8 PORTIONS FOR £10 | LIDL
BATCH COOK COTTAGE PIE
Welcome to “8 for £10,” 8 batch - cooked hearty, homemade meal portions for £10, these can be batch cooked and served for large families or portioned ready for freezer storage. The items collected for this recipe are from Lidl.
The items for this recipe were bought at the same time, so the prices I post are accurate as of the date of purchase, please note that these items may fluctuate on price depending on the date you have purchased your ingredients.
NB - These recipes also require the use of some store cupboard standard ingredients which do not appear on the shopping list, for example: Sauces, herbs, stock cubes, salt etc.
| SAVE MONEY | STRESS LESS | EAT HOMEMADE | SAVE TIME | REDUCE FOOD WASTE | FEBRUARY 2024
Why Batch Cook Cottage Pie?
Time Efficiency: Cooking in batches allows you to make multiple servings of cottage pie at once, saving time in the long run. You can prepare a large quantity of food in one go and have meals ready to eat throughout the week.
Convenience: Having pre-made cottage pie portions in the fridge or freezer means you always have a quick and convenient meal option available. This is especially helpful on busy days when you don't have time to cook from scratch.
Cost Savings: Buying ingredients in bulk for batch cooking can be more cost-effective than purchasing smaller quantities. Additionally, cooking in batches reduces food waste because you can use up ingredients before they spoil.
Portion Control: By portioning out the cottage pie into individual servings, you can better control portion sizes and avoid overeating. This is especially helpful if you're trying to manage your calorie intake or stick to a specific dietary plan.
Variety: Batch cooking allows you to experiment with different variations of cottage pie, such as adding different vegetables, herbs, or spices to change up the flavor profile. You can also customize each batch to suit different tastes or dietary preferences.
This picture provides the full shopping list, you can screenshot or download and print. The shopping list is complete with the product description, the item price and meal allocation.
If you prefer the PDF shopping list click here
You can also download this shopping list template blank to fill in yourself under the “E-Books” section of the website or click here.
I have tried to find the best balance for quality and value for money, some ingredients cost a little extra to ensure the meals hit their best potential on taste. If preferred, these items can be interchanged with a cheaper alternative of your choice:
Albert Bartlett Potatoes 2kg - Cheaper potatoes can be a bit hit and miss on quality, using these lowers the risk of having bad, unusable product which can result in food and money waste. Albert bartlett is a British Potato Company and their product is always quality.
Fresh Thyme- You can again cut costs by using dried Thyme or rosemary in this but when batch cooking I prefer to use fresh thyme as the flavour is un matched.
Additional Vegetables & Gravy, I like to serve the portions of cottage pie with additional vegetables and gravy, bear this in mind when planning your meals.
The total price for the shop is £10.42
8 Portions for £10
Lidl
February 2024
Batch Cook Cottage Pie, Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Cost: £10.42
Ingredients:
Beef Steak Mince (5%) £4.99
Yellow Potatoes (2kg) £2.19
3-4 Onions (1kg Bag) £0.99
Carrots (450g) £0.42
1 Whole Celery £0.69
1 \Whole Garlic Bulb £0.39
Fresh Thyme £0.52
Store Cupboard:
3 tbsp Tomato Paste
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Ltr Beef Stock (3 Oxo Cubes)
Salt
1 tbsp Cornflour & 1 tbsp Cold Water
2 tbsp Salted Butter
100ml Milk
Oil
Small amount cheese- optional
Instructions:
Finely dice (use a food processor) your onion, carrot and celery and leave aside.
Firstly in a large pan, brown your beef in a small amount of oil and mash until you create a fine meat consistency, once browned leave aside in a bowl.
In the same pan, add your diced vegetables to sweat down until around half the volume.
Once the vegetables are looking soft and tender, grate your garlic directly into the pan along with the tomato paste, (6 sprigs- leaves removed) of thyme, Worcestershire sauce and 1 tsp salt. Mix well then re-introduce the beef and combine well, finish with the beef stock adding a lid and leave to simmer for around 20-30 minutes.
Peel your potatoes and add to a pan of cold salted water and bring to a boil, boiling until the potatoes are fork tender and drain. Mash your potatoes or like I do, use a potato ricer which makes the lightest and fluffiest mash potato.
Once fully mashed, heat up the milk and butter in the microwave for around 30-60 seconds and add to the mash potato.
Mix to combine and create a velvety smooth mash and season to taste with salt.
Checking your Beef Mixture, if the liquid needs thickening add the cornflour/cold water slurry and simmer for 5 more minutes until thicker.
Add the beef mixture to an oven dish and top with the mash potato.
Finish with a small amount of finely grated cheese and add to the oven for 35-45 minutes at 180°c.
Leftover ingredients -
Below is a list of ingredients you will have spare from this shop with recipe suggestions you can use these in:
Onions -
You will have around 8 onions leftover from the multipack, I suggest making this French Onion Soup or French Onion Pork Steaks
