Family Meals Under £10: Recipe Two | #DIYDineOut

I shared a recipe a few days ago for a spicy penne pasta dish that costs just over £1.60 per portion, and tastes so delicious, as well as having plenty of nutritional value. Cooking for yourself can be a great way to save money instead of eating out, and one of the UK’s top choices for eating out or takeaway food, is Italian. So now you can make your own for much less money. In fact, the average Brit spends around £700 a year on eating out (per person remember, so for a couple, that could be well over £1400). Vary money. Which is why I am excited to share recipes for you that can be tasty, full of goodness, you know exactly where the food has come from, and the price isn’t going to break the bank.

One thing that I think that the UK doesn’t do enough of, is Mexican food. Other than the Old el Paso fajita kits, there aren’t too many restaurants that do Mexican food. But for me, it is one of the easiest to make, as well as being one of the tastiest and one of the cheapest. A lot of the things you are likely to already have in at home, and there is going to be something for every member of the family as you can make it a bit of a ‘picky’ dinner if needed.

So with that in mind, here is a vegan burrito recipe (that you can easily un-vegan by adding chicken, beef strips, cheese, or sour cream). As I’ve said, the great thing about Mexican food is that it is really flexible and you can choose plenty of different things, so this can be made according to your family’s needs. But here are the basic ingredients and the cost per serving.

Vegan Mexican Sweet Potato Burritos

Serves 4

Cost per Serving: £1.28 (shopping at ASDA)

Ingredients:

• approx. 5 sweet potatoes (600g)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• large tortillas (1 or 2 per person)
• pickled red cabbage
• small tin of sweetcorn
• small red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tomatoes, chopped finely
• 300g cooked rice (I chose brown)
• 1 x 400g tin of black beans
• 2 tbsp dairy-free butter
• two handfuls of kale

What To Do:

1. Heat your oven to 200c (180 fan or gas mark 6). Then slice the sweet potatoes (that have been cleaned) into wedged. Line them on a baking tray, drizzling over 2 tbsp of the olive oil, the paprika, and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, make sure it is all mixed well together, and then bake in the oven for at least 25 minutes (check that they are soft before removing from the oven).
2. Spoon out the desired amount of red cabbage out of the jar, and then combine with the drained tin of corn. Set aside.
3. Using the last tbsp of oil, place it in a frying pan and then heat gently for a minute Add a finely chopped red onion and cook until the onion becomes soft, then add the garlic and cumin, cooking for another minute or so. Next add the chopped or diced tomatoes and add 2 tbsp of water to help the mixture to soften. Bring it all to the boil and then add the cooked rice and the drained and rinsed tin of black beans.
4. Let it all simmer together for around 10 minutes, so that the rice can heat all the way through. Season with salt and pepper, and then take off the heat.
5. In a different pan, melt the 2 tbsp of dairy-free butter (or regular butter if you prefer). Once melted, add the handfuls of kale, being sure to remove any thick stalks. Allow to wilt; this will take only couple of minutes.
6. Give the tortilla wraps a blast in the microwave for around thirty seconds, and then you’re ready to assemble the ingredients. You could put the rice, sweet potatoes, and red cabbage in separate bowls for people to serve themselves, or you can assemble using a few potato wedges, with rice and cabbage, and then fold over the wrap so that one half is covered.
7. Serve by themselves, or for extra cost, you could serve the burritos with avocado slices, corn on the cob, nachos, or guacamole. Enjoy.

It would be great to hear what you think and if you’d give them a try. They are packed with protein and are full of goodness; they really do fill you up.

*this is a collaborative post.