laziest meals...that look like you made an effort

[ghoulelocks]

can we pool ideas, those meals that get brownie points but are very little effort.

My contribution:

lamb casserole:
diced meat
frozen veg (tesco do nice and chunky mix)
few spices

throw in big pot, oven 90min. looks lovely, don't even get a knife dirty and takes about 2 min prep.

[Lovecat]

Oooh, and a diet pudding idea - this was off a Slimming World forum and meant to be a cheesecake, but the base (microwaved mashed up diet Alpen bars) was grim, so I just do the topping part in ramekins now and it's so nice:

1 tub Quark (250g)
1 sachet of Options hot chocolate (I like the white choc but have had great results with the choc mint & choc orange varieties)
Fruit if desired (raspberries go very nicely with the white choc version)

Mix the Options sachet into the Quark & stir vigorously. Decant into ramekins (gives 3 smallish portions or 2 decent size ones). Clingfilm & chill for 10 mins or longer (longer will give a more solid 'cheesecakey' feel to it). Add a few berries if desired.

Eat with a spoon and restrain yourself from stealing anyone else's portion...

[TobyLerone]

That slimming world pudding sounds horrific!

[Lovecat]

It's gorgeous. The base was v.v.v.disgusting, but the topping is really nice. Quite frankly when you're on SW anything puddingy that isn't a muller lite suddenly becomes very appealing...:)

[multitaskmama]

A really simple fresh chicken curry with a handful of spices.

Simple chicken curry

TIP: Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and a drizzle of coriander. It will look amazing and definitely impress!

[multitaskmama]

Oops drizzle of yogurt NOT coriander!

[Bearcrumble]

Nasi Goreng with leftover roast pork.

Chop up leftover roast pork into small cubes.

Cook 1 boil in the bag rice.

Microwave some frozen peas.

Fry 1 onion and 2 chopped cloves of garlic in oil or butter; add tsp cumin & tsp coriander & some chilli powder or flakes and fry through (I added hot sauce at the table as toddler and baby not into spicy food); add tablespoon of peanut butter and slosh of soy sauce; mix in chopped pork (can alternatively be made with chicken, prawns, mushroom...) and then the rice and peas - did this in a wok for a few mins. Top with strips of omelette and slices of uncooked tomato.

I made a japanese style super thin omlette to go on top - 2 eggs, splash soy sauce, splash water, bit of sugar, bonito flakes. Did it in a big frying pan rather than an omlette pan.

[Sylvana]

Spaghetti with mussels and White wine sauce. Boil two portions of spaghetti and a vacuum pack of mussels in white wine sauce together in the same pot for 5 mins. While they are cooking, cut a French baguette into rings, butter and scatter with a few slivers of thinly sliced garlic - grill. Fling half a packet of mixed Italian mixed leaves into a bowl, top with a few olives and hey presto!!! An Italian feast in less than 10 mins.

[swampster]

Prawny pasta: lashings of butter and garlic in a pan, add frozen prawns (defrosted!), salt, pepper, toss in pasta, done.

Super-popular with my fussy eater, my not-so-fussy-eater and my eat-everything.

[Nagoo]

Fry opinions :)

Slow cooker stroganoff is a good one. Will post recipe when get on laptop :)

[joshandjamie]

Gammon in slow cooker. Take gammon joint, smear with Dijon mustard. Pour brown sugar into your slow cooker ( about 300g). Put the Dijon covered gammon on top And a couple of tbs of water. Lid on, cook on low all day. Absolutely fucking gorgeous. Shred it and serve with creamy mash and greens or put into crusty rolls with the juices.

[Snugglepiggy]

Chicken in Orange.
Chicken Thighs (skin on) 2 per person,
Place skin up in Pyrex/ baking dish.
Quarter red onion/s depending on size and how many thighs you are cooking and tuck inbetween thighs.Likewise cut orange/s into wedges (skin on) and also tuck randomly between meat and onions.
In a bowl mix together bitter marmalade / Dijon mustard amount to suit taste / a generous splash of squeezed orange juice from a couple of segments.Blend and season and cover thighs ,onions and oranges.
Cover with oil and bake at 180 for approx 30 minutes depending on size of thighs.Remove foil for a further 10 minutes and turn up oven slightly to brown skin.
Serve with creamy mash and green veg.

[KatieMiddleton]

Duck confit in the slow cooker. Serve with potato dauphinois (Delia's easy one called potato dauphinois gratin or something) and either red cabbage, green beans, French peas or spinach.

Soooo easy and utterly delicious.

[ATouchOfStuffing]

2 min meal:
x1 Packet rice (the kind that comes pre-flavoured and can mic)
x1 tin mackrel in tomato sauce (can get spicy one if preferred)
Chunks of cheddar to taste
Petit pois

Cook rice for 1min, open an pour into a bowl. Whack in all of the rest and put back in mic for 1 min. Great comfort food :)

[LongStory]

gosh it never occurred to me to do a complex meal (5 fussy kids + busy jobs = a choice of, gosh, four or five boring easy healthy options). Some great examples here, loving the thread!

One of our staples is stir fry rice with a bit of egg and whatever leftovers are in the fridge, plus throw some sesame oil in at the end. A simple version of chicken fahitas also works well plus wraps means even less washing up!

[ATouchOfStuffing]

Pud - digestive biscuits and butter melted in mic and broken up - push into bottom of a cake or pie dish. Melt choc and pour in cream until very slightly stiff - about 3/5mins on med heat. Pour onto biccy base and put in fridge to set. Choco torte. Have left out type of choc and how many biscuits as depends on taste/how much base you want etc :)

[ATouchOfStuffing]

Oh and you can add nuts or chili or mint or whatever if you feel swishy

[DeafLeopard]

What a shame this is in chat, there are some great recipes on here

[WhyMeWhyNot]

Can you really use frozen chicken in the slow cooker. My favourite trick is always forgetting to get the chicken out the freezer the night before!

[JollyYellowGiant]

Take chicken on the bone
Sprinkle with paprika, olive oil and whatever else you fancy
Put in the oven for however long it says on the packet

Roughly cut up onions, butternut squash and peppers. Roast in oven.

Make up Ainsley Herriot's packet cous cous using hot water AND the meat from the chicken.

Serve with pitta breads which have been in the oven for 2 minutes and sour cream.

[karenflower]

CHICKEN MYERS

Frozen Broccoli in bottom of pyrex dish
2 chicken thighs pp
Mix jar of condensed mushroom soup
2 tbl mayo
Dollop of creme fraiche
Curry powder
Pour over chicken
Grated cheese on top

Oven for 40 mins
Roast new pots in skins next to it in oven
Done

[balroymum]

Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals - Fish tray bake.

Throw salmon/seabass/bream fillets (skin side up) lemon wedges, cherry toms, crushed garlic cloves and butter in oven dish. Glug of olive oil. Season.

20 minutes in a hot oven.

Add raw, shell on prawns, pancetta slices and asparagus plus another glug of olive oil.

10 minutes more in oven.

When fish skins/pancetta/asparagus start to go lovely and crispy, throw in a small glass of white wine.

Serve with new potatoes and a green salad. Don't forget the french bread to soak up the juices at the end.

Bloody delicous and looks all 'chefy' but is reeeally easy. Win, win!

[Phineyj]

Two really fast dinners that look posher than they are:

Baked potatoes with greek yoghurt, chopped ham and chopped fresh chives (this is the only herb I grow, as it adds poshness to this recipe, also potato salad and regular salad and seems to be unkillable)

Wholewheat pasta spirals or twirls with creme fraiche and smoked salmon trimmings. Boil pasta, quickly stir fry the smoked salmon with any green vegetable (leeks work well) and stir in the creme fraiche. Grate Parmesan over the top and add black pepper to taste.

And one slow one but you can do something useful with the half hour wait:

Cheat's risotto (Lindsey Bareham)

Melt some butter and stir in risotto rice (see packet for amounts), then add a glass of dry white wine and stir till it's soaked in. Then add a half litre of stock, bring to the boil and then put a tightly fitting lid on the saucepan. Turn the heat off and leave for half an hour. Do not lift the lid (it is cooking in the steam). After half an hour return to the heat and stir in the rest of the stock, cooking until it is delicious and gloopy. Add some more butter, grated Parmesan and anything else you fancy -- frozen peas is the easiest and also means you can claim you are making the Venetian traditional dish 'risi e bisi'.

[Sherbert37]

Loving these. Dare I suggest the marvel that is Waitrose frozen onions to speed things up even more? Amazing, so handy, no mess, no waste, no tears.

[ScariestFairyByFar]

Creamy tomato pasta; fry bacon and mushrooms, when cooked at 1/2 red pesto, half cream cheese, add to boiled & drained pasta.

[chicaguapa]

karenflower I know that recipe! MIL was passed that down by her mum.

Some of these recipes are great for camping too.