Mumsnet Talk

I`m a nervous wreck when cooking for others.
Honestly.I get palpitations the night before.
Anyhow -I have just received a text from a friend inviting herself ,husband and 2 children(3 and 2) over on Sunday(they are very relaxed like that!)
Of course I said yes.
But I`m trying to think of the most incredibly easy ,and failsafe ideas to serve for a very relaxed lunch(4 adults and 5 children).

All thoughts most welcome!

I'd make a roast dinner.

Alternatively, a stew you could make the day before so you can just chill on the Sunday

Lasagne, prepared the day before, served with salad and garlic bread. Easy peasy. Fruit and ice cream for pud.

Thanks.
I should have said am trying to steer away from a roast-trying to think of an easy buffet type or "pick and wander "type of meal ,rather than sit down.
Based on past experience we eat in relays ,as the children(all 3 + under) are quite busy !
We rarely eat meat ourselves(but very happy to cook + eat occasionally)so am very inexperienced(and avoid wherever possible!)
Stew sounds like an idea.
Any recipes on the site I could nab?!

Stew is very easy. Chuck a load of cubed beef, chopped veg (I always have carrots and parsnips), water, a crumbled up stock cube and whatever herbs/seasoning you like into a pot and there you go. I always do it in the slow cooker 6-8 hours, and towards the end mix in some cornflour to thicken.

Alternatively, get a big chicken and one of those easy bake bags so you don't have to keep going back and glooping the stock over it so it doesn't dry out, and then buy in the roast potatoes/yorkshires/anything fancy ready made if you're not confident.

Whoops. Disregard my post then!

Why not chicken pieces in BBQ sauce?
www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/poultry-and-game/chicken/oven-baked-chicken-in-maple-barbecue-sauce.html

Easy peasy, and you could cook a few plain bits of chicken for the kids if they don't do sauces.

Baked potatoes and some green beans to accompany.

Fruit crumble and custard for pudding. That can all be done in advance.

Maybe a vegetable lasagne? We are major meat eaters, but don't miss the meat when we make a lasagne with courgettes/aubergine/peppers (kinda like a ratatouille rather than a bolognese).

YOu could have some pizzas in the freezer just incase the little ones are screaming for food/don't like the lasagne, and they would fit with the "italian" theme.

Fruit salad for afters

chilli con carne buy a few packets of cheap tortillas, cover with sour cream and salsa and cheese, put in microwave until the cheese melts, big bowl of rice

I bought a shoulder of lamb last week, about a fiver, put it in the slow cooker all day with bit of stock, tin of tomatoes, some peeled potatoes, seasoning... served with savoy cabbage and other veg.... OMG delish-ous!

The Baker Boys pulled pork recipe is easy (and cheap and my children love it) - here

Sorry ,we don`t have a slow cooker(but the recipes for one sound great!).
I do like the sound of barbecue sauce chicken-I might do a practice run tomorrow!
Can I just ask also -if one is doing a roast chicken in a bake bag-what do you put in with the chicken?Or does that come with the bake bags?(told you I was useless!)

Fajitas or wraps are another buffet type help yourself option. You could buy a precooked pack of chicken mini fillets as the meat option and do other dishes of mixed beans, cheese, roasted veg, tomatoes, sweetcorn etc. that way everyone can just pick at the bits they want.

You could even do Nachos with grated cheese and salsa to go with it/ as a sharing platter starter.