In 2014, I was 23 and living in the U.K., on a working 'gap-year' as a high school teacher.
I grew up a lot that year - most notably, I had to start cooking for myself (no more meals paid for and cooked by Mum!)
When it came to (everyday) home cooking I had four goals:
1: I wanted to eat as cheaply as possible (how else would I save for my extensive travel? I went to 24 countries in one year!)
2: I didn't want to skimp on taste (I love food)
3: I wanted to be healthy (I was running every second day and going to the gym three times a week; high protein was a must)
4: I also wanted to save time (I've had more important things to do than cook!)
I developed a few habits which worked well. When I cooked, I usually made enough for 3 family meals and stored the rest in the freezer. I'd also buy greens groceries from the store run by Muslims (a lot were in my area) they were much cheaper than the mainstream grocers! It'd also leave work at just the right time to be walking past the local Tesco (chain) when the 'mark-downs' stickers were being put on the produce (usually around 5:30 P.M.)
But my biggest win was chicken breast.
I love chicken breast. It's tasty, you can season it easily or marinate it for awesome flavour. It's high in protein and if you add some frozen veggies, you have a meal fit for a King!
Problem was, chicken is expensive. Until, I found that Iceland (the budget grocery chain in the U.K.) sold imported, frozen chicken breast for around £5 for 2kg! That's about a quarter of what you'd be able to find (fresh) elsewhere. No other supermarket came close to that value. They also had frozen salmon pieces which I did the same with.
Now, back in AUS, I am lamenting having such cheap chicken breast. So I got thinking, maybe OzBargin can help! Plz share your everyday cooking tips and help a brother out. All ideas are welcome, but if you know about cheap chicken breasts in AUS, I will be forever in your debt!
We usually buy our chicken breasts from South Melbourne market; they aren't cheap but they are free range and great quality. I understand Footscray market is considered good value - someone might be able to give you the skinny on that.
Some of my tips:
a) Get some fresh ground peanuts and make yourself a good lot of satay sauce. We freeze it into a tupperware container and dig out a chunk to be heated up, with some water to thin, when we need it. Goes really well with chopped chicken done on a griddle with steamed peas, carrots and rice. Quick and tasty meal.
b) A good quick desert we have found is getting some stone fruit, peaches, nectarines, plums, etc and then wizzing them in our baby magimix. Then just pour the puree over some greek yoghurt. Very quick and tasty with no added sugar. You only need, e.g. one peach, per person.
c) Herbies cajun spice makes a really good marinade for chicken, one tsp with a dash of rum and sit in the fridge for a while. We make a fettucine version with onions (with additional tsp of spice), garlic, mushrooms, white wine and a dash of cream. One good sized chicken breast does enough for 4 people.