Ready meals - any favourites?

I am a great fan of Trescothick for instant meals...NOT the curries but I love their Crab and Chilli linguine with rocket !!Its delicious!! Should be TESCOS.

We love Charlie Bigham meals and Waitrose Steak Pies…when they are in store. The shelves are always empty as they are popular and sell out quickly!

I have mobility problems and am housebound but have always enjoyed cooking and eating so recently decided to try ready meals. But never again. One look at the ingredients list was enough. Too much sauce pastry, sauce etc. I cannot strain saucepans of boiling water but manage very well with microwave, mini oven and slow cooker. I rely on Sainsbury deliveries and get frozen strewing vegetables, chopped onions, frozen mash, roast potatoes, chips etc. I have not thought about frozen jacket potatoes as fresh ones only take seven minutes in the microwave anyway. Use the slow cooker a lot.
I do miss fresh fish. Ordered some and found it had been frozen and thawed and processed in China! Also Young’s use a lot of Basa which comes from the Mehtong Delta in Vietnam which is polluted. Makes one think from whence the makers of ready meals source their ingredients.

And Morrison’s vegetable pizza from the fresh counter got a very enthusiastic thumbs up from the hubby the other day (we don’t always eat ready meals - honest)

Charlie Bighams Lasagna is delicious, whenever it is on offer in Sainsbury’s I buy one. They are the nicest ready meals I have ever tasted and perfect when we have had a busy day at work

I collected two lovely family size plate pies still warm yesterday from a local restaurant/ cafe. They are delicious and can be popped into the freezer. Extremely handy in those days when you just don’t feel like standing and cooking.

Living in France, where nobody who likes curries would EVER visit an Indian restaurant, I always visit M&S when I'm in Paris to stock up on their butter chicken. And Mme SS, despite being French, adores their chicken tikka masala.
Plus you can also buy excellent dry sherry, a drink virtually unknown in France.

Love Charlie Bigham's beef stroganoff! We had a very late arrangement when friends decided they'd like to come to us for supper last night. I had a really busy day & neither time nor inclination to cook something so I visited one of the local Co Ops which has 4 freezers of the COOK range. I'd been meaning to give them a whirl for some time & bought the fish pie for last night & a cottage pie for DH & I to enjoy on Saturday. I came clean to the guests about the fish pie & we all agreed it was very good indeed. If the cottage pie is as good, I can see myself buying online from Cook & filling the freezer!!

I love a Pukka steak pie, perfect pastry and exactly the right amount of filling. Waitrose sell the far more expensive Pieminster pies (I hate their pastry), Charlie Bigham's (ditto), and their own brand pies (too little filling, pastry not seasoned enough), but I've never been disappointed with Pukka pies.

We rarely eat ready meals but if we do it is usually M&S or Charlie Bigham ( love the fish pie). They are more expensive but the quality shows and if it is occasionally thats ok.

I am a vegetarian and my options are limited and those that are on offer are usually smothered in cheese sauce. If we fancy a none cooking evening we use our local favourite Indian restaurant/takeaway who do lovely veggie takeaway meals.

Cook, ( the firm) deliver some delicious frozen meals, never school dinnery from a large range. They are very pleasant people to deal with.

Was this question directed at me? ;)

Charlie Bingham? Never heard of him....

Aldi specially selected curries! Chilled not frozen fresh coriander leaves garnish, authentic and just delish! Very generous portions with prime meat where included. These are authentically produced by an Asian /Indian owned company from top quality Ingredients. We prefer to our very good local takeaway if only for the excellent price! I prepare my own rice and a meal for the 2 of us is about £7.

M&S do a lovely lemon chicken in their Chinese range, lovely sauce and delicious chicken in a light batter.

Trying to loose weight at the moment so low calorie ready meals are perfect with added vegetables to bulk up. Saves from having to work out calorie counts for every meal and is working well as already lost 11 lbs.

Annaram you’re the first to vote for Parsley Box!

Here's another vote for Parsley Box.

Depends what sort of food you like but I really like Iceland Luxury chicken tikka massala and steak ragu

Another vote for Charlie Bingham, although I have to say Sainsbury’s taste the difference fish pie is superior.

Charlie Bigham especially the pastry top pies in the ceramic bowls. Not the ones with the pastry all round. I freeze them (usually forgetting what they are). We reuse the bowls for our dog's food in the fridge. Also I quite like some of the Cook range.

I've got some in the freezer too. DH likes some of M&S Chinese range, I think because I can cook most things - I used to ask for recipes from the restaurants we went to most often back in the day- but Chinese food defeats me, and Vietnamese does too. I don't eat ready meals because there is always too much garlic, which I think is a favouring not a main ingredient, so I have soup that day.

Not keen on many ready meals - M&S always disappoint me - always rather bland.
However Waitrose do a chicken, leek and potato ready meal for one, which I do like and usually have in the freezer on standby!

henetha

Thank you teacheranne. I hadn't thought about a kitchen stool, but will now. It's a great idea. Sometimes I put the veg and a saucepan and knife etc on a tray and sit on the sofa to prepare veg.

I’m lucky in that I have room for a table in my kitchen but my stool is handy when my knees are too painful to carry food preparation items from fridge or cupboards to the table.

Make sure you buy one with a ledge or rung to pop your feet on, I find it uncomfortable to dangle my legs which won’t reach the floor from a high stool.