What is your favourite easy but nice, just you and DH/P meal?

[ClaireDeLoon]

I need inspiration, something for this Friday night that is easy to do when I get in from a working week and just want a nice big glass of wine, but is still nice as I'm not keen on ready meals.

steak and salad

oh yes, steak - as good as you can find. I like to do those part-baked ciabatta rolls with them as well as salad and maybe oven chips (sounds awful but the McCain french fries do the job for me!). Perfect Friday night dinner as almost nothing to do!

Yes - steak with a creamy wild mushroom sauce (dead easy to make) and baby new potatoes or a jacket spud

Steak and salad is a good option. We also like putting together a bit of a spread: cheeses, hams/meat slices, dips, baby carrots/veg, good fresh bread etc. with wine or champagne. Delicious and very easy to prepare

Chicken breasts x2
punnet cherry tomatoes
garlic
olive oil
seasoning
pot creme fraiche

Put everything but creme fraiche in oven for 30mins. Stir in creme fraiche and warm it over the hob.

Serve with rice.

The way I cook rice so I can sit down with wine is to boil the rice for 2 mins, TURN OFF HEAT, stick lid on and leave so it steams in the water.

Voila!!

Spaghetti carbonara is dp's fave, and very "friday night" (if we're not ordering a curry). Recently tried this baked version and it was great - boil pasta, then drain and stir in 2 egg yolks. Meanwhile fry a small chopped onion or shallot with 3-4 slices chopped bacon and a splash of wine, sherry or marsala. Throw everything together in the pasta pan and stir in a large handful of grated parmesan and a small wineglass full of cream. put in a baking/casserole dish, and sprinkle more parmesan on top (mixed with breadcrumbs and olive oil is extra nice). Bake on gas 5 / 200C for 20 mins. Whole thing takes 15 mins to put together. shove in oven, open wine, telly on - yum.

Delia's pasta puttanesca or Jaimie's oven baked salmon with green beans & cherry toms

we just boil up a load of pasta (the favourite at the moment is tagliatelle), throw in some chopped veg, stir in a couple of spoons of pesto et voila!
simple, but very tasty
and perfect with a glass of sparkling rose wine.

there's a really nice recipe for sea bream in the moro cookbook which I do, tomatoes, potatoes, fennel bay leaves, lemon garlic, put it all in a baking tray with olive oil, put fish on top stuffed with a few herbs - it's seriously tasty.... and healthy - but must admit the fave friday supper is of course steak, like everyone else!

Home made goat cheese tart with caramelised onions, with some salad on the side....yumm,
Salmon + potatoes with a lovely white sauce on the top
Dips with crips, carrots, cucomber

Fried chicken livers on homemade fresh bread, buttered, with homemade apple sauce on the side. Om nom nom!
Cheap as chips and ready in 10 minutes.

Baked mushrooms with stilton and parma ham - dead easy.

Get some big portobello mushrooms, place them on a baking tray. Slice up some stilton and put on top of the mushrooms then put a piece of parma ham on top of each one and then bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. The stilton melts and goes all gooey. I usually serve it with steak and salad - very easy.

Or else, the other easy meal is baked camembert - prick the top of a whole camembert, dribble on some honey and thyme and then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes - serve with crusty bread and cranberry sauce.

Our quick and tasty dinner is usually pasta with lemon, rocket, chilli, and garlic. My DH makes it usually for Friday or Sunday night supper. Easy and delish.

Either steak or risotto.

Our usual 'a deux' quick suppers have kind of been covered -

Mushrooms in cream, garlic & white wine with crusty bread and baby leaf salad.

Lamb chops with a simple tomato salad.

Baked camembert.

Or we have warm pitta with houmous, olives, cucumber and tomato.

I sometimes whip up buffalo wings to have with a beer if we're just mooching around.

We tend to eat a couple of small courses rather than a 'proper' meal if it's just us.

Steak and spicy sauteed chicken livers figure quite often.

medium fillet steak with mushroom sauce, home made wedges or chips and a nice salad with dressing

Probably Chicken stuffed with garlic, mushrooms and mascapone - wrapped in parma ham. Served with mash potato and savoy cabbage. Really easy peasy comfort food.

Anything spicy.

Favourite: Thai salad with ready-to-eat seafood mix. Serve with rice. Done in 20mins. Makes me hungry just thinking about it...