Cheap Family Meals 1 - Cheesy Potatoes

Cheesy Potatoes

Let's start with something simple.  For cheap family meals this is a good place to start.  I am not listing quantities here as it will depend on taste and what you have available. It also depends on  if you are making it as a main meal or as a side dish.

Ingredients:

Potatoes  - As many as you think you can eat. It will be quite a lot if you are not adding any meat or fish to the dinner plate. I never bothered to buy any particular type as it was all about using what ever was in the vegetable basket.

Onions - If you don't have any then these are optional.

Cheese - Cheddar types work well, the stronger the better but any cheese will do. We loved making this just after Christmas and using up the remnants of the cheese board. Again no quantities as it will depend on what you have available. Old dried up cheese will work just as well as fresh moist cheese.The amount of cheese we used varied depending on what was in the fridge. It works just as well with a lot or a little.

Garlic - to taste, again optional.

Liquid - This can be milk, or cream if you have some needing to be used up. A mixture of both will work.

A little oil.

Some butter.

Salt and pepper.


Method:

Wash and peel the potatoes and slice thinly. You actually don't have to peel them if they are well washed but my kids objected vehemently to the skin.

Peel and thinly slice the onions (if using) and soften, in a pan over a gentle heat, in the oil.

Grate the cheese, and mix if using different sorts.

Take your liquid (cream, milk, or both) approximately 1/4pt per person. Add a large knob of butter per person and crush in the garlic. Now heat gently in a microwave or a pan until the butter melts.

Now take a large oven proof dish and butter it well. It is better to use a large shallow dish rather than a small deeper one as the deep one takes much longer to cook through and therefore burns up more energy and costs you more to make. Put a layer of sliced potatoes in the bottom of the dish about a third. Top with a layer of cheese and onions. The thickness of the cheese layers will depend on how much cheese you have. You will probably need about  a third of your cheese and half of your onions.. Season the layer with salt and pepper and pour over a third of your liquid. Stir the mixture first to ensure all the garlic is not sitting at the bottom. Add more potatoes, cheese, and the rest of the onions. season and pour over another third of the liquid. Now top with the final potatoes, cheese and liquid and season again. Now you need to cover the dish and bake. If you have foil use that if not a baking sheet is reusable and cheaper. If the dish is very full then put another baking sheet underneath to catch any over flow.

Heat the oven to 180C / 350F and bake for at least an hour. Uncover for the last 20 minutes to allow the top to brown. Test with a knife and, if it is not cooked, recover and turn up the temperature for another 20 minutes. If you use a deeper dish then you will need to extend the cooking time considerably. If the dish you have chosen is suitable and will fit in the microwave then you can give the dish a head start by microwaving for 20 to 30 minutes before putting in the oven.

This can be served on its own, with bread and butter, with a green salad, with veg, with meat or fish, the variables are infinite.  We often ate it with just bread and butter.

Variations: - You can add layers of thinly sliced turnip or swede and/or top with breadcrumbs before baking.

My children loved this dish and there were never left overs but if you find you have left overs then leave them to cool in the dish and slice into portions. These can be frozen for another day. Smaller portions can be reheated in the microwave and served with beans for a nice lunch or as a side dish for a bigger meal.

I hope you like this recipe and give it a go it is so simple to make and delicious.

Thank you for reading this and please come back to my cheap family meals.