Cous Cous-Topped Chicken, Veg and Pesto Pie

I’m still cracking on with the 80p per head challenge I set myself. I hope you are too. I saved £105 on my shopping bill this month!

I worked out the costings of this Cous cous topped chicken, veg and pesto pie last night as I was cooking it. In order for it to come in under budget it needed to feed 8. So I simply dished out a couple of servings into a container before the Cous cous went on top. Me and Mr L will have this one night when the kids have had an ‘easy-tea’ (code-word for fishfingers or pizza in this house, sshhh it happens).

If there’s four of you in the family, save half of the chicken mixture for a meal next week and freeze it. Try not to get into the habit of dishing up seconds on auto-pilot…save yourself the money and time another day.

It’s the first time I have made this, and for once, I wouldn’t really tweak it (I am my own harshest critic), but as with all my recipe suggestions…they are just that – ‘suggestions’. If you don’t like an ingredient, leve it out, or try substituting it with something else. Be creative…

Here’s how I made it:

I sauted an onion and 2 cloves of garlic in a little olive oil. I added 4 chicken breasts, diced (I got them for £3.33 as part of a 3 for £10 deal); once they had browned I added a cubed sweet potato, 700g Passata and a heaped tbsp (roughly) of red pesto some Oregano, and a tsp or so of balsamic vinegar;

I cooked this on a low-medium heat for about 5 mins, before adding some sliced mushrooms, a diced courgette and half a butternut squash, halved, roasted and then peeled earlier.

But like i said, don’t be limited by what I used. I just happened to have these in the fridge. You could use red pepper, carrot, aubergine…

Simmer for a further 10-15 mins, untl the sweet potato is tender, season to taste; Meanwhile, measure out 250g Cous cous (feeds 5) and pour over 300ml boiling water. Cover and leave for 5 mins, then fluff up with a fork and add a couple of spoonfuls of the chicken mixture. This will help it soak up all the flavours, otherwise it can be rather bland (now is the time to set aside any chicken you will be using in a later meal).

Top the chicken mixture with the Cous cous, then tear a ball of Mozzarella over and bake at 200 degrees (Gas Mark 6) for about 15 mins, until lightly golden and bubbling. Serve with broccoli, or the green veg of your choice (the broccoli was included in the PPH of this meal. I got all of the veg from Aldi)