Whats your cheat ingredient or recipe you would be ashamed to reveal?

[notamumyetbutoneday]

Mine is pasta caronara- with the sauce bit made from adding any old grated cheese (usually cheddar ) to creme fraiche til it melts. Absolutely gorgeous, everyone loves it but I would be soo ashamed to reveal that my carbonara sauce contains cheddar cheese!

Whats your secret?!

oh almost forgot,add a couple of teaspoons of hot horseradish sauce to your dumpling mix,it livens up a beef stew.

Poor man's bouillabaisse.

Fry up a chopped onion in a bit of olive oil with some crushed garlic.

Add a packet of Tesco value white fish and a bag of frozen seafood mix (defrosted). You can also add a bag of value frozen prawns (defrosted).

Pour a tin of value tinned chopped tomatoes over it all.

Add random Mediterranean herbs, lemon thyme is particularly good. You can put a bit of saffron in there as well if you are feeling lavish. For extra lavishness buy a few prawns in shells and mussels in shells off the seafood counter and use as a garnish.

Serve with baguette.

I do the condensed chicken soup pie thing, thats good.

I also do condensed veg soup with beef and any veg you fancy then cook either in slow cooker or oven, makes a nice stew

I also pour ratatoue (sp!) over fish and bake it, the kids actually like that!

I mix condensed mushroom soup with more mushrooms and peas and mix in pasta, thats nice!

I love cooking but I do have some cheats. Pesto from a jar, lasagne white sauce from a jar but my most shameful one is when making a stew: I use bisto gravy (made up a bit thinner than normal) as the stock rather than faffing about with real stocks that never seem to thicken so you end up with a meat, veg and dirty water combo on your plate.

For all you Aunt Bessie fans, google Delia's yorkshire pud recipe and trust me, you will never look at a frozen pud again. Easy peas.

When making Tuna Mayo sandwiches or cold tuna pasta I add heinz sandwich spread rather than mayo - everyone who has had it loves it and asks what I do different.......I tell them its a secret family recipe!!!

Also have a good one for homemade faggots - but people usually 'uuurrrrgghhhh' at me (although when they eat it they love it)

My secret shame is tinned mince & onions. I couldn't help feeling rather wounded when I mixed it with a jar of Dolmio for a five minute emergency tea and DH declared it "The best spag bol you've ever made". Hmph.

Also brilliant for two minute chilli - mix with a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tin of kidney beans in chilli sauce and a squirt each of tomato purée, ketchup and sweet chilli sauce. Stick some Uncle Ben's cheaty rice in the microwave while you heat it up and lap up the extra MN-ing time!

Marmite rules.

Use instead of stock cubes.

Add to mince when making burgers. (Makes it a bit stickier too, so no need for eggs.

Lightly brush over roasties 5 minutes before taking out of the oven. (Marmite haters can't tell, they just taste yummier and have a nice colour.)

Also, that dusty bottle of Stones ginger wine at the back of the cupboard is great for splashing into stir-frys.
Then add marmite

Ooh, ooh, cheatiest recipe ever;

Some frozen prawns
Some frozen peas
Some noodles

Throw the lot into a pan of boiling water.
Boil. ('Till noodles are done).
Add sauce if liked.

Bada-bing bada-boom.
Dinner is served.

This is a Ken Hom number, I think.

Soy sauce, I meant.

So LtEveDallas - what is your cheat for homemade faggots? but if it involves liver forget it!

So technically, for non-chefs, what is the actual difference between a sauce and a thick soup other than serving styles/quantities?

this thread probably confirms everything visitors to the UK have always thought about British cookery, but who cares? it's made me hungry anyway

Hmmm, all your cheating tips seem far too sophisticated. I tend to get a saucepan full of cooked, drained pasta and basically pour tomato ketchup into it (just enough to give it a bit of a coating, not so it looks like something from a horror film) and then sprinkle liberally with grated hard cheese.

I guess if you wanted to be posh, you could perhaps use Mozorella or even Parmesan.

And if you have a hangover, might I recommend the addition of a sprinkling of chilli flakes for that perfect carb/sugar/spice combination.

Maderia wine - splash around pork, beef etc when dry frying and let the alcohol evapourate. Makes everything tast divine and like you've slaved away doing summat super-special to it.

Boullion gets you out of many, many, many kitchen cock-ups as well.

When making Nigella's delish brownies I do not use 'the best dark chocolate you can get hold of'. I use Sainsbury's Basics dark chocolate at 27p a bar.

My brownies are legendary. No-one can tell any difference at all.

Did this for mother in law, she thought it was great and that I'd spent a long time making it! Shepherds pie al speedo.... cook the mince, cook the frozen tesco mixed med. vegetables, add to mince, add jar of dolmio, mix up packet of mash, add cheese and butter, stick it on top..... shepherds pie!! I think it's a reflection of our busy lifestyles, I do cook "properly" at the weekends, but for convenience during the week, don't think the family suffers too much although they know dinner's ready when the smoke alarm goes off!!

Applepudding, yep, sorry, involves liver (although liver haters have eaten them and not been able to tell)

1Lb Minced Pork
1Lb Minced Liver (pig best)
1 packed sage and onion stuffing.
1 large onion finely chopped

Mix Pork and Liver and onion

Make up stuffing mix, but substitute half the quantity water with gravy (made from granules).

Mix with meat.

Make into balls (will need to keep sticking hands in a bowl of flour to stop it sticking to you.

Place in roasting tin.

Cook for 1 hr (about 180 degrees) covered

Make up a pint of gravy and pour over faggots

Cook uncovered for another hour.

serve with mash and peas

mmmmmmmm!

Where you would normally add a spoonful of sugar to a savoury dish - tomato sauce in particualar - try a spoonful of golden syrup. Its got the rounded sweetness you are looking for in fruit rather than the oversweetness that comes from sugar. Works amazingly well.

coffee in chilli.

mince
half cup of strong coffee
1 dessert spoon of honey
2 good teaspoons of chinese 5 spice
1 or 2 green chillisdeseeded and minced
1 or 2 cloves garlic minced
1 large onion finely chopped
1 tin value toms
1 large glass of red
1 tin valuekidney beans

throw in slow cooker.No need to brown mince.
Leave for hours, come home to lovely smell and fab dinner.
Serve with rice and a dollop of creme fraiche or soured cream on top.

great minds thinking alike

ooh, easterspirits, have just read your chilli recipe, sounds fab. I usually resort to the Schwarz mix for chilli!

watch out everyone...delia smith will be along to nick this thread for a new book soon...

My favourite cheat is 'JustRol' shortcrust pastry - I always have some pre-rolled sheets in the freezer. Leave to thaw all day on the side and then 15 mins blind bake + 15 mins with eggs,cream, grated cheese + whatever (bacon, salmon, veggies etc). Nutmeg and Cinnamon are nice with the eggs.

One last tip - demonstrate to DH the art of blind baking with greaseproof paper and dried chickpeas (or you may find you have a quiche with dried chickpeas stuck UNDER the pastry - like I did this week - it was a nice quiche once we picked them off.... )

I always have a garlic, chilli, salt mix, pounded up with pestle and mortar, stored in a small bowl in fridge covered with olive oil to steep and keep the flavours in.

I just scoop a bit when I need it.

It is great for marinading beef steaks, lamb chops, etc with dark soy sauce. Tasty.

You can use it in salads and dips like guacamole.

Use it in pasta with olive oil and grilled vegetables.

Gives food an intense deep flavour. You must like garlic, of course.