We are having one set of the missionaries for supper tonight (Wednesday as I write this), and I wanted to make them something hearty and delicious, so I thought . . . Lasagne. Who doesn't like lasagne (shut up Todd). Not many people dislike lasagne. I wanted to make a version without meat, but I also wanted it to have plenty of protein and texture, as much as my old regular version of lasagne. I decided I would try it with this rice that I had picked up at the grocery shop on Monday. I did a small single size version first, so I could try it before I actually fed it to them, which is what you are seeing here. To be honest, I have NEVER been overly fond of the texture of ground meat and pasta together. This goes back to my childhood, so I was really keen to try this out. It worked out really well and so . . .
This is the larger version that I made to feed the missionaries . . . I hope that they like it.
This is the rice that I used, a 220g pack of Morrison's Rice Medley, which is a mix of seasoned brown, red and wild rices. Low in fat, high in fibre, and containing almost 4g of protein. I thought it would add some of heartiness to the dish, and some complex carbs which are good for you. That's where you draw your energy from.
I was really, really pleased with how it turned out. It looked great!
In addition to the layers of cheese, sauce, and rice, there is also a lovely layer of cottage cheese (in the North American manner) which is mixed with garlic, parsley, beaten egg, seasoning and some Parmesan cheese. I used low fat cottage cheese which works fine.
Not sure if you can see all the layers or not in this photo . . . they kind of all blend together, but trust me when I tell you, they are all there.
You can use a good bottled tomato and basil sauce, or make your own from scratch. You can find my recipe here. I make it in the summer when tomatoes are at their best and then freeze it to use when I need it. But if you are looking for a good bottled sauce, I recommend Lloyd Grossman's. Its really good and quite close to homemade with lots of lovely bits and a great flavour.
I use the fresh lasagna sheets you buy at the shops. Most shops have their own brand. You can find them in the chiller section where you will find the fresh tortellini and ravioli. They are also very easy to cut to size. I always end up cutting them to fit my dish. I alternate the cut bits when I am layering everything in, having them on the right hand side for one layer and the left hand side for the next.
I was really, really pleased with how this turned out and I hope that the lads enjoy it. I am also serving a salad, crusty rolls and a dessert.
*Brown Rice Lasagne*
Serves 8
Serves 8
You can easily prepare this in two separate casseroles, cooking one for now and freezing one for later. It's also very easy to divide it into 8 single serving metal tins so that you have 8 lasagne ready meals ready and in the freezer for when you need them.
1 litre of tomato and basil pasta sauce (4 1/2 cups)
1 package of no bake fresh lasagne noodles
1 300g container of no fat small curd cottage cheese (about 1 1/2 cup)
1 TBS dry parsley flakes
salt and black pepper
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed and divided
260g of grated Mozzarella Cheese (2 cups)
120g of grated cheddar cheese (1 cup)
90g of finely grated Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup)
1 300g container of no fat small curd cottage cheese (about 1 1/2 cup)
1 TBS dry parsley flakes
salt and black pepper
1 large free range egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed and divided
260g of grated Mozzarella Cheese (2 cups)
120g of grated cheddar cheese (1 cup)
90g of finely grated Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup)
1 recipe of Bechamel sauce (see below)
Mix together one clove of garlic and the cooked rice. Set aside. Stir together the cottage cheese, parsley
flakes, beaten egg, the remaining clove of garlic, 1/4 of the Parmesan
cheese and some seasoning. Set aside.
Mix the remainder of the cheeses together. Set aside.
Pre-heat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Spray one 9 by 13 inch baking dish, or two 8 inch square dishes, or 8 small deep tinfoil pans with some nonstick cooking spray.
Spoon a portion of marinara sauce (1/3) into the bottom of each to cover lightly. Cover with lasagne noodles. Cover with another portion of sauce (1/3) and half of the grated cheeses and the rice mixture. Cover with another layer of lasagne noodles. Spoon the cottage cheese mixture over top of the noodles. Cover with the remainder of the sauce and most of the remaining cheese mixture, reserving a handful for the end. Add a final layer of noodles. Spoon the bechamel over top to cover. Sprinkle with the remainder of the cheese and the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake for about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown and bubbling. Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.
If freezing, do not bake. Simply place into the dish (s) as required, wrap tightly and freeze for up to six months. To cook, thaw out over night and pop into the oven , cooking as above. If you are doing single servings it will not take as long.
*White Sauce or Bechamel Sauce*
Makes about 1 1/2 cup
Makes about 1 1/2 cup
salt
freshly ground black pepper
It does make rather a lot, but if you break it down you can do it in two casserole dishes and freeze one (unbaked) for another time. Having a lasagne you can take out of the freezer when you need it is never a bad thing. 😉 Bon appetit!
My husband is a real meat and potatoes man. This transition to a more plant based diet isn't an easy one for him. I am out to prove to him that he won't really miss some of his old favourites, like sausage and mash. This is what I did today!
Of course you can use regular sausages instead of vegetarian ones if you want to, they will be equally as delicious and will also work well. I used Linda McCartney vegetarian sausages and they were really nice.
I did a simple glaze of honey and soy . . . whisked together and drizzled over the sausages prior to baking in a moderately hot oven . . . I turn them in the mixture every now and then while they were baking so that they glazed evenly. The trick is to keep them from burning. That's why you keep the temperature only moderately high and why you keep turning them.
I paired them up with a delicious root vegetable mash . . . potatoes, carrots, swede and parsnip . . .
Simply boiled in lightly salted water until they are meltingly tender, drained well and then mashed together with a nice nob of butter and some seasoning . . . so good.
The two went together perfectly. This mash would go with just about anything . . . I can only imagine how tasty it would be with gravy or topping a cottage pie. The veggie sausages were really lovely also, with that delicious mix of salty sweet in that sticky glaze!
*Honey & Soy Glazed Sausage*
with Root Vegetable Mash
Serves 4with Root Vegetable Mash
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line a small baking tray with aluminium foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
While the potatoes are cooking pop the sausages onto the baking tray. Whisk together the soy and honey. Drizzle over all of the sausages. Pop into the preheated oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes, turning them occasionally to coat in the honey/soy mixture and glaze. (If you are using pork sausages, cook until the juices run clear. They may take a few minutes longer.)
Divide the hot mash between four heated plates and top each with two glazed sausages. Serve immediately. A green vegetable goes nicely with these.
Todd was pleasantly surprised and even went back for an additional sausage. That made me happy. If there is one person I want to make happy through all of this, its Todd. Bon Appetit!
This is a beautiful supper dish with lovely fresh flavours and colours. I love recipes like this. Its simple, easy and uses things I normally have in my kitchen . . .
Fresh bell peppers . . . I used golden yellow peppers. I like to peel the skin from them as I am not overly fond of cooked pepper skins, which can oftimes be somewhat bitter. They are not that hard to peel. I have a soft skin vegetable peeler which makes it very easy.
They are really great for peeling things like pepper and tomatoes. I like to pick peppers with straight sides for this dish. They cut and peel much easier than overly rounded ones.
As well as the peppers there is a large red onion, cut into half moons. The peppers and onions are cooked in a skillet together, until the edges begin to caramelize, at which time you add garlic and a bit of dry white wine. (I used water with a pinch of sugar as we don't do alcohol) You let this bubble up while you scrape up any sticky bits in the skillet.
Next you add some chopped black olives and capers. Black olives and capers go very well with all of the other ingredients . . . both are kind of salty and the capers are a bit tangy as well . . .
Of course your pasta is cooking while you are doing all of this right? A scoop of the pasta water is added to the sauce along with some cherry tomatoes . . . and flat leaf parsley . . .
both of which are only briefly cooked . . . so that when you are eating the finished dish those cherry tomatoes pop in your mouth with a beautiful burst of flavour! Yum!
There is a temptation to use more parsley than you need to . . . don't. Trust me on this. None of the flavours in the dish should overpower any of the other flavours. Flat leaf parsley can sometimes be really strong in flavour, so taste it and then judge accordingly.
I only use whole wheat pasta these days. I really like it. It has a subtle nutty flavour and really doesn't look all that different than regular pasta. But, if whole wheat pasta doesn't float your boat, then use regular pasta, no problemo.
Altogether this is a really delicious dish. I would recommend serving it with some crusty bread if you aren't watching the carbs, and maybe some soft goats cheese on the side. Yum yum!!
*Spaghetti with Peppers, Olives & Tomatoes*
Serves 4
340g dry spaghetti (3/4 pound, I like whole wheat)
2 TBS olive oil
Cook the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet. Add the peppers and onions. Cook over high heat, tossing them with a wooden spoon to sear the edges, for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the wine, allowing it to bubble up, scraping up any pan juices. Lower the heat to medium ad add the olives, capers, half of the parsley and a bit of water from the cooking pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cherry tomatoes and simmer for a minute, then turn off the heat and set aside.
Drain the pasta, then toss with a bit of olive oil. Divide amongst 4 heated serving bowls. Spoon some of the pepper mixture over heat. Garnish with the remaining parsley and serve.
I am loving this new emphasis I am making in my diet on plant based foods. Todd's not so sure, lol, but you shouldn't be surprised. He's a WW2 baby and he likes his meat. Its okay, I made him a cottage pie which he enjoyed very much. We were both happy. Its okay, he knows I won't always be doing this for him. Bon Appetit!
We love baked beans in this house. When I was growing up baked beans were often on themenu on Saturday evening suppers, and there was nothing tastier. Good baked beans do take long slow baking. My mom always started hers early Saturday morning, and by about noontime onwards, we were tortured by the tantalising smell of them cooking. By the time we tucked in at supper time, we were all more than ready for them! They were so, so SO good! 😋
This recipe I am showing you today is a bit of a cheat in that you don't have to bake them for all day in a slow oven. Instead they cook to taste perfection in about 2 hours, and surprisingly do taste very similar to the ones my mother used to bake back in the day.
This is a vegetarian version however, adapted from a recipe that I got from a book published by Ryland Peters, entitled "The Vegetarian Pantry", by Chloe Coker and Jane Montgomery.
It makes use of store cupboard ingredients I always have in my larder . . . good tinned tomatoes, tinned cooked haricot beans . . . Dijon mustard, brown sugar and dark treacle . . . with a hint of a good balsamic vinegar . . .
You begin by softening some onions over low heat in a bit of oil until they are lovely and almost meltingly soft. Into that goes some garlic, just enough to give them a lovely subtle layer of additional flavour without going over the top . . .
There is no bacon to give that smokey flavour home baked beans usually have . . . instead some smokiness is imparted by using paprika, along with the above ingredients and some vegetable stock.
Once you get it all mixed together and simmering, you cover them and bake them in a slow oven for about 2 hours, which condenses all those flavours down and gives you a beautifully flavoured sauce . . .
We enjoy them, hot . . . with a grating of a good cheddar on top and some warm crusty bread to mop up all of these delicious juices . . . these are a real taste treat. Low in fat. High in fibre. Healthy, and delicious! What more could you ask for?
*Homemade Baked Beans*
Serves 2 as a main
4 as a side
pinch dried chili flakes (how much you use depends on how spicy you want them)
1 TBS Balsamic vinegar
Preheat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.
Put the onion, oil and 2 tsp of water in a flameproof casseroe and cover with a lid. Cook gently over low heat for about 10 minutes, without allowing the onion to take on too much colour. Add the garlic, brown sugar, treacle, mustard, paprika and vinegar. Stir to combine. Stir in the beans and tomatoes, as well as the stock. Bring to the boil and cook for two minutes. Cover with a lid and then transfer to the oven.
Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours. If at the end of that time you think the consistency is too liquidy, you can simmer over gentle heat and reduce the liquid to your desired consistency. Season to taste and serve hot with crusty bread or corn bread.
We enjoyed them with some sliced cucumber, but a salad would go also go very nicely on the side, as would coleslaw. (Oh, I do so love coleslaw.) Once we get into really warm temperatures I won't want to be heating up the oven, but for now, while we are still enjoying the Spring weather, these went down a real treat. Bon Appetit!
Note - I have never doubled this recipe myself, (there are only two of us) but I imagine that it would work very well to do so.
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