to say that cottage pie is NOT a “weekday meal”

[RiddleMeThis2018]

Cottage pie is delicious. I know how to make it, but sometimes I like to look at a recipe online, to make sure I don’t put too much tomato in by mistake (disappointing, not to be recommended). Almost ALL the recipes say “delicious week-night supper” or similar. This is NOT a weeknight supper!! I couldn’t do it yesterday because the DCs and I got back from swimming too late. I’m not even working today and I had to psych myself up to it. The mince takes 50 mins to simmer, and that’s after all the chopping. Then there’s 20 mins in the oven assuming you time the potatoes right. And then the washing up!

I don’t blame cottage pie. I blame the website writers who want to make me think I should just whip this up on a Thursday when I get in from work. AIBU?

Cottage pie is a meal you can have whenever you want. Each to their own.
Prepare it at the weekend for Monday or Tuesday.
Everyone has their own way of doing things.
All depends on what time you are willing to spend preparing food. So many ways to get round it.

Yanbu op its a fiddly pain in the arse. Weekday teas are one stage, bung in the oven done.

Lasagne here is easier than cottage pie. no faffing with mash potato step.

^^i agree with this. I do occasionally make lasagne mid week at least it doesn't involve peeling anything

It is definitely a midweek supper, I would not have it for Sunday lunch, cook double mince and use leftovers for pie, it’s not rocket science.

I think it's over rated. Unless it's the M&S one!

It’s totally a weekend meal.
60 mins to cook the mince?

I wonder how old the posters’ dc are who eat pesto pasta and pasta with garlic sauce? They are lovely meals but my teenage dc are growing like mad and are craving protein.

I kind of agree orange its why I rarely cook it cba in the week and don't fancy it at the weekend. I quite simply don't like it enough to bother with the faff of prepping mince on Sunday. Its a meal for that occasional day where I need to get a tesco shop and all I have left is mince and potato....

I rarely cook it in favour of much quicker dinners, but when I do I use frozen chopped onions, ready prepped baby carrots, and frozen mash.

That cuts the timings down loads .

I made this last time www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/775643/cottage-pie and it was bloody amazing but not a weekday meal.

I cook my mince in tne slow cooker then just cook the potatoes in the last 30 mins , same for lasagna just make the sauce layer and pop it in the oven . I generally batch cook lasagne and cottage pie in individual portions as it gives me a quick meal especially when everyone is in and out at different times , also do veg versions for dd

I do a cottage pie in 30 mins max. But I'm vegan so I don't have to wait for meat to cook which helps

I find it takes a lot of effort for a midweek meal too. I like to simmer the meat for a good half hour to 40 minutes to get a good rich gravy. Nothing worse than a grey looking cottage pie.

We’ve just had Cottage Pie- but it’s M&S Gastro pub Cottage Pie.
There’s no way I could be bothered to make it midweek after work.

I’m surprised by how quickly your potatoes cook. I don’r time them- but i’m sure mine take a good 25/30 minutes to get to mashing point.

Sorry, it’s a pretty boring meal whatever you do with it, but having said that, it’s a nice meal, nothing to be ashamed of if cooked from scratch

If you dice them into small pieces they take hardly any time

I’ve tried that and they go soggy for me. Maybe i’m not paying them the attention they deserve........

It probably depends on the potatoes, some mash better than others re the sogginess. But that said the MN cook to mashing in 10 mins potatoes are probably on the same shelf as the feed a family for a week chickens.....

Do it in the slow cooker and peel spuds the night before. All you have to do is cook the spuds then whack it under the grill for 5 mins. 25 mins?

If you cut the potatoes too small the mash is too watery. I serve pasta with tomato and garlic sauce to my teenagers - they eat a large portion of pasta with lots of parmesan cheese on top (protein) and in any case they get plenty of protein at other meals.

I feel your pain. Tried it and found it too laborious for what it is as still need to do veg on the side to get a balanced meal and then it means dirtying up 4 pans and oven dishes. It would have to be a bloomin great big pie to be worth my while for all that drama. I’d rather make a one pot dish like paella, fideua, biryani or chickpea stew and be done with it. Can’t be bothered with all the faff since I cook from scratch every day, no jar sauces no ready mixes. I try and cook for 2 days and on activities night if I’ve slept well and get up early I can do the slow cooker thing if not I cave in and we have pizza or I make a quick pesto sauce and pasta/tortellinis and sauté some seafood from the freezer with peas to mix in.

Lasagne here is easier than cottage pie. no faffing with mash potato step.

I disagree with this, unless your using jarred sauces.

By the time you've made the tom sauce, (onion, garlic red wine, fresh italian herbs, tom paste, prosciutto, nutmeg, beef stock) shallow fry the mince and to the sauce and simmer for as long as possible.

make the white sauce, (500ml whole milk, grated onion, bay leaf, cloves, butter, plain flour, parmesan cheese, and egg yolks) then assemble etc...

However in saying that the above is a regular in our home, with homemade bread also (ds has allergies and we have no cook everything from scratch even the pasta)

I wouldn't eat this on a weekend. Not special enough. Week night supper for me :-)

Definitely mid-week in this house- leftover roast used and on the table within the hour. Depending on the roast it may not be cottage pie however