Delicious low carb idea for less than £2 a meal

Delicious low carb idea for less than £2 a meal

Having gone overboard at Christmas most of us are trying to eat more healthily during January and February. But it isn't always easy with up to 6 weeks between pay checks as we go into the New Year. I have a quick, cheap, warm and healthy dish that can be stored in the fridge after dinner and used for lunch the next day.

• 300g lean mince lamb or beef
• Chilli Con Carne sachet
• Romain, Cos, or little gem lettuce
• Tin of kidney beans
• A tin of chopped tomatoes

 Its cost me just £7.10 for the ingredients and I managed to get 4 meals out of it, that’s an outstanding £1.77 a meal

Optional

• Cherry tomatoes
• Bell pepper
• Dried chilli
• Generous squeeze of ketchup

• Brown the mince in a frying pan, there’s no need to use any oil as the fat released as the meat heats up will ensure it doesn’t stick.
• Add the sachet and cook until all the mince has browned

• Here is where you can get creative, you can add any ingredients you may have lurking around in your fridge, tomatoes, peppers, chilies
• At this point you will also need to add the kidney beans and tomatoes

Mince does take longer to cook then most people think and the longer it cooks the better the flavour. If I’m in a rush I’ll cook it for 25-30 minutes. If it’s the weekend and I’m pottering around the house I’ll usually leave it up to 2 hours on a low heat.

• As the mince cooks the liquid will reduce
• Make sure you wash your lettuce, I usually chop off the stalk and the tips.
• Top the leaf with the mince, you can also top it will cheese, jalapenos, salsa or just have it as it is if your avoiding carbohydrates.

Nan's homemade corned beef hash pie

Everyone has that one thing that reminds them of their childhood, For me its my Nans corned beef hash pie.

                             

Not only does it taste delicious, but with the pastry lid weaved pattern it also looks seriously appetizing. it looks difficult but iv included an image below which will show you how to lattice the top.  Or you could just roll out  a plan flat lid for your pie.

What you will need:

• Non-stick cake tin with removable sides

Pastry

• 400g plain flour 

• Pinch of salt

• 180g of cubed butter 

• 6tbsp very cold water

Pie filling

• 340g tin of corned beef

• 250g of potatoes boiled and cut into small chucks

• Handful of button mushrooms

• Sainsburys Chutney British Onion 200g

• Whole large white onion
• Boil the potatoes until they are soft, leaving them to cool once they are cooked.
• Brown the onions in a pan with a little butter, once they are soft add the mushrooms and a few minutes later add the corned beef. Once the mixture has come to together add some pepper and leave to cool.
• Once both are cooled down mix the corned beef and onions together
•  Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl
• Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm
•  Add the water to the mixture and using a cold knife stir until the dough binds together, add more cold water a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too dry

•  Wrap the dough in Clingfilm / plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes
• Separate your dough into three equal parts, one will be used to create the top, and the other two parts used for the sides and the base
•  Roll out the base (2parts) into a large circle roughly 0.5 mm thick and live your baking tin, leave any over hang on the pastry until you are ready to bake

• Place the tin back in the fridge to keep cool.
• Doing the same with the top, roll out the pastry into a large circle roughly 0.5 mm thick.
• Use a shape knife to cute long stripes of pastry rough 1 cm thick.

The lattice looks complicated but it’s really simple once you get started. I’ve found a great illustration below to show you how to create the weaved pie lid.

• Make sure you do this over a grease proof piece of paper or foil, to make it easy to transfer this on to the top of the pie.
• After 20 minutes your filling should be cool enough to transfer into the base, use 200g of the onion chutney creating a delicious tangy layer on top of your filling.
• Place the lid on the top of the pie and bake for around a 1 hour at 180C

Enjoy the pie warm from the oven, or you can eat it chilled out of the fridge either way its delicious.