The Best Ready Meals

[Marco]

Indeed... Read the back and see what's in it first, before buying it

The best ready meals, in that respect, are often those produced locally (in the area you live) by small companies, and these are essentially 'home-made' items with minimal packaging and a short shelf-life, simply because they haven't been pumped full of chemicals and preservatives.

Marco.

[Jimbo]

Much better to make your own 'ready meals'. Simply make double the amount and freeze the other half. I do this with curry, chilli etc and quite often they taste even better the next time you eat them and have none of the nasty crap manufactures use and you get to choose the quality of ingredients you use!

[walpurgis]

A tip to anybody freezing food. Don't use disposable aluminium foil containers. Acids and alkalis in food dissolve aluminium and you end up ingesting it. Aluminium is toxic.

[Marco]

Much better to make your own 'ready meals'. Simply make double the amount and freeze the other half. I do this with curry, chilli etc and quite often they taste even better the next time you eat them and have none of the nasty crap manufactures use and you get to choose the quality of ingredients you use!

Precisely, Jim (on all counts). That's the point [the bit in bold] I was making earlier to Justin.

Marco.

[jollyfix]

Much better to make your own 'ready meals'. Simply make double the amount and freeze the other half. I do this with curry, chilli etc and quite often they taste even better the next time you eat them and have none of the nasty crap manufactures use and you get to choose the quality of ingredients you use!

Same here, but tend to cook more than double... Most ready meals as far as i know take around 25- 30mins to heat ( normal oven). I can cook a fresh meal in the same time, or quicker.

[Marco]

The other thing, in terms of the argument about it being a 'ball ache' to make a good curry, well that may be valid in terms of trying to compete with good restaurants and takeaways, but it sure as hell doesn't take much effort to better a ready meal curry from a supermarket!!



Marco.

[jollyfix]

A good curry is simple and quick. Well as long as the base gravy is made, and you have the right ingredients ,and pan etc. When i make my gravy, there is enough for around 15 meals. Just freeze. Making a restaurant / take away curry much quicker than a ready meal tasteless curry. Something like a Raan, takes ages due do the marinade etc, but thats not a curry, and more Indian home cooking ,which is totally different from take away curry.
You can not make a restaurant/ take away curry by using super market curry paste in a jar or similar. The ready made cooking sauces not that good, but there are a few ( buy from Indian shops) which are ok, but again not take away curry.

[struth]

having sweet n sour chicken and rice made by Laila's Lancashire.a family affair apparently.. daughter Natasha Beaver (stop sniggering at the back)is purchasing director... lets hope its not her beaver range im eating Got it in Lidl..quite nice actually..

hope her hubby's name wasnt Harry

[walpurgis]

Having a large baked spud tonight. Half done in microwave, then filled with halved baby plum tomatoes, loads of butter and cheese and browned and finished in the oven and served with fried baby chestnut mushrooms and mixed beans in tomato sauce. All nice and simple.

[User211]

Same here, but tend to cook more than double... Most ready meals as far as i know take around 25- 30mins to heat ( normal oven). I can cook a fresh meal in the same time, or quicker.

You can but you probably have washing up and you have to do things typically fairly intensely for those 30 odd minutes. Not good when you are knackered after work.

I'm not really defending ready meals, just being real about it.

I just did a fine mushroom parpadelle. Some leftovers for work tomoz. Nicer by a margin than an M&S ready meal of the same type/name. But that is 3 minutes in the microwave and zero hassle really.

Defrosting stuff is always a fag if you don't preplan.

Marco - my reference book on curry making has apparently been discarded. I was going to photo a recipe or two just to show you what can be involved. It is extreme in some cases.