CRACK the cost of Christmas by kick-starting your festive shopping now. The supermarkets are already slashing the cost of some seasonal favourites, so snap them up to spread the biggest shopping bills of the year.
Here are my top buys to get you off the festive starting blocks and I have some tasty pie recipes from Morrisons.com to help you put a lid on the festive excitement.
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LITTLE NIBBLERS: Little ones will love Tesco mini chocolate penguins or mini gingerbreadmen, £1 per packet or buy two for £1.50.
PUD ON YOUR LIST: For a festive tradition get two Tesco Christmas puddings, 400g, for £3, or £2 each.
CHRISTMAS CRACKERS: Save £1 on Jacob’s Crackers for Cheese from Sainsbury’s, now £2.
CREAM OF THE CROP: Grab a 70cl bottle of Baileys, down from £15 to £11.50 at Morrisons.
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WHAT A CARD: Get your Christmas greetings off early with two packs of selected £3 Christmas cards for £4 at Morrisons.
CHAMPAGNE MOMENT: Save £8 on a bottle of Moët & Chandon Impérial, down from £38 to £30 at Iceland.
JUST THE TONIC: Save £3.50 on Gordon’s Gin, 1l, at Sainsbury’s, now £17.
BUBBLE TROUBLE: Get more bubbles for your buck with £1 off Tesco Finest Prosecco, now £7.
TAKE THE BISCUIT: Save £2 on Cadbury’s & Oreo biscuit assortment at Sainsbury’s, 500g, now £4.
MAKE A DATE: Now’s the window to buy selected chocolate advent calendars, including Cadbury Dairy Milk, for £1 at Morrisons.
THEY’RE A ’SNIP: Save 75p on Aunt Bessie’s honey glazed roast parsnips at Sainsbury’s, now £1.
MIGHTY MINIS: Get two packs of Morrisons The Best nine Mini Mince Pies for £3, or £1.85 each.
Butternut squash, feta & spinach pies
(Serves four)
YOU NEED:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, peeled and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 200g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 40g pine nuts
- 500g butternut squash, diced
- 200g feta cheese, crumbled
- 150g spinach leaves
- 100ml veg stock, from a cube
- 500g puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten, to glaze
METHOD:
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic and mushrooms, until softened. Add the pine nuts, cook for a further two minutes, remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, boil a pan of water and cook the squash for 15 minutes until just tender. Drain and toss into the onion mixture with the feta, spinach and stock.
- Pop lid on pan and cook for two minutes so the spinach wilts. Divide the mixture between four individual pie dishes.
- Heat oven to 200C/180fan/Gas 6. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to ½cm thick.
- Cut thin strips of pastry wide enough to go all the way around the lips of the pie dishes, brush the rims with the beaten egg and press the pastry strips down well.
- Lift lids onto each pie from the rolled-out pastry, press the edges well to seal, pinch the edges and use any trimmings to decorate your pies. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and bake for 35 minutes until pastry is golden.
Steak and ale pie
(Serves four)
YOU NEED:
- 1tbsp each sunflower oil, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce
- 500g braising steak, cubed
- 300g shallots, peeled
- 250g mushrooms, wiped
- 200ml real ale
- 300ml beef stock, made from a cube
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 2 tbsp beef-flavour gravy granules
- 350g puff pastry
- 1 egg, beaten, to glaze
METHOD:
- Heat oil in a large pan, fry beef over high heat to seal. Add shallots and mushrooms, cook for five minutes.
- Pour the ale and stock into the pan, stir in tomato purée, sugar, Worcestershire sauce. Season. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours.
- The beef should be very tender. Raise heat, whisk in gravy granules, stirring until the juices thicken. Spoon into an ovenproof pie dish.
- Heat oven to 200C/180fan/Gas 6. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface, cut a long thin strip to go around the edge of the dish.
- Dampen rim of dish, press the strip onto it. Use remaining pastry to form a lid, lift onto the pie, pressing down well. Trim the edges.
- Pinch with finger and thumb all around the edge of the pie, make 2 small slits in the top. Decorate with any pastry trimmings by re-rolling and cutting out shapes.
- Brush evenly with beaten egg and bake for 40 minutes until the pastry is cooked through, well risen and a deep golden colour.
