Chicken and Ham Lasagna. Not a usual combination, but incredibly delicious. Lasagna noodles are somewhat different over here in Europe.
They're not long and ruffle edged. They are flat edged, and about 4 by six inches in size, small rectangles.
I had some cooked chicken and some cooked ham that needed using up today. I could have made a cordon bleu type of casserole, but I wanted something different.
I was craving pasta . . . which as you know my husband hates. I think I finally found a pasta dish he sorta likes though. Maybe.
Chicken and Ham Lasagne. I found the recipe in a cookbook I love. Rachel Allen Home Cooking. I didn't follow it exactly . . .
I rather adapted it a bit, but then again . . . that's what I like to do.
I find a recipe that works for me and then I adapt it to our tastes and my rather lazy way of cooking.
I have always loved Rachel Allen's recipes and her cookery shows. She is the daughter in law of Dorinda Allen, the doyenne of the Ballymoe Cooking school in Ireland.
I have always loved Rachel Allen's recipes and her cookery shows. She is the daughter in law of Dorinda Allen, the doyenne of the Ballymoe Cooking school in Ireland.
The food Rachel cooks is real food. Nothing artsy fartsy there. You don't have to run out and buy special ingredients or equipment.
That's my kind of cooking. Simple and wholesome ingredients. Simple cooking methods. Economical use of what you have in the larder . . .
I added some frozen spinach to the recipe I like to get veggies in wherever I can.
I added some frozen spinach to the recipe I like to get veggies in wherever I can.
I also added extra cheese to the top . . .
. . . because we like cheese, and that's how I roll. You can never have too much cheese to my way of thinking.
. . . because we like cheese, and that's how I roll. You can never have too much cheese to my way of thinking.
Its like bacon . . . more is . . . delicious. Things just taste better if there's cheese and/or bacon involved.
This was quite simply fantastic! It helped me to use up my leftovers. It was cheap to make.
This was quite simply fantastic! It helped me to use up my leftovers. It was cheap to make.
My husband almost loved it. Ok, so maybe love is a bit of an exaggeration.
I LOVED IT . . . he just kinda liked it . . . a lot. That's as much as he would concede.
I think he's afraid that if he actually ever admitted to loving anything with pasta in it . . . that would open a dam or something . . . pasta would start raining down on him like cats and dogs . . .
I think he's afraid that if he actually ever admitted to loving anything with pasta in it . . . that would open a dam or something . . . pasta would start raining down on him like cats and dogs . . .
Perish the thought.
And for someone like him, who isn't fond of pasta . . . that just wouldn't do.
And for someone like him, who isn't fond of pasta . . . that just wouldn't do.
He did really really like it though . . . trust me on this. He had two servings.
*Chicken and Ham Lasagne*
Serves 4 to 6
8 cubes of frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
400g of cooked chicken, diced (scant pound)
Spoon the remainder of the ham/chicken mixture
and the spinach over top. Spoon over another 1/3 of the sauce. Top
with the remaining four sheets of lasagne. Spoon the remaining sauce
over all and sprinkle the cheese over top to cover.
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I was recently challenged to use Soy Sauce in a unique way by the Kikkoman people. They sent me three bottles of sauce . . . their regular Soy Sauce, their Teriyaki Sauce and the Low Salt Soy Sauce. I do admit I am a great fan of their sauces.
I think their Soy Sauce is the best ever and I am being totally up front and honest when I say that. It's naturally brewed, with only four ingredients (soybeans, wheat, salt and water) and has a fabulous flavour and colour.
The challenge was to come up with a recipe that was not Oriental in nature . . . hmmm . . . I am awfully fond of using it in stir fries and such . . . and I always like to give my Chinese takeaway a liberal splash of the stuff . . . but . . . could I possibly do it?
The challenge was to come up with a recipe that was not Oriental in nature . . . hmmm . . . I am awfully fond of using it in stir fries and such . . . and I always like to give my Chinese takeaway a liberal splash of the stuff . . . but . . . could I possibly do it?
Let's see . . . I came up with several . . .
One of my favourite things has always been the Beef Dip Sandwich. This is a sandwich composed of shaved roast beef in a toasted baguette that you dip in a hearty beef broth to eat.
Scrummo! I love em!
I also love a good burger . . . who doesn't.
I decided to combine the two, and created a hearty burger served up in toasted French Bread with a beef broth dip.
I used the low salt Soy Sauce in both the meat mix for the burger and in the broth for the dip. It turned out to be quite, quite delicious.
Not only was it quite delicious . . . but it was quite simply very easy to execute as well, AND economical too!
Hearty, filling, economical and easy. You just can't get better than that!
*French Dip Burgers*
Serves 4serving size packets)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper or to taste
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
softened butter
For the Dip:
chopped fresh parsley and sliced dill pickles for garnish (optional)
Place the patties
under the broiler and broil for 5 to 6 minutes per side until nicely
browned and thoroughly cooked, turning once.
Place two halves onto each of four heated
plates along with a small bowl of the dip for each. Garnish with some
sliced dills and chopped parsley if desired. Serve immediately.
The second recipe which I came up with was these delicious appetizer meatballs.
I have seen a lot of recipes for appetizer meatballs through the years which make use of chili sauce and jam, melted together to glaze them.
I created my own sauce for these using honey, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire Sauce, Mustard, horseradish, garlic and . . . Soy sauce! (Natch!)
They're zippy, easy and very tasty if I don't say so myself.
The recipe makes enough for two to three servings, but amounts can be very easily multiplied to make more for a larger crowd. Enjoy!
*Deviled Appetizer Meatballs*
Makes 2 to 3 servings
1 tsp prepared mustard
1 tsp creamed horseradish
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a small shallow casserole dish.
Spray a non stick frying pan with some cooking spray and
brown the meatballs carefully on all sides. Place them into the
casserole dish.
Pour all of the ingredients for the sauce into the
frying pan. Bring to the boil and then pour over top of the meatballs
in the dish, turning them to coat them with the sauce.
Bang the dish
into the oven and allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the meatballs
are well glazed and the sauce has thickened nicely. Serve hot.
Many thanks to Kikkoman for providing me with these sauces and for coming up with this blogger challenge!
Many thanks to Kikkoman for providing me with these sauces and for coming up with this blogger challenge!
I wanted to make something special to honor my father on Father's day this year. Although he may be thousands of miles away physically . . . he is never much more than a breath away in my heart. He has always been my biggest fan. He calls me the "Apple of His Eye." He probably says the same thing to my sister and my brother too . . . but that doesn't matter to me. When he says it to me, I feel like the only apple of his eye, and that's what counts . . .
My father taught me many things when I was growing up. He taught me the value of laughter and the value of tears . . . yes, my father was never afraid to show his heart to any of us. I am grateful for that.
I get my love of reading from my father. I have lovely memories of him telling me stories when I was a very small child, and reading to me from my books . . . I am just like him. He is always reading more than one book at a time, and so am I. I am grateful for the gift of the love of reading. If you love reading, you are never alone . . . and there is no end to the places you can go and see in your mind. He taught me that books are your friends.
He also taught me to love music. My father has a deep love of music and plays several musical instruments. When I was a young teen I learned how to play the clarinet and I have many many fond memories of us playing duets together on rainy afternoons. Those were truly special times for us, and I keep them in my heart like the treasures they are.
It's from my father that I get my love of fish and chips, and toasted cheese and bologna sandwiches . . . and the combination of maple and walnuts. We are both nuts about maple and walnuts together (no pun intended). It is our favourite flavour combination, and we will take it any way we can get it, Maple Walnut Ice cream being one of our greatest loves of all . . .
And so . . . in honor of that great love which we share with each other for all things maple walnut, this Father's Day I created a special Maple Walnut Scone for my dad. They are stogged full of maple syrup and toasted walnuts . . . and buttermilk, wholesome oats . . . and love.
Oh, I know . . . he's thousands of miles away and he can't really taste them . . . but I honored him in making them. The Toddster says it's ok that Dad can't eat them from that far away . . . he'll eat his for him. Yep . . . the Toddster loves Maple and Walnuts too . . .
They do say you marry men like your fathers. Happy Father's Day!
*Maple Walnut Scones*
Makes 8 large scones
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
50g of golden caster sugar (1/4 cup)hot water
Chopped toasted walnuts to garnish
Note:
In order to make oat flour, put several cups of old fashioned oats into
the food processor and blitz until finely powdered. Store in an
airtight container in the freezer.
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment. Set aside.
Measure
the plain and oat flour into a bowl along with the salt, baking powder,
soda, sugar and nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to
combine. Drop in the butter and pulse several times until the mixture
is grainy. Beat the egg, maple syrup, and extracts together in a
measuring cup. Add buttermilk to measure exactly 240ml/1 cup. Add the
wet ingredients slowly while you pulse the machine, mixing only until
the dough begins to come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured
surface. Bring together into a circle 8 inches in diameter. Cut into 8
wedges. Carefully lift the wedges onto the prepared baking sheet. The
dough will be wet, but don't worry about that. Try not to add too much
flour when you are working with it.
Bake the scones for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and firm on top. Remove to a wire rack to cool.To make the glaze whisk the icing sugar together with enough maple syrup, a few drops of maple extract and enough hot water to give you a thick glaze. Spoon over top of the scones and sprinkle with a few toasted walnuts if desired. Store in an airtight container.
Can she bake a cherry pie Billy boy, Billy boy??
Can she bake a cherry pie charming Billy?
She can bake a cherry pie,
quicker than you can wink an eye,
but she's too young and cannot leave her mother!
Familiar words from an old folk song coming from the early 1900's . . . from an age when a woman's cooking prowess was one of the first things a man looked for when he was searching for a wife.
They do say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I am not sure how true that is, but I know my husband isn't complaining. Especially when I bake him up treats such as this tasty Cherry Crumble Pie! The Toddster is a big fan of pies!
I found some jars of morello cherries in the grocery store the other day and I snapped up a couple of them to make my man a homemade cherry pie for Father's Day! I know we don't have a family, with there being just the two of us, but I think Todd would have made a fabulous dad and so I like to treat him on Father's Day just because . . . I think he's swell!
If you have never made a cherry pie using real cherries, you need to get with it. You are missing truly out on one of the finer things in life! And this cherry pie is really something special . . .
Tinned cherry pie filling is always sadly lacking in one of the things it should be stogged full of in my opinion . . . cherries! There just aren't enough of them. That's not the case with this filling. It is jammed full of cherries and nicely flavored with a bit of lemon and almond . . .
It has a single crust on the bottom . . . which has the unique addition of ground almonds for even more almond flavor . . . and . . .
instead of a top crust, I cover it with a brown sugar, oat and almond crumble topping for even more flavor and a buttery almond crunch!
Altogether it is a cherry pie which puts a big smile on my Toddy boy's face and keeps him coming back for more.
Go on . . . bake the man in your life a tasty cherry pie for Father's Day. You know he deserves it! (And you do too!)
Go on . . . bake the man in your life a tasty cherry pie for Father's Day. You know he deserves it! (And you do too!)
*Cherry Crumble Pie*
Makes one 9 inch pie, or 8 servings
A
delicious cherry pie with a filling made from scratch and baked in an
almond pastry, topped with a delicious oat and almond crumble topping.Makes one 9 inch pie, or 8 servings
For the pastry:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
3 to 4 TBS cold water
1 1/2 cups of caster sugar
3 TBS cornflour (corn starch)
2 TBS all plain flour pinch salt
10 drops red food coloring, optional
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 TBS butter
the finely grated zest of one un-waxed lemon
For the Crumble Topping:
2/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup soft light brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup ground almonds (almond meal)
4 TBS cold butter
few drops almond extract
Drain the cherries, reserving the juice. Whisk the sugar, corn flour, plain flour and salt in a saucepan. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the cherry juice. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until the mixture boils and thickens. Cook, stirring for a further minute. Add the almond, butter, lemon zest and food coloring if using. Stir in the drained cherries and set aside to cool.
Whisk the flour, salt and almonds together in a bowl. Drop in the vegetable shortening and cut it into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until the pieces are the size of small peas. Using a fork, toss the mixture together with the water, until the flour mixture is all moistened and the mixture begins to form a ball, using only as much as you need to use. Shape into a flat disc.
Roll the disc out on a lightly floured surface which is large enough to line a 9 inch pie pan, leaving some overhang. Trim it to 1 inch overhang all the way around, fold under and then crimp all around the edge as you like. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil. Measure the oats, flour, sugar, salt and almonds into a bowl for the topping. Drop in the butter. Rub it into the flour mixture until the mixture begins to clump, adding a few drops of almond extract. You will have more than you need for this recipe, but it can be frozen for later use in a tightly covered container. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the cherries from the saucepan into the prepared pie crust. Pour over only as much of the liquid as you need. You should just barely see it through the cherries. Sprinkle as much oat topping as desired over the top. Place onto the lined baking sheet. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and crisp on the bottom and the crumble is crisp on top and the juices are bubbling through. Allow to cool completely before serving. Cut into wedges to serve.
I was recently sent some samples of the Laughing Cow light range cheese triangles in the newest flavors Emmenthal and Blue Cheese. Did I mention they are "light?" Yes, they are light, with there only being 25 calories in each triangle!
I have a confession to make. I am a Laughing Cow virgin. Yes, tis true. I have never eaten Laughing Cow triangles. I suppose because we don't have any children in the house, they are just not something I have ever bought, or even thought about buying. They just haven't been on my radar I guess.
I guess I am a bit of a cheese snob, which sounds really wierd coming from the mouth of a person who only ever ate Kraft Singles American Cheese or Velveeta the whole time I was growing up. Real cheese never passed my lips. I was afraid to even try it. I just thought I wouldn't like it. I was an adult before I tried real cheese and I have to say that once I tried it, I fell in love with it, and have been ever since.
I love Emmental cheese. It has a lovely nutty and fruity taste. I was intrigued at the thought of a Processed cheese triangle flavoured with Emmental . . . what would it taste like? Would it be close to the real thing? hmmm . . .
It tasted really good . . . and just like Emmental! Sweet and nutty!
I adore Blue Cheeses . . . Stilton, Danish, Gorgonzola . . . I love them all. Would the Laughing Cow Blue Cheese triangles measure up???
I was most pleasantly surprised. They most definitely did taste good and most definitely had the beautiful tang of a mild blue cheese. I enjoyed them.
Spreadable and a good source of calcium the new Laughing Cow triangles are available in grocery shops throughout the country, and at only 25 calories and 1.5g of fat per triangle they make a nice low fat snack! I think they would also be a great addition to children's lunch boxes and with picnic season here, they would be great in the picnic basket as well!
Knowing that they are spreadable I was really wanting something crisp and tasty to spread them on and so I thought this would be the perfect time to make my own crackers . . . well, for two reasons really . . . one: homemade always tastes better than store bought and two: I didn't want to ask Todd to pop down to the shops to get me any. Besides he never comes back with what I wanted him to get . . . it's a man thing I think.
It also gave me a chance to use my favourite cookie cutter . . .I love the little dimples it puts into things . . . so cute. I found the perfect recipe via the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book. I love wheat thins, so wholesome and tasty. I thought I would give their recipe a try, never guessing that . . .
I would fall completely and utterly in love with them. Believe it or not these taste even BETTER than the original Wheat Thin crackers. Tis totally true. These are fabulous!
They were really, really tasty spread with both flavors of the Laughing Cow triangles! That's what Todd and I had for lunch today, and it was a really scrummy, light lunch . . . you get a lot of mileage out of one of those triangles I have to say. The flavor is so nice that a little goes a long way.
And those crackers . . . so crisp and tasty. Almost addictive to say the least. Do give them a try. Thank you King Arthur . . .
*Homemade Wheat Thins*
Makes about 3 dozen crackers
Easy to make and even more delicious than the store bought ones. Adapted lightly from a recipe on the King Arthur Baking site.Makes about 3 dozen crackers
Many thanks to the people at Three Pipe (Charlotte) and The Laughing Cow for spreading the love and sending me these tasty samples!
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