Prepare home-cooked family meals for under $10

Times are tough on families' budgets right now-and that means being resourceful and creative with meal preparation is more important than ever. When watching the health of your family and your budget, it's smart to use products that you have on hand that can add flavour and variety to routine meals.

(NC)-Times are tough on families' budgets right now-and that means being resourceful and creative with meal preparation is more important than ever. When watching the health of your family and your budget, it's smart to use products that you have on hand that can add flavour and variety to routine meals.

High quality condiments add zest and flavour to any meal without breaking your family budget. If you save money and spend less on lower cuts of meat, be sure to use only the best condiments to enhance flavour.

Ketchup is the perfect example. Since 75 per cent of Canadian households purchased ketchup last year, it's almost always ready and waiting for action in every fridge in the country. A recent North American study by NPD showed that 48 per cent of Canadians eat ketchup once a week. It's a great meal solution and flavour booster.

But ketchup isn't just a condiment for your hamburger, fries and hot dogs. In fact, 80 per cent of consumers use ketchup as ingredient in a variety of recipes from comfort foods, such as grilled cheese, meatballs, pasta sauces, to exotic dishes like pad thai. Since ketchup is a kid-favourite, everyone in the family will love these meal ideas.

Here are three delicious budget-pleasing ideas that serve a family of four all under $10 while using ingredients you already have on hand:

1. For breakfast or a light lunch, make sandwich wraps with 2 scrambled eggs each. Add cheese, chopped grilled vegetables, such as onions and tomatoes, and a healthy serving of ketchup.
2. For lunch, try Sloppy Joes, a big family favourite. Cook ground beef; mix in ketchup, brown sugar, salt, pepper-and the all-important dash or two of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. Serve on big, fresh burger buns.
3. For dinner, put a creative spin on a stir-fry. Blend soy sauce with ketchup to baste chicken or pork, then stir fry vegetables like onions, bok choy and carrots, and serve it on a bed of rice.

For more great family-pleasing meal ideas, visit Heinzitup.com.