The list consisted of items over twice what we spent last year and what we can reasonably afford this year without going into ...

Tender beef in a rich sauce made with beer and bacon, topped with crisp, golden puff pastry – this superb steak, mushroom and ale pie is a perfect autumn warmer.

To cook from frozen, defrost the meat and mashed potato in the fridge overnight and assemble and bake, making sure the shepherd’s pie is piping hot all the way through before serving.