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?

Cook mince
Add chopped onion
Tin of baked beans

Use frozen mash cooked in microwave to layer on top.

Whack in oven on full heat 5-10, just to make the top go crispy.

You can also sprinkle grated cheese on the top of the potatoes DH loves the cheese on top, I think it's rank

Its a ‘double cooking’ meal, like lasagne.
It can be done, but only if we don’t have clubs.

If no time for cottage pie, I make a big pan of scouse, the kids love that and it’s wayyyy less faff/washing up

I made shepherds pie last night...but if I want quick then its grilled salmon, grilled chicken...stir fry. Stuff like that.

I'd have to do it the day before if we wanted it midweek, to do from scratch after getting in from work would take too long for us.

Whatever about Cottage Pie , Lasagne takes forever to make .Bechamel sauce, meat sauce, tomato sauce , herbs , chopped veggies and to finish it off a ton of pots to wash. I need at least an hour to do that.

Depends entirely on whether you work outside the home and if you do what time you get in. DH and I don’t get in until 7 at the earliest, usually later, so it definitely wouldn’t be a weeknight supper for us. If you get back at 5 or you’ve had all day to yourself while your kids are at school/nursery then I’m sure it’s easy.

Riddle, "supper' as an evening meal concept was, I think, introduced to us by Nigella, I think,
It’s possible, although I had a friend as a child, whose mother would sometimes invite me to a “kitchen supper”. She meant, come as you are, it might be cottage pie . She definitely predated Nigella (and was an amazing cook).

I'm with you OP. Mince dishes, and most casseroles, and a lot of curries, taste better IMO after a long slow cook. Or I give them a first cook then leave in the fridge overnight. The flavours have got to mellow and the meat tenderise, I can't bear lasagne that's been cooked in 25 minutes.

It's a simple meal you just saute and then simmer which needs none of your attention, bung some mash on the top and pop it in the oven. It's hardly haute cuisine, it's definitely a weekday supper here and we both work full time

I'm fasting. Now I'm hungry after reading this thread.

Riddle, "supper' as an evening meal concept was, I think, introduced to us by Nigella, I think

Supper has been around for lot longer than nigella.
It's only those people who like a heavy meal before bed calling it dinner who pretend not to know what it is.

It's hardly haute cuisine
Yup, not saying it is. Just saying it’s time-consuming.

Weekday meal at mine, prep at the weekend then frozen till needed.

20 mins reheat time all is good in my world.

No one’s saying it’s haute cuisine. But there’s a lot of chopping/peeling/different components that add up time wise.

If I’m coming in at 6 and starting it from scratch I’m going to struggle.

@Frogarmy last night was salmon , new potatoes, asparagus and a quick watercress sauce. Tonight DH is working late so I'm making chilli and he'll warm his up when he gets in. Tomorrow night spicy veggie stir-fry with tuna steaks. I always cook from scratch, if it's something that takes a bit longer I come in from work and put something on then leave it while I'm doing other things, but tend to eat dinner around 8:30/9 I know some people have dinner at six

We are usually in by about 6pm - bedtime at 8pm (for DD) so technically I would have the time. I certainly don't have the energy though!

And by the time DD has been at school all day followed by dance class/Scouts/whatever she is already hungry, so I aim to have dinner ready within about 20 minutes.

I do a fair amount of chopping / prepping at the weekend (like @BetrandRussell I can then enjoy my Domestic Goddess fantasies ), then bung the ingredients in the fridge or freezer, and bulk cook 'n' freeze/refrigerate, which is the only way I could manage cottage/shepherds pie in the week. Although as DD is vegetarian it isn't an option anyway.

I'm always really baffled by the idea of lasagne as a quick meal - it takes at least a couple of hours or it's not worth making. There are all the veg to chop and for the ragu to taste really good you've got to cook it for at least 40 minutes, preferably longer, and add things like pancetta and chicken livers, and then there's the bechamel sauce. And you've got to grate the Parmesan to go on top. And then it takes about 40 minutes in the oven. And it uses lots of pans and measuring jugs and graters and chopping boards. Anything that involves mashed potato or lots of grated cheese or white sauce is a labour intensive meal to me. Grating enough cheese for a family size dish of cauliflower cheese or macaroni cheese takes ages (or perhaps it just seems as if it does because it's boring and quite hard work)!

Cottage pie tine consuming? It's our standard meal for when we've got to be out of the house sharpish for an evening out!
40 minutes max from picking up the potato peeler to empty plates.

Weekday

to me it seems pointless cooking a perfectly acceptable meal, the putting it into an oven dish to cook again

@RiddleMeThis2018 I don't agree you can have the components cooking within 15/20 minutes then go off and do other things come back put it together and in the oven. You don't have to stand and watch it. I even do a midweek roast sometimes and the earliest I get home from work is six

Make night before and cook the next day for dinner

You can make a simple lasagne quite quickly, might not be the same as the one you make, families like dishes done differently, there's no one standard way of doing it.

Why is it not a week day meal.

If you want to improve it, precook the mince, or braising steak, and cook it for hours rather than minutes.

It's the same whether it's cottage/shepherd's pie, ragu or chilli. The longer the meat cooks the better the end result. In fact cook it yesterday, and warm it up today.

@DatsunCogs
Yes, I don't make the mince too 'wet' as we prefer gravy over it. Small yorkies mid week & lots of veg. My mash is 50/50 potato & carrot/swede mashed together to cut down on the carbs from the spuds & apart from the yorkies a perfectly healthy meal as the mince is also only 5% fat. Hasn't hindered me losing 3 dress sizes! It's a good filling midweek 'Sunday lunch' type meal when you need something substantial on the cold nights after only having soup or a salad for dinner (or lunch depending on where you come from ).
We don't tend to have it during the spring/summer which is a shame really as it's proper comfort food. Each to their own I say