I like to keep life simple.

As part of this process we tend to rely fairly heavily on takeaways or pre-processed food.

Tesco have a fair range of stuff that can just be popped in the oven. The quality however generally leaves a little to be desired. We only order them in an emergecy.

SuperValu are a lot better quality wise. However their range is fairly limited.

Dunnes have a very large range in their “Cook at Home” section. a lot are of the stir-fry nature and the only criticism I can level is that the portions are a bit small. To get a reasonably decent plateful I would have to use one pack per person where the packs are plainly marked “2 portions”. They must be intended for mice? Leastwise Dunnes have been our first port of call for quite a while.

And then we made a discovery.

Many moons ago I ordered a brochure from Wiltshire Farm Foods. We never did anything about it though and now I can’t find the brochure.

A couple of weeks ago we took the plunge and ordered a few meals off the Web. They do have a minimum spend on deliveries but all their stuff is frozen so stockpiling is limited only by space. I discovered that they deliver to this area on a Wednesday and so long as I get my order in by three on the previous day all is grand.

The first meal we tried was Roast Lamb in Honey and Mint Sauce. It came in a partitioned tray with mashed potato and veg in the other slots. It was fucking mighty! That one is definitely down for a repeat.

On the following days we had Hearty Irish Stew, Beef Bourguinon and Savoury Minced Beef. They were really good but not quite the stuff of the roast lamb.

We got a larger delivery on Wednesday. Loads more roast lamb of course. But last night we decided on Roast Beef. Now this little beauty comes in an extra deep tray and consists of roast beef in gravy, Yorkshire pudding with roast potatoes and a mix of carrots peas and beans. Instead of eating out of the tray, I tipped it out onto a plate which was only just big enough. It was a very generous meal. The beef was so tender it just broke up under the fork and the rest were cooked to perfection. I might add that all meals go straight to the oven from the freezer so no forgetting to thaw a dinner. The roast beef took 45 minutes and it was worth waiting for. It was only fucking massive!

I don’t know why I’m scribbling this stuff. I’m not getting paid or even getting a freebie. I’m too nice for my own good, giving free advertising. Credit where credit is due though.

I’m taking a break from ready stuff tonight. I plan on Bean Stew. This is partly because I’m over stocked on tins of various breeds of beads beans and partly because I want to use up some potatoes. Lots of mash [made of course with lashings of butter].

It’s a simple meal to prepare.

The aftermath can be quite noisy and odorous though…..