Stephen’s Savoury Curried Rice
iehealth
Inner East Community Health
Inner East Community Health
Cheap
Microwave
Meals
A collection of
cheap and simple
microwave
meals to serve
1 or 2 people
All recipes have
been kindly shard by
community members in the
City of Boroondara
Tony’s Baked Potato
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl, can opener
Time: 10-12 minutes
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1
Serves: 1
Cost: $0.72
Cost: $3.21 per serve
Ingredients:
½ cup rice ($0.23)
Ingredients:
1 large potato, washed ($1.44)
1 cup boiling water
425g tin of baked beans ($0.78)
1 chicken stock cube (or any flavour) ($0.19)
½ cup grated cheddar cheese ($0.87)
½ cup frozen mixed veggies or peas ($0.20)
1 tablespoon sour cream ($0.12)
1 tsp curry powder ($0.10)
Optional: Can of corn kernels, diced bacon bits, can of tuna,
Optional: Additional vegetables, can of tuna, shredded ham,
coleslaw, frozen mixed vegetables, can of mixed beans
cheese to top
Method:
• Prick the potato several times with a fork to allow
steam to escape.
Method:
• Put rice, boiling water, vegetables, curry powder and stock
cube (crushed) in a microwave-safe bowl and stir.
• Microwave for 10-12 minutes
until rice is soft.
• Stir and serve
• Place in microwave safe dish and microwave on high
for 4 minutes.
• Turn the potato over and cook on high for a further 4 minutes.
• Remove potato from microwave and cut down the centre.
• Use a fork to make this opening bigger and mash the potato
up a little bit.
• Place baked beans in centre of potato and microwave
for 2 minutes.
• Remove from microwave and top with cheese and sour
cream to serve.
Sam’s Tuna Noodles
Gary’s Cheesy Chicken Noodles
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl, can opener
Equipment: Kettle, microwave, microwave-safe bowl
Equipment: Microwave, microwave bowl, kettle
Time: 5 minutes
Time: 5 minutes
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1
Serves: 2
Serves: 2
Cost: $2.55
Cost: $6.36 for whole recipe, $3.18 per serve
Cost: $4.91 for whole recipe, $2.46 per serve
Ingredients:
1 packet of Instant noodles ($0.24)
185g can of tuna in spring water ($1.70)
1 packet of Cup-a-soup
(use cream of chicken or mushroom) ($0.41)
Ingredients:
220g pack of Hokkien or egg noodles ($1.43)
Ingredients:
¼ cooked BBQ Chicken
(from the supermarket deli) ($3.40)
½ cup frozen mixed vegetables ($0.20)
1 chicken stock cube (or any flavour) ($0.19)
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables ($0.40)
¼ cooked BBQ chicken
(from the supermarket deli) ($3.40)
1 teaspoon of all purpose seasoning or any other
herbs and spices ($0.07)
½ cup grated cheese ($0.87)
Method:
• Put noodles, water and frozen vegetables in a
microwave-safe bowl.
• Cook in microwave as per instructions on the instant
noodle packet.
• Once noodles are cooked, drain excess water and
leave a small amount of water (about 2 tablespoons)
in the bowl.
Method:
• In a microwave-safe bowl crush the stock cube and
mix with boiling water, then add noodles.
• Cover and cook in microwave on high for 2 minutes.
• Add vegetables, chicken and seasoning.
• Add soup mix and stir.
• Cover and cook on high for another 2 minutes.
• Add tuna and cook for 60 secs on high in microwave.
• Stir in the cheese and cook on high for another
1 minute to melt cheese.
• Serve.
• Serve.
May’s Sweet Chicken Curry
1 packet of cream of chicken cup-of-soup ($0.41)
1 teaspoon curry powder ($0.10)
¼ cup sultanas ($0.28)
1 tablespoon marmalade or fruit chutney ($0.13)
¼ onion ($0.14) 1 cup boiling water
Rice, pasta, couscous or bread for 2 people
($0.45 for 1 cup of rice)
Method:
• Cook rice, pasta or couscous according to directions
on packet and set it aside.
• Strip chicken into shreds and chop up onion into small slices.
• Mix packet soup with boiling water in a microwave safe bowl.
• Add curry powder and marmalade to soup mix and stir in,
then add chicken, onion and sultanas and stir.
• Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
• Serve with rice, pasta, couscous or bread.
Roger’s Sausage Stew
Christine’s Curry Beans
Hilary’s Microwave Chicken
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl, kettle
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl, can opener
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl
Time: 20 minutes
Time: 5 minutes
Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Serves: 1 large serve
Serves: 1
Cost: $4.50 for whole recipe, $2.25 per serve
Cost: $1.39
Cost: $1.70 for whole recipe
Ingredients:
4 sausages ($2.25) Boiling water
Ingredients:
420g tin of baked beans ($0.78)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables ($0.40)
1 teaspoon of curry powder ($0.10)
Ingredients:
2 Chicken drumsticks from the
supermarket deli ($1.10)
½ small onion, diced ($0.27)
A handful of sultanas ($0.28)
50ml tomato sauce (2-3 tablespoons) ($0.20)
Noodles, rice or two slices of bread
($0.23 for 1/2 cup of rice)
1 teaspoon curry powder ($0.10)
Optional: Cheese to top dish (extra $0.20)
Optional: serve with potatoes
400g can of diced tomatoes ($0.80)
2 tablespoons of breakfast marmalade
or fruit chutney ($0.26)
1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning ($0.07)
¾ cup frozen mixed vegetables ($0.30)
Rice, couscous, pasta or instant mash to serve
($0.45 for 1 cup of rice)
Method:
• Prepare rice, couscous or instant mash according to
instructions on packet.
• Put sausages in a microwave-safe bowl and pour boiling
water over sausages until completely covered.
• Cook in microwave uncovered on high for 9 minutes.
• Drain the water, remove skin from sausages and cut
into bite sized pieces.
• Add mixed vegetables, tomatoes, marmalade and all
purpose seasoning and mix well.
• Cook in microwave on high for 10 minutes.
• Serve with rice, couscous or instant mash, or eat stew by itself.
Method:
• Prepare noodles or rice according to packet directions,
or place bread in toaster, under grill or in pan.
• Set aside.
• Put beans, curry powder and sultanas in microwave-safe bowl
and cook on high for 2 minutes.
• Serve with rice, noodles or toast.
Method:
• Remove skin from chicken drumsticks.
• Place drumsticks in microwave-safe bowl.
• Mix tomato sauce and curry powder together and coat chicken
with this mixture.
• Cover dish and microwave on medium for 10 minutes.
• Add frozen vegetables and microwave for another 4 minutes on
medium or until chicken is no longer pink inside.
• Serve with microwave potatoes if desired (see next recipe).
Susan’s Microwave Potatos
Equipment: Microwave, microwave-safe bowl
Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2
Cost: $2.10 for whole recipe, $1.05 per serve
Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
(use one potato if you only want one serve) ($1.44)
¼ cup Italian salad dressing ($0.66)
Pantry Staples
Every year in Australia over 60,000 people
can not access enough nutritious and safe food.
• Rice, pasta, instant noodles or couscous
• Frozen mixed vegetables
• Oil
• Eggs • Stock cubes
• Plain flour • Baked beans
• Grated cheese • Curry powder
If you find it difficult to get enough food,
you may like to contact the following agencies
to seek support.
Buying meat:
• Place potatoes into microwave-safe bowl.
• Cover and microwave on high for 6-7 minutes
or until potato is soft enough
• Serve.
Please contact the centre closest to you
It is useful to have these ingredients on hand,
because they can be used in many meals.
Handy Hints
Method:
• Cut potato into thick slices.
Need more help?
When buying meat look for items on sale.
Meat close to its use by date is often heavily reduced
in price. Most recipes with meat can be cooked with
any sort of meat. For example: George’s Beef and
Beans could use lamb or pork mince instead of beef.
Excess meat can be stored in the freezer to keep
beyond the best before date on the packet.
Bulk buys
Buying bigger packets and cooking in bulk can help
save money if you have somewhere to store the excess
food. Try making extra serves of a recipe and freezing
individual serves of the dish for something quick and
easy to reheat another day. If you know someone who
cooks with similar ingredients, you can save money by
buying food in bulk, splitting the item in half and sharing
the cost with them.
Camberwell Salvation Army Centre:
7 Bowen St, Camberwell.
Phone 9889 2468
Camcare Camberwell:
51 St Johns Ave Camberwell.
Phone 9831 1900
Camcare Ashburton:
4 Y St, Ashburton.
Phone 9809 9100
iehealth
Inner East Community Health
Inner East Community Health
Inner East Community Health is a community based health service
serving all members of the community regardless of ability to pay.
We have centres at:
Hawthorn:
378 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122. Phone: 9818 6703
Ashburton:
7 Samarinda Ave, Ashburton, Victoria 3147. Phone: 9885 6822
Richmond:
283 Church St, Richmond VIC 3121. Phone: 9429 1811