Feed the family for $25 or less: Calgary chefs share their recipes

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As part of our series “Squeezed Out: Navigating the High Cost of Living in Calgary,” we explored the staggering cost of food and spoke to families struggling to make ends meet.

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We all have unique ways of trying to make food last longer. My personal game is to make a big bowl of Nova Scotia Goulash whenever I can find ground beef on sale (mix hamburger, pasta noodles, and tomato soup).

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Realizing that there are good ideas out there is inevitable! — I asked local chefs and food bloggers to share their favorite recipes that can feed a family of four for $25.

We hope you'll give these dishes a try and share your meal ideas with us in the comments or email [email protected].

Thick pasta sauce with hot Italian sausage

Karen Anderson, author of the Eat Alberta First cookbook and founder and president of Alberta Food Tours, shares her idea for a fan favorite at home.

“Everyone at my house who tried this thick pasta sauce with hot Italian sausage asked me for the recipe. There is some cutting involved, but leaving the cubes small instead of dicing cuts down on the work. Well, you'll pay for yourself because the recipe makes a big batch, the leftovers freeze beautifully, and they can be used in so many different ways. Serve it over your favorite pasta with a slice of bread and/or salad, use it as a side dish in lasagna, or add a few different types of watered and rinsed beans and chili powder for a quick and easy recipe. chili”.

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Thick pasta sauce with hot Italian sausage

Makes: 6 liters

Needed: 3½ hours including 3 hour simmer time

Composition:

• 2½ lbs. hot Italian sausage
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 large green bell peppers, diced
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, diced
• 30-40 silicon mushrooms, half
• 2 small zucchini, cut into pieces
• 2 28 oz (796 ml) cans whole tomatoes
• 1 13 oz (384 ml) tomato paste
• 4 cups (1 liter bottle) tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil
• 1 tablespoon of dried oregano
• 3-4 dried bay leaves
• 10 oz (300 g) package frozen chopped spinach

Instructions:

1. Remove the meat from the sausage casings and brown it in a non-stick pan over a medium heat while it cooks.
2. Drain the fat from the pan and place the meat between layers of paper towels to drain the remaining fat from the meat. Set the meat aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the onion. Cook until translucent, then add the garlic and cook just until fragrant – about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, tomato paste and sauce, parsley, basil, oregano, bay leaves, and spinach, and simmer for 2-3 hours. Voila! Enjoy hot in the oven, then freeze leftovers to enjoy another day.

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Mediterranean Rice and Chicken Casserole

Connie DeSouza and John Jackson were ready for this food challenge. Besides running several popular restaurants in the city, the duo also started the CHAR Hospitality Foundation to help the community with food insecurity issues.

Connie and John went to the store and bought all the ingredients for a Mediterranean Rice Bowl with Pickled Cucumbers and Carrots and Za'atar Chili Oil. “It was delicious and fed us and a few of our staff, so it would be perfect for a family of four,” says John.

Mediterranean rice and chicken with pickled cucumbers and carrots, za'atar chili oil

• 500g $11.10 – boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 450g $3.99 – Long grain and wild rice
• $2.70 per 100ml – Chili Oil
• 6 Pack $3.49 – Baby Cucumbers
• 1 bundle $2.49 – Carrots
• $1.20 – condiments and side dish

Total $24.97

Thai Chicken Curry with Rice and Rice Wraps

Popular Calgary food blogger Farin Jadavji-Jessa, aka Food Mama, shares a dinner idea that includes some money-saving tricks:

“Protein is usually the most expensive part of any meal. Using a rotisserie chicken is always the best way to save money. If you use a whole chicken, it can go a long way.

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“Use a chicken stock and cut most of the chicken into chunks for Thai curry. Any chicken that is not able to be cut into pieces separately for the rice wrapper spring rolls. Save the carcass to make the soup.

“For curry, use jarred curry sauce. Everything you need is here, from coconut milk to spices, so you don't have to buy everything individually. It saves a lot of time and a lot of money. A bag of frozen vegetables is usually under $4 and is enough for one meal. Add everything and bring to a boil on the stove. A few cups of rice to serve with it is ideal. I usually put this in a rice cooker.

“Add a chopped onion and some cilantro to the shredded chicken that is not used in the curry. Using rice wrappers, cut each one in half and soak in water to soften. Add chicken mixture and fold. It can be pan-fried and goes well with Thai curries.”

Gnocchi plates

“This Sheet Pan Gnocchi dish is perfect for families on a budget. It's affordable yet nutritious. Perfect for serving a family of four and the best part is that it only takes minutes to prepare and the oven does all the hard work for you. Sometimes we think affordable should be out of the box processed, and sometimes it might be, but this FoodByMaria recipe is all about making you feel good without breaking the bank!”

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For pan

• 19 oz lentils can be drained and rinsed
• 1 pint baby tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow or orange pepper, cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 small eggplant, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 1 red onion, cut into ½ inch pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 500g store-bought potato gnocchi
• For Greek clothing
  ½ cup olive oil
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• of one lemon
• ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 small garlic cloves, crushed

The upper side

• 112 ½ g plain goat cheese
• ½ cup chopped fresh herbs (a mix of parsley, dill, and mint)
• olive oil
• (optional) a handful of black olives

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Mix together the Greek ingredients and set aside.
3. Add to the pan: rinsed lentils, chopped tomatoes, chopped peppers, chopped eggplant, chopped onions, gnocchi and chopped garlic cloves.
4. Drizzle the Greek dressing over the ingredients in the pan and toss to make sure everything is very well coated.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, tossing at the 15 minute mark. After 25 minutes, crumble the goat cheese over all the ingredients in the pan and bake for another 5 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, if desired, with a mixture of chopped fresh herbs, a drizzle of olive oil and a handful of fresh black olives.

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Beetroot borscht

Culinary teacher and creator behind Culinary Calgary, Erin Buckall, offers this recipe for a “cheap as borscht” dinner for your family. Bucall recommends using local produce in season to cut costs by cutting out middlemen.

We know that the rising cost of food, mortgage, rent and electricity is a serious issue for many Calgarians trying to provide for their families. In our special series Compressed: Navigating the high cost of living in Calgary, we take an in-depth look at Calgary's affordability crisis. We've crunched the numbers, distributed reports and talked to experts to find out how inflation is affecting our city and what's being done to bring prices back down to earth. But most importantly, we talked to real families who shared their stories and challenges with us. As these stories spread, we hope you'll join the conversation.

This week: Scrimping and Saving: Food Security in Calgary

Still to come:

• May 27-30 – Price: Increase in housing costs
• June 3-4: Cost of Doing Business

Our series so far:

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