One of the things I’m most proud of, in the kitchen is my ability to make something out of nothing. In fact, I thrive on it. I find it so challenging and fun. Having only a little meat has never bothered me. I only ever make our family bolognese sauce with a handful of mince. Meat is so expensive these days and I don’t believe you need a lot of it. Sure, you need a certain amount of protein every day but it comes in all forms not only meat. For example, a female aged between 31 and 50 years of age, the recommended daily intake is 46 grams per day (source). So, on average, 100gm of chicken breast contains around 33gm of protein. You could say an average chicken breast weighs around 200gm so even if you split that 4 ways, you’re all still getting a quarter of your recommended protein. (Calculation: Average 200gm chicken breast = 66gm protein / family 4 = 16.5gm protein per person if divided equally) 

If you count your other protein sources throughout the day like milk, cheese, other meats, eggs, Greek yoghurt, fish, nuts, seeds, some vegetables and pulses, one chicken breast is really all you need to feed a family of four. 

I buy a kilo of bacon and divide it into smaller portions and freeze. It’s easy to defrost a pack of bacon to make a meal go further. Chicken and bacon go together really well so for this dish, I fried an onion, the chicken breast and bacon until cooked through.

Another way to stretch your meal is to serve it in a sauce. You don’t need a packet mix. If you’ve got plain flour, that and a few herbs and spices or even just salt and pepper is enough to make a tasty sauce. Sprinkle the flour directly onto the meat/onion mixture and fry off for a minute or so.

Add about a cup of chicken stock and stir until thickened. I checked my fridge and had about 1/2 a cup of sour cream so this finished off my sauce nicely. Yoghurt or cream is another option to make a sauce more creamy or just use less stock and a little milk for a creamy sauce.

Serve with some vegies and you can see there’s quite a plate full. I got rave reviews from the family about this one. You’d think they were at a fine dining restaurant from the comments I received but honestly, it’s just stretching your meat further, using up bits and pieces so you don’t throw them out and waste money. The whole meal came together in just half an hour so there’s no slaving away over a hot stove.

Always think outside the box and make do in the kitchen. No need to go out and buy special ingredients or serve everyone a whole chicken breast. You’ll save a heap of money on meat, which is already an expensive item to buy.