Jas McPhee's new book: Feed a Family of Six for Under $20

Jas Mc Phee's online recipes pull in a large loyal following. Photo/Duncan Innes

About a year ago, Jas McPhee posted a recipe on her newly launched Facebook page: How to feed a family of six for under $20.

Today, she has 66,000 followers and a cookbook.

The book is a collection of more than 80 of her most popular family oriented recipes. They include pork medallions with herb potato torte, chicken pies, chicken shanks with creamy potatoes, jumbo stuffed pasta, plus sweet treats and snacks.

All the recipes have a breakdown of what was spent on what. Jas has also included some handy tips for shopping and reveals what she thinks everyone should always have in the pantry, fridge and freezer.

Recipes are simple to prepare and call for mostly basic ingredients. This book is a bargain at just $20.

I asked Jas some questions.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SHARE YOUR RECIPES ON FACEBOOK?
Our kids enjoy my cooking so I thought some other mums might want to try my recipes as well, because we all can run out of ideas from time to time.

ARE YOU SURPRISED BY YOUR SUCCESS?
The success of the page is a huge surprise as Vance and I didn't plan to have Australasia's largest online cooking community, be published authors and photographers, let alone earn a living from a Facebook page and turn it into an enterprise.

DO YOU LIKE COOKING OR IS IT DONE OUT OF NECESSITY?
I've always cooked. My grandad Basil used to show me a thing or two in the kitchen when I was very young. My aunties would show me recipes in the holidays that I would go home and try on my siblings. I do like cooking and it's even better when people appreciate it.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE KITCHEN GADGET?
My favourite gadget is my kitchen whiz, it was given to me by a friend. It looks like its from the 1980s. But when all else fails, "Keep calm and put it in the kitchen whiz."

DO YOUR CHILDREN HELP OUT IN THE KITCHEN?
My 4- and 6-year-old like to get in among it from time to time. My teenagers are too busy doing homework and playing Flappy Bird [a phone app], though after dinner they are on clean-up duties.

WHAT IS YOUR FAMILY'S FAVOURITE MEAL?
Our favourite meals are lasagne, boil up and anything else with meat in it.

IF YOU HAD JUST HALF AN HOUR TO PREPARE A MEAL FOR YOUR FAMILY WHAT WOULD YOU MAKE? Beef stir fry with noodles.

WHAT THREE INGREDIENTS COULD YOU NOT DO WITHOUT?
Eggs, two-minute noodles and flour.

IF YOU COULD TAKE ANYONE IN THE WORLD OUT FOR DINNER WHO WOULD IT BE?
My husband and I would love to hang out with The Rock Dwayne Johnson.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
Other than the book, we are currently developing our Feed a Family Budget Food Box. We received a $10,000 AMP scholarship in November of 2013 to get it up and running and we are just waiting to hear back on the possibility of a TV show.

Our main priority will always be our Facebook page and getting those recipes and tips out to our online community. Despite any level of success we may experience there is still a need out there that we meet each and every day.