Beef Lasagne

I've not made a "proper" lasagne for a while now, so it hasn't actually featured on my blog. We used to eat it quite a bit as the other half thinks my lasagne is really tasty, but a traditional one tends to be quite heavy on the calories so we've stayed away a little bit! 

For me I quite like making lasagne and don't find it too demanding after a day at work, but if you are pushed for time you can make it in advance and cook from frozen, you'd just need to double the cooking time.

Ingredients:

• 575 g lean beef mince (I normally use 500 g but this is the packet I bought from Sainsbury's)
• 1 - 2 bovril cubes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 can water
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• a teaspoon of mixed herbs
• a dash of Worcestershire sauce (I use Henderson's as this is gluten free and local)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
•  1 pack of gluten free lasagne sheets
• Extra mature cheddar cheese, grated (enough to cover the top of your lasagne)
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil for frying

For the Bechamel /  White sauce:

• 40 g butter
• 40 g plain gluten free flour
• 300  - 350 ml semi skimmed milk
• extra mature cheddar cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 C fan, 180 C conventional oven.
2. Add oil to a large frying pan, add the onions and start to soften for a few minutes, add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add the minced meat and start to cook until the meat is starting to brown, add the Hendersons relish, crumble in the stock cube and cook until the meat has browned. 
4. Add the tomato paste, mixed herbs and stir through. Put the chopped tomatoes and water in and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and and cook on a low light until the sauce has reduced down.
5. Blanche the lasagne sheets and leave to one side.
6. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix until you get a paste. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add a small amount of the milk and allow to boil. Then add the rest of the milk and whisk through until the sauce starts to thicken, if it becomes too thick then you can add more milk. I add a little cheese to my Bechamel sauce at this stage. 
7. Place half of the meat into the baking dish, layer with lasagne sheets, add another layer of beef then top with more pasta. Spread the Bechamel sauce on top and grate enough cheese to cover the top.
8. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

Sticky Honey Soy Turkey

I was looking for a nice, easy recipe to make with my turkey that I bought from Sainsbury's and came across this one on the British Turkey website. The Turkey breasts came in at £3.33 in the offer that I got at the time, plus I had the extra discount on top of this so think this meal is pretty good value. 

We still have some gluten free soy sauce in the cupboard, so this seemed like the perfect mid week meal. It's very quick and easy and Turkey is quite lean.

The flavour of this dish was pretty good and it didn't take much time to make at all. The only gripe I have with this is that we found it didn't have enough sauce. I'd probably double the honey and the soy sauce next time.

Menu 11/08/13 - 17/08/13

This week is a bit of a mixed bag, the majority of the shopping is from Asda unless stated otherwise. The meat that I have for this week is from Sainsbury's, which I spoke about in my last menu. This was where if you spent £60, you had a discount of £15 and I managed to get delivery for £2.99 so I thought this was a  pretty good deal. The only other item on my list is from Tesco, this is the lasagne sheets and the only reason I buy them from there is that I cannot find them in Asda where I normally shop.

We're having guest the coming weekend, so on Friday night my other half will be cooking a dinner. I've not included this in the budget, as he's taking care of this entirely and we do not know what it is as of yet. On the Saturday we will be at the wedding.

Menu 11/08/13 - 17/08/13

Roast Lamb Dinner

Honey Roast Gammon Quiche, wedges, peas

Lasagne

Jacket Potato, Quiche

Sticky Honey Soy Sauce Turkey Steaks, Green Beans, Rice

Shopping List

4 x Turkey 500 g (Sainsbury's) £3.33

Lean Beef Steak Mince (Sainsabury's) £3.33

Sainsburys Smoked Bacon 1  x 225 g (came as a pack of 2 and part of the 3 for 10 deal - Sainsbury's) £1.67

Smoked Gammon Joint 750 g (Sainsbury's) £3.33

Boneless Lamb Shoulder 400 g (Sainsbury's) £3.33

Sweetcorn £1.00

Cucumber £0.50

3 Mixed Peppers £1.00

Lettuce £1.00

Bananas (1.265 kg - 6 bananas) £0.86

Bananas (1.410 kg -marked down) £0.14

Desiree Potatoes (2 kg) £2.00

Broccoli £0.60

Lasagne Sheets (Tesco) £2.00

Corn Flour £1.50

Mature Cheddar Cheese (350 g) £2.00

2 tins chopped tomatoes £0.62

Tomato Puree £0.48

Milk - 4 pints £1.00

White Basmati Rice - 2 kg £2.98

Trimmed Fine Beans - 205 g £1.00

Trimmed Fine Beans - 90 g £0.50

Organic Cornflakes - GF £1.48

Cripps Apples £2.00

Peach Slices £0.39

Blue Berries  - 2  x125 g (from Doncaster market) £1.50

Honey £1.39

Smart Price Pineapple - 565 g £0.27

Mandarin Segments £0.24

Tinned Apples £0.55

Lemons £0.85

Natural Yoghurt x 2 £0.90

Total £43.74

I do expect to have some leftovers for following week's, I've stocked up a little bit on some store cupboard items such as the rice. There were some bananas marked down which I bought to use this week, but the other half doesn't like bananas with any bruises at all. If there are any left then I will make Banana Bread with it. 

Breakfast: Cereal, Eggs, Bacon, Fruit Salad

Lunches: Gammon / Tuna Salad, Leftovers

Snacks: Apples, Bananas

Leftovers in Cupboard, Freezer: Frozen Peas, Eggs, Tuna, GF Soy Sauce, Onions