During the week I like to cook things that are quick and easy most of the time . . . unless we are having company. That leaves me more time to do things like paint, or sew . . . or just laze around. ahem . . .

Okay, I bake too. I love to bake. I often bake . . . cakes and cookies and other delectables. *blush*



I love dishes that use ingredients that I always have in my store cupboard. I always keep a package of fresh lasagne sheets in the freezer and pasta sauces on the shelves of my larder. I also usually have ham and olives and cheese in the fridge.



Just the right things to throw together this tasty Store Cupboard Lasagne Pie! Easy does it! It goes together lickety split and you can have it on the table in less than 45 minutes tops.
All you need is a salad to go along with it and perhaps some crusty bread and you have one happy family.



They'll think you slaved all day . . . but only you and I will know how very little effort it took. Delicious! (I think we all have a few lazy recipes up our sleeves, truth be told, and this is one of mine!)



*Store Cupboard Lasagne Pie*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Quick, easy and oh so delicious!

150g pack of fresh lasagne sheets (1/2 pound)
1 (350g) jar of tomato basil and garlic pasta sauce (about 2 cups)
(I like Napolina, it tastes most like the Prego sauce from home.)
1 (350g) jar of white sauce for lasagne (about 2 cups)
a good handful of marinated green olives, halved
8 slices of baked ham
2 ounces of grated cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
2 ounces grated mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup)
2 heaped dessertspoons of finely grated parmesan cheese
freshly grated black pepper

Put the lasagne sheets in a large bowl and pour boiling water over top. Leave for five minutes and then drain. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5.

Mix all the cheeses together in a bowl. Set aside.

Spoon a couple of spoonfuls of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan. Lay on three lasagna sheets crosswise to cover. Spread another dollop of sauce over top. Top with half of the ham. Spoon over a couple of dollops of the white sauce. Sprinkle on 1/3 of the cheese and the olives. Lay another three lasagna sheets over top and repeat with the tomato sauce, remaining ham,white sauce, and 1/3 of the cheese and olives. Top with a final 3 lasagne sheets and then spoon on a few more dollops of tomato sauce, the white sauce, the remaining cheese and olives. Give a good grind of black pepper.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and the whole thing is bubbling. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.



Cooking in The Cottage today, an Old Fashioned Escalloped Macaroni and Cheese!

I can hear you all scratching your heads now and thinking that I have lost my marbles . . . I mean, really . . . Spaghetti on Toast??? What ever will I do next!

There are times however when nothing else will do . . . this is the ultimate comfort food . . . nursery food that brings us back to the bosom of our mum's and home sweet homes . . .



Perhaps you've had a rough day at work, or had a bit of bad news. Maybe you're just feeling downright lazy . . .



Or . . . and this is a real biggie . . . maybe you just get a hankering every once in a while for good old spaghetti from a tin! It's absolutely not gourmet . . . it's definitely not al dente . . . heck it's probably not even a real tomato sauce! Sometimes you just don't care! You just gotta do what you gotta do!



Most people over here just dump a tin of heated spaghetti over top of some toast, but you know me . . . I can't leave well enough alone and I just have to pimp it . . . I can't help myself!



When I was a kid, the biggest treat my mother could make for us for our tea was hotdogs and tinned spaghetti. We loved it! We didn't have it very often, but when we did we were over the moon. We didn't have it with toast either . . . we always just had it with buttered bread. But you know the British . . . they love their toast and they love to put things on it, and not just marmalade either!



Try it. You might even like it! (Nigella might even be tempted to sneak down the stairs in her dressing gown and indulge in this one! Do ya think??)


*Spaghetti On Toast*
for two
Printable Recipe

This is comfort food, plain and simple, with my added twist of course!

1 large tin of Spaghetti in tomato sauce
(I like Heinz)
1/2 package of smoked frankfurters
4 slices of toasted bread, buttered (your choice, wheat or white)
a good grinding of black pepper
a handful of grated strong cheddar cheese

No need for genius here. Slice the frankfurters into coins and brown them in a skillet. Dump on the tin of spaghetti and heat through while you make your toast. Place the buttered toast onto two warm plates. Divide the spaghetti mixture between both plates, covering the toast. Grind some black pepper on top and sprinkle with the grated cheese. Serve immediately.

And of course only one thing would do for afters . . .



Yep . . . Creamed Rice.
(Todd is still suffering from his tooth ailment and so soft foods are still in order.)