Most useful culinary shortcut (lighthearted)

Allira

LadyBridgerton

At Christmas, par cook or steam sprouts, carrots, parsnips a couple of days before, quick chill, dry off, into serving dishes , bit of butter and foil cover. On the big day into the oven with roasties, fewer pans on the day, does assume oven proof serving dishes.

I hae a Tefal steamer, it has two baskets and takes quite a lot of vegetables, no pans on the hob. It's easy to wash too.

I do rice in my Tefal steamer as well as veg. No supervision needed.

Campbells condensed soup, mushroom or chicken, great for pies and casseroles, shame the onion has disappeared.

steam salmon fillets wrapped up in tinfoil with butter/olive oil,herbs condiments as desired, ends twisted tight, balanced on top of boiling small potatoes. It only takes a few minutes.

I do a low calorie white sauce - just add milk and flour to a saucepan, whisk well and heat.

Whenever I do mash I always do extra and portion it up and freeze it. Sometimes need to add a little more milk and/butter when microwaving. It is so handy.

I use peppers in brine for my bolognese style sauces. I blitz them up and pour in. It’s a great way of putting veg into kids mouths.
I roast/airfry smoked garlic whole and then keep it in the fridge or freezer until I need garlic puree.

NanKate

A Charlie Bingham meal once a week, delicious 😋

Love the fish pie

Crumble mix. I had three apples yesterday. Stewed them with a bit of sugar. Crumble mix on top and hey presto apple Crumble that tastes homemade.

At Christmas I prepare and half roast potatoes and parsnips beforehand. Potatoes need to be just beginning to brown. Then take tin out, allow to cool, cover with foil and freeze (still in tin). Big day... out of freezer , into hot oven with a quick spray of oil and they are done in no time. I found this a real game changer.

There's a thread like this on Mumsnet at the moment, frozen garlic and ginger are very popular there, as is soffritto though that is something that I would never use as I don't like the taste of celery.
Personally I like frozen apple puree as my husband loves pork chops. Also you only need to add a little fresh or frozen fruit to it to make a crumble, we like berries best.
Like Knittypamela I use a crumble mix but I make my own big batch in the food processor and freeze it. I usually make it without sugar so you can use it to make pastry too. It's quick and easy to add sugar when you use it for crumble.

Buy lots of chilled and frozen meals online. Weekly supermarket drop off

Or live entirely of crap,junk take away food. Very overpriced but delivered to your door. Put them in the microwave. Happy days!

I am working on an idea to start a business which employs people to feed take aways to the people who order them.

A bit like the old fashioned titty bottle nurses.

We seem to be so far away from preparing and cooking food nowadays. I think this could be next big thing. A.real disrupter.

Look out for me on Dragons Den.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Ahem. Himself is in hospital and I’ve eaten a Bigham’s or two this week (9pm I’m tired after visiting so I have an excuse) straight from the little wooden box. 😮
Only a fork to wash.
I know. #lazygran

Just don't tell Himself, he's probably not that fond of his own hospital meals! I love the moussaka myself.

twinnytwin

We have at least 2 Charlie Bingham's meals each week or Sainsbury's Finest ready meals. I've really gone off cooking as I've got older and these are really lovely. We don't go out for meals very often, so I don't feel guilty. I've provided meals for the last 50+ years, so it's my time now.

No need to feel guilty, a meal out would cost at least three times as much!

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I only recently discovered that I didn't need to peel apples for the family's favourite pudding - Apple Crumble! I Googled the question.

I just cored the apples and cut them into quarters or very large chunks, sprinkled with demerara and lots of cinnamon. Topped with a mixture of flour, oats, demerara and butter (keeping it VERY chunky and NOT like fine breadcrumbs). Sprinkle demerara over the top. Yummy.

The skin on the apples breaks down and creates a fabulous caramelised taste.

Last weekend I made two massive roasting trays which I cooked and then decanted into 24 individual servings for freezing (foil containers like from the takeaways - peanuts from Ebay).

I saved well over an hour not having to peel nearly 40 apples - and didn't end up with a sore thumb and finger from the peeler either. Win win.

Not peeling was new to me and I pass the shortcut on as it might be new to others too.
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Frozen baked spuds are lovely.

Allira - Ocado sell Picard's chopped shallots - I think I have also seen the M&S ones on the Ocado website in the past.

Have you looked in Waitrose?
They certainly used to have them... and cheaper than Picard!

Love this mash! I add a bit of butter and a sprinkling of black pepper, it is lovely.

Microwave rice

I have several bags of what we call 'mystery meat' when we've frozen meat from a joint of meat and not labelled it. We just defrost a bag and are surprised, though it often is lamb as a leg of lamb lasts forever

Packets of cooked rice (only about 69p and enough rice for 2 people) you just microwave (in the packet) for 2 mins.
Frozen spinach
Frozen mash - perfect for a cottage pie

Barbadosbelle

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I only recently discovered that I didn't need to peel apples for the family's favourite pudding - Apple Crumble! I Googled the question.

I just cored the apples and cut them into quarters or very large chunks, sprinkled with demerara and lots of cinnamon. Topped with a mixture of flour, oats, demerara and butter (keeping it VERY chunky and NOT like fine breadcrumbs). Sprinkle demerara over the top. Yummy.

The skin on the apples breaks down and creates a fabulous caramelised taste.

Last weekend I made two massive roasting trays which I cooked and then decanted into 24 individual servings for freezing (foil containers like from the takeaways - peanuts from Ebay).

I saved well over an hour not having to peel nearly 40 apples - and didn't end up with a sore thumb and finger from the peeler either. Win win.

Not peeling was new to me and I pass the shortcut on as it might be new to others too.
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I haven’t peeled apples for pies or crumbles for years. The only time I peel them is for an apple cake, but then I rarely make one of those anyway,

These tips are fabulous, thank you

Ooh I collected a bag of windfall apples yesterday from my favourite tree in the woods behind my house. Unpeeled crumble beckons!

Definitely frozen mashed potato, frozen chopped garlic, ginger and chillies, puff pastry, and I also get frozen sliced mixed peppers and butternut squash chunks. One of the dogs loves vegetables and they’re a great addition to her meals.

I grate or blitz the heels of crusty and sourdough bread and keep a bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer to add to grated cheese as a topping for all sorts, pasta bake, fish pie etc. My DGS loves Nana’s crunchy cheese!

Which frozen mash would you suggest?

Ready chopped vegetables