An Aussie mum has proved a little can go a long way after proving what tasty home-cooked meals you can make without burning a hole in your wallet.
Jen Hanlon, from Hunter Valley in NSW, has clocked more than 2 million views on her “amazing” TikTok videos showing followers what you make with just $10 at your local Coles store.
One of the key things behind making this work is to also keep your eyes peeled on any specials.
However, Jen shows what items to mix and match to get the best out of your $10 note.
“Food is expensive but it comes down to smart shopping and what’s on special,” she tells news.com.au
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Jen said her food ideas have resonated with people mainly because their tasty and affordable. “A lot of people have budgets they have to stick to, while others, who normally would spend a lot on groceries each week, see that they can reduce their bill and still buy tasty food.”
In her first #10dollarmealchallange post, she heads to her local Coles where she grabs a bag of baby Carisma potatoes on deal for $1.75 (normally $3.50), 12 beef sausages for $5.50,
Gravox traditional gravy at 95 cents and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for $1.60.
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The four items come just shy of $10, at $9.95.
“There we go, there’s the proof,” she says while holding up the receipt to the camera.
“Not bad for $10 hey!”
In part two, she shows viewers what you can make with the groceries.
Jen begins by peeling the potatoes while the sausages cook in a hot pan.
She then boils the potatoes in preparation for mash, drains the oil out of the sausages before cutting them into small pieces.
After wiping away the excess oil from the pan, she places the gravy inside, adds two cups of the vegetables and lets it cook as she begins to mash the potatoes.
She places the chopped sausages back into the pan, adds salt and pepper (which she already had at home) and then plates it all up to reveal her cheap and hearty, home-cooked meal.
Jen’s simple food idea attracted more than 1 million likes with followers begging her to film more cheap ideas.
“Omg please do more $10 ones!!” one follower commented.
“My mum used to make me this all the time, now I know why lol, cause it’s cheap,” another person joked.
“These are my kind of meals,” a third person wrote, while others thanked Jen for the tips.
After demands for the mother-of-one to film more cheap meals, she shared another clip proving you can feed two people for under $10.
Heading back to Coles, she grabbed six drumsticks from the deli for $2.98, a bag of carrot and broccoli florets for $2, French onion soup mix for 45 cents, chicken stock at $1.90 and light thickened cream for $1.90.
The total came to $9.23.
She then headed back home to make a “delicious” baked chicken drumstick meal with the ingredients.
“I hate cooking but have made 2 of your recipes because you make it so easy so thank you!!” one very grateful follower commented on her cooking video.
“Oh I did this tonight for dinner! I added some mustard to mine, was so yum!” another person added.
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