Metropol

I basically lived off ready meals when I lived in Northern Ireland, but now I never touch them.

cdd wrote:YAY! I have something in common with Nini.

Don't be pleased, I hate being unable to cook most things and you should too.

rts wrote:Nini, cdd, get your mitts on Jane Todd's "Might Mince Cookbook" - The bible of affordable and easy to make meals.

Alright then, I'll see how that goes, maybe I just might be able to make food and have a signature dish.

Hmm. Is pasta + some pre-prepared pesto a "ready meal"?

cdd wrote:Hmm. Is pasta + some pre-prepared pesto a "ready meal"?

No - neither is a Pasta n' Sauce (as far as I'm concerned), as both require a bit of preparation and your own supplementary ingredients.

Am loving the "Pasta in 5" versions I've found in Iceland. Only 58p each, but then have been a "buy one get one free" for at least 6 months. They're great with a bunch of veg thrown in for good measure, and are low in fat.

I enjoy cooking, so I feel rather cheated out of that pleasure if I have to resort to a ready meal, which isn’t very often. I quite often make casseroles with the intention of freezing some of it for later. However, I don’t mind having the same thing 3 or 4 nights running if it’s one of my favourites, so they rarely see the inside of the freezer!

I normally keep a small supply of the ‘value brand’ ready meals in the freezer for emergencies (lasagne, shepherd’s pie etc). They come in useful when the cupboards are empty, either through not having been to the shops or being on the ‘bones of my arse’ financially.

Ready meals are far from being the cheapest way to eat, and probably not as healthy as throwing together some fresh ingredients of your own. My Dad had never cooked anything in his life when he got divorced from my Mum, but he soon got the hang of it, although I don’t think he’s ever exposed anyone else to his culinary creations. It’s obviously never too late to learn. *looks towards Nini*

The 'pasta in 5' from Iceland that Gav mentioned certainly seem worth a try. I've always been a fan of pasta because of its sheer versatility. There aren't many ingredients that you can't mix with pasta, one way or another.

Back in the old student house I had a mate who would sleep until noon and emerge for his sole meal of the day: a low-price microwave lasagne. He somehow survived although he was definitely what I'd call trim.

Sput wrote:Back in the old student house I had a mate who would sleep until noon and emerge for his sole meal of the day: a low-price microwave lasagne. He somehow survived although he was definitely what I'd call trim.

No wonder he slept his life away if he took in that little fuel.

Fuel fool.

Well yes, that and his inate laziness, the light lecture schedule of a History degree and heavy drinking.

Sput wrote:...the light lecture schedule of a History degree...

Of his History degree, surely...

Of a Manchester history degree. He, along with the taxpayer, subsidised mine

I managed to attend a Political History of Art lecture for a good 15 minutes before I realised it wasn't my subject, so you may well have something there. I am hugely envious of people who have the skill to do proper sciencey subjects rather than nebulous social sciences. I only scraped an A-Level physics pass with a C

Intrigue me, what do science lectures actually contain? I mean, science is fact-based, so surely lectures are surplus to requirements. I guess there is research to convey, though.