Archives for October 2009

Besties

October 6, 2009 by Jen

Monty and JJ

After a few hectic weeks we’ve finally got a week off. We’re half packed and when we finish we’ll be heading off to the beach for a couple of days then a friend’s for a couple of days. I can’t wait. This is just what we all need to regroup before another school term starts.

Monty is JJ’s best friend when he feels that nobody else loves him, ie when he’s having an argument with me and ‘I’m in the wrong’. We love Monty. Do you think Monty’s expression is a look of love or a get me out of here look?

The best pasta bake I’ve ever tasted

October 4, 2009 by Jen

I was recently sent some canned tomatoes (SPC Ardmona) to try out. I use canned tomatoes all the time so thought I’d give them a go. I was also sent a recipe book and I cooked the Mushroom Bolognese Bake.

These canned tomatoes are supposed to be rich and thick and I wanted to see if they really were. Some canned tomatoes I buy are more watery than tomatoey but these seemed to live up to their promise.

Ardmona rich and think canned tomatoes

Makes enough for 4-6 serves.

Ingredients

250g dried Penne pasta
300ml thickened cream (I used low fat cream)
grated rind of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and ground pepper to taste

Mushroom meat sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
400g pork or veal mince (I used beef mince)
200g mushrooms – sliced
410 can Ardmona wine infused chopped tomatoes
1 cup water
5 stalks silver beet chopped
1/4 cup pine nuts (I didn’t use this as my son’s allergic to nuts)
1 cup grated Mozarella cheese

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius
Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water according to packet directions. Drain and return to saucepan.
Stir through cream, lemon rind and juice. Season to taste with pepper. Set aside.
Heat oil in frying pan. Brown mince for 3 minutes over high heat, stirring often to break up lumps.
Stir in mushrooms, canned tomatoes and water. Return to the boil, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir in silver beet.
Spoon a layer of mushroom meat sauce into 8 cup casserole dish, top with pasta mixture and remaining sauce. Lightly toss together.
Sprinkle with pine nuts (if using) and cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake further 5-10 minutes until cheese lightly browns.

Mushroom bolognese pasta bake

When eating this my son actually complimented me on the taste which he very rarely does this. For me, the lemon made all the difference as I’ve never used lemon with pasta before and it was gorgeous.

I’ll definitely be cooking this one again. It was easy, delicious and big enough to last us for a few meals.

Pink

October 2, 2009 by Jen

Finally I can breathe. That extra work I was doing has now been finished. Well the website’s been published but there’s still a bit of tidying up to do.

This week’s been one of those hellish weeks. JJ excelled himself at being naughty at vacation care on Monday and I was lucky he was able to stay there for the rest of the week. I don’t know what I would have done if he couldn’t go there and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do in the future during holidays. I’m at a real loss there, so much so I can’t even write more about it.

I had another deadline to meet during the week – details of which I won’t go into but it added extra stress onto what was already a stressful week.

I’m supposed to be doing some ukuele stuff this weekend but I had to bow out of it because I haven’t had the time to practise.

So now I’ve got a bit of extra time I’ve sat here this morning changing my blog theme to pink for the pink October breast cancer. There’s more about it at Pink for October. A couple of people I know have been diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Thankfully I think both are good for the moment but fingers crossed on that one.

And lastly, if you haven’t already, please pop over and enter my competition to win a Stargate DVD.

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