Heat you're oven at a high heat. I usually start around 220 degrees.
Put a bit of vegetable oil (or spray if you want to be healty) in the bottom of a baking tray. Put the meat in and then rub with a little oil and cooking salt. I also add a bit of rosemary on top too for lamb.
Put in the oven and add vegies after half an hour...
Peel potatoes, cut into pieces, and microwave (or par boil) until almost tender. Drain excess water and shake the micro. dish (or saucepan) to roughen edges. This will give a nice crispy outing to the potatoes...
Peel carrots and pumpkin and cut into pieces (other good vegies are sweet potato and parsnip).
Add vegies to baking tray.....
If your baking dish doesn't have much room after the meat is in, put the potatoes with the meat and put the rest of the vegies in another baking dish with a little oil and season with cooking salt. (Don't forget to season the potatoes too)
Spray tops of vegies with cooking spray and put all back in the oven, reducing the temp to around 200 degrees....
I pull the trays out every 30 mins to baste the meat and vegies....Once the meat is cooked to your liking (i just stab it with a knife and check inside - you can tell when it's done by opening the stab wound a bit) pull it out and sit on a plate uncovered (or loosly covered with foil, but i find that the skin goes soggy when wrapped in foil - it can always be reheated in the micro after it's been sliced, or just be reheating individual plates before serving)
Add the potatoes to the other vegies (doesn't matter if they're sitting on top of each other), up the temp again on the oven and finish cooking until potatoes are nice and crispy. The other veg will be done by this stage....
In the dish that you baked the meat in, put it on a hotplate on high heat to warm up the juices (also add any juices from the resting meat). Add enough flour to form a paste and cook for a minute. Add enough water to make a thin paste and stir continuously. The heat will thicken the gravy. Add more water until it stops thickening, but stop when it reaches the consistency you desire. Add some salt and pepper, and there is your homemade gravy.
I'd also do some brocolli and cauli, do it in the micro with lots of water. Don't over cook it though, keep it nice and tender. Put the broc/caul in an oven proof dish and in a microwave proof jug, melt some butter, add enough flour to thicken and cook for 30 secs. Add water from vegies and stir stir stir until it's all mix in. Cook in for 1 min (in micro) add a bit of milk and cook again for 2 mins, stiring after 1 min. If it's still too thick, add more milk. When you're happy with it, add a handful of grated cheese and salt and pepper and cook for 45 secs or until cheese is melted. Taste and adjust if necessary. Pour over the broc/caul, sprinkle with a bit of grated cheese and put in the oven (probably the last 15 mins of the other vegies baking) until cheese is melted and is nice and golden....there is your baked broc/caul with cheese sauce....
It might look like heaps, but once the meat and veg are in the oven, the only thing you have to do is get the broc/caul ready to go in the oven, and do the gravy, which can be done whilst the veg are finishing cooking......
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