Cook ahead recipes

[lady_p_gold]

Anybody got any good ideas for meals you can cook ahead for entertaining so that there is no work to do ??? I always seem to end up frazzled in the kitchen.

[Bohne]

Chilli is a good one in my opinion. Gets better the more often it is warmed up.
Lasagne, too, just not so easy if you have lots of guests.
Pizza is also great to prepare ahead.
Make dough and put stuff on it, then put in the oven and turn on 30 Minutes before you are ready to eat.
Or make stew. Everything into a big pot and then leave to boil/simmer for 2-3 hours.

[Champagne]

Hi. I have a large lasagne dish which would serve 8-10 people quite comfortably.

You can make your lasagne in the morning, or even the night before and keep it in the fridge. Just pop it in the oven until piping hot all the way through (and golden on top) and serve.

Just make sure the sauce is rich and garlicky. Mmmm...

[jiggy-gb]

Enchillada's are great and easy. You can choose from minced beef chilli, or strips of beef or chicken in a spicy tomato based sauce ( a bit like you would for fajitas). Just let you filling cool, dollop in the middle of large flour tortillas, roll up and place in a large ovenproof dish, you'll get about 4-6 in a dish depending on how large you make them. Cover with a spicy tomato sauce ( i just use chopped tinned toms, fry some chopped onion and hot chillies in olive oil first), pour on the toms and add some cayenne pepper, ground corriander and a tiny pinch of grounc cumin. Pour that over your dish, sprinkle grated cheddar (monteray jack if you can get any is better!) and when your guests arrive pop it in the oven on about gas mark 5 and it'll sit happily for about an hour so long as it's not too high up. Serve with rice and a crisp green salad, and have nacho's and yummy dips as entrees.