Five dinners for two adults and two kids, with an estimated grocery total of $32.99 (range $25.24–$43.74), about $1.65 per serving.
Estimated grocery total
$1.65 per serving · 20 servings
Range $25.24–$43.74
$32.99
✓ Likely under the $40 budget
Likely under means our estimate gives this week at least an 80% chance of staying under $40. The top of the range covers 9 weeks out of 10, so it can sit above $40. The dinners use about $20.75 of the $32.99; the rest is left in opened packs.
Price ranges set using Open Prices data (Open Food Facts, ODbL).
This week's dinners
Price per dinner is the ingredients it uses, per serving.
Counting only the ingredients each dinner uses, the cheapest night is Tuesday's Cabbage Okonomiyaki-Style Pancakes, at about $0.65 per serving; the most expensive is Wednesday's Ginger Pork and Cabbage Stir-Fry, at about $1.31. The five dinners use about $20.75 of what you buy; the rest is left in opened packs, the biggest being mayonnaise, panko and ground pork. Carrots, garlic and green onions go into more than one dinner, along with 6 more items on the list, so you buy them once. The quickest are Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, Garlic and Toasted Breadcrumbs and Black Bean Sloppy Joes, ready in about 25 minutes. Fresh food you should still have at the end of the week includes about ¼ of a head of green cabbage, 4 large eggs, about ¾ of a piece of fresh ginger and about half a lemon.
The recipes
Amounts are scaled for two adults and two kids.
Monday · 25 min · about $0.85 per serving in ingredients used
Spaghetti with Fried Eggs, Garlic and Toasted Breadcrumbs
A Neapolitan store-cupboard classic: garlic and olive oil spaghetti with crisp crumbs and a fried egg.
Prep 5 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 4 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 12 oz dried pasta (penne, rotini or spaghetti), spaghetti
- 2 oz panko breadcrumbs
- ½ lemon
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- ½ bunch parsley, chopped
- 4 large eggs
- salt, to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil
- black pepper, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), egg. Check the label: milk. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil (start with water from the kettle) and cook the pasta for 10–12 minutes, or as the packet says, until just tender.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and toast the panko for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until golden and crisp. Tip into a bowl and mix with the zest of the lemon and a pinch of salt.
- Wipe out the pan, add 3½ tablespoons of the oil and the garlic and cook gently for 2 minutes until pale golden. Take off the heat.
- Drain the pasta, saving a mugful of the cooking water. Toss the pasta into the garlic oil with a splash of the water and the parsley, season with black pepper and divide between plates.
- Heat the rest of the oil in a second frying pan on medium heat and fry the eggs for 3–4 minutes until the whites are completely set and crisp at the edges; cook the yolks until firm for pregnant women, young children and older people. Put an egg on each plate and scatter over the crumbs.
Tip: Fry the eggs while the pasta drains so everything lands on the plate hot.
Leftovers: Best eaten straight away.
Tuesday · 27 min · about $0.65 per serving in ingredients used
Cabbage Okonomiyaki-Style Pancakes
Small Japanese-style cabbage and carrot pancakes, pan-fried golden, with a sweet-savoury sauce and mayonnaise.
Prep 13 min · Cook 14 min · Serves 4 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 12 oz green cabbage, very finely shredded
- 3 oz carrots, coarsely grated
- 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 oz mayonnaise
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2½ tbsp ketchup
- 2½ tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp sesame seeds, to serve (optional)
- salt, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), egg, soy, mustard. Check the label: celery. Optional extras contain sesame. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- For the sauce, stir together the ketchup, soy sauce and honey.
- Whisk the all-purpose flour, the eggs, ½ cup (100 ml) of water and a pinch of salt into a smooth, thick batter. Fold in the green cabbage, carrots and most of the green onions until everything is coated.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Spoon in half the mixture as 4 mounds and flatten each to about the thickness of your little finger. Cook for 3 minutes a side until golden and set in the middle, with no wet batter when pressed. Keep warm while you cook the rest in the remaining oil.
- Serve two pancakes each, drizzled with the sauce and the mayonnaise, scattered with the rest of the green onions and the sesame seeds if using.
Tip: Shred the cabbage as finely as you can; fine shreds bind into the batter and cook through in the time.
Leftovers: Keeps in the fridge for 2 days; reheat in a frying pan until piping hot.
Wednesday · 30 min · about $1.31 per serving in ingredients used
Ginger Pork and Cabbage Stir-Fry
Crispy-edged pork with cabbage and carrot in a ginger-soy sauce over rice; one pan, 30 minutes.
Prep 10 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 4 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
Gluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 14 oz ground pork
- 9 oz green cabbage, shredded
- 5 oz carrots, cut into matchsticks
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- ½ bunch green onions, sliced
- 2½ tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2½ tsp vegetable oil
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes, to serve (optional)
Contains: soy, sesame. Check the label: wheat (gluten). Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Rinse the rice, then put it in a saucepan with 2¼ cups (525 ml) of cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender (if not, cover and cook 2–3 minutes more). Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or wok on high heat. Add the ground pork and wash your hands after handling the raw meat. Fry for 6–8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and cooked through with no pink left (160°F).
- Add the garlic and fresh ginger for 1 minute, then the green cabbage and carrots. Stir-fry for 4–5 minutes until the cabbage is just tender.
- Stir in the soy sauce, honey and toasted sesame oil and toss for 1 minute.
- Serve over the rice with sliced green onions, and red pepper flakes if using.
Leftovers: The stir-fry keeps 3 days in the fridge; reheat until piping hot. Cool leftover rice within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day and reheat it only once, until steaming hot.
Thursday · 39 min · about $1.29 per serving in ingredients used
Chinese Curry Sauce Pork Meatballs with Peppers and Rice
Ginger pork meatballs in a glossy, mild takeaway-style curry sauce with green pepper and carrot, over rice.
Prep 19 min · Cook 20 min · Serves 4 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
Gluten-free (check labels)Dairy-freeKid-friendly
Ingredients
- 1½ cups long-grain white rice
- 14 oz ground pork
- 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1½ tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
- ½ bunch green onions, white and green parts sliced separately
- 5 oz carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 bell pepper, green, cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, use tamari for a gluten-free meal
- 2½ tsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp curry powder (mild)
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt, to taste
Contains: soy. Check the label: wheat (gluten), mustard. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Rinse the rice and put it in a saucepan with 2¼ cups (525 ml) of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender (if not, cover and cook 2–3 minutes more). Leave covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix the ground pork with 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, the garlic, fresh ginger and the white parts of the green onions. Roll into 20 meatballs and wash your hands in hot, soapy water.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat and, using tongs, fry the meatballs for 7–8 minutes, turning, until browned all over and cooked through with no pink inside (160°F). Using clean tongs, lift onto a plate.
- Add the carrots and bell peppers to the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and turmeric for 30 seconds, then add 1¼ cups (325 ml) of water, the rest of the soy sauce and the sugar and simmer for 2 minutes. Mix the rest of the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, stir it in and bubble for 1 minute until thick and glossy.
- Return the meatballs and simmer for 2 minutes until hot. Scatter with the green parts of the green onions and serve over the rice.
Tip: Frying the curry powder in the pan for a few seconds before the water goes in takes away its raw, dusty edge.
Leftovers: Cool leftover rice within 1 hour, keep it in the fridge for no more than 1 day and reheat it only once, until steaming hot. The meatballs and sauce keep 3 days or freeze for 3 months; reheat until piping hot.
Friday · 25 min · about $1.08 per serving in ingredients used
Black Bean Sloppy Joes
Toasted buns piled with roughly mashed black beans, pepper and carrot in a tangy, gently sweet tomato sauce.
Prep 9 min · Cook 16 min · Serves 4 · Amounts are scaled for your household.
VegetarianDairy-free (check labels)Kid-friendly
Ingredients
- 2 (15 oz) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 bell pepper, finely diced
- 3 oz carrots, coarsely grated
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1½ tbsp tomato paste
- 4 hamburger buns
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2½ tsp vegetable oil
- salt, to taste
Contains: wheat (gluten), egg, mustard, sulfites. Check the label: milk, soy, sesame, celery. Always read the labels if you cook for someone with an allergy.
Method
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and cook the yellow onion, bell peppers and carrots for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, finely grated, and the tomato paste and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the black beans, ketchup, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar and ½ cup (100 ml) of water. Simmer for 6–8 minutes, mashing about half the beans with a potato masher, until thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Season with salt.
- Toast the buns cut side down in a dry frying pan, or in the toaster, then spoon in the filling and serve.
Tip: Mash only half the beans so the filling holds together but still has some bite.
Leftovers: The filling keeps in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months; reheat until piping hot.
