Classic budget friendly dinners revamped

We're all looking for a little bit of comfort right now with all the doom and gloom talk of the spiralling cost of living.

Sometimes there's nothing quite like a cosy, classic meal that's big on comfort and not on the fancy stuff to help us feel nurtured.

That's where these classics come in, and all it takes is a little tweak here and there to bring them up to date.

Rissoles

This is a great comfort meal. It's the taste sensation of a burger patty, but with the comfort of veggie side dishes that warm the heart.

Tip: Typically served with mashed potato, I like to make this one a little lighter with some mashed cauliflower. It's delicious, a great carrier for the rissole flavours and budget friendly.

Rissoles ingredients:

● 500g beef mince

● 1⁄3 cup bread crumbs

● 1⁄2 an onion, grated or very finely diced

● 2 eggs

● 2 Tbls chopped parsley

● 1 tsp crushed garlic

● 2 Tbls BBQ sauce

Cauliflower mash:

● 1 head cauliflower, broken into florets

● 4 Tbls milk

● 1⁄4 cup Parmesan, grated

● 20g butter

● Lightly steamed green beans, to serve

Method:

Mix together all rissole ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands to squeeze it all together. Form the mix into rissoles of your chosen size and then set aside until ready to cook.

Steam the cauliflower until nice and soft. Drain any excess water, place it all into a food processor and add the milk, parmesan and butter - blitz lightly to make a rough mash.

Pan fry the rissoles in a little olive oil and flip to brown both sides.

Serve the rissoles on a bed of mashed cauliflower and with a side of green beans.

Tuna Mornay

The great thing about tuna mornay is that you can hide the veggies your family likes in the dish. I'm also a huge fan of the fact that you can swap out just about any tinned fish for the tuna, or a mix of fish if that's what you prefer.

There's even some great smoked fish options available now to add a twist to the flavour.

Typically you'd see corn in the mix for a tuna mornay, but I like to swap that out for the vibrant pop of some frozen green peas and add some fresh herbs and lemon zest to the crumb topping to add some brightness to the classic dish.

Full tuna mornay recipe here

Tip: For the crumb topping add some finely chopped parsley and some lemon zest into the breadcrumb mix for freshness.

Curried sausages

The best part of this recipe is that it's a great way to vary up your bangers and mash. It's also a great way to add extra veggies into a sausage dinner. Don't be afraid the change up the chutney you're using.

Tip: Try a different chutney or spice mix in place of the fruit chutney. Mango chutney is a delicious alternative.

Ingredients:

● Pork or beef sausages

● 1 large onion, thinly sliced

● 2 carrots, peeled, thinly sliced

● 2 tsp crushed garlic

● 1 Tbls curry powder

● 4 Tbls fruit chutney (or be brave and use chilli or mango chutney)

● 500ml chicken stock

● 1 cup frozen baby peas

● Fresh parsley or coriander sprigs, to serve

● Steamed rice or mashed potato to serve

Method:

In a large frying pan cook your sausages in batches until browned all over, remove from pan and slice diagonally. Set aside.

To the same pan add the onion carrot, garlic and cook on medium heat until just beginning to soften, then toss in the curry powder and mix through before adding the chutney and the stock. Bring to a simmer, nestle the sausage pieces back in and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce is reduced a little and thickening.

Toss in the peas and stir through just before serving.

Serve on a bed of mash or rice with fresh herbs on top.

Apricot Chicken

This was one of my favourite dishes growing up. In fact, I loved it so much, I would ask for it as my birthday dinner.

It's still a classic worth making today - with the tinned apricot nectar and the packet of French onion soup mix. But I like to give it some texture back by adding in either dried apricots to the mix, or by using tinned apricots in nectar. The juice is nice, but the fruit itself is even better.

Tip: use dried apricots or tinned apricots instead of (or in addition to) the nectar. It adds back some texture. You can even add in other dried fruits too, and don't forget plenty of fresh herbs to finish.

Full apricot chicken recipe here

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