Procrasticooking on a Budget: Tomato and Bacon Rice

Mr. Husband and I are on one income for the time-being, as I quit my job to do full-time study.

So we've had to change our outlook quite drastically. I am sad to say, we were those people who didn't even ask how much it cost: we just bought it if we wanted it. It was nice while it lasted! But felt a bit decadent.

Now I have to watch what we spend, and the easiest place to cut back is food.

So I am going to slowly blog some of my favourite budget meals.

Tomato and Bacon Rice

This recipe is easy peasy, and so very, very cheap.

• 2 OR 3 rashers of bacon, sliced
• 1 onion (or leek, or spring onions etc. - whatever is on hand), chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 400g tin of tomatoes
• 750ml of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup of rice
• seasoning to taste

I make this in a fry pan with a lid, FYI.

1. Cook the onion, garlic and bacon together with a dash of oil in the pan until onions are soft and becoming golden and the bacon is starting to brown.

2. Add the tin of tomatoes with the cup of rice and stir for about a minute. Season to taste.

3. Add the stock and stir before covering and allowing to cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed most of the stock.

How easy is that?! And the calorie content isn't so bad either: about 260 calories per serve, if you divide the above into 4. The biggest part of the caloric content comes from the rice.

The excellent thing is that there is room for error - if you accidentally get sidetracked by Facebook or Pinterest etc., and you let it cook for a tad too long, the rice at the bottom can turn into what looks like the base of a Paella. Which is actually delicious - you can't go wrong! (Well, you could ... but we will imagine that we are all domestic-goddesses and that we never would).

The best bit is the cost: Last time it cost me:

• .50c for a brown onion
• $1.75 for bacon
• Nothing for garlic (but say you use 1 tsp of crushed garlic from a jar = .20c)
• .69c for a tin of tomatoes (Homebrand)
• .40c for rice (worked out on the cost of a large bag of rice)
• .25c for chicken stock (made with Massel Chicken Stock Powder + water)
• Total = $3.80

Less that $1.00 per serve.

The downside? Sodium content is a little high (stock, tomatoes, bacon), so I wouldn't make it every night - but if I make it once a week - well, that's a bargain. Effectively makes 2 dinners and 2 lunches for less than $4.00.

Its also a good recipe for getting rid of those veges at the bottom of the tray that seem a bit sad - the couple of spring onions left wilting next to that lone carrot. Grate the carrot and add with the tomatoes, and snip the spring onion in at the beginning for extra onion flavour and flash of green.