Brought to you in partnership with Woolworths.
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and you might start to see a whirl of dollar signs whizzing around in your mind, of all the things that need to be paid for {presents, parties, food, oh my}. I’ve said it before, but I want to say it again, I don’t think Christmas should be a big stress-fest. I think it is possible to stay within your means and walk away from Christmas without breaking the bank.
I am all about the budget feast, so this year I wanted to see if I could head to my local Woolworths, and put together a delicious feast for under $100. Good news; I did it! The total cost of this delicious feast is $80.59, and that feeds 6 hungry people.
My best tips are quick and easy. The first is to pick a hero. Woolworths has loads of great protein options, including seafood and offerings in the butcher section. Pick one piece to hero at your feast. Sometimes I’ll do seafood, but this year my brother is coming up so it’s going to be all about the crackling. Roast pork it is!
Secondly, hang out in the produce section. Fruits and vegetables are abundant and delicious. You can see what is in season, and work backwards from there. I always check out the Odd Bunch section at Woolworths, it’s where the less pretty, but just as tasty fruit and vegetables are. You can save money by grabbing the ‘odd’ fruits and veggies.
Now, onto the menu…
For starters I created a little crostini with beautiful brie and prosciutto. The Woolworths bread stick is only $1.50 and there’s so many things you could do with it. You could even do a little seafood sandwich with lettuce, avocado, prawn and a little seafood sauce. So yum!
To make it, I cut half of the breadstick into 1cm slices, and drizzled with a little olive oil. I placed them in the oven at 180ºC for 5 minutes, until they were a little bit toasted. I topped with a piece of Woolworths Brie Cheese, a small dollop of cranberry sauce, a piece of prosciutto and topped with a leaf of rocket.
Now for the main. The hero on the table is the Woolworths boneless roast pork loin. I handed this one over to Shane to cook on the BBQ, making sure that the skin was scored well, and smothered in salt. It needs to go into the oven {or BBQ spit in our case} at a really high heat for the first 30 minutes, and then turned down to 180ºC to finish.
When carving, I removed the skin and popped it into the air fryer on the highest heat possible for 10 minutes, to get that no-fail crackling everyone adores.
Let’s talk sides! I cut my kent pumpkin into wedges and placed into a bowl. I drizzled with olive oil, and then 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. I tossed to coat, then placed onto an oven tray and cooked at 180ºC for 30 minutes, or until tender.
While that was cooking, I made the sauces. First up, chilli yoghurt. I just mixed together Greek yoghurt with a generous spoonful of crushed chilli. I mixed together, and dolloped over the pumpkin when cooked. For the coriander sauce, I blitzed half a bunch of coriander, including stalked, with two garlic cloves and a tablespoon of olive oil. I then dolloped that over the pumpkin, and tossed over some roasted pepita seeds {to make just roast in the oven for 5 minutes at 180ºc, no oil needed}.
Look at these lush beans, and this whole plate only cost $4.24! To make them, I trimmed the beans and tossed in a little olive oil. I then baked at 180ºC for 15 minutes. Once cooked, I took them out, and tossed in 1/4 cup shredded parmesan, and the juice of half a lemon. Delish!
Now, I want to tell you this one is for the kids, but really the adults are going to froth over this one. You could even be super indulgent and dollop with sour cream. Cook a whole packet of Woolworths potato minis in the air fryer. You want them crisp, so about 16 minutes on high should get you there. Place onto an oven-proof platter, and then top with 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella and some chopped, cooked bacon. Place in the oven for 6 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Top with chopped chives and serve hot.
And dessert. I gave myself a get out of the kitchen card for dessert, and outsourced to Woolworths. Their pavlova shells are only $5.40 and you really can’t beat them. I topped with whipped cream {a whole 600ml carton, because Christmas} and loads of frozen berries. And then for fun, I surrounded the pavlova with cherries, because Christmas without cherries isn’t really Christmas, is it?
And there you have it! Your budget-friendly Christmas feast is all sorted. Let me know if you have any questions below and I’m happy to help out.
BAGUETTE BITES WITH BRIE AND PROSCIUTTO : $11.45 for 6 serves
Baguette $1.50 | $0.75 for 6 serves
Woolworths Brie Cheese $3 | $3 for 6 serves
Prosciutto $6.50/packet | $6.50 for 6 serves
Woolworths Cranberry Sauce $2.65/275g | $0.20 for 6 serves
Baby Rocket $2.00 | $1.00 for 6 serves
ROAST PORK : $26.05 for 6 serves
Roast Pork Loin Boneless $13/kg | $26.05 for 6 serves
ROAST PUMPKIN WITH CHILLI YOGHURT AND CORIANDER SAUCE : $9.61 for 6 serves
Kent Pumpkin wedge $3.90/kg | $4.37 for 6 serves
Ground Cinnamon $1.70 | $0.26 for 6 serves
Olive Oil $5.50/500ml | $0.99 for 6 serves
Coriander $3.00/bunch | $1.50 for 6 serves
Jalna Greek Yoghurt $1.95 tub | $1.95 for 6 serves
Garlic $1.25ea | $0.15 for 6 serves
Woolworths Crushed Chilli $2.80 per jar | $0.24 for 6 serves
Woolworths Pepitas | $0.15 for 6 serves
BEAN AND PARMESAN SALAD : $4.24 for 6 serves
Green Beans $3.90/kg | $2.11 for 6 serves
Olive Oil $5.50/500ml | $0.99 for 6 serves
Fresh lemon $2.50/500g | $0.41 for 6 serves
Woolworths Shredded Parmesan Cheese $4.40 | $0.73 for 6 serves
CHEESY POTATO MINIS BAKE : $6.84 for 6 serves
Woolworths Potato Minis $2.90 | $2.90 for 6 serves
Woolworths Grated Mozzarella Cheese $4.20/250g | $0.84 for 6 serves
Streaky Bacon $16/kg | $1.60 for 6 serves
Chives $3/packet | $1.50 for 6 serves
BERRY PAVLOVA : $25 for 6 serves
Woolworths Pavlova Shell $5.4o | $8 for 6 serves
Woolworths Frozen Mixed Berries $4.90 | $4.90 for 6 serves
Woolworths Thickened Cream $3.20/600ml | $3.20 for 6 serves
Odd Bunch Cherries Punnet $8.90 | $8.90 for 6 serves
