Cheap Budget Meal - Mediterranean Meatball Bake with Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar Crumbles

This week thanks to the lovely weather we have been wanting lighter meals. I am happy to eat salads but the children, and the hubby, like more substantial meals.

This meal is a combination of the two. It contains the deliciously light Mediterranean vegetables that we all enjoy with a family favourite, meatballs.

To give this roasted dish a new twist I have added a herb crumble topping using Pilgrims Choice Extra Mature Cheddar Crumbles with Breadcrumbs and Herbs. The crumbles are a new range of cheese from Pilgrims Choice that allow you too instantly transform a meal. There are three varieties available, mature cheddar crumble, mature cheddar with black pepper and mature cheddar with breadcrumbs and herbs.

Here is this weeks Cheap Budget Meal recipe...

Mediterranean Meatball Bake

Ingredients

400g mince beef (£3.20)
2 red onions, one half chopped finely the rest cut into chunky pieces (17p)
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and chopped (15p)
Fresh basil leaves
3 salad tomatoes, cut into chunks (35p)
1 yellow pepper, chopped into chunky pieces (60p)
1 courgette, cut in chunks then quartered (35p)
Worcester sauce
100g Pilgrims Choice Crumbles with breadcrumbs and herbs (£2.79 per 200g bag)
Rice to serve (40p per 500g bag)

Method

Pre heat the oven to 200C fan

1 - Put the mince beef into a bowl and add half of a red onion chopped, the chilli, a handful of chopped basil leaves and a good dash of Worcester sauce. Mix the ingredients together with your hands and form small meat balls.

2 - Place the meatball into a large roasting tin along with the remaining red onion, tomatoes, yellow pepper and courgettes. Spray with a little oil.

3 - Roast in the centre of a pre heated oven for 20 minutes.

4 - After 20 minutes sprinkle over the cheese crumble and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

5 - Serve with fresh basil leaves scattered over the top and rice.

The cheese crumble topping gave this dish the perfect finish. We all enjoyed the crunchy crumble topping and it was an easy addition to the meal.

This meal can be made for £8.01 which is £1.60 per serving (5 servings) there was enough food for seconds which is a good job as everyone wanted more! This meal does cost slightly more than usual however you do have enough cheese crumble for a second meal and plenty of rice left!

Enjoy x

Disclosure: I was sent one of each variety of Pilgrims Choice Cheese Crumbles to create a recipe. No payment was received. All views and opinions are my own and 100% honest.

I am sharing this recipe with

Honest Mum - Tasty Tuesdays
A Mummy Too - Recipe of the Week