Cheating your way to cooking for Christmas

Cooking for Christmas can be time consuming and expensive.
Here are a couple of ideas which are not just easy to make, but also easy on the pocket, especially when cooking for  large groups of people.
Millionaire's short bread
This is a great easy to prepare recipe and can be made in advance
Ingredients

• 18 mini pastry cases (most supermarkets sell them)

  https://groceries.asda.com/product/pastry-flan-cases/asda-mini-pastry-cases/910001375786

• 300g tin of sweetened condensed milk
• Shop bought or pre-made chocolate mousse (see my recipe below) or 160g melted dark chocolate
  

http://www.grubonabudget.com/chocolate-mousse.html
Method
   1. Remove the label and pierce the lid of the condenses milk before placing it in a saucepan of boiling water for a couple of hours making sure the tin remains at least half way submerged in the water.
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/caramel-sweetened-condensed-milk/9005d4ff-d063-43da-9fc6-509cc50ae771
   2. Once the condensed milk has cooled remove the lid and place a teaspoon of caramel at the bottom of each pastry case.
   3. Cover with chocolate mousse or melted dark chocolate
   4. Serve with a sprinkling of golden brown sugar
Store in an airtight container in the fridge, removing half an hour before serving

Olives
 When looking to prepare nibbles and canapés for parties Olives are always an easy and inexpensive option especially when drizzled with olive oil and chopped basil. Adding some grated garlic is also a nice touch or some fresh or roasted tomatoes and/or sliced roasted vegetables.  By buying the jars or tins of olives (I usually go for the extra large variety) and adding your own accompaniments this is much cheaper and tastier way to serve them, rather  than buying the more expensive pre-pared variety.  They can also be  prepared and  stored in the fridge days before the guests arrive.