“Spanish pork stew” from “Easy Meals”

Anna: This is delicious. I made it quickly this morning while Louis napped in the sling, and it cooked for 2 hours while I went out and about. And now we have supper for three nights!

Peter: Yes, this was practical because you could prepare it in advance.

Anna: Although our nights of rocking are over for the time being as we have the baby sleep trained, for now, so I can actually cook in the evenings again! That said, I’m so knackered it’s nice to have something we just need to heat up.

Peter: I do like a bit of chorizo and there was certainly plenty of that. And it is good and filling.  Perfect food for a cold winter night.

Anna: What a shame the potatoes didn’t cook properly as the cooking temperature was too low. Having to fish them out and microwave them separately did slightly defeat the objective of having dinner already prepared, but we’ll know for next time.

Peter: In the meantime we’ve got two more suppers ready in the freezer.

“Baked Mushroom Risotto” from “Easy Meals”

If you’d like to make this yourself, the good people of the Good Food Channel have posted the recipe here.

Andrew (12): Is this a new recipe?

Maureen: Yes. It’s from the Rachel Allen book, “Easy Meals.”

Andrew: Oh. That’s why I didn’t like it then.

Tim: Why don’t you like it?

Andrew: It didn’t have the same sort of…. (pause while he mentally searches for the word he wants)

Maureen (trying to help him finish the thought): …Massive amounts of butter and cheese?

Andrew (finally finding the word he wants): Flavour. It doesn’t have the same kind of flavour.

“Maple black pepper pork chops” from “Easy Meals”

Peter: “Easy Meals”? “Difficult washing up”! I think she’s used every pan in the kitchen.

Anna: No, no, no, no. Hang on. The sweet potato mash and cavolo nero were not part of Rachel o’Rachel’s recipe. Wasn’t there just one pan for the pork?

Peter: Yes, you cooked the pork and then made the sauce and added the chops back in again.

Anna: So really, if we hadn’t had side dishes, this was a one-pan meal.

Peter: I guess, but you’re not going to eat a pork chop on its own.

Anna: Still, we created the volume of washing up, not Rachel’s recipe. Now then, enough about dirty pots and pans, what did you think of the pork chops?

Peter: It was a good chop, you could tell they were from Drings by their size. This was a way you wouldn’t normally do a pork chop. I was brought up on them covered in stuffing.

Anna: ?! I thought this was delicious. Perfect for a Sunday night alternative to a roast.

Peter: You do like a bit of pork, don’t you?

Anna: Indeed. Was it easy to cook?

Peter: It was very straightforward. If only you’d let me chop an onion…..

“Chocolate marshmallow biscuit cake” from “Easy Meals”

Ella: We made this last week too. I liked the bit where I got to kill ginger biscuits with a giant hammer with metal spikes.

Georgia: I really enjoyed cooking this.

Ella: Is that because you are a shiny vampire?

Georgia: I am not a shiny vampire.

“Speedy Chicken Noodle Soup” from “Easy Meals”

Want to make this yourself? The Good Food Channel has posted the recipe online here.

Maureen: Yum. This is great.

Tim: Yes. I agree. I like this.

Andrew (12): Me too.

Nicholas (8): I think it’s okay, but I do like it.

Maureen: When Rachel Allen says it only takes 7 minutes of preparation time and 5 minutes of cooking time, she’s not kidding.

Tim: Was it really that fast?

Maureen: Yes, although it stayed on the hob while we waited for you to get home from work. The thing that took the longest was soaking the rice noodles.

“Seared beef salad” from “Easy Meals”

Anna: This is delicious! What a lovely salad!

Peter: Yes it’s nice, even for winter. It felt like a meal rather than a big starter.

Anna: It is substantial, yes. We had more steak than the recipe calls for. And a bit more cheese too. Piggies that we are.  I also put the onions back in the oven after I added the balsamic to them which made them lovely and caramalised. Would you like this again?

Peter: Yes. I would say you have to choose your steak carefully though. Only the best quality will do as it is the hero of the dish.

Anna: So a salad to have when you want a special treat that isn’t too heavy. This is your recipe. Yum.

“Pear, almond and chocolate crumble” from “Easy Meals”

Georgia: I’ve yet to warm to Rachel O’Rachel, but I warm to this pudding, for some reason. What’s her thing?

Kirstin: Simple and straightforward. I’ll show you the book.

Georgia: I’ve got one of them, but never cooked anything from it. So how is it organised? Five ingredients or less? Hmmm? Or fewer, surely?

Tom: Ouch! That’s because the supermarket gets it wrong too.