Something easy but more classy then spag bol or lasagne??? Any ideas please???

[nannyjo]

thats it really. We've got friends coming over tonight for dinner, i'm not good at fancy meals cos i get too stressed and don't actually enjoy the evening but i always do boring spaghetti bolognaise or lasagne!!

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated thanks.

P.S i'm veggie but the rest of the party aren't so it needs to be something i can do a veggie version of or a veggie meal that meat eaters won't mind having if that makes sense

veggie chilli and rice? far nicer than con carne imo!

nice served with roughly chopped avocado, lime juice coriander like a quick guacamole.

a huge amouint of roast veg

parsnip, sweet potato, pepper, shallots, fennel, garlic, courgette, tomato.,red onion, regular potatos.....any or all combinations,of veg,,,,olive oil & rock salt..sling in the oven for 60 mins or so,

big bowl of cous cous or pasta etc.....

rocket salad with parmesan shavings...

loads of red wine.....!

or what about a risotto of some sort? Get some great wild mushrooms round now.

It does require a bit of work while your guests are there though.

Message withdrawn

oooooooh...love risotto..hate standing there for ages stirring though!

if you do risotto, if you have a parmesan rind, throw it in the pot and it gives a nice depth to the flavour ...!

get me....!

I do a thing a bit like lulumama suggests but with roasted peppers, courgettes, onions, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms. Lots of olive oil and salt and pepper and dreid mixed herbs - bung in oven for about 20 mins on about 200 C. Add tin of chickpeas and half carton of passata for another 10 mins while couscous is being prepared - really yummy and maybe a bit different?

Hello, we went out last week and my friend had made chilli, she had put it in a big bowl and had put, plain doritoes (spelling) and cheese on the top and had put it back in the oven., It was too die for. Just an idea.

chilli or rosted veg sounds nice, maybe roated veg in some kind of bake with cheese and lentils yum!! thats got me thinking thanks.

The other thing i was thinking of was creamy pesto pasta some with chicken in some without. Does that sound ok?

mmmm, lulus sounds goooood.

easy peasy too. cous cous takes about 3 minutes and you just have to mix in a bit of seasoning and any other bits of your choice (pine nuts, raisins, whatever)

yummy

creamy chicken sounds good too...

hmm, think i may be hungry (she says, scoffing handfuls of peanuts coz she cant be bothered to go and get a better snack)

Message withdrawn

I like the stirring bit. Quite meditative!

Message withdrawn

beef /mushroom stroganoff....suprisingly easy and low fat too if made with fat free sour cream...i'm no cook but DH loves it!

if risotto takes more than 25 minutes start to finish you've buggered somwthing up, imho, any longer and the rice overcooks on te outside of the grain. heating the stock and ladling it in is the way to go.

Cheeze ravioli or gnocchi?