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Shortcuts in cooking.

(72 Posts)
Sallywally1 Tue 03-Feb-26 18:58:08

Delia smith did a programme quite a while ago called ‘Delia Cheats’ which had some good ideas.

Any good ideas? My last find was frozen mash, five minutes in the microwave!

ViceVersa Tue 03-Feb-26 19:07:16

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.

RosiesMawagain Tue 03-Feb-26 19:07:40

“ 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!

RosiesMawagain Tue 03-Feb-26 19:09:05

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.

kittylester Tue 03-Feb-26 19:19:49

I wish sliced onions were easier to find.

Usedtobeblonde Tue 03-Feb-26 19:39:15

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

crazyH Tue 03-Feb-26 19:45:50

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, …..

flappergirl Tue 03-Feb-26 20:06:09

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.

Sallywally1 Tue 03-Feb-26 20:08:56

Very lazy garlic, another favourite!

teabagwoman Tue 03-Feb-26 20:25:13

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.

keepingquiet Tue 03-Feb-26 21:20:44

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!

DollyRocker Tue 03-Feb-26 21:44:51

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.

kittylester Tue 03-Feb-26 21:54:01

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

Allira Tue 03-Feb-26 22:05:40

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' 🙂

RosiesMawagain Tue 03-Feb-26 22:18:55

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 smile

Allira Tue 03-Feb-26 22:21:24

Duh! One eye on here, one on the TV 😁

Yes, that's the one.

Curlywhirly Tue 03-Feb-26 22:37:44

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.

Claretjan Tue 03-Feb-26 22:58:51

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!

Usedtobeblonde Tue 03-Feb-26 23:09:23

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.

SORES Tue 03-Feb-26 23:13:48

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

dogsmother Wed 04-Feb-26 08:46:55

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

ViceVersa Wed 04-Feb-26 08:59:09

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

keepcalmandcavachon Wed 04-Feb-26 09:23:03

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 nowgrin

Astitchintime Wed 04-Feb-26 09:31:16

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.

Sago Wed 04-Feb-26 10:09:20

My favourite shortcut is to get the Waitrose dine in!