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?

Mix in tin of peas/carrots.

Ugh!

As soon as I saw the thread title I knew there'd be lots of smug posts along the lines of "but cottage pie is so basic! I knock one up from scratch if I'm having a lazy day!" MN never disappoints

It depends entirely on your circumstances, surely? If you're a SAHP or you're working from home then you're at home during the day so whether it's a weekday or not makes no difference. If you finish work earlyish or if you work FT but have no small children then yes, it's perfectly feasible to make a cottage pie during the week. But if you don't get home until 6pm and then you need to get DC fed, supervise their homework, get them bathed and ready for bed then it's going to be a struggle.

I should add that although I enjoy cooking, upwards of an hour in the kitchen post-work isn’t something I would have done even before kids.

But who simmers mince for 50 mins then puts it in the oven?!

It's browned in *5& minutes!

5

It is a weekday meal, if you get home at a decent time.

It is not a 'quick after swimming and other clubs' meal.

Tinned peas/carrots do not belong in cottage pie. Or anything really.

The mince in cottage pie is not cooked the same way as it would be for bolognaise or lasagne. It does not need the long, slow simmer.

That’s what make sure it so disgusting!

Why are you simmering mince for fifty minutes?

So what does everyone eat as a "weekday" meal?

Stir-fry, fish (salmon or cod normally, cooked in foil in the oven), chicken dishes that take 30 mins max on the hob, salads in the summer with cold or hot meats etc.

I don't get home from work until 6.15pm, and by the time DS and I have walked the dog etc, the earliest I can start cooking is 7pm. I need dinner ready by 7.30pm otherwise I have a very grumpy 6 year old on my hands!

I gave up on shepherds pie and we have slow cooked mince and onions with mashed potatoes instead. Deconstructed.

Cottage pie involved mangling the Sunday roast through one of those mincers you used to clamp on the kitchen table when I was young so I haven’t ever bothered with it (food processor is not quite the same).

Ugh!

Fresh carrots and peas never cook through when I'm doing a quickie shepherds pie, hard as rock.

For all those asking about 45 min mince simmering time, here’s James Martin telling me to. I don’t do EVERYTHING he says, but I like a rich, well-simmered mince. For good measure, he’s also telling me it’s a weeknight family favourite.
www.bbc.com/food/recipes/classiccottagepie_90765

I can knock up a cheese soufflé as a midweek meal but not cottage pie or lasagne.

I agree about lasagne - that is definitely a weekend meal here.

But cottage/shepherd's pie? Nah! Always weekday. We all work full time and I don't get in until nearly 6pm but I can get this on the table in 40-45 minutes, and that is starting from scratch with no instant or frozen mash.
Eat-45: Boil a kettle, peel potatoes and chop smallish
Eat-40: Put potatoes on to boil
Peel and chop onion and carrot and celery
Eat-35: Fry veg, brown meat add stock, leave to simmer
Eat-20: Mash potatoes, assemble pie in dish, sprinkle cheese on top
Eat-15: Put cottage pie in oven and pout G+T
Eat

I guess with no small children I am not trying to feed anyone for an early bedtime. We are all Ok with eating at nearly 7pm.

The time to do mince is Saturday morning on the hob or in a One Pot. Shove it all in and leave.

"If you don't get home until 6pm and then you need to get DC fed, supervise their homework, get them bathed and ready for bed then it's going to be a struggle."

This. DC and I get home either 5 or 6 depending what day it is. I have four lots of music practice to supervise (two instruments each), as well as homework (DS2 still needs homework supervising, at least partially).

One of those days both DC attend orchestra from 5.45 to 7, other days one or other of them might have a sports fixture and finish late/need picking up from school which is 25 minutes away.

No chance would I have time to cook something like cottage pie from scratch - that would mean the cooking and eating process of dinner would take probably an hour and a half total. If we get home at 6 and bedtime is 8.30, we can't spend an hour and a half of that on dinner!

I suppose technically as I work for myself I could prep meals and do some of the cooking during my working hours before DC come home, but that would then entail me working in the evening to catch up, which I'm not prepared to do. I'm tired enough with everything I have on my plate as it is!

DC seem to be thriving just fine without home-cooked from scratch meals every weekday.

I agree with OP - describing something as a 'weekday meal' implies it is possible for a working parent with kids with homework/clubs/other commitments to manage to cook from scratch on a typical weekday. Cottage pie isn't!

We had it for dinner last night....

And I've got leftovers for lunch today

Not a very appetizing photo because I've mashed it up to make sure it's heated all the way through....

Chose your recipes better. There is no need to cook the mince for 50mins!

Cottage pie is a weekday meal here too.
H is cooking it and he isn’t a good/quick cook.

Depends how you make it. I can make it from scratch in 1/2 hour, but probably not as nice as your slow version.
Peel and boil spuds.
Fry onions and finely chopped carrot/any veg you include, then add mince and brown, add a gel stock with a splash of water, some peas and herbs. Cook for 20-25 mins. Meanwhile drain and mash spuds with some milk butter and seasoning. Put the meat and veg in an oven proof dish, spoon mash on top and place it under the grill until the top is golden for about 5 mins.
Ready to serve in 30 mins.

I only ever brown the ingredients for a few minutes then put it all in an oven dish with not mash but thinly sliced potatoes with the skin still on and shove it in the oven. I suppose that's technically not cottage pie but who cares, it's really quick .

Potatoes with dinner one night and make extra. Then the next night make cottage pie with the extra.

And home cooked meal doesnt equate extended cooking.
Our evening meals are cooked from scratch but take about 30 mins... even for DH.

It is for us, we'd prep in 10-20 mins and pick up the kids from after school club while it's in the oven, or on a timer while we're at an activity.

Going by some of the suggestions on here (frozen pre made mash etc) it’s no wonder some ppl think their weekly shopping costs too much.

Peel and chop potatoes (smallish)and put them on the boil.
Roughly chop onion and carrot and celery and add them to a pan pan until hot, then add the minced beef, cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned all over. Add tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce and mixed herbs into it and add a bit of flour over the beef and veg too. Then add the stock and whack up the heat and then reduce it, cover and let cook for 15 mins.
While that is cooking then take off potatoes and drain, mash and season.

Put it all in a dish and then let the mash crisp under the grill, no need to put in the oven.

I’d say that would take 35-40 min including prep, the key is to have all ingredients together and ready to go.

And no I’m not a sahm...