Chicken braised with cider and red cabbage (and proper baked potatoes) – (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 1.3kg freedom food endorsed whole chicken (£3.63)
• 2 large onions (30p)
• 1 small red cabbage (45p)
• 4 baking potatoes (70p)
• 440ml (1 can) of dry cider ( 90p from the local off licence)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, flour, 4 cloves of garlic, 3 bay leaves and whole grain mustard.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Sainsbury’s where it came to £5.98 - that’s £1.50 per head!

Instructions

• First up you’ll need to de-bone the chicken – you’re looking for 2 thighs, 2 legs, 2 breasts (cut into 4 pieces) and 2 wings and of course the carcass left over for a stock. This video is an excellent demonstration of how to de-bone a chicken:
• Now for the stock. Get a medium sized saucepan on the heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and brown off the chicken carcass for a few minutes. Then add a few peppercorns, three bay leaves and enough water to cover the chicken carcass (probably around 3 or 4 pints). Bring up to the simmer and skim off any impurities that rise to the surface. Leave simmering for around 80 minutes or until you have about a pint and a half of stock.
• Whilst the stock is simmering away you can start to prepare the chicken dish and jacket potatoes. For the potatoes lay them individually on a square piece of foil (enough to wrap the potato), season with a good pinch of salt and add a drizzle of olive oil. Then wrap and set to one side ready to go in the oven.
• Now for the chicken. Dust all the chicken pieces with 2 tablespoons of seasoned flour and finely slice the onions, cabbage and garlic. Get a good pan on the heat (heavy bottomed best and one that can go in the oven) and add some olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken pieces and brown nicely on all sides – once browned remove the chicken from the pan and set to one side until the stock is ready. Keep the pan for later as well. Pre-heat the oven to 165C.
• Once the stock is ready just drain with a sieve. Now get the pan back on the heat (add a little more olive oil) and sauté off the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Then add the cider and reduce down for 1 minute. After the cider has reduced down, add 2 teaspoons of mustard and 1 and ½ pints of the stock along with the chicken and cabbage. Season well and then place in the oven (covered with foil) for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Do check the chicken every now and then to see if it needs a little more liquid.
• You can put the jacket potatoes in the oven at the same time as the chicken.
• After 1 hour and 30 minutes the chicken will be lovely and tender, but the jackets will probably need a quick blast at a higher heat, so just unwrap the foil and turn the oven up as high as it will go for a further 5 or 10 minutes.
• Happy eating!

Taken from our Frugal Recipe range

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

Lincolnshire sausages with red onion gravy and thyme and Gouda polenta (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 8 Lincolnshire sausages (£1.83)
• 500g of Dunn’s fine polenta (44p)
• 200g of Gouda (86p)
• 25g of fresh lemon thyme (67p)
• 4 large red onions (60p)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, butter, Lea and Perrin’s sauce and 2 chicken stock cubes.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at ASDA where it came to £4.40 - that’s £1.10 per head!

Instructions

• The gravy needs at least an hour so make this first. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the finely sliced onions. Let them soften down on a very low heat for around 30 minutes until you get a nice caramelised brown colour. Once browned add 1 ½ pints of chicken stock and a few dashes of Lea and Perrin’s, along with some salt and lots of black pepper – reduce for another 30 minutes on a low simmer and the gravy will be ready.
• Whilst the gravy is reducing down, get the sausages under the grill and cook as you usually would. You could always pan fry if you feel that way inclined. Keep warm once cooked, ready for serving.
• Now the polenta – get 2 pints of water in a large pan and up to the boil. Now slowly add (in a nice even stream) 500g of polenta and keep stirring as you add the polenta. Keep stirring until nice and smooth. Now add 2 tablespoons of butter, 200g of grated Gouda and the finely chopped fresh thyme. Keep stirring on a low heat for a further 6 minutes until it thickens. Season to taste before serving. Serve in the traditional way!
• Happy eating!

Taken from our Frugal Recipe

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team

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Beef enchiladas with a lime sour cream (Serves 4)

Ingredients

• 500g of Tesco premium beef mince (£2.20)
• 1 can of KTC red kidney beans (25p)
• 500g of Tesco tomato passata (50p)
• 1 large brown onion (17p)
• 8 plain tortilla wraps (£1)
• 300ml of soured cream (88p)
• 1 lime (30p)
• 3 fresh green chillies (20p)
• 1 can of Tesco value chopped tomatoes (35p)

The cupboard staples…

Salt, black pepper, olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, vinegar, chilli powder, paprika, cumin and 1 beef stock cube.

Total cost

If you already have the cupboard staples, then according to mysupermarket.co.uk, this trolley was cheapest at Tesco where it came to £5.85 - that’s £1.46 per head!

Instructions

• Get the oven preheated first to 180C.
• First up is the tomato sauce as we want this to reduce down a little and really develop some flavour. Get a little olive oil in a saucepan and gently sauté 3 green chillies and 2 cloves of garlic (both finely chopped) for about 60 seconds. Try not to get too much colour because if the garlic burns it will taste bitter. Now add the tomato passata, the can of tomatoes, 1 pint of beef stock, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 2 teaspoons of sugar and a good twist of salt and black pepper. Turn down to a simmer and you want to reduce down by about 30% until the sauce thickens a little.
• Next up the beef filling for the enchiladas. Get a good heavy pan on the heat; add a little olive oil and 1 finely chopped onion. Gently fry the onion for 2 minutes. Then add the beef – you want a nice high heat as we want to get the beef browned. It will take around 5 minutes to take on a good brown colour.
• Once the beef has a nice brown colour, keep on a high heat and add 1 finely chopped clove of garlic, 2 teaspoons of chilli powder, 1 teaspoon of paprika, 2 teaspoons of cumin and a good twist of salt and black pepper. Cook out the spices for a further minute and add around ¼ of a pint of water, simmer for a further 3 minutes on a medium heat.
• Now we’re ready to assemble. Take a tortilla, place a good tablespoonful of the beef filling into the centre and roll into a cigar shape and place into an oven dish (we want a good snug fit for the enchiladas). Repeat with the rest of the tortillas.
• Then pour the sauce over all of the tortillas and place in the pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the sauce is bubbling. Whilst the enchiladas are cooking squeeze the juice of one lemon into a bowl of the soured cream and mix well with a good pinch of black pepper.
• Happy eating!

Taken from our Frugal Recipe blog.

Brought to you by the lovemoney.com team.