So I had my first mini blog series in which I created five recipes that transferred the humble mince meat to another level. You can find that series {here}. Now I am starting my second mini blog series for this month and it’s all about creating meals from ALDI ingredients. 

Now, everyone is always on the look out for a bargin. And let’s face it our grocery bill is probably where most of our coin goes each week. Maybe I am behind the times, but this was my first ever shop at ALDI. 

I don’t know why I steered clear of ALDI in the past. Maybe it was because I am a bit of a brand snob when it comes to food. Maybe it was because I love going to the markets and picking up fresh local produce. Maybe it is because I have a thing about buying Australian.

But the fact of the matter is that when I entered the ALDI store most of the produce was Australian – and seeing as I don’t buy that many prepackaged items I thought that I would do my regular shop and see what kind of savings I could make.

Well – I was impressed! I picked up most of what I would normally purchase in a weekly shop that would hit the $300 mark at Coles or Woolies for $180 in ALDI.

Some of you might be thinking, ‘ok, but did the different brands actually taste okay, or was it a waste of money?’… See below the first meal I created with ingredients purchased solely from ALDI and it was delicious.

CHICKEN BREAST WITH HOMEMADE CREAMED CORN

2 chicken breasts

1 lemon

1 teaspoon of chili flakes

4 corn cobs

300mls of cream

100mls of veggie stock

1/2 brown onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 red onion

1 mango

1 avocardo

watercress

olive oil

salt and pepper

Season your chicken breasts with the zest of the lemon, 1 crushed garlic clove, chili flakes, salt and pepper and set aside.

Into a medium saucepan, place your diced brown onion, crushed remaining garlic and the corn removed from the cob. Stir until tender, then add the cream and veggie stock. Simmer until it reduces and then blitz with a stick blender.

Drizzle some oil into a hot frying pan and then cook your chicken breasts for 4 minutes on each side. Turn the heat off and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

To make the salad, toss the mango, avocado and red onion in the juice from the lemon, a drizzle of oil and some salt and pepper. Place on top of the watercress when serving.