What's your 'bung it in the oven' no effort dinner?

[racinghare]

I asked for dinner advice yday and got so may lovely suggestions, so I'm back for more lol. Something quick and easy bung it in the oven no effort- what's your go to? Mine is usually a chicken, carrots and potato all cooked together and then add stock at the end to turn into a gravy. That's too much effort today though!

Lasagne is hard work for me but then I make a cheese sauce from scratch and cook the meat mix for ages etc.

Easy oven thing would be pasta with dolmio and grated cheese stirred in.

Or cook from frozen salmon steaks, lemon juice and garlic, oven for 20 minutes, throw frozen prawns in five minutes before serving. Plus rice in microwave 16 mins.

In terms of cheating easy food Aldi sell slow-cooked pork loin with pepper sauce and pulled pork, both of which take 30 mins in the oven and aren't much more expensive than buying the meat itself. I serve with rice as above.

Those are all things I do when I have time but need to do other things while food is cooking. Things I do when I have little time are pesto pasta, couscous with ham and peas stirred through, egg fried rice using rice I've cooked the previous day, or sausage rolls and baked beans.

@carefullycourageous

Cheese bread and butter pudding, with baked beans, is the easiest 'proper' meal I make in the oven.

Most of my easy meals are made on the hob.

Cheese bread and butter pudding? OMG that sounds AMAZING! Why have I never thought of it?

@1forAll74

I have just put a chicken casserole in the oven, I prepared it last night. Its got some onions and celery and mushrooms in it, and some tarragon, might add some left over wine in it later before eating, then some green veg to go with it..

I had a shock last week, reading about broccoli. I read that broccoli can sometimes have tiny little worms inside it, like from where it grows. And sure enough. i decide to be more careful when washing it and preparing it, and in a couple of the floret things, I found two tiny worms embeded in them., little tiny black ones. I would have just done a quick wash and prepare before and cook, before i read this..

It's just extra protein

Bung the hot rocks (we have a normal one and a solid salt one) in the oven then cut up lumps of steak which is something we always keep in and everyone cooks their own pieces of steak at the table. Serve with oven chips and some sliced cherry tomatoes and pepper also cooked on the hot rocks. Dc thinks it’s a treat but literally takes no work at all.

Cook pasta, squirt in Heinz ketchup, top with grated cheese. I kid you not, my OH's fave quick meal.
Microwave packet wholemeal rice, while it's 'standing', gently take the chill off a cooked salmon fillet and give frozen peas a couple of mins (all in microwave), then flake fish, stir all together with knob of butter and black pepper.

@thesnaleandthewhail

Love how some peoples quick dinners are like my full effort 🤣

I know right?! The OP asked for "no effort" dinners, not "slightly-reduced-effort-than-your-usual-high-standards"

Kudos to all of you, these recipes sound delicious.

we try not to use the oven as much as it uses douch electricity compared to other heat sources.

a stir-fry with tofu is one of our favourites.
quick, fresh and uses 15 minutes of gas.

Salmon fillet or pieces topped with either pesto and breadcrumbs, or hoisin sauce and breadcrumbs then baked for 20 mins or so. With rice and veg or mash (I batch cook mash and freeze portions for quick mid week meals)

Veggie soup. Fill medium large saucepan with water, chuck in 1 large sliced carrot, 1 large diced potato, one sliced stick of celery if you have it and some dried mixed herbs. Bring to boil and add 4 vegetable oxo cubes and some pepper. Turn down to simmer. Leave it to it for about 20 minutes or until the potato is cooked.

Not much washing up after either.

A Greek gnocchi bake. Fill half a dish with gnocchi, the other half with chopped red onion, garlic, courgette, cherry tomatoes and red pepper. Top the veggies with a block of feta. Drizzle with honey and olive oil. Bake for 20 mins and stir everything together.

Carbonara - I've got it down to 12 mins (which is just as long as the spaghetti takes to cook). Spaghetti, fresh garlic, parsley and freshly-ground black pepper, smoked lardons, mascarpone and, if I have them in the fridge at the time, some sliced mushrooms (I like to blast the mushrooms separately in a hot frying pan to give them that lovely caramelised touch).

@Squiff70

Pasta bake or lasagne. If I'm feeling a bit crazy I'll throw in a garlic flatbread for good measure!

Lasagna? Presumably shop bought!

Oh and leeks, I forgot to put leeks.

Microwaveable tomato and basil tilda rice
Stir through tinned salmon and sweetcorn

@ToastedCrumpetwithCheese

Salmon pastry things with red pesto.

Divide ready roll puff pastry into 4x rectangles (if you have 4 people). Cut the skin off some salmon. Spread some red pesto in the middle of each square. Cut each salmon fillet in half so you can fit it on the pastry rectangle. Fold up the edges of the pastry to make a little tub around the salmon. Brush pastry with milk. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Cook at about 180C for 25-30 mins. Serve with some veg and we do easy roast potatoes (shove some little charlotte or salad potatoes in hot oil and cook in oven for 30mins).

Get kids to lay the table and put your feet up for 30mins.

Peel Chop Spread Fold up Brush Season Roast

P

@Tabitha005

Carbonara - I've got it down to 12 mins (which is just as long as the spaghetti takes to cook). Spaghetti, fresh garlic, parsley and freshly-ground black pepper, smoked lardons, mascarpone and, if I have them in the fridge at the time, some sliced mushrooms (I like to blast the mushrooms separately in a hot frying pan to give them that lovely caramelised touch).

Sounds lovely but that is not Carbonara!

Buy something, maybe from Lidl? Their lasagne, or a chicken and bacon pasta, or one of their pies? Serve with peas, cooked for 3 minutes in the micro

Chicken or sausage traybake with the Mediterranean vegetables you get from the supermarket and a few parboiled spuds . Speedy spaghetti from Geannaro Contaldo - basically spaghetti with olive oil anchovies and a chilli or air fryer baked potatoes (3 mins in microwave first )with one of the little flavoured tuna tins and salad .Yum.

Not in oven but super quick and easy. Olive oil in frying pan. Add celery, chopped carrots, garlic and onion. Saute until soft. Add rice and stir in to coat in the oil. Add fish stock cube dissolved in hot water. Put lid on and simmer until rice is cooked and most of the water has evaporated. Add frozen peas or corn and bring back to a slow simmer. Then add a small pot of smoked salmon. Heat through for a couple of minutes. Pile into a bowl. Voila! (If you have guests then line a bowl with rocket and lettuce leaves then pile fish mixture into the centre. (Sometimes I use smoked mackerel instead of smoked salmon)

Jacket potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn, can be thrown in with the oven timer before I go to work.

Sausage traybake, brocoli, cherry tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, cook for 30 mins. Toss in some sherry/ balsamic/ red wine vinigar at the end before serving.

Cajun chicken broil type thing. Chicken drumsticks, mini corn on the cobs halved, new potatoes halved, smoked sausage (like mattasons) chopped up all in a roasting tin and cover with cajun spices. Cover with foil and cook on a high heat, can't remember how long. Can also do a faster version with prawns.

*small packet

Bung a whole seasoned chicken in the oven on high heat for an hour, potter off and do other things for half an hour, chuck in a whole garlic bulb (optional), wander off again (or frantically get other chores or work done), 20 minutes later warm some ciabatta through and assemble a basic salad or just empty a bag of leaves into a bowl. Everyone rips into hot roast chicken, digs into caramelised garlic cloves to use as 'butter' on the warm bread (or just butter), adds a couple of leaves and some mayo, dressing, chilli sauce or whatever. Low effort, empty plates, carcass to use in true MN style for a chicken soup ;-)

Not oven but fajita pasta 😋 a real comfort dinner

New potatoes and chopped up carrots, shallots, garlic.
Pour stock over. Put a chicken on top of the potatoes and vegetables - season. Cover in foil and bake.
Delicious roast chicken, and the potatoes and vegetables (whatever ones you fancy really) are all perfectly cooked in a very delicious gravy.

Tray bake - either chicken thighs or sausages, chopped up veg, seasoning, herbs, olive oil. Bung it in the oven for 40 mins and ignore it.