easy christmas day alternative

mcdermott_c

Hi all

I have (dont ask me why) agreed to make christmas lunch. I am a man so needless to say cooking is not my strongpoint (apologies to the guys are good cooks).

Anyway i am not even going to attempt cooking a turkey so wondered if there is a way to cheat ? i was thinking of some kind of bernard matthews turkey thing ? any suggestionso n how I can make an easy good tasting christmas lunch much appreciated

thanks

chris

poet123

Not Bernard Mathews,if you want tasty and good!! How about a turkey crown,ready prepped veg and gravy. Mix of frozen desserts/cream.

Fruball

I would go for M&S or your local butcher - not exactly money saving in that it won't be cheap but it will more than likely be very very good and you'll use it all up.

The one and only time I cooked a turkey it was gross - like eating string! Never ever again!!!!! (mind you, I was so paranoid about overcooking it that I probably seriously overcooked it!)

You can get them all ready boned out too so v easy to carve and impress your guests

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

Congrats on having a go!

Some of the supermarkets do a turkey with a timer in that pops up when done. Its not rocket science, you should be fine.

You could even get a 3 bird roast from aldi (£10) straight to oven. Veg isn't a problem, you could buy ready to cook (not cheap) or have a go at doing them yourself, peel spuds and roast in oven, sprouts in a pan on top with some carrots maybe only take 5 mins with a couple of spoons of water. Keep things simple. Buy a xmas pud, zap in micro for a couple of mins and serve with cream or ice cream.

Good luck!

competitionscafe

You could do a rib of beef or other beef roasting joint as overcooking or undercooking it would not be a major disaster - just weigh it or get the exact weight when you buy it and then it's just a case of x minutes per pound at x temperature depending what it is. (Easy to find online or by asking here).

A whole Turkey is just as easy really (just think of it as a large chicken) - of course more of a problem if undercooked or overcooked but as long as you get the timings right it should be fine. You can buy meat thermometers for a few quid to be certain.

Either way rest a roast for at least 15 minutes or even half an hour - covered in foil it won't go cold and will give you time to do the spuds, veg, etc.

mum2one

Just an even simplier solution, go to Iceland as they do roast from frozen, turkey breast, and it does it all for you.

Roast potatoes, roast parsnip can be done on same tray, (or again cheat and buy frozen roast potatoes)

Another baking tray, put the sausage wrapped in bacon, on the other side, stuffing balls, (ready mix sage and onion stuffing, for an added twist add some diced apricots, (buy them in Asda, kids bags about 30p).

Veg on hob, and gravy.

Have you got a starter in mind, something nice and simple
- Grilled grapefruit, loosen the segments, add brown sugar and sherry, grill until warm and sugar melted

or

Breaded camberbert (Aldi, co-op, Tesco do them), they go in oven,included in pack is a relish, to tart it up a bit, shred some lettuce, put the cheese on this, top with cress, dribble the sauce around

or
Melon - I use defrosted melon balls, get a mix of the melons, put in bowl add port.

Pud
Tradational xmas pud, warm in microwave, can buy ready made brandy or rum sauce.

Good luck x

weemissy

Unexpectedly doing boxing day and wanting as little stress and effort as poss so having........
smoked salmon from ALDI
cartons of soup lurking in freezer
m&s turkey crown and stuffing bought today now in freezer
m&s mash also lurking in freezer
frozen roasts, frozen parsnips, sausages wrapped in bacon from ALDI - recommended in one of the newspapers, will buy fresh sprouts
xmas pudding lurking in mum's cupboard
m&s chocolate puddings - lurking in freezer

mcdermott_c

wow thanks for the ideas !

mum2one... the Iceland roast from frozen, turkey breast sounds perfect and i also like the idea of defrosted melon balls too - surely i cant get that wrong ! hmmmm

competitionscafe - a beef roasting joint also sounds good as it sounds like it can be a bit forgiving if you dont get the exact timing.

desperate housewife the 3 bird roast from aldi (£10) straight to oven sounds interesting - what is this exactly ?

thanks for the help im quite looking forward to it now !

chris

izoomzoom

I have to go and fetch DH from airport 2.5h away with 3 children and leaving at 6am on Xmas morning, so I am going ultra easy.

Gammon into slowcooker ... worth looking at if you have one.

Veg will be done when we get home and I am sure I can rustle something up as pud (apart from the xmas pud I already have in the cupboard from 2 years ago):D