Five Great Family Meals for Under a Fiver The weather’s getting chilly and the summer clothes are packed away for another year – in Autumn we return with pleasure to comforting foods. And it’s easy to cook family meals on a tight budget in this area as we have many farms selling vegetables and sacks of potatoes, and great local butchers selling top quality meat at excellent prices. Here are just 5 classic British recipes that can easily be made for a family of 4-5 for under £1 a head. Laranja by C&J
Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Roast a medium chicken (approx 2kg) in the centre of the oven at 190C for 20 minutes per lb (450g) plus 1020 minutes extra – around 2 hours. No extra fat is needed, but the chicken benefits from salt and pepper and being basted with its own fat 3-4 times during cooking. A roast chicken can be turned into many meals – chicken soup, chicken pot pie, chicken pasta bake, chicken curry..............or at least the leftovers can!! However, a roast chicken dinner with roast potatoes, sage and onion stuffing, vegetables and gravy is hard to beat.
38
Beef In Ale 2 medium onions Garlic (optional) 2 sticks celery (optional) 2 carrots (optional) 8 mushrooms (optional) 500g Stewing beef
Flour 500ml ale or stout 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes Seasoning 2 bay leaves
In a large, heavy-based pan fry the onions and garlic for a few minutes in oil then add whichever vegetables you want and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the beef, brown and then add the flour and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and then either put in a low oven (120C) for 3-4 hours or transfer to a slow cooker and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Thicken the gravy with cornflour mixed with water if needed. Make the mixture into a pie if you wish, add dumplings or just serve over buttery mash.
Toad in the Hole 8 Sausages 285ml milk 115g plain flour 3 large eggs Seasoning Heat your oven to 220C. Put the sausages in an ovenproof dish with some oil and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Whisk the remaining ingredients into a batter and pour over the sausages, then put the dish back in the oven and DO NOT TOUCH for 20 minutes. Serve with mash, peas and gravy.
