Cheat’s cuisine

Here's how

1. Start by pre-heating the oven and cooking one large or two small chickens - these will take the longest to cook. Just get the oven temperature and timings from the packaging.
2. Then put 1 large ready-made pavlova or meringue on a serving dish, top with extra-thick cream, raspberries and chopped mango (or canned peaches) and put in the fridge.
3. To make the rouille, mix 1 pack of fresh aïoli with a teaspoon of sun-dried tomato paste and blob of chilli paste - how much will depend on how hot you like your food - and set aside.
4. Put the carrots in a pan with a large knob of butter, a glass of orange juice and a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. Put over a low heat and cook until the carrots are tender, shaking the pan occasionally. Keep an eye on the pan to make sure it doesn't burn dry - top up with water if you think that's going to happen.
5. Cut the baguettes into slices and toast under the grill to make crostini.
6. Chop some parsley.
7. Heat up two 600g cartons of fresh soup and transfer to individual bowls. Garnish each bowl with a couple of cooked, unpeeled prawns a little chopped parsley. Spoon blobs of rouille on the crostini and serve with the soup.
8. About 10 minutes before the chicken is going to be ready, put 1 bag of ready-prepared baby vegetables on to cook and heat up 2 packs of ready-made mashed potato (following packet instructions).
9. Let the chicken rest while you transfer the carrots and baby veg to serving dishes. Put the hot mashed potato in a dish and stir in a couple of spoonfuls of crème fraîche and a heaped teaspoon of creamed horseradish. Carve the chicken and serve with the veg.
10. Just before you serve the pavlova, take it out of the fridge and drizzle a little raspberry coulis over the top and pour some around the edge, on the plate. Using a teaspoon, pour drops of single cream into the coulis. Drag a skewer or toothpick through the cream drops to create white heart shapes in the dark pink coulis. Serve and relax.

Over the page: The shopping list