Amid the cost of living crisis, many households will be looking for secret money saving hacks and cheap budget meals to help spare up some extra cash here and there. One prepared mum is here to the rescue as she shares a simple four ingredient 'staple' dinner dish that can be made to comfortably feed a family of four for only 62p each.
The easy well known corned beef meal which is packed with nutrients can be made for four people for an extremely affordable price of £2.50 in Lidl, the Mirror reports. The recipe which consists of only four key ingredients, most of which are common household food items, includes beef and barley, spaghetti, hotpot, broth and corned beef hash.
Reporter Amy Fenton wrote for Lancaster Live: “When I was little my mum had a bank of 'go to meals' which she could serve up quickly and easily for tea after my sister and I got home from school.'' She added: “At the time I didn't quite appreciate how they provide all the nutrients and vitamins a growing kid will need.
“It was only when I became a mum myself that I realised these dishes are perfect for working mums to make for their youngsters.” When Amy’s daughter, now seven, first began eating solid food, she had trouble looking for inspiration online.
Many of the recipes were too long winded, and serving her daughter mashed avocado or mini quiches wasn't an affordable enough option. “And that's something which can become incredibly frustrating when most of it ends up on the floor or in a bib”, the mum said.
Then, Amy’s mum suggested a corned beef hash and it quickly became one of our favourites. Amy said: “The soft texture, inclusion of veg and speed it can be made meant that it suited both myself and my toddler.
“And now, as parents look to contend with the cost of living crisis, we're all trying to find ways to get more food for our dwindling pennies, corned beef hash is something you can make, to serve four people, for around £2.50.” Sharing her mum’s recipe, amy warned readers to be careful when opening the tin of corned beef.
She said: “For some reason no-one has developed a safer way of opening the square-shaped tins since steel was first used to preserve food.”
Ingredients and cost (if shopping at Lidl)
Four potatoes 20p
One brown onion 10p
A tin of corned beef £1.79
Three carrots 15p
Amy reassured readers that they don’t need to be too neat when chopping up the vegetables. “For me, corned beef hash is a proper rustic dish so there should be no neatly-cubed potatoes or uniform carrots.
“The chunkier the better,” she added. Amy’s recipe for corned beef hash, which she has described as “the perfect hearty, warming dish for those cold winter months”, is as follows:
Corned beef hash recipe
1. Peel and chop your potatoes into small chunks - any size will do, but the smaller they are the quicker they'll cook.
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water.
3. After around 15 minutes add three sliced carrots. The carrots should be sliced about an inch thick, and then cut into half moon-shaped pieces.
4. Five minutes later take the pan off the hob and drain most of the water. Leave around a cupful in the pan, and put the pan to one side.
5. Chop the onion and gently fry in a pan.
7. Cut the corned beef into small pieces and mix into the potatoes, carrots and onions along with about 50g of butter and plenty of salt and pepper.
8. Then, mash it all together - but don’t go overboard as you’ll want to retain some of the chunks.
9. Heat for around five minutes before serving.
Amy added: “PS.Corned beef hash tastes great when topped with plenty of salt and pepper and a knob of butter.”
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