A thrifty mother-of-one claims you can whip up gourmet meals for as little as 60p per head - while still using high-end ingredients like free-range chicken and organic eggs.
Jane Ashley, 50, from London, has published her second cookbook to help fellow parents master the art of feeding two people on a shoestring budget - without any wasted leftovers.
Her frugal meals for two include roasted butternut squash risotto for 60p per serving, chorizo omelette with potato wedges and coleslaw salad for just £1 per portion, aubergine katsu curry with rice and Japanese salad for £1.20 each and slow-cooked beef and ale pie or even Jambalaya for under £2 per person.
Jane has shared some of the scrumptious recipes from her new book, 'Home Economics 2.0 Cooking for two on a budget'.
Mother-of-oneJane Ashley, pictured, has published her second cookbook to help fellow parents master the art of feeding two people on a shoestring budget - without any wasted leftovers
Vegetable Biryani made by Jane Ashley, which costs just 75p per person (left), and chicken Kievs with loaded potato skins and salad which cost just £2 per person (right)
Graphic designer Jane was inspired to write the book after her daughter Emma left home for university and she had to cook for just herself and her husband again.
Jane - who lives with her photographer husband Phil - said: 'When our daughter went off to university, it was a real challenge to get used to just cooking for two again without spending a fortune.
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'We had a lot of wasted food or overate to use it up. It reminded me of before we were parents, with our meals mainly consisting of expensive-ready made dishes you shoved in the oven or a dodgy takeaway.
'With a few I wanted to show that you don't need to spend a fortune or spend ages to make healthy and delicious food for two people.
'In my book, I've also only used high-quality produce such free range chicken and eggs and included vegan, low-carb as well as gluten free recipes.'
Chorizo Omelette with potato wedges and coleslaw salad, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just £1 per person and appears in her second cook book, available to buy now.Graphic designer Jane was inspired to write the book after her daughter Emma left home for university and she had to cook for just herself and her husband again
Tarka Dal with garlic naans and onion bhajis, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just £1.30 per person. Her fans asked her to 'produce a cheap cookbook for couples'.Jane - who lives with her photographer husband Phil - wrote her book after her daughter flew the nest
Jane's fish and chips, costing just £1.45 per person. She says of her cooking:'Budget recipes for two don't need to be boring or meat-free. With a few tricks and a bit of planning, you can eat satisfying and varied meals - without being tempted to reach for the takeaway menu'
Jane's £1.50 per head gluten free beef lasagne.'A lot of younger people haven't started families yet but still want to save money on their food as rents are so high and wages are low,' says Jane of her budget approach to booking for two
A typical day of meals from Jane's cookbook could include a lunch of tarka dal with garlic naans and onion bhajis for lunch at £1.20 per person and homemade chicken kievs for dinner with loaded potato skins and salad for dinner for under £2.50 per portion.
She said: 'After publishing my first book [Home Economics 2:0 How to eat like a king on a budget] which was designed to feed families on small budgets, a lot of people have asked me if I could produce a cheap cookbook for couples.
'A lot of younger people haven't started families yet but still want to save money on their food as rents are so high and wages are low.
Jane, pictured in her kitchen at home, says:'I always advise putting the money you save from not buying lunch or coffees and see it soon mount up! A couple can save over £2,000 per year by making their own lunches'
Star on the rise:Home Economics 2.0 Cooking for two on a budget is available to buy for £14.99 through Jane's website, eatnotspend.wordpress.com
'However they don't want to resort to just eating rice every day to cut costs - whilst others have had difficulty persuading their partners to not eat meat every day.
'Budget recipes for two don't need to be boring or meat-free. With a few tricks and a bit of planning, you can eat satisfying and varied meals - without being tempted to reach for the takeaway menu.
'I always advise putting the money you save from not buying lunch or coffees and see it soon mount up! A couple can save over £2,000 per year by making their own lunches.'
Home Economics 2.0 Cooking for two on a budget is available to buy for £14.99 through Jane's website, eatnotspend.wordpress.com
Jane's top tips for cooking for two
1. Always try to buy the supermarket's cheaper own brand products. There really isn't much difference in flavour. Why pay 3 times as much for the same raw ingredients?
2. I don't tend to bother with the food with discounted yellow stickers. Write up a meal plan and stick to it - you'll end up saving a lot more than the odds and ends with those deals.
3. I try to buy seasonal vegetables when they're cheaper, and use them to make soups to freeze. But buying frozen vegetables is another way to save money. You only need to take out what you're using, so there won't be food waste. Frozen vegetables will also have a higher nutritional value as they'll have been frozen close to picking.
4. Don't get too hung up on the dates. The only date you really need to worry about on food labelling is* the use-by date. The sell-by date is for the shop's own turn around, the best before date is when it's at its optimum freshness. Take a sniff first if you're not sure, just don't mess around with meat or fish. Put them in the freezer to last longer, and cook on the same day you defrost.
5. Batch cook if you have space. Put aside one day a month to cook lots of delicious meals ready for the coming weeks.You're less likely resort to a takeaway after a busy day if you have a tasty homemade meal in the fridge or freezer waiting for you.
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Jambalaya for £2 per head
Ingredients
- 2 free-range chicken legs and wings
- 250g rice
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 stick of celery (optional)
- 2 bay leaves (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 100g sliced chorizo
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 400g tinned tomatoes
- 350ml chicken stock
- 1 chilli
- 40g raw prawns, halved
- Handful of chopped parsley
Jambalaya, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just £2 per person. Jane has published her second cookbook that shows how to make remarkably cheap meals
Method
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and the cayenne.
- Pour oil into a large saucepan and brown the chicken pieces over a medium heat.
- After 5 minutes add the chorizo. Once nicely browned on all sides, add your onion, peppers and celery as well as your bay leaves and another pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir, then fry on a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring ever y now and again.
- Once the vegetables have softened, add your garlic and chillies, stir around for a minute, then stir in the tinned tomatoes and chicken stock.
- Bring everything to the boil, then turn the heat down, put the lid on the pan and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
- When you can pull the meat off the bone and shred it easily, the chicken's ready. Feel free to remove the chicken skin and bones at this point if you like, then add your rice.
- Give it all a good stir, then put the lid on. Give it a stir every few minutes so it doesn't stick to the base of the pan.
- Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes until the rice is cooked. Stir in the prawns and if it needs it, add enough water to make it a kind of porridgey consistency.
- Put the lid back on and cook for another 3-4 minutes to cook the prawns, while you chop the parsley. Stir the parsley through, check the seasoning and serve.
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Squash risotto for 60p per head
Ingredients
- 1/2 litre of fresh, hot stock, plus extra hot water if needed
- 150ml white wine (optional)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 1 stick celery, finely cut
- 1 carrots, peeled and cut into cubes
- 125g Arborio risotto rice
- Knob of butter
- 50g freshly grated cheese
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 large butternut squash, pre-cooked
- Bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked (optional)
Roasted butternut squash Risotto, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just 60p per person. Jane has published her second cookbook that shows how to make remarkably cheap meals
Method
- Firstly heat your stock, either by boiling a kettle for the stock cube or boiling your homemade stock in a pan.
- Then fry your chopped onions, carrots and celery gently for 15 minutes.Add the rice and turn up the heat to cook for a minute stirring so as not to burn it.
- Add the wine if using and cook for about 1 minute, then turn down and start adding the stock a ladleful* at a time and stir.You are looking for each ladleful of stock to be absorbed before adding the next. Don't be tempted to stir the rice too much - you want the grains to cook but not break up.
- The rice should take around 15 minutes to cook, with regular additions of stock and a little stir. The grains should still have a little bite to them and the dish itself will have become naturally creamy.
- While this is cooking, scoop out the flesh from the skin of the pre-roasted butternut and add this to the half cooked risotto.
- When the rice is cooked and creamy turn off the heat, add the cheese and let it rest for a couple of minutes with a lid on. Meanwhile, gently fry the picked sage leaves in a little hot oil.
- Serve in bowls and scatter the sage
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Beef and ale pie for £2 per person
Ingredients (serves two)
- 300g braising steak, cut into chunks and dusted in flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 beef stock cubes
- 300ml strong ale
- 2 teaspoons mixed herbs
- 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 large onion, chopped roughly
- 2 large carrots, chopped into discs
- 3 stalks of celery, sliced
- Pepper and salt, to taste
- 150g mushrooms
- 1 egg, beaten lightly, to glaze
- 200g of the puff pastry
- 3 large potatoes Frozen peas
Beef and Ale pie, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just £2 per person. Jane has published her second cookbook that shows how to make remarkably cheap meals
Method
- Save back 100g of the 400g braising steak for another meal. Toss the remaining 300g beef in flour and gently fry for a few minutes to caramelize the meat and add flavour.
- Mix the stock cubes in a little boiling water then add to the slow cooker with the ale and herbs, give it a good stir then add the rest of the pie ingredients. Cook on low for about 4 hours until the meat is tender. Check if the seasoning is just right.
- After the 4 hours are up, preheat your oven to 200°C.
- To make the pies, take out half the meat with a bit of the gravy and set aside to cool for another recipe. Fill two small dish or one larger dish with the rest of the meat, vegetables and ale flavour gravy.
- Brush a little egg around the top of the pie dish to help to stick the pastry.
- Quickly roll out the puff pastry and sit on top of the meat, press around the edges to help it seal. You don't want*to take too long as the pastry will get warm once it's in contact with the filling.
- Brush over a little more egg and pop in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the pastry is golden. As you've not got to heat the filling it won't take as long to bake.
- While the pies are cooking, peel and dice the potatoes, then boil them for about 20 minutes until soft. Drain them, then mash with butter, salt and pepper and a little grated cheese if you want.
- Serve with frozen peas or any other vegetables you fancy.
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Aubergine katsu curry with rice and Japanese salad for £1.20 per head
Ingredients for the curry (serves two)
- 1 large aubergine, sliced
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4-5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2-3 slices of bread, made into fine bread crumbs
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Ingredients for the katsu sauce
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2cm fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp medium curry powder
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon flour
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 1 tin coconut milk
Ingredients for the rice
- 1 cup basmati rice to 2 cups water
- Pinch of salt
Ingredients for the Japanese salad dressing
- 2 tbsp rice/white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons caster sugar
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato purée
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Pinch of salt and pepper, to taste
Ingredients for the Japanese salad
- Cucumber, radishes, carrot peppers, lettuce
Aubergine Katsu Curry with rice and japanese salad, a meal made by Jane Ashley, which costs just £1.20 per person. Jane has published her second cookbook that shows how to make remarkably cheap meals
Method
- Mix the flour with enough water to make a paste and water and cover the sliced aubergine, then cover in fine bread crumbs.
- Shallow fry til golden, then bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- Next, make the katsu curry sauce by gently frying the finely chopped onion, and garlic until soft. Then add curry powder, garam masala, and the flour with a little salt and pepper. After a few minutes add the maple syrup.
- Cook this for a couple more minutes before adding the coconut milk. Hand whisk if it looks a little lumpy. Simmer for about 20 minutes until it reduces down and thickens. It should go a darker coffee colour.
- Meanwhile cook the rice as page 21 Brush a little oil on the inside of a small bowl, fill with cooked sticky rice and press down.
- To make the salad dressing, put all the ingredients in a clean jam jar. Do up the lid and give it a good shake.This will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge for other salads.
- To make the salad use ingredients like radishes, finely sliced carrot, peppers, green beans, cucumber, spring onions etc.
- To serve, tip out the rice, then lay out the aubergine and pour on the katsu sauce.Arrange the salad and drizzle with the dressing.
- Cook extra rice to make a rice salad for another day.
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