Pasta dishes are always quick and cheap and you can vary the sauce. Chicken is also very cheap so you could make chicken stir-fry which is fast, or chicken kebabs.

Creamy chicken and broccoli carbonara, vegetable spaghetti, stirfrys, beef stew, sausages and veg. These are some of our go to!

I like wraps and tacos where you can customise the fillings or even pita bread pizzas

Yes I think A plate of rice mixed with one can of lentils, rinsed and drained. Served with some sausages cut into slices is a good idea!

I find that anything to do with pasta or tuna is quick , healthy and tasty.

Soups are always a good option, they work well in the slow cooker and are generally cost-effective. We do big beef and veg soups as well as butternut soup. We have a 9-month old and he loves butternut soup, I make it with salt-reduced stock and then season after I’ve taken out enough for him.

Pasta is my go to meal if I’m not in the mood for cooking. You can also cook up batches of sauce and freeze to make it even easier on weeknights. Otherwise, meat and 3 veg is usually quite quick too . As in fry up some steaks and cook some veg or even just toss a salad.

Tuna Mornay in the slow cooker 1 tin tuna 425gm, 1 tin of chicken and corn soup, extra corn and peas (Frozen is ok or tin variety), for a creamy version add a bottle of Leggo’s Pasta sauce Bechamel, now add pasta as much or as little. Add 4 cups of water. This tastes great the next day. So if you cook this on the weekend you can pop into containers and re heat for net evening meal or lunches. I do like this with chicken instead of tuna.

Nothing beats a nice frittata and salad! I make mine using about 5 eggs, grate about 3 zucchini’s, cheese, salt and pepper and then some flour to thicken the mixture. YUMMM!!!

Sweet potato & tuna patties
500g orange sweet potato, peeled
olive oil cooking spray
4 green onions, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 x 180g cans tuna in springwater, drained, flaked
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
3 teaspoons sesame seeds

Step 1
Cut sweet potato into 5cm pieces. Wash and place, with water clinging, on a microwave-safe plate. Cover and microwave on HIGH (100%) for 3 to 4 minutes or until just tender. Drain well. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a fork, roughly mash. Allow to cool slightly.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray a small non-stick frying pan lightly with oil. Heat over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until soft. Add to sweet potato.
Step 3
Add tuna, egg, breadcrumbs and parsley to sweet potato mixture. Stir until well combined. Divide mixture into 12 equal portions and shape into 1.5cm-thick patties.
Step 4
Combine flour and sesame seeds on a plate. Coat patties in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat until hot. Spray both sides patties with oil. Cook, in batches, for 4 to 5 minutes each side or until golden and heated through.

Pasta is always a winner.
Or marinate some meat , leave in the fridge until the next day and cook it in the oven or barbeque with some veggies.Always works for us

I occasionally make a quick fried rice from scratch if I’m too tired to make a proper meal. Just fry up some diced bacon and egg, then add grated carrot and corn kernels. Cook up some rice and add it to the mixture in the pan, pour in a decent amount of soy sauce and presto, fried rice!!

pastas are good meals as they are cheap and filling. Carbonara, pasta bake, lasagne etc. also casseroles in a slow cooker are quick and easy to prepare and you can use the cheaper cuts of meat.

Hi, I have found that if I cook up a kilo of mince as a basic bolognese mix I can get 4 different meals for the week. I use the base for savoury mince and rice, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese and shepherds pie. I also cook up a curried chicken and use that for a curried chicken and rice and the leftovers in chicken and rice pies. My other fall back recipe is curried sausages.

i also make a big bowl of fried rice up. i put shallots, onions, bacon, egg and some peas, carrot etc (any leftovers can work as well) so all up this will cost me $6 dollar. We can eat for 2 days from this for a family of 5. if you use the rice as a side dish, you can extend this.

I used a mince recipe from here, mince and beans basically so i had that with rice for a meal then added cooked pasta for another meal then put the leftovers into a toasted cheese sandwich. this cost about $10. you can freeze your leftovers

try poached eggs and toast as well