Forget Delia, let's have some food cheats you can actually eat!

[MummyDoIt]

That series was such a wasted opportunity. Some genuine, time-saving tips would be ideal. Anyone got any that don't involve tinned mince and frozen mash?

I nearly always use garlic puree instead of fresh garlic - much quicker than peeling and crushing. Same for ginger. You can buy tubes of ginger paste which are a quick substitute for fresh ginger root.

If you're making anything pasta-y that involves spinach, rather than cook the spinach separately, 2 mins before the end of cooking the pasta, throw the spinach into the pan and it will instantly wilt down. Then drain when you drain the pasta - saves pans as well!

Tinned ratatouille makes a lovely tasty layer in a fish pie and keeps things moist above/below too!

Not one for the purists, but Flora Buttery is fantastic in all-in-one sponges/cupcakes/LDC-type cakes and saves faffing waiting for butter to soften.

Condensed mushroom soup makes a really good sauce for chicken. Add the soup to chicken and any combination of leeks, mushrooms and bacon. Eat with pasta, rice or jacket potato or makes a good pie filling.

Frozen chickpeas taste better than tinned in curries as they hold their shape and texture better.

A quick sauce for pasta can be made from a fried onion and garlic, with mushrooms, then melt a pot of philly or other cream cheese into it.

Cous cous is the quickest thing in the world to prepare and is good with a "saucy" type of meal to soak up the juices.

If you make things like flapjacks that involve melting butter and sugar first, put the dry ingredients into the saucepan rather than tipping the saucepan of goo into the mixing bowl. Means only one sticky pan to wash or lick .

My favourite food cheat is Dominoes Pizza on 0208547584756

LOL at maidamess .

I love the sound of janeite's pasta sauce. Definitely going to try that.

Couldn't atand most of her recipes, but was intrigued about the pre-grilled, frozen aubergines - anyone know where she got them from?

I made a chicken lasagne type thing on Monday using up left over cooked chicken.

Left over cooked chicken cut into strips / bite sized bits
1 x onion chopped
1 x pepper cut into bite sized bits
handful of mushrooms, chopped
2 x tins of condensed chicken / mushroom soup
layered with some pasta sheets.

Cook for about 30 minutes on 180 - lovely!
It was very filling....

RedFraggle that sounds lovely - I shall be trying that one after the next roast.

But can I recommend frozen chopped onions?

Usually I boil frozen sweetcorn and pasta together, drain, add condensed soup, broken-up mushrooms and chopped leftover chicken. Mix and heat, serve. And the kids actually eat it.

Mummydoit - I sometimes thin it down a bit with a drop of milk; depends how thick you like it.

A variation (for adults) is to fry up the onion, garlic and mushrooms with lots of black pepper, then add a big glug of brandy and cook it for a few minutes before adding a tub of creme fraiche and heating it through. Not good for you but v easy and tasty!

nonickname you can buy the frozen aubergine slices in asda. Hope that helps.

Creme fraiche instead of white sauce, or add cheese if you want, but I think that was possibly in one of her earlier books.

Cook pasta as normal, once drained tip creme fraiche into hot pan, add your choice of frozen peas/sweetcorn/spinach plus cooked ham/chicken/tinned tuna/(smoked)salmon as you choose. When all heated through tip pasta back into pan, stir and serve.

Quick and cheap meals too, as 1/2 tub of creme fraiche will make enough sauce to (thinly) coat more than enough pasta for 2 adults and 2 DC's.

Puff pastry and those jarred roasted red peppers, drain peppers, slice, onto pastry, sliced mozz on top, chuck in oven.

I like the creme fraiche instead of white sauce tip. Must try that one. Plus rantings recipe sounds delicious. Storing all these up for future use.

Fry off some garlic, onion, mushrooms, courgette and any other veggies you think need to be ousted from the fridge like the look of, lob in a can of chopped tomatoes. Simmer merrily for ten minutes while you cook some pasta. Drain pasta, shove on plates, dollop sauce on top. Job done

If you're feeling meaty, you can add chicken or mince at the garlic and onion stage, just remember to cook for longer.

Those frozen aubergines sound good - I usually have a bag of roasted and sliced red pepper in the freezer... and Tescos do frozen roasted Mediterranean veg - great in the summer with some grilled haloumi, couscous and salad - or mixed into a pasta sauce.

Cook some frozen broccoli and mush up in pan with some melted garlic/herb boursin and a little milk and you have the dss favourite pasta sauce.

And for adults add 1/2 tin anchovies, a tin of sardines, some tinned black olives and a spoonful of capers to a bog standard ready made tomato sauce and you have another yummy pasta sauce.

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buy a tin of scotch broth then add dumplings made from a packet and potatoes.

Haha we had a Dominos pizza tonight cos EVERYONE (that's all 5 of us) were screaming.

Mr Mash IS actually edible. With milk or cream and salt and butter.

Oh my god, I don't think I've peeled garlic or ginger for about 10 years.

When kids need balanced food in a hurry, DH rustles up noodles (not Pot Noodle I might add ), frozen sweetcorn and tinned fish. they love it.

All vegetables are better frozen than mouldering in your fridge.

when you make any sort of stew/soup, make more than you need and freeze the rest.

You can get some really good frozen mixed fruit/berry packs now. Use them for crumble or pie fillings, saves all the prep work and cheaper.

When you buy your garlic, crush the whole head all at once, put in a small container and cover with olive oil, as long as it's covered with oil and in the fridge it will last. Just take spoonfuls out as needed. Saves a BIT of time.

If you cook onions with salt they fry quicker. Don't know why.

rather than scrambling eggs in a pan which can take ages to get to cooked stage, use frying pan, melt butter, wait till froths, add whisked eggs and move around for seconds and it's done.

Gu cheeky pots are great for a quick chocolate sauce for ice cream - nuke and pour. I always have pesto in the fridge for making pasta sauces more interesting; and heating a pot of creme fraiche and stirring some mustard (dijon or similar) and a squirt of lemon juice gives a quick sauce for chicken.

I use those frozen berry packs to mix with whipped cream and sugar to taste to make a quick Berry Fool dessert.

oh I like this thread. I make great mash. But I bought frozen, as recommmended by Delia and it was RANK.
I use tube garlic and ginger, have done for years.