Quick and Easy Tinned Cottage Pie

Sometimes we just don't have time to make a nice homemade meal, but still want something good and comforting for dinner. One of my all time favourite meals is cottage pie, and have found myself reaching for the ready meal version to save me time. But this will not save me money. Instead, I have found the perfect solution...tinned cottage pie.

Now, wait. Before you are picturing a single tin in which a congealed mess that claims to be cottage pie slurps out, think again. I am talking about using tinned ingredients for a delicious, nutritious and cheap cottage pie. Canned veggies have a bad rep, with people thinking that they aren't as good for you as the fresh alternative! But as the awesome people at cannedfood.co.uk can vouch for, they are still packed with vitamins and minerals, and count towards your 5-a-day. Another huge bonus, is that they can be so much cheaper! With a tin of potatoes (already peeled and par-boiled) costing you only 20 pennies (Tesco Value) you'll be saving money, waste and time in prep. A real win-win. So let's get on with the recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tin of Sliced Carrots
• 1Tin of Peas
• 2 Tins of Potatoes
• 1 Tablespoon Butter or Margerine
• 1 Tin of Mince
• 1/2 Cup of Oats (to bulk up)
• Cheese to Sprinkle on Top

Method:

1) First thing to do is make the mash. With the tinned potatoes, this is super easy. Use 1 and 1/2 tins of the potatoes (saving 1/2 a tin worth of big ones for slicing later), and microwave them in a microwave safe dish for about a minute to soften a bit more. Then, put them in a blender or chopper (or go old school and give your muscles a work-out with a manual masher) along with a knob of butter or marg. Blend up into a nice smooth mash (For a cheesy twist, add soft cheese instead of butter).




2) Put the mince, peas, carrots and oats into an oven dish. The oats will make the mince go further and you can't even taste them (my boyfriend didn't even notice when I didn't tell him!). You could also use lentils for this (canned versions available). Give this all a mix.


3) Now, take those potatoes you left over from earlier and slice them up nice and thin. These will be placed on top of the mince mixture to stop the mash from sinking.

4) Now slather on the delicious mash and top with a sprinkling of cheese. As all the ingredients are already cooked, it just needs heating through in the oven. This takes about 20-30 minutes depending on your oven, and I set mine at 180°C. Now all you have to do is wait for this comforting classic to cook and form that nice crispy cheesy layer on top.

There you go, it's as simple as that! For more canned recipes, check out CannedFood.

Let me know how you get on in the comments below!

Luck and Love, 

Laurie