FOODWORLD
Healthy family meals on a budget!
New Zealand's Easiest Family Recipes
Serving healthy food to your family is challenging, especially when you are on a low budget. We have low cost meals for people on a budget with cost saving ideas and budget recipes. They are all healthy eating ideas and are cheap to prepare. Change the recipes to suit your family's tastes and the ingredients you have. Cutting costs on food doesn't mean you have to cut on quality. It's still possible to prepare meals that not only taste great, but are also good for you.
Casserole Recipes NZ - easy casserole recipes!

A casserole is the easiest thing to cook! Just brown a chicken, put in a casserole dish with stock and loads of veg. I usually use chicken thighs and leave it in the oven on a low heat for about 3 hours. By then, the chicken is so tender, it is falling off the bone! Casseroles typically contain cooked meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and vegetables. They're usually "bound" with some kind of sauce or soup, and often topped with crumbs and/or cheese.

FRANKFURTER STEW
500g frankfurts, cut into 1cm pieces
800g tinned diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped - 2 large capsicums, chopped
Heat oil in large frypan over medium-high heat. Cook the onions and peppers in the oil until tender crisp, about 3 minutes.
Stir in frankfurters and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, and season with oregano, salt and pepper; cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until frankfurters are heated through.
BACON AND SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
8 rashers unsmoked bacon, cut into strips
8 pork sausages (or more if needed)
2 stock cubes
6-8 teaspoons instant gravy
1 pinch salt, to taste - 600 ml boiling water
Cut bacon rashers into strips then wrap the sausages with one strip per sausage.
Heat a large frying pan and brown sausages then place into a casserole dish.
Add stock cube to the boiling water then add 6-8 teaspoons of the instant gravy until you have a thick gravy. Season with salt. Pour the gravy over the sausages and cook in a preheated oven for about 1 hour.
FISH & TOMATOE STEW
450g white fish - like whiting, ling or flathead
1 750ml bottle of white wine
1 medium onion, diced - 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 (400g) tins chopped tomatoes
3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley - salt & pepper, to taste
To poach the fish, lay the fillets flat in a large frying pan. Pour the entire bottle of wine over the fillets and bring to a boil. Turn the fillets over at least once. When they begin to break apart easily (about 4 min), remove fish pieces from wine with a slotted spoon and set aside. In a separate frypan, cook the onions in olive oil over medium heat until soft. Add tomatoes, fresh parsley and cooked onions to wine. Boil vigorously for at least 10 min to boil off alcohol. Add fish pieces and heat through. Serve with a loaf of crusty french bread.
PORK AND APPLE CASSEROLE
4 pork chops, cubed or keep as chops
450g apples, peeled and diced - 1 onion, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons flour - 300ml chicken stock - 1 pinch dried sage
1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste - 1 teaspoon brown sugar - 3 tablespoons thickened cream
1 sprig fresh parsley, diced
Brown the chops in a frying pan then put them into a casserole dish with the apple. Fry the onions for 2-3 minutes then add to the pork and apple. Sprinkle the flour on the frying pan juices and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in your stock and cook until the liquid thickens. Pour sauce over casserole and add the sage, salt, pepper and sugar.
Cover and cook until the meat is tender. Just before serving stir in the cream and garnish with fresh parsley.
PORK CHOP CASSEROLE
6 pork chops
2 onions sliced - 1 can vegetable soup
1 can mushroom soup - 6 potatoes sliced small
salt and pepper to taste
Place pork chops in the bottom of a baking dish then add the salt and pepper. Layer the potatoes and onions over the pork chops. Add both cans of soup and then cover the dish with foil. Bake the Pork Chop Casserole at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 
PORK SAUSAGE CASSEROLE
8 pork sausages (or more if required)
salt and pepper to season
1 large onion, sliced - 600 ml beef stock
Gravox add to stock until you have a thick gravy
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Brown the sausages,this can be done either under the grill or by frying them.
Pue browned,put them into a casserole dish and season with salt and pepper. Put the sliced onion on top of the sausages.Then pour over the gravy. Cover and put in a preheated oven at 200c for 1 hour.
POTATOE CASSEROLE
6 medium potatoes
1/4 cup butter - 1/4 tsp white pepper
2 cups shredded cheese - 1/3 cup chopped green onions/leeks
2 cups sour cream at room temperature 
Peel potatoes and cube and boil until tender then drain and mash to remove all lumps. Melt cheese and butter in microwave and add sour cream, onions, salt and pepper then mix well and add potatoes. Turn into a buttered 2 quart casserole and dot with 1 tablespoon butter. Bake the Potato Casserole uncovered at 350 degrees until heated about 25 minutes.
VEGETABLE STEW
2 carrots, peeled and diced - 1 onion, peeled and diced
1 butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1cm cubes
130g cabbage, diced - 170g frozen peas - 500ml vegetable stock
1 (400g) tin red kidney beans, drained
1 tablespoon soy sauce - 3 tablespoons onion gravy granules or gravox
2 tablespoons flour - 2 tablespoons olive oil
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Saute carrots, onion, pumpkin, cabbage and peas over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add vegetable stock and kidney beans. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are quite tender; about 25-30 minutes. Add soy sauce and gravy granules. Stir. Add flour bit by bit stirring well to avoid lumping.
Allow to simmer 10 minutes more stirring frequently.
BASIC BEEF CASSEROLE
500g casserole steak, diced
1 onion, diced - 1 (400g) tin diced tomatoes
1 pinch salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pinch mixed dried herbs, to taste - 2 teaspoons sugar - 2 carrots, diced
175g frozen garden peas
Using a large saucepan cook the steak over a medium heat until browned. Add the onion and allow to cook through stirring often until transparent. Add the tin of tomatoes and enough water to fill the tin 1 1/2 times. Leave to simmer for five minutes. Season with salt, pepper and mixed dried herbs. Add 2 teaspoons of sugar to sweeten the tomatoes. Add the carrot and leave to cook on a medium heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Twenty minutes before serving add in the peas.
BEEF BACON & MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
500 gm stewing steak cubed
1 oz plain flour - salt and pepper - 3 onions sliced - 250 gm bacon cubed
1 can button mushrooms - 2 sticks celery chopped
Season the flour with salt and pepper. Toss the stewing steak and bacon in the seasoned flour and place in a casserole with the celery, onions, mushrooms. Pour in enough water to almost cover the ingredients. Cover and cook in a moderate oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender. 
BEEF & BEER STEW
1kg casserole steak, cut into long strips
1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste - 2 onions, sliced
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg - 1 tablespoon plain flour - 100ml beef stock
5 carrots, sliced - 600ml beer - 60g butter
Melt butter in a large saucepan and saute the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Cook the onions for a few minutes over medium heat until brown stirring constantly. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and flour.
Cook for 1 more minute stirring constantly. Add the stock, bring to the boil and deglaze the bottom of the saucepan.
Add the meat, carrots and beer. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours 15 minutes until the meat is very tender.
BEEF NOODLE STEW
 700g beef mince
300g egg noodles, or pasta - 1 (400g) tin peeled and diced tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoon salt - 1 tablespoon white sugar - 1 1/2 cups sour cream
90g cream cheese - 1/2 onion, diced - 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In a large frypan over medium heat, brown the beef mince. Add the tomatoes with juice, salt and sugar and simmer for 15 minutes. In a separate medium bowl combine the sour cream, cream cheese and onion and mix well. In a 20x30cm baking dish place half of the egg noodles then all of the meat mixture then the cream mixture. Top with the remaining noodles and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 25 minutes.
BEEF VEGETABLE CASSEROLE
500g beef steak
1 ½ cup water - 1 onion, chopped - 2 carrots, chopped into cubes
½ cup chopped celery - 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
Cut meat into cubes. Brown briefly on both sides in a saucepan or frying pan. Put in a casserole dish. Add water to almost cover. Add the vegetables. Cover and cook at 160°C for 1 ½ to 3 hours till the meat is tender. If you like, thicken with cornflour or flour mixed to a paste with cold water, in the last half hour of cooking, and season to taste.
BEEF PASTA CASSEROLE
185g pasta - 500g beef mince
2 (310g) tins condensed tomato soup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce - 2 cloves garlic, crushed - 250g grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (60ml) dry sherry - 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Cook the pasta according to packet directions. Brown mince in a large frypan over medium high heat. Stir in the tomato soup, Worcestershire sauce and bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and let simmer.
When the pasta is done stir it and the cheese into the simmering sauce until cheese is melted. Stir sherry into the sauce and stir for 1 minute then place in a casserole dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese to taste. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
IRISH STEW
500 g boneless lamb leg steaks, each steak cut into 4 pieces
1 kg potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced - 1 large onion, sliced - 500 g carrots, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives - pepper to taste - 450 ml vegetable stock
chopped fresh thyme and parsley to garnish
Preheat the oven to 160ºC. In a large casserole dish, make layers of the lamb, potatoes, onion and carrots, sprinkling each layer with parsley, thyme, chives and pepper. Finish with a layer of potatoes, then pour over the stock. Cover the casserole with a tight-fitting lid and place in the oven to cook for about 2 hours or until both the meat and vegetables feel tender when tested with a skewer. Increase the oven temperature to 200ºC. Remove the casserole lid and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the potatoes on top are golden-brown and crisp. Serve hot, sprinkled with more thyme and parsley.
MEXICAN BEEF STEW
675g diced stewing beef - 1 onion, chopped - 1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes
2 fresh jalapenos or green chillies, seeded and diced
2 tomatoes, chopped - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin - salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
water as needed = 1/2 tablespoon lard
Melt the lard or heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the meat and brown well on all sides. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the tinned tomatoes, jalapenos, fresh tomatoes, cumin, salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until meat is tender. If mixture is too thick, add water as needed. Or if mixture is too thin, cook uncovered to allow liquid to evaporate.
OLD DARK BEEF CASSEROLE
800 gm stewing steak - 1 can dark beer - 2 Tbs oil, 1/2 cup beef stock
2 Tbs tomato paste, - 2 Tbs seasoned flour- 2 stalks celery chopped
2 onions roughly chopped- salt and pepper to season- 2 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
2 carrots peeled and chopped- 8 oz mushrooms halved if large 
Cut the steak into small pieces then dust with the flour. Heat oil in a frying pan and brown the meat then transfer to a casserole. Add tomato paste and stir over a low heat until it darkens to a brown colour and stir in the dark beer, stock and thyme. Add the onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms then season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours until the meat is tender. Serve with your favourite winter vegetables. 
WINTER STEW
1 kg chops or steak (beef or lamb)
1 teaspoon curry powder - 2 tablespoons butter/margarine - 2 tablespoons brown vinegar
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce - 1 1/2 cups stock - 2 tablespoons cornflour
1/2 teaspoon ginger - 1 large onion, chopped - 3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar - salt and pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a large pan, except the flour and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours, then thicken with the flour 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve with rice or pasta and some crusty bread.
Healthy family meals on a budget!