Caitríona Redmond: Keeping my budget on track — plus my lemony chicken pasta recipe

Caitríona's Lemony Chicken Pasta Pesto.

Keeping my budget on track is a work in progress. I’m sure most people feel the same.

At the moment I feel like I’m caught in an endless loop of paying for big items and then having to find the money for the next set of big items. 

Having a nearly 4 year age gap between the two boys is fantastic because they are the best of pals. 

It’s not so great when the smaller is commencing secondary school in September, while his older brother will start a manadatory Transition Year. 

I wish I’d known many years ago that Transition Year can be nearly as expensive as First Year. 

All I can do at this point is to roll with the expenses and find a way to allocate funds to everything that pops up.

The budget is like an elastic band, sometimes it has to be more stretchy and encompass a lot of items all at once. 

Yes, it is feeling stretched quite thin this week, and my job is to make sure that everything we need is bought or paid for on time and we don’t go into debt. 

To keep on top of it all I have some essential tools.

Being tech-savvy helps me control my finances. My first line of defence is a spreadsheet with an itemised lists of my expenses, how much I have in the account, and when the items fall due. 

I can copy and paste the due dates to my calendar and set reminders to pay on certain dates. 

As I work on a computer most days, the spreadsheet sits on my desktop so I can open, review, and add to the list (or insert a grimace).

Whether you use Excel or Google Sheets there are several free templates available online to organise and control your budget too. It’s not the case that you would need to start this up from scratch. 

For a small fee, more immersive tools like YNAB (You Need A Budget) can be beneficial and the cost may be offset by the savings you make. This app in particular is helpful if you are trying to save a contingency fund or nest egg.

Using online banking I can schedule payments to go out in advance. Rather than paying a bill now, when there might be another two weeks before it’s due, I can allocate the funds then time the payment to go out. This frees up my disposable income for something else.

If all of this feels like “a lot”, that’s because budgeting is a big drain on your personal resources. That’s why my number one budgeting tool is my kettle for making tea. 

Everything feels better and easier to tackle when I’ve a hot cup of tea in hand. The overwhelming feeling doesn’t go away, I just manage it better. Don’t neglect your own comfort in pursuit of your financial goals.

Home Truths

How do you guarantee a homecooked meal seven nights a week and only have to cook for a maximum of 4 nights? It’s simple; make enough to eat on a second day.

A dish of spaghetti and meatballs can become meatball marinara subs, a roast chicken dinner can become a roast chicken pie, and a slow cooked stew can become burritos. 

It’s easier to persuade picky family members to eat the same food a second time by reinventing what you have cooked. 

Making enough food to escape the clutches of the kitchen is all about being organised. Working smarter will save you time in the kitchen and save on energy.

My best example of this method is the humble roast dinner. When I’m preparing the vegetables I peel and chop enough for two family meals, along with a double sized portion of gravy. 

Half the gravy goes into a heavy baking dish along with leftover chicken and vegetables. I top this mixture with leftover mash and cover the entire dish. 

Once cool, I lift the dish into the fridge and bake it until heated through the following day.

The ultimate fast food is food that you don’t have to prepare at all!

Check out my recipe below for lemony chicken pasta that can be enjoyed a second time as a salad for lunch the following day.

Lemony Chicken Pesto Pasta

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

A lemony chicken pasta, that can be enjoyed a second time as a salad for lunch the following day.

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 20 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp of olive oil

• Grated rind of 1 lemon

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

• Pinch of salt

• 550-600g chicken mini fillets

• 500g dried pasta

• 3 tbsp pesto

• 150g cooked garden peas (I cooked frozen in the microwave)

Method

1. Place the olive oil, lemon rind, garlic cloves, and salt into a bowl. Mix with the chicken and cover the bowl. Set to one side in the fridge for a least an hour before cooking.

2. Thirty minutes before you want to eat, place the chicken onto a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven at 200 degrees. Boil a kettle and get a large saucepan on the stove. Fill the saucepan with boiling water and turn the ring to medium high. Cook the dried pasta according to the instructions.

3. Cook the peas in with the pasta for the last 2 minutes or use the microwave. Both work fine. Once the pasta is cooked, strain and stir in the pesto. Add the peas and cooked chicken. Serve immediately.

4. If you want to enjoy this as a cold salad, allow the meal to cool completely before covering and placing in the fridge. Serve on day 2 with plenty of green salad leaves and some finely chopped red onions. Mix a tablespoon of pesto with 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and the juice from the lemon to make a green goddess-style dressing.