We were introduced to this dish years ago by a friend. It is so easy to make, so delicious to eat, so simple to alter according to what you have in your pantry - it is a regular in our house.
500g pasta
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup cheese
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp of curry powder or mustard powder
1 tsp salt
300mls of cream (I often do half milk/half cream)
Optional: fresh ground pepper, finely chopped deli meat, finely chopped onion
- Bring some water to the boil and drop the pasta in. Cook until just done. Drain off all the water.
- Put the butter and the cheese into the hot pasta and stir until both have melted through evenly. Cover with a lid.
- If you choose to use deli meat and or onion I lightly fry these in butter or fat.
- In a small pot put the tomato paste, sugar, curry or mustard, salt, and cream/milk. Stir until combined and heat on a medium heat until warmed through.
- Add the meat and onion to the creamy tomato sauce.
- Tip the sauce over the cheesy pasta and stir.
- Serve on its own or as a side dish.
~Lorna
I do rather like "one-pot" type meals. This one lends itself easily to changing it around to suit your preferences. It would make for good left-overs, if there happened to be any actually left over!
10 medium sized potatoes
fat for roasting
1 kg mince meat
tamari sauce, curry, beef stock, mustard powder
2 onions
vegetables - I used 1 head of broccoli
2 cups of corn
2 cups of grated cheese
1 cup of milk
250g sour cream
salt, pepper
- Scrub the potatoes and cut them into bites sized pieces. Roast them in animal fat for around 30 minutes or until they are just cooked through.
- Fry the mince meat until it is no longer pink. Add onion and vegetables; cook until done but still firm. Add the corn and the seasonings of your choice.
- To the frying pan tip in 1 cup of the cheese, the milk, and the sour cream. Mix everything together on a low heat. Season to taste.
- When the potatoes are cooked, layer about 2/3 of them on the bottom of an oven dish.
- Pour the meat mixture over the potatoes, spreading it evenly.
- Put the remaining potatoes on the top, pressing them gently into the mixture.
- Cover with the remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until the potatoes are golden and crunchy.
- Serve with a side of green vegetables or a salad.
~Lorna
Mr V is definitely a handy person to have in the kitchen. His mother raised him to be able to feed himself well. This is a most sensible skill to teach our sons! I tend to stay out of his way if he is making food! I think he could be likened to Chef Ramsey but without the bad language and angry outbursts (so that just leaves the efficient whirlwind part!)
Here is the fried rice he made us.
3 1/2 cups uncooked rice
4 Tbsp lamb fat
left over meat (we used roast lamb)
2 cups of mixed vegetables
2 onions
2 Tbsp tamari sauce
2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
- Melt the lamb fat and put the rice into the frying pan. Fry until the rice is very golden brown; about 5 minutes.
- Add the left over meat and any vegetables that require longer cooking such as carrots. Heat these through.
- Toss the chopped onion, tamari sauce and curry powder through the rice and meat.
- Add 7 cups of water slowly one at a time stirring constantly.
- When the rice is cooked, add any remaining vegetables. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve.
Cheesy Ham and Potato Bacon Bake
10 medium sized potatoes
2 kumara
2 onions
4 Tbsp butter
1 cup of left over roast lamb
1 large bok choy
1 bunch spinach
1 large kale leaf
1 250g tub of cream cheese
1 1/2 cups grated cheese
8 slices of bacon
- Cook the potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an oven dish.
- In a frying pan melt the butter and add the onion, saute until tender. Add them to the potatoes.
- Add the green vegetables meat and cream cheese to the potatoes and onion. Stir to combine.
- Put this into the oven dish and top with cheese.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until heated through and golden.
~Lorna
