour

Total Cost: $4.65

Ingredients:

Base
- 1 1/4 cup couscous ($1.05 - $1.75/500g)
- 700g tomato pasta sauce ($1.20)
- 1/2 sweet potato, chopped into small pieces (60c)
- 3 eggs (90c)
- 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese (roughly 50c)
- Pinch mixed herbs (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c)

Dressing
- 1/4 cup vegetable or olive oil (less than 5c)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (less than 5c)
- 1 tablespoon honey (less than 5c)
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped (15c)
- 1 finely chopped chilli (free from my pot plant)
- Chopped parsley or mint (free from my pot plant)

Method:
1. Boil sweet potato and puree with the pasta sauce.
2. Add the couscous and leave for 20 minutes for the couscous to soak up all the sauce. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 180C.
3. Mix in the eggs, cheese and spices.
4. Press into a cake or loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes or until firm.
5. While the slice is baking, fry the garlic and chilli gently in a small saucepan with a splash of oil until garlic begins to brown.
6. Mix in the remaining ingredients in the saucepan and stir together over a low heat.
7. When the slice is baked, drizzle the dressing over the top and voila! - Couscous Slice!


Well, that's all I got for the minute (and probably the next week since I just pumped out 2 posts in 48 hours.) But if you're look for something else to sink study time into, check out Socially Awkward First Year for a ridiculously addictive and properly informative read.


Sugar and Kisses,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Winter Is Coming

Well, technically, winter is already upon us but having a post titled 'Winter Is Already Upon Us' is far less cool than the famous Stark words.

Anyway, winter is properly here and it's pretty bloody cold. This is exactly the right time of year for A) Fluffy warm socks and B) Yummy winter warmer recipes. So I've compiled four of my favourites so far. Enjoy!


Minestrone is a typical winter warmer, perfect served with crusty bread on a cold evening after uni or work. This version was re-invented to be cheaper and souper easy! (Sorry guys!)

Souper-Easy Minestrone

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend (also with no leftovers, it's that good!)

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Cost: $4.05 or $6.05 with bacon

Ingredients:
- 1 carrot, diced (30c)
- 1/2 zucchini, diced (35c)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (15c)
- 1/2 cup pasta, any will do (40c)
- 1 tin diced tomatoes (70c)
- 4 cups beef stock ($1.20)
- Pinch mixed herbs (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c)
- 4 bacon rashers, fat removed - optional ($2 - $5/500g)
- Crusty bread, to serve (50c - $1.50 for a french bread stick)

Method:
1. Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and stir in all vegetables (plus the bacon if you're cooking with it.)
2. When you've got your lovely garlic and onion smell coming from the pan, then add tinned tomatoes and stock.
3. Bring to the boil, add the pasta and turn down the heat until the soup is simmering. Stir in the herbs and pepper.
4. When the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat and serve with buttered crusty bread.

This next one is another of my 'throw everything you've got left in your cupboard' creations. It fed both of us with one serve leftover, but you can easily bulk it up to feed more by adding beans, chicken, potatoes, eggplant, beef strips, carrots, broccoli, last night's leftover roast or absolutely anything else you desire/have rolling around the bottom of your fridge.

Spicy Vegetable Stew (Vegan)

Feeds; Myself and Hungry Boyfriend with leftovers for lunch

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $3.55

Ingredients:
- 500g pumpkin, chopped into small chunks ($1.65)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely (15c)
- 1/2 zucchini, diced (35c)
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced (25c)
- 1 tin diced tomatoes (70c)
- Generous sprinkle cumin, paprika and chilli powder (less than 5c each)
- Small handful mint leaves, chopped (free from my pot plants)
- 1 cup vegetable stock (30c)

Method:
1. Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and stir in vegetables, except tinned tomatoes, until you've got a lovely garlic smell coming from the pan.
2. Sprinkle in the spices and stir for a few minutes.
3. Stir in tinned tomatoes and stock.
4. Simmer for 15 minutes or until stock has reduced and pumpkin is soft.
5. Serve hot.

Pasta and rice are typical student staples, but become quite boring after a while. A pasta or rice bake will help mix things up a little, experiment a little with different sauces and fillings. This next one will probably work well with a pasta bake as well.

Chicken and Corn Rice Bake

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend (with no leftovers!)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $4.85

Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast, cut into small cubes ($2.75 - $11.10/4 breasts
- 1 can creamed corn ($1)
- 4 thick slices bread, cut into small cubes (20c - $1/loaf)
- 1/2 brown onion, diced (35c)
- 2 garlic cloves (15c)
- Handful grated cheese (20c) plus a little extra (10c maybe?)
- Pinch chopped thyme (free from my pot plant)
- Salt and pepper (less than 5c)
- 1 cup rice (bugger all - $2.60/kg)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and cook rice with 2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes in the microwave.
2. With a little oil, gently fry the onion and garlic until there's that lovely small coming from the pan.
3. Add the chicken and cook until white through.
4. Combine the cooked rice with all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl, reserving the extra cheese. Stir through to thoroughly combine.
5. Pour into a baking dish and top with the extra cheese.
6. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese has melted and dig in.

And now for dessert! I've been neglecting sweets so far throughout my blog, but this is too good not too share. Rice pudding can be complicated, but this is completely easy. Just make sure to keep half an eye on it and check/stir it every 10(ish) minutes.

Creamy Chocolate Rice Pudding

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend 1 serve each

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Total Cost: 95c (can you believe it!)

Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup aborio (risotto) rice (20c - $3/kg)
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (less than 5c)
- 2 cups light milk (50c - $1/L)
- Splash imitation vanilla essence (less than 5c)
- Approx half of a 1/4 cup of caster sugar* (approx 15c - $2.66/kg)

Method:
1. Whisk cocoa powder, sugar, milk and vanilla together.
2. Place rice in a small saucepan and pour milk mixture into the saucepan.
3. Slowly bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and leave, stirring occasionally (like, every 10 mins) for 45 minutes or until rice is soft.

*Note: I think this is technically 1/8 of a cup but it's easier to communicate 'half of a 1/4 cup'. You get what I mean, right? Right? Also, if a sort of 'skin' forms over the top of the mixture, that's fine - just gently stir it back in and it will disappear :)


So throw on your old comfy trackie pants, your warm socks and these tasty winter warmers (which are all for under $5!).

Good luck in the kitchen!
Lots of love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

Something for Vegetarians

Last Friday, I explored the wonders of $3 mince and how to stretch it over 4 delicious meals. This week, I'm going totally vegetarian to show you the yummy alternatives to meat dishes.

Vegetarian meals are often given a bad reputation for being bland and/or complicated. To be sure, I stayed well away from veggie recipes early in my student days because they all looked awfully boring or involved quinoa (which I still don't know how to pronounce properly). So here's some proper tasty veggie meals that will make you wonder why you still need meat. 

The following recipe is delicious hot or cold, capable of feeding a family but perfect for leftover-lunches.

Roast Vegetable Frittata

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend with leftovers for lunch.

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total Cost: $4.35

Ingredients:
- 1 large potato (40c)
- 1/2 sweet potato (70c)
- 1/2 red capsicum (25c)
- 1 zucchini (70c)
- 4 eggs ($1.20)
- 1 cup milk (25c - $1/L)
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese (75c - $3/500g tub)*
- Handful of chopped sage and mint (free)
- Salt and pepper, to taste (less than 5c)
- Splash of oil (less than 5c)


Method:
1. Chop vegetable into small, bite-sized chunks.
2. Toss chunks in a mixing bowl with a splash of oil and sprinkle in salt and pepper. Lay veggies out on a baking tray and bake at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes or until just cooked.
3. Beat the eggs, milk, herbs and cheese together and pour into a greased baking tin (preferably a loaf tin or smallish cake tin) with the cooked veggies.
4. Bake at 180 degrees C for 30 - 40 minutes or until set.

*Note: Ricotta or cream cheese is nicer, but cottage cheese works well for less. 

The next one is a dish I stole modified from 'My Kitchen Rules'. The original was made by Jenna and Joanna with white wine and fancy Parmesan crisps. Unfortunately, I drank all my wine whilst cooking and couldn't manage cheesy crisps from my powdered Parmesan, so here's the result!

Pumpkin, Pea and Corn Risotto

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend lunch for about 3 days. 

Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes

Total Cost: $4.65

Ingredients:
- 400g pumpkin ($1.70)
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- 1 cup aborio (risotto) rice (75c - $3/kg)
- 4 cups (1L) chicken or vegetable stock ($1.20)
- 6 sage leaves (free from my pot plant)
- 1 cup frozen peas and corn (30c)
- 2 tablespoons butter (less than 10c)
- A few shakes of powdered Parmesan (less than 10c)

Method:
1. Chop pumpkin into small, bite-sized chunks. Finely chop onion, garlic and sage leaves.
2. Melt butter in a large saucepan and gently cook onion, garlic and pumpkin until onion is soft.

3. Add chicken stock, rice and sage leaves. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. When rice has almost absorbed all the stock, stir in the frozen peas and corn. Simmer for 5 - 10 more minutes.
5. When rice has completed absorbed all the stock (you should be feeling the rice catch on the bottom of the saucepan when it's completely done), stir in Parmesan and serve.

And finally, a meal that's not only vegetarian, but vegan too! It's also the cheapest recipe here, earning extra brownie points. Unfortunately, this amazing concoction is not my own, but taken from 'A Girl Called Jack' cooking blog. It's pure genius and I highly recommend everyone check it out on  http://agirlcalledjack.com/. In my own version, I've substituted apricots for sultanas (my all-time favourite study snack) and coriander for mint. As I mentioned in my earlier post, the reason for this is that coriander is extremely difficult to grow whereas mint is stupidly easy. Enjoy!

Vegan Chickpea Curry

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend two helpings each (it's pretty darn tasty!)

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $2.30

Ingredients:
- 400g tin chickpeas (80c)
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- 2 chillies (free from my pot plant)
- 400g tin diced tomatoes (80c)
- Small handful sultanas (less than 5c - $3.80/kg)
- Sprinkle cumin (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle vegetable stock powder or a dash liquid stock (less than 5c)
- Handful chopped mint leaves (free from my pot plant)

- 1 cup rice, cooked with 2 cups boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes ($2.60/kg - you can figure it out!)

Method:
1. Chop onion, garlic and chillies. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry gently until onion is soft.
2. Add cumin and sultanas.
3. Add tomatoes and chickpeas to the pan.
4. Stir in mint leaves and vegetable stock.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce is a desirable consistency (not too watery, you want to be able to see the chickpeas poking out of the top).
6. Serve over cooked rice.

Stay tuned for more yummy recipes, I'm trying out all my winter warmers this week so they should be up sometime next week!

Lots of Love,
(broke) Masterchef Mel

4 Meals With Mince

Ah mince! Isn't mince great? Unless you're a vegetarian (and I promise I've got something for you guys next week!), mince is a pretty solid staple for meals on a budget. But what does one cook with mince, besides plain old Spag Bol?

When asked, my (creative) boyfriend managed to produce a single recipe, as follows;

Raw Mince- Feeds 1

Ingredients:
-500g mince ($3)

1. Take mince from packet.
2 .Devour like the hungry animal you are.
3. (Optional) Dispose of wrapping in a safe, eco-friendly manner. Eating it can also work.

 
...maybe not?

So instead, I've created 4 interesting-yet-easy mince recipes for under $5.

This is a perfect winter-warmer (after all, winter is coming) because not only does it literally warm you up, the garlic/chilli combo helps fight colds :)

Chilli Con Carne

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend.

Cooking Time: 20 - 30 minutes

Total Cost: $3.10 

Ingredients:
- 250g mince ($1.50 - $3/500g)
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- 1/2 capsicum (25c - 50c per capsicum)
- 2 chillies (free from my pot plant)
- 3 tablespoons tomato sauce (less than 10c)
- 1/2 cup beef stock or 1 stock cube dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water (roughly 30c - price will vary depending on whether you have liquid stock or stock cubes, what brand you buy, etc)
- Sprinkle chilli powder (less than 5c - optional but tasty)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c - optional but tasty)
- 1/2 cup rice, cooked with 1 cup boiling water in the microwave for 10 minutes ($2.60/kg - you do the math!)
- Few tablespoons refried beans, warmed up to serve (35c)

Method:
1. Chop onion, garlic, capsicum and chillies finely. Add onion and garlic to a saucepan with a little oil and fry for a few minutes until you've got a lovely smell coming from the pan.
2. Add capsicum and chillies, frying for a few more minutes until the onion is nice and soft.
3. Add mince and fry until mince has browned all over, breaking up chunks with your wooden spoon/spatula/stirring utensil.
4. Add tomato sauce, pepper, chilli powder and stock.
5. Simmer on high for 10 minutes or until stock has reduced to make a desirable sauce.
6. Serve over cooked rice with warmed refried beans.


The next recipe is a perfect example of a proper Sunday-night fallback. It's scarily easy to cook (I would even leave the hungry boyfriend in charge of it) and possibly one of the cheapest meals I know of. Hungry Boyfriend likes to sprinkle a handful of cheese over the top of his, but I think it's yummy just the way it is.

Shepard's Pie 

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Total Cost: $3.60

Ingredients:
- 1 sweet potato (around 80c)
- 250g mince ($1.50)
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- Squirt tomato sauce (less than 5c)
- Squirt Worcestershire sauce (less than 5c)
- 1/2 cup stock (30c)
- 2 tablespoons butter (less than 10c)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas and corn (30c)

Method:
1. Chop onion and garlic finely. Add to a frypan with a little oil and cook until smelling lovely.
2. Add mince to the pan and cook until just brown.
3. Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, stock, peas and corn. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, dice the sweet potato (leave the skin on, all the best nutrients are found right under the skin plus you don't have to fiddle around with it).
5. Throw the diced sweet potato in a saucepan of boiling water and boil until soft. When your fork goes easily through the chunks, drain and mash. Stir in the butter for a lovely creamy taste.
6. Spoon the mince mixture into a circular baking dish and top with the mashed potato. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes and serve hot.

Sadly, there's no picture for this one as we ate it almost as soon as it was out of the oven. Here's another cute picture of my dog instead.

Meatballs are a pretty fail-safe mince recipe. You can dress them up to be almost anything you want - sprinkle some lemongrass powder into the mixture and serve them with a chicken stock-broth over coconut rice for a Thai flavour; some curry powder with rice and poppadums if you want an Indian-style meal; classic Italian with tomato sauce, pasta and loads of fresh basil. Here, I've taken a Moroccan approach with great success.

Moroccan Meatballs 

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend.

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Total Cost: $4.10

Ingredients:
- 250g mince ($1.50)
- 1 egg (30c)
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (roughly 20c)
- Sprinkle paprika (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle cumin (less than 5c)
- Sprinkle pepper (less than 5c)
- Handful of mint (free from my pot plant)*
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- 1 tin diced tomatoes (80c)
- Squirt tomato sauce (less than 5c)
- 1 cup beef stock (30c)
- 1 cup couscous, cooked with 1 cup boiling water and left to stand (30c - $1.75/500g packet)

Method:
1. Mix mince, egg, breadcrumbs, spices and mint together in a bowl.
2. Form small balls from the mixture. Add more breadcrumbs if needed.
3. Heat a little oil in a large saucepan. . Gently fry onion and garlic (you should know the drill by now), then add tomatoes, stock and tomato sauce.
4. Gently place the meatballs in the pan, being careful that they don't fall apart or splash hot sauce everywhere.
5. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes, stirring gently until meatballs are cooked through.
6. Serve over couscous.

*Note: Coriander would probably work with this recipe better, but coriander happens to be exceedingly difficult to grow. Mint, on the other hand, is insanely easy to grow and still tasty.


And finally, Moussaka. This is the dish you make to show off because it sounds exotic and complicated but is
actually super-simples. 

Moussaka 

Feeds: Myself and Hungry Boyfriend for dinner, lunch and dinner the next day.

Cooking Time: 1 hour

Total Cost: $5.50 with pasta sauce/$5 with diced tomato-herb concoction

Ingredients:

Base:
- 1 eggplant (60c - $2 for 3)
- 3 large potatoes (roughly 30c each)

Tomato Sauce:
- 250g mince ($1.50)
- 1/2 brown onion (35c)
- 2 cloves garlic (15c)
- 1 bottle tomato pasta sauce ($1.50)
OR make your own tomato sauce with
- 1 can diced tomatoes (80c)
- Pinch mixed herbs (less than 5c)
- Pinch sugar (less than 5c)
- Pinch salt (less than 5c)

- Cheese, to top (50c - be generous!)

Method:
1. Slice the eggplant and potatoes into roughly 1cm thick slices. Layer the slices (eggplant first, then potatoes on top) on the bottom of a large casserole-type dish.
2. For the tomato sauce; Chop the onion and garlic finely, then add to a pan with a little oil and fry gently. Add mince and fry until brown.
3. Add the pasta sauce/tomato-herb-sugar-salt concoction to the pan and simmer for a few minutes. Pour over the potato layer.
4. Top with a handful of tasty cheese, cover with foil and bake in an 180 degree C oven for 45 minutes or until potato and eggplant is soft.

Again, I must apologise for being too lazy to take a photo of this recipe. Since you're probably sick of pictures of my dog, I'll throw in a picture of the delicious bread I baked this morning and get you excited for my 'Procrastibaking' post coming up in the next week or so :)

Delicious garlic, lemon and herb bread. Mmmmmmm...

Also, I must apologise for my mistake last week. I said I calculate all prices off Coles SmartBuys, but failed to mention that I calculate my fruit and veggie prices from West End Market. There's a fair amount of difference in the prices, so if you can, definitely get to your local market! 

Best of luck in the kitchen!
Lots of love,

(broke) Masterchef Mel.