Burger And Chips – ‘M Savers’ Challenge

  Homemade Burger and Chips - Simple And Delicious

The M Savers Challenge

This burger and chips recipe was written as part of a challenge that Morrisons supermarket set – the #Msavers Challenge. Morrisons have recently brought out a range of products – M Savers – that are particularly low cost – to help families prepare a low cost meal. Burger and chips was one of the traditional meals that can be made from the Msavers products.

They asked some food bloggers, who write about budget friendly meals, to try out some of their products. Since I often urge people to try out the good value ranges that supermarkets produce, it seemed only right to try out some of these products.

I was asked to make burger and chips. I used M Savers beef (2.40 for 800g), potatoes(£1.78 for 5kg), onions(88p for 1.5kg), mixed herbs(19p a pot), white rolls(35p for 12) and tomatoes(78p for 4). The result is a low cost family meal. Burger and chips for under £3.00 for a family of four.

When looking for meals on a budget, Burger and Chips makes an easy, low cost, good value family meal – much tastier and more economical than High Street fast food

Unhealthy Fast Food?

Burgers have not had the best press in the world – it has to be said. Often seen as the root cause of obesity, and the epitome of fast food, it seems to have a lot to answer for. And yet it is a simple meal, easy to put together and tasty food on a budget. It is a crowd pleaser. Most kids are going to eat their dinner when such a menu is on offer, and even tuck a way a few vegetables at the same time.

Burgers are made with minced beef. Many dishes in the British diet are made with minced beef – think Cottage Pie, Spaghetti Bolognese or Chilli con Carne to name but a few. So it is possible to make burgers without them being the scourge that they are often represented as in the media. They are simple an excellent easy to prepare supper. I would not advocate eating them every day. Indeed, personally I would not advocate eating meat every single day. Partly because of cost (lentils and pulses or so much cheaper than meat) and partly because of other considerations (ecological and health). However as an enjoyable, easy, low cost meal – burgers are an excellent option.

  Msavers Beef The Msavers beef is higher fat than the more lean, higher priced beef at nearly 25% fat, so I wouldn’t recommend it too often. However it had plenty of flavour and is very economical. The potatoes are particularly good value at £1.88 for 5kg and were very tasty.

A Simple, Homemade Treat

I like to keep things simple so this burger recipe is easy to make, with flavourings of cayenne pepper, mixed herbs and garlic. You can of course, vary the flavourings to suit your own tastes, so feel free to ring the changes.

The burgers are served, traditionally, in a white bun. I make all my own bread and rolls usually so it is rare for me to try these sort of rolls. They are quite soft, but as an accompaniment to a burger, they are very acceptable – and again, are great value food.

  Chunky Jacket Wedges When it comes to chips, I cooked the potatoes as jacket wedges. They cook in the oven and do not require a pan full of fat. They will be lower fat than chips, as the wedges are bigger and you can control the amount of fat you add to them. But perhaps most importantly, they are really, really tasty!! Leave the skins on and you get more fibre and vitamins.

They can be cooked in the oven alongside the burgers so by ‘oven sharing’ you are cutting down on the total energy used. You can also go away and leave them for 20 minutes while they are all cooking, rather than having to attend an item on the hob. In busy family lives, this can be a great advantage too! Time to get something done, while dinner is cooking (or have 20 minutes with your feet up!)

Serving Suggestions

When serving your burgers – I think a slice of cheese and a slice of tomato is essential! Then a dollop of tomato ketchup. You may prefer mayonnaise or mustard – whatever your choice – just do your own thing. I chose to use M Savers mature cheddar cheese block and cut slices from it. They also do some processed cheese slices in the M Savers range – 10 for 50p. The processed cheese is less than half the price per kilo – each slice is just 5p. An equivalent slice from mature cheddar cheese would be about 12p each. It just depends on your preference.

Tip – make twice as many burgers than you will need and freeze half (raw) to make a a quick meal another day.

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