So. I think we have established that I don’t cook. Or not well anyway.
Basics I can manage, but I simply can’t imagine spending time cooking for fun. I do a mean scrambled eggs and can whip up some pancakes if required. Grill some chicken or even some chops – not a problem. Anything with more than about five ingredients though, forget about it.
Sometimes a mood strikes me and I try to step out of my comfort zone, but when I tried to make a loaf of bread from scratch, I almost cried with relief when it was actually edible.
Cooking dinner EVERY NIGHT is a chore. But funnily enough, Poss and husband seem to want to be fed, and I am sure in the rule book it says that we are supposed to eat something that doesn’t involve toast or pasta at least once a week.
So when the good people at Tefal asked me to review their Cook4Me, well, I have to say, I couldn’t have said yes any faster.
Like the name says, it cooks. For me.
It’s a bit like a cross between a microwave, a slow cooker, a rice cooker and a pressure cooker. Multi-talented bugger. There are recipes saved in the memory, which step you through step by step (perfect for me) or a manual mode, which would be handy for those who actually know how to cook. It even has a reheat feature, for when I am cheating and reheating last night’s takeaway.
We have been playing with it – nothing too adventurous. Porridge for the cold mornings, a creamy mac & cheese and tonight we did corned beef. It was tasty. It’s easy to use, easy to clean and did I mention, it cooks for me?
Now. I have gloated about my Cook4Me, but here’s the fun part – you get a chance to win one too! It will be like I am cooking for you… well kind of! As close as it’s going to get anyway!
To win, all you have to do is share with me your favourite non-recipe. You know, a two minute noodle/eggs on toast style. Something that takes less than 5 ingredients. Your go to lazy meal. Bonus points if I can use the Cook4Me to make it!
The finer details…
Entry is open to Australian residents. Winner will be provided with a Tefal Cook4Me valued at $359.00. To enter share a super easy recipe, or even a link to one and the one we think is best will win! Entries close at 5pm on Saturday 29th June. The winner will be notified by email.
Disclaimer – in exchange for running this giveaway we were provided with a Tefal Cook4Me to review and keep. My lack of cooking ability and love of anything that helps with that, is my opinion only.
L’s favourite meal is pasta with cream cheese and a can of drained tuna stirred through.
So simple.
I might not eat it, but at least the child gets fed!
My most favourite ‘non-recipe’?
1/ choose 2 washed potatoes per person from the green grocer.
2/ wrap each potato in foil, skin on.
3/place in slow-cooker in the morning, on low.
4/ unwrap at dinner time and serve with cheese/butter/some other fat and garlic salt.
5/enjoy!
So slack, yet so yum! 😉
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I’m the queen of one pot wonders. A family favourite is my Beef Curry.
– Blade steak, cube it to whatever size suits (I remove ALL visible fat)
– Curry powder & salt to taste
– whatever veg you want to get rid of (they all end up tasting like curry)
– Splash of whatever stock you have (ends up tasting of curry anyway)
– If you want to give it a fancy name like Sun Island Curry just add sultanas, apple and some coconut.
Cook up some rice to go with. If I can’t be bothered I cube some potato & throw it in the pot.
Tastes even better the next day(try it with scrambled eggs), so I make extra – two meals done.
Easiest meal at our place is always pick-a-plate! That basically means that I find what we have left over / easy to grab in the fridge or pantry, put in on plates in bite sized chunks, add a couple of treats and off we go. A normal pick-a-plate might be: some cheese, crackers, baby cucumber, tomato, cut up apple, cold cut up sausages, cut up banana, bit of jelly and a handful of smarties. It comes with a rule….you only have to eat what you like! No questions asked if you leave something.
So easy, so yummy and loved by all 6 of us. Particularly me because it’s easy 🙂
I love turkish bread sliced in half, spread pesto over the top, sprinkle with some olives, kabana and cheese, bung in oven till cheese is golden and serve 🙂 Pizza with a twist.
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I love cooking things in foil. You can just pop everything you want in there and it just cooks. The other night I made fish with roasted sweet potato. I put the sweet potato in first and cooked it until it was just about done. Then i put a piece of fish in foil with fish sauce, lemon juice, sweet chilli sauce, and chives. Chucked it in the pan with with the sweet potato and cooked it all for about 15 minutes. It was so yum and took no time at all to prepare.
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I reckon that you could do this in your new wonder pot….. chicken and sweet corn soup.
1 can creamed corn
Chopped up chicken (breast or thigh – whatever you fancy)
Box of chicken stock
Dried noodles – any brand
Bring stock to boil. If it doesn’t look like enough liquid add some water.
Drop in noodles
Toss in chopped chicken. Turn heat down bit.
Tip in tin of corn – everything – of corn.
Done. You can add a dash of soy sauce if you want to but not neccesary. If you want to be fancier you cam add mushrooms, or spinach or anything else. Or not.
Really yummy and looks and tastes as though you are exceptionally clever.
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My easy meal is…if it’s…if it’s there you can have it, if it’s not you can’t…which could be scrambled eggs on vegemite toast, canned spaghetti jaffles or mac and cheese with chicken nuggets…my kids love it all…
For my go-to lazy meal, I make canneloni.
Honest! It’s simple, just listen.
Buy a packet of instant canneloni shells, 2 packs frozen spinach, a tub of ricotta and a jar of ready-made pasta sauce (your choice of flavour; I tend to to opt for a bolognese-style one).
Then, you just boil the packs of spinach, allow to cool and drain of all liquid, and add it to the ricotta. You can flavour with parmesan, salt, pepper etc if you’re feeling adventourous. Then you just fill up the cannelloni’s with the ricotta mixture, pour the sauce over the top, and bake in the oven about half hour. It’s so simple, nutritious (so you don’t feel guilty), and really tasty too.
Quick & easy
Fry one chopped onion and chopped chicken breast until cooked.
Add a bag of pre washed spinach.
Place mixture on one side of a tortilla and roll up.
Place rolled tortillas in a dish.1
Cover with jar of salsa.
Sprinkle mozerella cheese on top and put in oven until cheese browned.
Ok, I’m currently into rice paper rolls. I’m thinking, cook a flavoured rice packet, purchase a bag of premix salad, a bit of rice a bit of salad. Dunk your ricepaper roll in a bowl of hot water, add your ingredients and roll. wela!
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I make this risotto all the time
http://www.4ingredients.com.au/recipe/tuna-tomato-risotto
It’s so quick and easy and you’d be able to chuck it all into your fancy cooker.
Oh where to start? Most meals at our place would fit right in! I have a Russsian background so basically I just add sour cream to anything and my kids lap it up. Their three favs would be roast zucchini wrapped in a warm tortilla with sour cream, sour cream on gnocchi or plain bread torn into chunks and smothered in…you guessed it! Sour cream!! We do try not to have all three gourmet meals in a week!
If you were to ask Kirby it would be cocktail franks…not the most nutritional thing in the world but they take 2seconds and it keeps the kid happy lol! oh and I let her do her own sauce which she loves even more! 😉
But I can’t go past a quick easy cheese and tomato toastie…and if we are at the end of the week and the toms are a little low it’s the good old Vegemite and cheese toastie lol! Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics lol! 😉
X
Sounds like an amazing machine! I have two recipes I use when I cannot bother cooking (which is most days!). The first is good old scrambled eggs but with crumbled fetta over the top, the kids & I love it!! The other is just me cutting up all the fruit & veg & leftover roast chicken with a bread roll. No cooking & all the cleaning is done as you go. So you can ignore the kitchen afterwards!
I love the look of this machine:)
Great giveaway!
Croissant and butter pudding recipe.
If you are weight conscious, this probably isn’t for you. If you are happy conscious, then this is the perfect dessert.
Ingredients:
I don’t really measure ingredients. I used four croissants, the zest of one lemon, three farm fresh eggs, about half a cup of milk (low fat – is this a saving grace?), about three tablespoons of sugar, a splash of vanilla essence and a handful of dried craisins. Oh and a generous slice of butter – maybe 50 grams.
Method:
Beat eggs, milk, vanilla and sugar together in a pyrex (glass) dish. Cut butter into eight pieces. Cut slits in croissants and stuff them with small pieces of butter. Put croissants into eggy mix, and press down so they’re soaked. Grate the zest of a lemon and sprinkle over croissants. Do the same with craisins – but make sure they’re in the eggy mix or they will burn. Put remaining butter pieces on croissants. Bake in a low temperature oven (150 degrees) for around 20 minutes.
When cooked, the croissants will puff up like delicious puddingy pillows.
This is a bowl of amazing.
Pics herr:
http://carlyfindlay.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/croissant-and-butter-pudding-definitely.html
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The easiest recipe I do at my house is so easy that my teenage son cooks it regularly
http://vicky-lifeonthehill.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/easy-peasy-carbonara-sauce.html
It’s from Taste 🙂
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My recipe that I’m making tonight: Mars Bar Slice. 3oz butter, 3mars bars, melt and when it’s liquid throw in 3cups rice bubbles. Flatten and you’re done (unless you have the willpower to wait long enough to put some melted chocolate on top. I can’t be bothered). 3 ingredients in multiples of 3s, perfect for cake stalls, and you don’t need it written down to remember it.
Refried beans in tortilla.
Put cup of fav beans, mine are black beans, in 3-4 cups of water, dash of olive oil, with some crushed garlic, stock if you wish, one cut up tomato, seasonings to taste… And let reduce.
Add to tortilla with cheese and sour cream, I only have cheese and chillies, cause I love it hot!!
My favorite recipe is cook noodles drain water add pesto sauce from the jar. Stir. Place in bowl. Sprinkle with pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
1 BBQ Chicken- meat chopped
1 tub Philadelphia Cream for Cooking
Pasta
When pasta is cooked, return to pan with other ingredients and heat through
So quick and easy after work!
Baked Ravioli is a family fav at our house … and so simple! Cook store bought ravioli in hot water as normal. Strain and mix a small amount of store bought pasta sauce with ravioli. Layer ravioli, store bought pasta sauce and grated cheese a couple of times. Top with cheese and bake for 20 mins until cheese golden. Slice into lasagne style slices. Yum! 🙂
Grate some peeled potato, carrot and zucchini. Squeeze out extra moisture. Add a couple of eggs, plain flour and some salt and mix until it is a pikelet batter.
Heat pan with a bit of oil and cook pikelet size fritters.
My quick go to meal is pre packaged ravioli, 1 chorizo, 1 block of halumi cheese and tinned dice tomato and mixed dried herbs
Cook ravioli as per instructions, fry off halumi and chorizo. Join altogether with all other ingredients and serve once everything is hot
Takes 15 mins and is soooo yummy
Super simple:
5 ingredients
100g dried fettuccini
Seafood marinara mix
Olive oil
2 cloves Garlic, diced finely
Pinch fresh Parsley, chopped roughly
Cook pasta to liking, drain
Sauté seafood marinara mix in oil and garlic
When cooked, add pasta to seafood and stir through
Remove from heat
Toss in chopped parsley, toss through and serve on warmed plate
Eat!!
It’s challenging cooking for Olivia (almost a full time job working out treats and yummy meals for her!!) because she is dairy/red meat/additive /gluten/wheat/sugar free!! And she is quite particular about what she will eat, somedays things are just the wrong colour!!
Whenever I have a long day of hospital appointments with her, this recipe is sanity saving (if she is up for eating rainbow colours that day!)
“Olivia’s Special Omlette for the whole family”
I use a wok because I like the size of the base
Fry for 2 minutes any veggies you like (we use onions, mushrooms, zuchinni and tomatoes)
Pour in 2 lightly beaten organic eggs
Add salt and peper if you like, and it’s awesome with grated cheese added, but sadly no cheese for Miss Olivia
Flip over carefully and serve when cooked (about 2-3 mins each side)
If you make a mess when flipping, let’s call it “Olivia’s Special Scrambled eggs” instead 😉