Budget Dinner Ideas

I discovered over 1.6 kg of mince in the freezer this afternoon as I was trying to work out what to cook for dinner (too many choices with the Thermie).  I cooked up two meals, both healthy and super tasty and both budget friendly.

I often hear that the Thermie is not large enough for families, but these two recipes can be doubled to make larger batches for bigger families.  We have so many leftover that I have frozen the meatloaf and my Mum and Husband are getting meatballs for lunch tomorrow. Lucky things.

Healthy Meatloaf and Meatballs in the Varoma - Yum!

Healthy Meatloaf - Thermomix Recipe Community -

I used 900g of mince and doubled everything else and added celery.  I also used a large rectangle dish and cooked the meatloaf for 45 mins. You could also use almond meal instead of breadcrumbs. I blitzed frozen bread first to make the breadcrumbs before starting the recipe. 

Because the bowl was full, you can use the spatula to assist with the mixing and the clever Thermie design means the spatula never touches the blades.

http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/main-dishes-meat-recipes/healthy-meatloaf/59613





 
Meatballs in the Varoma (Steamer) - Thermomix Recipe Community -

I used about 750g of mince for this recipe so I just adjusted the quantities.  I ground the rice first too before starting to cook.  As I had more mince than the recipe, I made the meatballs in 2 batches while the meatloaf was cookingin the oven.  

The first batch had the tomato sauce cooking in the bowl creating the steam to cook the meatballs and during the second batch, I boiled spaghetti. I ended up with heaps of meatballs, spaghetti and a tasty tomato sauce. 

I steamed some cauliflower and beans during the second batch as well to go with the meatloaf.  Multitasking at it's best!
http://www.recipecommunity.com.au/main-dishes-meat-recipes/meatballs-beefchickenpork-veroma/112567






In under 1 hour, I made 2 large family dishes that were healthy, easily adaptable to suit your needs and family friendly.  

Happy cooking, 

Jen X