Wrap it up

If you live on a budget, wraps are for you!

Me and my partner adore these little buggers. You can make hot ones or cold ones, both are equally delicious. For the colder version use lunch meat like ham or chicken and lose the fried tomato/radish/spinach and simply run with lettuce, tomato, cheese, carrot.

Hot Chicken Wraps (Use beef or pork or lamb if you want)
Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 1/2 an hour
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Note: You can get all the below ingredients at Aldi for about 20 dollars.

Ingredients

1 Lettuce (I prefer Cos, if not- Iceberg)
10 Tomatoes (Cherry)
Spinach (Handful)
Carrot (1 or 2)
Sundried Tomato Pesto (Leggos is great)
Sundried Tomato Wraps (4)
Radish (1)
Red/Spanish onion (1 or a 1/2)
Garlic (2 cloves)
Mushroom (A handful or two)
Olive Oil (3 shakes)
Salt+Pepper (2 pinches)
Cheese (processed, tasty or parmesan)
Ranch Sauce
Mixed Herbs (Herbs of your choice- We love ones with Garlic)
Chicken Strips or Chicken Tenders

• First preheat the oven to 180°c (or whatever your chicken states).
• Slice the mushrooms, garlic, cherry tomatoes and radish and place it in a slightly oiled pan along with a handful of spinach.
• Slice the lettuce and red onion
• Peel the carrot skin off, then peel wafer thin strips off the carrot
• Add the lettuce, red onion and carrot to a bowl and mix it all together
• Enter the chicken into the oven
• 10 minutes after beginning the chicken, start frying off the vegetables in the pan while carefully adding touches of herbs
• While frying (keeping a close eye on it) heat the wraps for 15 seconds in the microwave on high.
• Spread the pesto (Sundried tomato or basil is fine), over the area where your wrap contents will be.
• Place the lettuce/onion/carrot mix as a bed on the wrap.
• When the chicken is ready, take out of the oven and place on the bed of lettuce etc.
• Place the fried off vegetables on top of the chicken
• Top with your choice of cheese (Processed melts deliciously, tasty or parmesan is delicious however)
• Sprinkle with salt and/or pepper
• Sprinkle with a shake of mm
• Top with Ranch sauce (any sauce is fine- I prefer ranch)
• You can heat again in the microwave if you prefer hot wraps as oppossed to warm (the wrap and chicken will cool a little while you are topping).

This recipe is cheap, is extremely fast to cook and tastes amazing when all the flavours come together. The mixed herbs in with the spinach and tomato really add to their flavour. Feel free to add less herbs though if you want to just taste the flavour of the vegetables.

The Cookbook Blog

This link will take you to a Blog by a friend of mine called “Cookbook”. Jess has a great vocabulary and personality in describing and explaining the delectable and delicious delights she eats at these restaurants, as well as some of the not so good points of some “fine dining” experiences.

You can trust in her honest critique of these locations, await a laugh in some of her posts and generally just learn where some great places are to head off to. She’s got a knack for good blogging. You can also find some insanely delicious sounding recipes “Cheese and Chive Scones” anyone?

Take a look!

Quick Healthy Cheap Spaghetti

Quick Healthy Cheap Spaghetti
Serves: 4 for two nights
Cooking Time: 1/2 an hour
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Note: You can get all the below ingredients at Aldi for about 20 dollars.

Ingredients

1 zucchini
2 cloves of garlic
1 onion
1 carrot
5 cherry tomatoes
1 Roma tomato
2 handfuls of spinach
1 handful of mushroom
7-800 grams of mince-Lean or premium (adjust according to Per Person numbers)
2 glasses of pasta sauce (we also found Aldi’s Pasta bake sauce works brilliantly and tastes delicious)
1 loaf of garlic bread

Method

• Pre chop and dice all your vegetables, separate into three bowls (one bowl for spinach and cherry tomatoes/Roma tomato and mushroom, the second bowl for carrot, zucchini and garlic, the third for onion). The bowls (while making more dishes) make it easier to know what to add next.
• Set your hot plate to high and grab a large saucepan (It should be big enough that when the sauce is added you have about a 5-7 cm layer of meat and sauce.)
• Spray the saucepan with the cooking spray or use olive oil to coat the base.
• Add the mince and cook until almost browned- Separate it with a spatula or slotted turner to ensure it cooks through.
• Add onion and garlic and mushroom, cook until almost browned.
• Add the bowl of carrot, zucchini and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
• Add the tomato/spinach bowl and cook until the spinach shrinks and wilts.
• When all ingredients have been mixed in and are cooked off, add the two jars of pasta sauce (rinse with 1/4 cup water to get all the sauce and add a little more volume to end result).
• After ten minutes on medium heat, add some mixed herbs, a little salt, or another seasoning of your choice to flavour.
• Place Garlic bread wrapped in foil into oven, cook for ten minutes, unwrap foil and cook for another 5.
• When garlic bread is cooked through, remove spaghetti from heat and serve into bowls.
• The remainder can be placed in Tupperware and either kept cold or frozen for up to 2-4 weeks.
• You can use parmesan cheese on top to add further flavour.
• Top with grated cheese to add a thick texture to the spaghetti as well as extra flavour (we prefer tasty).

This recipe is perfect when you are running low on funds and time. It can be made in larger quantities and split into Tupperware to feed a family of four for about a week. You will need a stock pot and the ability to adjust the ingredients accordingly. This is a family favourite in our household. You may struggle to get kids or teenagers to accept all the vegetables.

Enjoy