Bit boring but what can I feed them?

[Crikeyblimey]

Having some friends for food on Sunday evening. 4 grown ups and 2 dc (aged 10 and 11).

I can't be arsed doing a roast and my usual easy standby is shin beef and caramalised onion stew with jackets and veg.

One of the grown ups coming isn't keen on onions (but doesn't mind them in a stew).

I would appreciate some ideas for something bung in oven so timings aren't critical (makes for a more relaxed meal). I don't mind a fair amount of faffing before hand and am quite a good cook but I want something I don't need to stand over.

Hit me with your show stopping / bung in oven specials please.

I like Spanish chicken from this book. Can be left in the oven, made the day before and smells great when your guests arrive.

Lasagne & salad
Fish pie
Slow cooked pulled pork with crusty bread/rolls & coleslaw
Maple chicken & ribs (Nigella recipe) & corn on cob
Slow roasted lamb & smashed veg (Jamie Oliver)
Moussaka
Chinese Slow braised beef (BBC Good Food, I think)

Oooh - cheers. Plenty to look at there.

Thanks all.

And what time do you want us?

Anytime after 4pm so long as you are armed with wine :)

I'm liking the slow roast lamb idea and think I'll do slow roast lamb shanks (fnar) in sticky red wine sauce. Now - jackets or dauphinoise? Hmmmm or roasted little spuds with garlic and rosemary?? Think I've talked myself into the latter :)

Ds is making rhubarb crumble for pud.

Hope it's not a blazing day on Sunday or we will melt!

Quarter a lemon and bash some garlic cloves. Shove them inside a large chicken, rest it on some thick slices of onion in a roasting dish. Bung in the oven for a couple of hours. Serve with salad - bought or made, as adventurous as you like - and crusty bread. Put the chicken in a dish on the table with all the juices to pour over/mop up with bread (squeeze the lemons a bit and tip juice out of cavity)
Easy peasy and very nice. This also caters well for fussy eaters -people choose their own salad and if all else fails they can fill up on bread!