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.

[TheRealFellatio]

Prawns and chorizo, tapas style.

Bag of frozen, uncooked, de-veined king prawns, defrosted. Some sliced chorizo. Some finely chopped red onion or shallots and a couple of cloves of garlic crushed. Saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil, add the chorizo, cook until lightly browned and all the lovely paprika flavoured oil is released, add about half a glass of dry white wine, bring to the boil and reduce a bit, add the prawns, turn the heat down to medium, cook for about 5 minutes with the lid on, until the prawns are ready. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, add a squeeze of lemon juice and a big handful of fresh, roughly chopped flat leaf parsley. Serve with crusty bread.

[weegiemum]

My best one is salmon en croute.

Take as many small salmon steaks as you've got guests, and shop bought pre-rolled puff pastry in appropriate quantities (one pack from asda does 4 salmons).

Spread each bit of pastry with pesto, wrap around salmon steak (leave ends open) and bake until pastry is done. Serve with small new potatoes, salad and crusty bread. Yum!!

[SquidgyMummy]

I am so watching this thread.

Here is my ultra lazy contribution, bake in the bag chicken / meat / fish
www.colmans.co.uk/our-range/season-shake/

Take about 30 seconds to put some chicken pieces in the bag, shake then bake

I cook it early, then leave to cook in the residual heat. It sort of continues to steam in the bag so the meat is so tender or the chicken is falling off the bone. You also have a bag full of perfect gravy.

Put in some jacket potatoes at the same time. 10 minutes before serving microwave some frozen veg of your choice & serve!

[SquidgyMummy]

Can this thread be moved to Food & Recipes so it doesn't go pouf in a few months when I am looking for it....?! in desperate need of inspiration for dinner

[NorksAreMessy]

This is what cookery books should be like. Instead of being full of recipes with 27 impossible ingredient and 8000000 steps, they should be like this. I love all of these. Thank you

[superfluouscurves]

Easy Sunday lunch ...

buy one of these from Lakeland

Place seasoned, good quality chicken on a few peeled and halved carrots and onions on bed of roasting tin. Place more peeled veg (carrots, onions, maybe a few leeks, bit celery?, potatoes, around the rest of the chicken) Bung in a few herbs (thyme?) Add a bit of water and roast for an hour and a bit depending on size of bird (you can take lid off for last 30 mins if you want chicken to have more colour). Voila - beautifully moist bird, with veg and lovely gravy all in one pot.

[Bakingnovice]

Another few I've remembered:

Get yourselves to an Asian supermarket. Mine do a big jar of Hot Chicken Fry Mix. It's fab. Loads of spices and flour mixed together. If u have a spoon of this and mix with some yoghurt (plain natural) you get an almost instant tandoori sauce. Massage sexily into chicken drumsticks and throw in oven for about 25 mins depending on how big the chicken pieces are. I've also tried this mix dry straight into chicken and its great. Serve with whole meal pitta and bagged salad.

Another : the easy quiche recipe I found on mumsnet. Had a really bad headache this weekend so used the recipe called Easy Quiche in the recipe section. Bung the eggs, flour, salt, cheese, butter, milk into bowl and mix. Pour into quiche dish and cook. It tasted better than my usual quiche which has a pastry base. I added four spears of asparagus over the top which made it look gourmet.

This is a really bad one I used when working full time and struggling. Get a jar of that creamy garlic potato bake sauce (can't remember if it's home pride who make it). Water down with milk until sauce consistency as its quite thick. Put new potatoes, frozen broccoli, caulk, peas, sweet corn and any other veg into dish. Pour over sauce and oven bake. End up with creamy veggie bake. Can add salmon or fish fillets too.

[Ihatemytoes]

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[tak1ngchances]

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[sashh]

Duck in cherry sauce.

Stick a fresh or defrosted duck in the oven for 2 hours.

Put half a jar of cherry jam and half a bottle of red wine in a pan and simmer until thickened.

[JaponicaTroggs]

Chop chicken breasts and coat in barbecue seasoning. (I use Schwartz Classic). Cook in tbsp of olive oil until browned. Put in chopped bacon, sliced red onions, a chopped pepper and sliced mushrooms. Let it all cook through. In a bowl mix mashed avocados and creme fraiche. Add to the pan until heated through. Serve in soft tortillas with salad etc.

[TheRealFellatio]

OK, just thought of two more I make and eat ALL THE TIME.

A sort of Aubergine Parmegiana.

Slice a couple of aubergines, sling them in the oven on bout 180c drizzled generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a bit of thyme and oregano or marjoram.

While that is cooking, soften some red onion in olive oil, and and a some chopped up streaky bacon fried in olive oil, slowly so that the fat has started to render down and the bacon has started to brown, but not too much. Add them to the aubergines in the oven and continue to bake until the aubergines are soft and have started to colour nicely. Top with loads of mozzarella cheese and some grated parmesan as well, and stick back in the oven until the cheese has melted and gone golden on top.

You can eat this straight from the oven, but it's much nicer if you leave it go go to room temperature as it firms up a bit, and you can slice it like pie. I keep it in the fridge and eat cold for lunch as well.

Next one, is so delicious it's really addictive and it could not be easier or cheaper.

Middle Eastern Style Roasted Cauliflower.

Lots of cauli florets, bunged in a big roasting tray, drizzled with tons of olive oil (I like to add 1/4 of a teaspoon each of cumin and turmeric to the oil but you don't have to) a good dose of salt and pepper, and roast, long and slow until it's soft and golden. If you have the oven too high the flowery bits will burn before the stalks are softened.

Again, this is absolutely delicious hot or cold, but best at room temp, and a big batch gets bunged in the fridge and picked at for a few days in my house.if it lasts that long.

If you want to make it a bit posher you can sprinkle it with tiny confetti of red, green and yellow peppers and very finely chopped red onion, and drizzle with tahina sauce. (tahina paste mixed with water and lemon juice..) It's a lovely salad to go with simple roast chicken or lamb chops, great for parties and barbecues.

[Exhaustipated]

Lemon, thyme, garlic chicken with rice and (garden) peas:

Put olive oil, knob of butter, pince of dried thyme, a few crushed garlic cloves, juice of one lemon in a bowl, microwave for about 30 secs. Pour over chicken thighs/drumsticks, rub it in a bit, season chicken, bung in oven for about 45 mins at 180, turn it up to 200 for last ten mins.

Serve with rice mixed with garden peas (cook together), and extra hot carribean hot sauce for the grown ups. We have this once a week and everyone (from baby to DH) loves it.

I will be trying loads of these please can the thread be moved to recipes at some point so it doesn't disappear?

[TheRealFellatio]

Oh the garlic! I forgot - lots of crushed garlic goes in the roasting tray with the cauliflower.

[BikeRunSki]

Green tart

Roll out some frozen puff pastry on baking tray
Spread with Pesto and Philly
Add neat layers of spinach, sliced courgette and maybe asparagus spears for posh.
Sprinkle on grated cheese and herbs of choice
Drizzle on olive oil
Bake for about 15 min

[apatchylass]

i LOVE some of these recipes. that cauli sounds gorgeous Fellatio and Sassh's duck in cherry sauce is just genius. bet that looks and tastes so impressive.

[Absy]

Lazy Easy Desserts

Pot au Chocolat (I'm always amazed when people think it's complicated to make)
250g (I think) of good chocolate (whatever level of darknes/lightness)
130ml (or whatever the standard carton size is) of cream
1 egg yolk, beaten

Break up the chocolate and put in a switched-off blender. Heat the cream slowly in a pan (over water if you're being fancy about it, in a microwave if you're being less fancy). Then, carefullly pour the hot cream over the chocolate and blend at the same time (so the chocolate melts) and then add in the egg yolk towards the end. Continue to beat until fully mixed, less so if you like some chocolate lumps. Pour into small glasses/bowls, and leave in the fridge to set. Tah dah! and if you want some variety, add in things like a shot of espresso or vanilla essence or orange essence or whatever.

Eton mess
Ready made meringues
Strawberries/other fruit of choice
Cream
Break up meringues, throw in the fruit, pour cream over and serve.

[gerbilsarefun]

Chicken pie. Shop bought pastry, then chicken, veg, gravy cooked on the hob then the pie cooked for about half an hour. I'm not a brilliant cook, but everyone raves about my buffets. (waits for auto correct to change buffets into something like boobs).

[peanutbutterandbanana]

Have so copied and pasted loads of these onto a word document - THANK YOU ONE AND ALL
Here's another favourite

Very Easy 'Roast Chicken' - I do this for midweek suppers but good at any time. Prep time - 30 seconds!
INGREDIENTS - One chicken patted dry with kitchen towel and one bottle of barbecue sauce
METHOD - Put chicken upside down in slow cooker, pour bbq sauce all over it. Cook for 8-10 hours (longer is better).
Just pull the meat off the bones and you'll have a yummy gravy too. Serve with new potatoes and veg of choice.

[Titsalinabumsquash]

I have a beef and red wine stew in the slow cooker, last night I chucked a pack of stewing steak in with some flour and mustard powder, any veg I had, tinned tomatoes and some dried herbs and a cube or 2 of frozen red wine from the freezer and a beef stock pot. Everyone always thinks I've spent the day slaving over the cooker with expensive ingredients, really I'm chatting over coffee with my sister

[HRH008]

Don`t want to lose this thread - definitely a classic!

Favourite fast dessert here - Eton mess.

Whipping cream
Meringues
Fruit
Some vanilla flavour (can be from vanilla yoghurt, ice cream, pudding, whatever)

Crumble meringues, chop up fruit, whisk cream. Add it all together and serve.

Works particularly well with berries.

[HRH008]

Now I just have to buy a slow cooker ...

[peanutbutterandbanana]

Oh and another tip.

Buy Very Lazy cooking concentrates from supermarket. The have done all the chopping of all the spices etc so you just add the meat and perhaps some tinned tomatoes. I always have a couple in the cupboard. The range includes chilli con carne, beef stroganoff, chicken chasseur, creamy chicken, green thai curry and 3 others. A meal literally from scratch in around 10 mins.

Read about them here and you can then see what other things you need to also buy to make the dish - VERYLAZY.COM - before you go to supermarket (nothing more annoying than buying something and then realising that you need something else to go with it.).

Tip to Mumsnet HQ - should try to get them to give MNs a special offer - we are the perfect customer base for them

[peanutbutterandbanana]

And I should add that they are DELICIOUS! No-one knows you haven't spent all day chopping and sauteeing. My kids prefer their chilli to my chilli (#sobs) (admits so do I!)

[RebeccaMumsnet]

Hi all,

We have moved this to Food now.
Thanks for all of the reports and yum!