A couple of months of crazy days have seen us eating some “creative” meals of late.
My main focus has been to feed us reasonably healthy meals that do not require too much in the way of preparation or fuss. Some days there may have been time to do things like cook a roast for a couple of hours. Other days were “we need to eat in the next 30 minutes” type days.
We very rarely eat takeaway, as mostly we find we can do better at home, cheaper, faster and healthier. We do however look to fast food for concepts. I have seen some blog/Facebook groups that term this as “Fake-away” or “Takeaway at Home”.
Often our version of fast food turns into a “clean out the fridge special”. Some “recipes” for Clean out the Fridge specials are…
A packet of mince ( which we buy in bulk and freeze in 250g pieces, whatever veggies are in the fridge simply chopped and fried together with a bit of beef stock made from powder and a dollop of tomato paste gets a tin of tomatoes added and simmered for 15 minutes or so while some pasta cooks. This creates a satisfying meal on the table in well under 30 minutes and reduces wasted food.
A similar dish can be done with veggies and a cheese sauce added to a tin of tuna and pasta or rice.
Veges sauteed with a bit of butter or oil and add some chunks of beef, lamb or chicken. Pour over 2 cups of water with a tablespoon of gravy powder, add any herbs you like and simmer until the meat is pull-apart tender. This one might take about 50 minutes to an hour.
Other ideas for “Fake-away” meals include..
Make your own pizzas. This is great for using up leftover deli meats. You don’t even need a “proper” pizza base for these. Put two pieces of bread in the toaster together so that just one side of the bread gets toasted. Spread some tomato paste or sauce onto the untoasted side. Pile the toast nice and high with yummy toppings and sprinkle over some tasty cheese. Pop them under a hot grill until the cheese is melted and brown. Cut each slice of “pizza” into 2 and serve.
Fish and Chips are a good standby to have in the freezer. Frozen crumbed fish fillets and frozen chips are simply put in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes and “voila” dinner in half the time it would take to drive to the takeaway, wait for the order and drive home.
Burgers are easy to make with either rolls or bread. Serve with chips from the oven
While all of these ideas are fast and affordable, the easiest way to have superfast meals ready to go is to always cook far more than you need and have meals ready to go in the freezer. We have always got something for those days when we really just could not bother.
Did you read my recent post on what “they” say is the amount of money needed to retire? (it is here)
When this was originally reported, I said to my husband, “I am sure we could live on the pension as well as Mum & Dad.”
So, we decided to try it. Before making any sort of budget, I tracked our spending for 3 months to see exactly what we were spending, it was surprisingly low.
For our “live on the pension plan” we have not taken into consideration our mortgage or my husband’s car. We are working on the assumption that, like our parents, our home will be fully paid off and we will have just one car, which we will have no debt on, but will need funds to update regularly.
Every week I allocate the correct amount of cash for our budget needs within the confines of only having the amount for the current aged pension for a couple to live on. Bills are direct deposited to their relevant accounts (eg: I send $50 per week to our council for Rates, $50 a week to the Power company etc)
We have lived this way for the past 3 years or so and have not felt we have missed out on much at all. By not spending, we have seen a huge reduction in our debts. (BONUS)
This has spurred us on further to keep going with “living on the pension” for the next few years. We are aiming to be completely debt free in the next 2 years and then sell our businesses and be able to retire early. This of course will require a fairly decent amount of money in the bank, as we are both quite a way off being able to receive the actual pension.
My life of living a “Champagne Life on a (lite) Beer Budget” has been heavily worked with this way of living. Both my husband and I have our own businesses and they both do very well. From the outside, it appears we might splash the cash around quite readily, but in reality, we live within our “pension” budget.
I drive a new BMW which my business provides the funds for, there is money put aside in the “pension” budget to upgrade the car. Hubby’s business has work utes that we do not spend a lot on, as they are – well – work utes!
We plan on updating the BMW as often as we can well into retirement. We have found that the price of updating while the car has low mileage and is reasonably “new” is quite affordable and within our budget, especially when spread out over 3 years or so.
I love to travel, but our businesses are such that we can really only get away for the odd weekend, Easter and Christmas. I often find great deals for weekends away on daily deals sites that allow us to get away at a reasonable price. I also keep an eye on the airline deals and have been able to snag great deals on flights.
We both enjoy eating out and have a subscription to the Entertainment book each year. Using the vouchers, we can eat at more expensive restaurants than we would normally for half price. We also enjoy cooking, looking at restaurant menus and cooking similar meals at home for a fraction of the cost makes for an afternoon of culinary fun at home. A well stocked pantry and a good bulk butcher nearby, keep our grocery budget at a manageable level. It is the “grocery” section of the budget that I often find has a built-up surplus. This surplus gets either transferred to savings or put aside for meals out.
Like our parents, we do not “need” anything, so when asked what we want for a gift on birthday and Christmas, I often ask for experience type gifts. Vouchers for cafes, spa treatments etc are happily accepted.
The lessons we have learned from living within the pension amount is that, for us, it is achievable without any huge sacrifices. Our budget does not include any pension discounts from expenses such as utilities, registration, rates etc, so those will be bonuses if we receive them. We are blessed with good health and are conscious that chronic illness which requires long periods of expensive medications would be a burden on the budget.
Why not look at your own budget and decide if you could live on the pension?
We are in the process of running down our freezer in preparation for 3 weeks away. (while we are away, I will unplug the freezer and let it completely defrost, then give it a good clean out in the new year)
I have been trying to mix the contents of the freezer around a little, so we don’t end up with sausages for 7 days straight 🙂 We had a fair bit of mince left in the freezer and I was looking for something a bit “different” to do.
I came up with the idea of a Beef Stroganoff type dish with little meatballs – but not a “Swedish Meatball – Ikea” dish.
Obviously, by the look of this plate, it was a hit.
So without further ado.. here is my recipe for
“Stoganoff Meatballs”
250 g Minced Beef
1 tsp Mixed Herbs
2 tsp Tomato Paste
Salt, Pepper and Olive Oil
1 Large Onion – finely diced
Garlic Cloves ( as many as you like)
Fettucine, Spaghetti or other pasta
2 Large Mushrooms – sliced
¼ cup Worcestershire Sauce
1 Beef Stock Cube
½ cup Sour Cream
¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese ( plus some for garnish)
Parsley for garnish
1: In a bowl combine Mince, Herbs, salt, pepper and ½ the tomato paste.
Mix very well until combined. (I use my hands)
Using a teaspoon, scoop out heaped spoonfuls and roll them into balls. ( I make mine about the size of a large marble)
Place the meatballs in the fridge to firm up.
2: In a non-stick pan heat a tablespoon of oil and sauté one large onion and a garlic clove (or 3 if you love garlic as we do) until just starting to caramelise. (You don’t want too much colour on them or your sauce could be a little bitter)
Remove the cooked onions and place them aside.
3: In the same pan, add the pre-prepared meatballs and gently fry until cooked almost through. (Drain any excess oil as the mince renders it out.)
4: When the meatballs are cooked, remove them from the pan and put them aside with the onions. At this stage, put a pot of salted water on to boil and cook whatever pasta takes your fancy (we had some curly fettuccine noodles in the pantry)
5: Still in the same pan, add 2 sliced mushrooms and sauté until softened and golden.
Turn the heat down to medium and add ¼ cup of Worcestershire sauce, one beef stock cube and the other 1/2 of the tomato paste.
Stir gently until the sauce comes to the boil.
Make sure you scrape all the lovely tasty bits off the bottom of the pan.
6: Add in ½ cup of sour cream and ¼ cup of grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine and melts.
7: Return the onions and meatballs to the sauce and simmer until everything is heated through. Finally, stir through the cooked pasta.
8: Serve onto plates, sprinkle over some chopped parsley and a few shavings of parmesan. Enjoy!!
What is Sunshine Cash?
Many of us have been raised with the idea of "saving for a rainy day", so we diligently squirrel away savings for a disastrous event.
While it is important to have a safety net backup, "Sunshine Cash" is the complete opposite :) It is the money to have FUN with, money to burn, money to enjoy, and money to LIVE.
It is the formula that has seen me "Rise to Rich" and I can help you do the same.
Where to now? Join me on the Sunshine Cash journey. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for tips and hacks to create YOUR best life.
Oh! Please do comment on my posts. I love to know if something resonates with you, or how you do things differently. I love to hear your stories.
Did you read my recent post on what “they” say is the amount of money needed to retire? (
