Cheap Spaghetti Bolognese

This is one of the most simplest recipes, and once you have chopped the vegetables and browned the meat it basically cooks itself.

Approx cost - £1.50p
Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

• 2 TBSLP of oil
• 270 g of Minced Beef
• 100g of mushrooms finely chopped
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 1 carrot finely grated
• 2 cloves of garlic - minced
• 3/4 pint of beef stock
• 4 TBLSP of tomato puree
• 1 Bay leaf
• Salt and pepper
• Spaghetti

Method:

• Heat oil in a large pan
• Add the onion, carrot, mushrooms and garlic and cook gently for 4 minutes
• Add the minced beef and stir in well and brown
• Add the tomato puree and stir in
• Add the beef stock and bay leaf, stir well
• Bring to the pan to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently with the lid on for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Taste and if required add salt and pepper to taste
• Remove lid and reduce the sauce until it starts to thicken
• remove the bay leaf
• Serve with Spaghetti with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top and enjoy !

Meatballs in Rich Tomato Sauce with Spaghetti

If my wife see's me take minced beef come out of the freezer, the first thing she asks is are we having meatballs, and once cooked, she counts how many go on each plate to make sure we have an equal amount.

The finished meal

Cost - Approx £1.30p per person

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 425g of beef mince meat
• 1 egg
• 1 TSP of Dried Basil
• 1 TSP of ground black pepper
• 1 TSP  of Marjoram
• 1 TSP of Onion Granules
• 1 TSP of Garlic Powder
• 4 TBLSP of breadcrumbs
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 4 Cloves of garlic - minced
• 150g of spaghetti
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• 2 tsp of Parsley

Method for the meatball:

• Combine the first 8 ingredients ingredients in a large bowl and with your hand mix well
• Take a piece of the mix and roll it in the palm of your hands to form small balls
• Place balls on a plate and set aside
• When ready to cook, add some oil to a frying pan, and place the meatballs into the pan, and cook, turning regularly

Method for the sauce:

• In a pan add the tomatoes, pepper, garlic and Parsley
• Bring to the boil and on a low to medium heat reduce, stirring occasionally for 15-20 minutes
• Place in a blend and blend smooth
• Set aside

Method for Spaghetti:

• Cook spaghetti as per pack instructions

To assemble the meal:

• Heat the tomato sauce
• Drain the pasta and add the tomato sauce to the pan of Spaghetti
• Mix well
• Turn onto plates
• Add meatballs
• Serve with pecorino/Parmesan cheese

The prepared meatballs

Th blended tomato sauce

The meatballs cooking

The finished meal

Cottage Pie

Green Bean glut is sorted, thanks to http://pickyourown.org/beansfreezing.htm, so the job of the day is to blanch and freeze the bean glut. However - having just done the beans - I don't think I want to see a green bean ever again.

There is quiet a bit of veg ordered this week, so the trick I need to achieve this week is to ensure none of it gets wasted.

One tip when Tesco deliver your veg, take them out of the bags, or put your thumb through the bag, this will stop them sweating and also store them in the fridge. Another tip is each day, go through your veg checking what is needing to get used up, and think how you can incorporate it into a meal. Also ignore the use by date, go back to good old common sense, if the veg looks OK, smells OK then it is OK, so we can reduce food wastage.

So what have we on the menu today, lets have a Great British favourite - that is always a family winner - good old Cottage Pie.

Cottage Pie

Approx Cost - £2.50p
Serves - 4 people

Ingredients:

• 600g peeled potatoes, quartered
• 100ml milk
• 40g butter
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 TBLSP oil
• 1 finely chopped medium onion
• 1 finely chopped medium carrot
• 2 clove garlic finely chopped
• 400g ground/ minced beef
• 500 ml beef stock
• 115g finely chopped white mushrooms
• 1 TSP of dried parsley
• Dash of Worcester sauce
• 1 TBLSP all-purpose flour
• 50g grated Cheddar Cheese

Method:

•  Boil the potatoes until soft, drain. Place the milk and butter in the pan with the boiled potatoes and mash, and set aside
• Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and carrot and fry on a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
• Add the beef to the pan and fry gently until browned. Depending upon the quality of the mince being used, if there is a lot of fat then strain the fat from the mince
• Add the carrots, onion and garlic, plus the mushrooms and parsley to the meat and cook on a low heat for 5 minutes
• Add the flour to the pan and mix, cook for another minute
• Add the beef stock, bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes
• Remove the lid, increase the heat and reduce the liquid until the sauce has thickened, stirring (See picture)
• Taste and season with salt and pepper to desired taste
• Place the cooked meat mix into a suitable dish and cover with the mashed potato. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top of the potato and bake in the heated oven for 40-45 minutes until the surface is crisp and browned.
• Serve and enjoy !!

The onions, carrots and garlic cooking

All the ingredients combined and cooking before adding the stock

With the stock added and simmering

The meat mix ready for the potato topping - note how much the sauce has been reduced

The finished assembled pie ready for baking

The cooked cottage pie