My friend and I are on a quest to find the Top Five Budget Meals for beginners.

My friend and I spend a lot of time chatting on discord, mainly because we were both physically ill today. In that time we were talking about food and decided to make our own budget meals that we could easily make and afford (as beginners). This list is so far: 1. Spaghetti Bolognese. 2. Chicken stir fry. 3. Fried rice. 4. Fried Noodles. 5. Fried Potato and Sausage Bake Ingredients: • 500 grams of mince • 2 cups of rice • 3 whole chicken breasts • 3 whole potatoes • 4 sausages • 2 cups of stir fry vegetables • 2 packets of tomato sauce • 2 packets of noodles • 2 packets of tomato paste • 3 onions • I cup of frozen peas • A handful of spring onions • Olive oil The budget list so far is: • 2 cups of rice is 1-2 dollars • 500 grams of mince is 5-7 dollars • 3 whole chicken breasts is 7-10 dollars (depending on what is on sale) • 4 sausages is 3-4 dollars • 2 cups of stir fry vegetables is 4-6 dollars • 2 packets of tomato sauce is 4-6 dollars • 2 packets of noodles is 4-6 dollars • 1 cup of frozen peas is 1-2 dollars • 2 packets of tomato paste is 4-6 dollars • 2 onions is 1-2 dollars • A handful of spring onions is 1-2 dollars • 2-3 whole potatoes are 1-2 dollars • Olive oil is around 5-10 dollars for a 1 litre bottle. The average cost of the ingredients you need is: 40-65 dollars. From this list we managed to get these meals: Spaghetti Bolognese: 4 serves Ingredients: • 250 grams of mince • 500 grams of spaghetti • 2 cups of tomato sauce • 2 onions • 2 packets of tomato paste. • Olive oil Preparation: 1. Chop the onions and cook them in a pan. 2. Add the mince and cook until brown, then add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. 3. Let it simmer and put the spaghetti in a pot of water. 4. Serve and enjoy. Chicken stir fry: 4 serves Ingredients: • 2 cups of stir fry vegetables • 2 whole chicken breasts • Olive oil Preparation: 1. Cut the chicken into small pieces and cook it in a pan. 2. Once the chicken is cooked, add the stir fry vegetables. 3. Add some tomato paste for extra flavour. 4. Serve and enjoy. Fried Rice: 6 serves Ingredients: • 2 cups of rice • 1 whole chicken breast • 1 cup of frozen peas • 1 onion • 1/2 cup of water • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil Preparation: 1. Cook the rice and let it sit for a couple of hours. 2. Cut the chicken into small pieces and cook it in a pan. 3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the chopped onion and the frozen peas. 4. Add the tomato paste and the cooked rice. 5. Then add the water. 6. Serve and enjoy. Fried Noodles: 4 serves Ingredients: • 2 packets of noodles • 1 whole chicken breast • 1 cup of stir fry vegetables • 1 onion • 1/2 cup of water • 1 packet of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil Preparation: 1. Cook the noodles according to the packet. 2. Cut the chicken into small pieces and cook it in a pan. 3. Once the chicken is cooked, add the chopped onion and the stir fry vegetables. 4. Then add the tomato paste and water. 5. Add the noodles and serve. Fried Potato and Sausage Bake: 5 serves Ingredients: • 4 sausages • 2 whole potatoes • 1 onion • 2 cups of tomato sauce • 2 packets of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil Preparation: 1. Chop the potatoes and onion and put them in a baking tray. 2. Cook the sausages in a pan. 3. Once the sausages are cooked, chop and add them to the baking tray. 4. Then add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. 5. Put it in the oven until the potatoes are cooked. 6. Serve and enjoy. All of the serves are based on the average serving size of each ingredient. If you eat more or less, please adjust your ingredients and serves accordingly. So far we have 23 serves of food. So the next step is to find out what is the cost of each meal. Spaghetti Bolognese: 4 serves Ingredients: • 250 grams of mince • 2 cups of tomato sauce • 2 onions • 2 packets of tomato paste. • Olive oil The cost of the ingredients for this meal is: Mince - 2.50-3.50 dollars Tomato sauce - 2-3 dollars Onions - 1-2 dollars Tomato paste - 2-3 dollars Olive Oil - 0.50-1.50 The cost of this meal is: 8-13 dollars The cost of this meal per serve is: 2-3.25 dollars. Chicken stir fry: 4 serves Ingredients: • 2 cups of stir fry vegetables • 2 whole chicken breasts • Olive oil The cost of the ingredients for this meal is: Stir fry vegetables - 2-3 dollars Chicken Breast - 4.67-6.67 dollars Olive oil - 1-2.50 The cost of this meal is: 7.67-12.17 dollars The cost of this meal per serve is: 1.92-3.04 dollars. Fried Rice: 6 serves Ingredients: • 2 cups of rice • 1 whole chicken breast • 1 cup of frozen peas • 1 onion • 1/2 cup of water • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil The cost of the ingredients for this meal is: Rice - 1-2 dollars Chicken breast - 2.33-3.33 dollars Frozen peas - 1-2 dollars Onion - 1-2 dollars Water - 0 dollars (Already in your fridge at home) Tomato paste - 2-3 dollars Olive oil - 1-2.50 dollars The cost of this meal is: 7.33-14.83 dollars The cost of this meal per serve is: 1.22-2.47 dollars Fried Noodles: 4 serves Ingredients: • 2 packets of noodles • 1 whole chicken breast • 1 cup of stir fry vegetables • 1 onion • 1/2 cup of water • 1 packet of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil The cost of the ingredients for this meal is: Noodles - 2-3 dollars Chicken breast - 2.33-3.33 dollars Onion - 1-2 dollars Frozen vegetables - 2-3 dollars Tomato paste - 2-3 dollars Water - 0 dollars (Already in your fridge at home) Olive oil - 1-2.50 dollars The cost of this meal is: 9.33-15.83 dollars The cost of this meal per serve is: 2.33-3.96 dollars Fried Potato and Sausage Bake: 5 serves Ingredients: • 4 sausages • 2 whole potatoes • 1 onion • 2 cups of tomato sauce • 2 packets of tomato paste • 2 tablespoons of olive oil The cost of the ingredients for this meal is: Sausages - 1.5-2.50 dollars Onion - 1-2 dollars Potatoes - 1-2 dollars Tomato paste - 1-3 dollars Tomato sauce - 2-3 dollars Olive oil - 1-2.50 dollars The cost of this meal is: 7.5-15 dollars The cost of this meal per serve is:1.5-3 dollars. So that is what we have so far. I know there is a lot but we don't have a lot of spare money to spend. We are not sure how to explain our logic behind this post, we just wanted to list the cheapest meals we could think of. If you know any more budget meals to add to the list please tell us. Happy Cooking. **TLDR**: My friend and I are on a quest to find the Top Five Budget Meals for beginners. This post is about the meals and budget we have come up with so far.**

My friend and I are on a quest to find the Top Five Budget Meals for beginners.

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