Shortcuts in cooking.

I like the frozen soffrito base mix - mainly because I can't abide celery in any other form, but I do like it for things like bolognese etc. Saves waste in buying celery which I wouldn't otherwise use and also saves a lot of faff with chopping.

“ How to Cheat at Cooking”was one of my first ever cook books when we married.
Many ideas are common practice now unlike 56 years ago when we were expected to make our own pastry, and cook everything from scratch. Frozen peas and tinned tomatoes were about as far as it went!

Meant to say I swear by chopped onions and grated cheddar, always having a couple of bags of each in the freezer along with Jus-Roll puff pastry.

I wish sliced onions were easier to find.

Sliced and frozen in most supermarkets, certainly Sainsbury’s.
I always have them in my freezer.

Grated cheese, chopped onions, Fresh diced chicken, beef , ready-to-use casserole vegs , sliced mangos, prepared salad ( bit wary since I had food poisoning )- any thing for an easy life, …..

Frozen herbs and frozen chopped garlic are great. Ready cooked noodles for stir fries too and ready cooked rice, either Uncle Ben's in the pouches or frozen. To be honest you can buy just about anything ready prepared these days.

Very lazy garlic, another favourite!

I’m another user of frozen onion. I mix them with a little oil and soften them in the microwave. Generally takes 3 minutes and I don’t have to watch over them.

I have started using tinned food after many years of buying fresh and peeling and chopping. What for? Tinned veg are cheap, canned fresh, are warmed quickly in a pan and no mess- the tin can also be re-cycled so win win for me!

Potato tumbler, saves all that horrible peeling with my rheumatoid condition. Whole peeled garlic that I freeze. Many of the cheats other posters have mentioned. Frozen broccoli, avoids the sad brown & yellow wilted mess hiding in the fridge. Frozen whole green beans.

Usedtobeblonde

Sliced and frozen in most supermarkets, certainly Sainsbury’s.
I always have them in my freezer.

I can only find sliced red onions or chopped onions in mine

ViceVersa

I like the frozen soffrito base mix - mainly because I can't abide celery in any other form, but I do like it for things like bolognese etc. Saves waste in buying celery which I wouldn't otherwise use and also saves a lot of faff with chopping.

Ours don't even sell frozen chopped onions any more.

Sallywally many years ago(probably 1970s) I had a Delia Smith book called 'How to Cheat at Cooking' 🙂

Allira

ViceVersa

I like the frozen soffrito base mix - mainly because I can't abide celery in any other form, but I do like it for things like bolognese etc. Saves waste in buying celery which I wouldn't otherwise use and also saves a lot of faff with chopping.

Ours don't even sell frozen chopped onions any more.

Sallywally many years ago(probably 1970s) I had a Delia Smith book called 'How to Cheat at Cooking' 🙂

See my post of 19.07

Duh! One eye on here, one on the TV 😁

Yes, that's the one.

I've looked for the frozen soffrito, but not found it - which supermarket sells it?
I've been using frozen spinach for months now, so much easier than fresh spinach.
Ditto frozen mash, use it mostly for cottage pie.
Aldi sell 2 frozen lamb henrys (lamb shanks), either with mint gravy or red wine gravy, and they are only about £5.99/£6.99 (sorry can't remember exactly) a real bargain as they are quite big, already cooked, so just need warming up and are very tasty.

Curlywhirly I found frozen soffrito in my local, small M&S foodhall. A bit expensive but very convenient when I can't be bothered with all that chopping!

A real cheat but good is frozen cauliflower cheese recommended on GN.
It is loose and you just put the required amount in a dish and stick it in the oven.
Very useful to keep in the freezer and actually tastes good.

Classic Vegetable Base Mix lkilo £2 at Sainsbiry
Soffritto £2.10p a kilo at Tesco

Oh dollyrocker, I haven’t seen a potato tumbler for about 50 years! Amazing machines I’d love one to save my poor hands.

Tesco, Sainsbury and Morrisons all sell the frozen soffrito mix.

dogsmother

Oh dollyrocker, I haven’t seen a potato tumbler for about 50 years! Amazing machines I’d love one to save my poor hands.

Oh me too, and to think that as a teen I used to easily hoik a sack of King Edwards and tip into a tumbler at work!

I'd have to aim them one by one now

I’m a keen batch cooker and I also prepare vegetables ahead of time and freeze, particularly when they’re in abundance and cheap.
I use a vacuum packing machine and then put those in the freezer. Each bag will have either carrots, onions, swede etc or a mixture ready for casseroles, stews or just cooking on the hob, ie fried onions, boiled carrots.

My favourite shortcut is to get the Waitrose dine in!