This is the recipe that will keep you fed without spending too much time or money. Learn the base and you have four completely different dinners. Once you can make this, you can cook something nutritious and at least you won’t starve.

CHEAP AND EASY – WAYS WITH MINCE

Your Pantry Kit

Stock these once — they last for months and form the base of almost everything you’ll cook.

  • Tinned crushed tomatoes
  • Refried beans (tinned)
  • Vegeta seasoning
  • Garlic powder
  • Ground cumin
  • Chilli flakes or chilli powder
  • Dried oregano
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dried pasta (fettuccine or whatever you like)
  • Rice
  • Corn chips (for nachos)

Buy fresh each week

  • Brown onions
  • Carrots
  • Zucchini
  • Mince (beef, chicken, pork — whatever is cheapest)
  • Parmesan or tasty cheese

Equipment You Need

One large frying pan or wide pot with a lid, one pot for boiling pasta, a knife, a chopping board, and a box grater. That’s it.

The Base Mince

This is the foundation for everything below. Learn this and the rest follows naturally.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 brown onions, finely diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated (freeze whole cloves and grate from frozen — works perfectly and keeps for months) or for ultimate ease just buy garlic powder
  • 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 2 zucchini, coarsely grated
  • 1 kg mince
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Vegeta
  • 3 x 400g tins crushed tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Water (use the empty tins to rinse and add)

Method

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan that has a lid, over medium heat. Add the 2 diced onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent — about 8 minutes. You want them soft, not brown. If they start to colour, turn the heat down.
  2. Grate the 4 garlic cloves directly into the pan (grate from frozen if using whole frozen cloves). Stir through and cook for another minute.
  3. Add the grated carrot and zucchini. Stir through and cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. This step is worth doing properly — the vegetables will disappear into the sauce and add sweetness and bulk.
  4. Add the 1 kg mince. Break it up well with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-high heat until browned all over — about 8–10 minutes. Don’t stir it constantly; let it sit and colour before turning. Browning the mince properly adds a lot of flavour.
  5. Season with salt, pepper, and 2 teaspoons of Vegeta. Stir through.
  6. Add the 3 tins of crushed tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Fill each empty tin about a third with water, swirl to rinse, and add that too. Stir everything together.
  7. Bring to a simmer, put the lid on, and cook on low for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and cook for another 20–30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Taste and adjust seasoning — add more salt, pepper, or Vegeta as needed.

This makes a big batch. Eat half now, refrigerate the rest for 3 days, it always tastes better the next day, or freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Label your containers.

VARIATION 1: SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

The classic. This is the recipe that will feed you through every exam period you ever have.

What changes from the base

  • Add 1 teaspoon dried oregano with the tomatoes
  • A good splash of Worcestershire sauce — add it, taste, add more if you like. It adds a savoury depth that makes a real difference. Most people use more than they expect. You need to let it cook in a bit before tasting the second time.
  • Fresh oregano or basil stirred through at the end if you have it

To serve

  1. Bring a large pot of well-salted (about 1 tbs salt) water to the boil. The pasta needs room to swim. Add pasta and cook according to the packet — usually 10–12 minutes. Taste it before you drain it; it should be tender but still have a slight bite.
  2. Drain the pasta into a colander and serve with the bolognese sauce spooned over the top.
  3. Grate cheddar and parmesan over the top. Use as much as you like.

Notes

Any pasta works — fettuccine, spaghetti, penne, rigatoni. Flat pasta holds the sauce better. The sauce freezes perfectly, so make the full batch and freeze half in portions.

VARIATION 2: CHILLI CON CARNE

Same base, completely different spice profile. The refried beans thicken the sauce automatically and make it more filling — no draining or rinsing required, just open the tin.

What changes from the base

  • Add 1 teaspoon ground cumin with the mince
  • Add chilli flakes or chilli powder to taste — start with half a teaspoon, taste after 10 minutes of simmering, and add more if you want more heat
  • Stir in one 400g tin of refried beans in the last 15 minutes of cooking. They will thicken the sauce and add body.
  • A good splash of Worcestershire sauce — same as the bol, add and taste

To serve

Serve on steamed rice, on hot buttered toast, in a wrap, or on a baked potato. All work well. Top with grated cheese and a spoonful of sour cream or plain yoghurt if you have it.

Notes

If your chilli is too spicy, a spoonful of sour cream or yoghurt stirred through will calm it down quickly. If it’s not spicy enough, add more chilli flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste as you go — this is how you learn to cook.

VARIATION 3: NACHOS

This is what you do with leftover chilli. Takes 15 minutes and feeds however many people turn up.

Ingredients

  • Leftover chilli con carne (as much as you have)
  • Corn chips (one large bag)
  • Grated tasty or cheddar cheese (as much as you like)
  • Optional: sour cream, sliced jalapeños, avocado, fresh tomato

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 200°C.
  2. Spread corn chips in a single layer on an oven tray or in a baking dish.
  3. Spoon the reheated chilli evenly over the chips.
  4. Cover generously with grated cheese.
  5. Bake for 10–15 minutes until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Watch it — the chips can burn quickly.
  6. Serve immediately straight from the tray. Top with sour cream, jalapeños, or whatever you have.

Notes

Nachos do not keep. Eat them immediately or the chips go soggy. If you’re feeding a crowd, do it in two batches rather than piling everything too deep.

VARIATION 4: TACOS AND WRAPS

The chilli base works equally well in tacos or wraps. This is the fastest dinner on the list — if the chilli is already made, it’s on the table in 10 minutes.

What you need

  • Leftover chilli con carne, reheated
  • Taco shells or flour tortillas (wraps)
  • Grated cheese
  • Whatever is in the fridge: shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, avocado, sour cream, yoghurt, hot sauce

Method

  1. Warm taco shells in the oven at 180°C for 5 minutes, or warm tortillas in a dry frying pan for 30 seconds each side.
  2. Spoon chilli into the shell or wrap.
  3. Add cheese and whatever else you have. Roll up a wrap, or just eat the taco as is.

Notes

The filling is forgiving — add whatever needs using up from the fridge. Leftover rice goes in. A fried egg on top is not wrong. This is the point of having a base recipe.

Making It Work for You

Make the full 1 kg batch every time. Portion it into containers as soon as it cools — two to three serves per container — and freeze what you’re not eating this week. Defrost overnight in the fridge or in the microwave. You will always have dinner. The grated carrot and zucchini can be swapped for whatever vegetable needs using up — capsicum, mushrooms, and corn all work well. This is the skill: same technique, different ingredients, different result.

Tags: student cooking, budget meals, mince, bolognese, chilli con carne, nachos, tacos, cheap and easy, batch cooking, freezer friendly, one pa