Author: Eli Byrd

Lasagna is a classic Italian pasta casserole dish consisting of alternating layers of pasta, cheese, meat or vegetables, and a variety of other ingredients. Mom was never much of a cook, but she did Lasagna justice. This recipe is easy and fun to make. It is a great dinner entree when hosting a dinner party or even just as an every night family meal. It is delicious and flavorful. It's sure to be a favorite among many.

Mom’s Meaty Lasagna recipe:

Prep Time: 30 minutes to prep, 3 hours to bake

Serves: Six to Eight

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• ½ cup of chopped onion
• ½ cup of chopped green pepper
• 1 14oz. can of tomato paste
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon of white sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1½ teaspoons of Italian seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon of pepper
• ½ package OR 8oz. of Lasagna noodles
• 2 cups of cottage cheese
• 1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 275°.
2. In a large pot, pour in the vegetable oil, and add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef on medium heat until brown.
3. Add the onions and green pepper to the ground beef. Cook on medium heat until the onion is transparent.
4. Once the ground beef and the vegetables are cooked, drain out the fat from the pot.
5. After the fat has been drained, add the tomato paste, water, sugar, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to the ground beef and vegetables mixture.
6. Reduce the heat, and allow it to simmer for 15 minutes.
7. In a second large pot, bring a pot of water to a boil.
8. Place the Lasagna noodles into the boiling water, and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender.
9. After the noodles are cooked, rinse with cold water.
10. In a medium dish, combined the cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese and blend them together.
11. In a large 10” x 6” x 2” pan or dish, arrange enough of the lasagna noodles on the bottom to cover.
12. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on top of the noodles to cover.
13. Spread a layer of the meat sauce mixture on top of the cheese mixture to cover.
14. Repeat the layering of noodles, cheese, and meat sauce until the pan or dish is filled to the top.
15. Cover the pan or dish with tin foil and place in the oven for 3 hours to bake.

This recipe can also be baked at 350° for 20-30 minutes.

Alternative Recipe Suggestion

For those that prefer a vegetarian alternative, the ground beef can be replaced with extra vegetables. Delicious vegetables to add could be mushrooms, red and yellow peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, and/or squash.

Cooking steps would follow the recipe above. Step 2 and 3 would combine to make one step:

• In a large pot, pour in the vegetable oil, and all of the vegetables. Cook on medium heat until the onions are transparent.

Happy baking!…

It is surprising how thinking of food can bring back so many memories and evoke a time long past when food preparation was slow and eating was a delayed gratification.

A strong childhood memory is trudging home from school in the depths of a dark British winter, snow on the ground, with red nose and ears and frozen to the bone. But on those days the thought of a warm and comforting bowl of traditional Welsh broth or ‘cawl’ (pronounced ‘cowl’) was happily warming.

Cawl has a long history first mentioned for its king-making qualities in an 11th century.

Tumbling through the front door and welcomed by the blast of an open coal fire and the aroma of cawl simmering on the hob was a delight just as great as eating the stew with bread and dripping as an accompaniment.

So what is Traditional Welsh Cawl?

Cawl can be considered a workingman’s food and may have been served as a compliment to the main meal of the day, in Wales it was called supper not dinner.

Cawl is a soup-cum-broth/stew made from root vegetables, leeks, onions, a little parsley and perhaps a touch of wild garlic. The meat is cheap cuts of either mutton or lamb. A brimming bowl of cawl is warming from the top of your head to the tips of your toes as well as the cockles of your heart.

There is even a cawl making competition held in Saundersfoot, west Wales.

To make this hearty broth is easiness itself just a few pieces of mutton or lamb on the bone – get the cheapest cuts.

Cawl is best prepared the day before eating this is to allow the fat to separate and so that the flavours can mingle.

Vegetables

Four large potatoes, four or five carrots and either a small suede, parsnips or turnips, three to four large leeks, one onion, salt and pepper to taste. You will also need four pints of water.

Method

Trim excess fat off the mutton or cheap piece of lamb cover with the water and bring to the boil afterwards simmer for slowly for an hour. Leave to get cold and skim of the fat.

Add the vegetables except the leeks and potatoes and simmer for another hour, adding the halved potatoes continue simmering for 20 minutes after which add the leeks and a sprinkling of parsley and cook for a maximum of five minutes longer.

Serving

Serve either as a stew complete with meat and vegetables in the liquid or strain the liquid from the vegetables and eat that as a first course with the vegetables and meat to follow.

Some insist that cawl is best left to cool overnight and re-boiled the next day as this brings out the strength of the flavours.

Welsh cawl is a real winter warmer and good old-fashioned comfort food guaranteed to give you a glow as clear as the winter’s sun.…

Curry mee with an extoic eastern Asian flavour is an extremely easy meal to prepare and one that will be appreciated by adventurous house guests. It is also a healthy way to appreciate an interesting meal with flexibility in choosing ingredients.

Below is the basic recipe and cooking instructions for a fast, simple yet nutritous meal with plenty of flavours.

Ingredients for Curry Mee

• 1 sachet of curry powder
• 1 mug of full cream milk
• 1 coarsely chopped large potato
• 1 coarsely chopped large carrot
• 1 cup of chopped up cauliflower
• 1 cup of coarsely chopped up long beans
• 1 cup of firm tofu, diced
• Half a cup of sliced fish cake
• Half a cup of diced fish balls
• 1 – 1.5 organic chicken, chopped in pieces
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 2 small shallots, finely sliced
• 1 table spoon of minced garlic
• 1 table spoon of finely choppped / minged ginger
• Olive oil
• 1-2 packets of spaghetti noodles
• Salt and pepper
• Water

Preparing the Curry Mee

 

Stir-fry the onions, shallots garlic and ginger in the olive oil in a pot until the aroma rises. Add the sachet of curry powder and stir it in. Once a paste forms, add the mug of milk.

Add the organic chicken pieces and stir into the dilute paste. Once the chicken and curry start to bubble, add 1-2 cups of water, depending on the size of your pot. It is not necessary to fill the cooking pot to the brim.

Add the fish cake and fish balls followed by the vegetables except for the tofu, as the tofu will absorb all the liquid. Add salt and pepper for taste. Continue to add water to dilute the curry as it should result in a soupy texture.

Leave the curry mee to simmer. At the same time, boil the spaghetti noodles separately. Once they have been fully cooked, drain them in a coliander and stir in a small tea spoon of olive oil and add salt and pepper. Stir well.

Lastly add the tofu dices into the curry and let it come to a boil.

Presenting the Curry Mee

 

Serve the curry mee and noodles separately. If you mix them, the noodles will absorb all of the curry. Remind your guests to "flood in" the noodles with curry – since that is how it is normally enjoyed.

Additional Ingredients

• Beansprouts – Beansprouts is a popular "outisde" ingredient for curry mee. Scour raw beanspouts with hot water, drain them, and serve them as an additional platter.
• Hard-boiled eggs – Hard-boiled eggs taste great with curry mee. Boil them separately and slice them into quarters. Serve them on a separate dish. If you unsure as to how many you should prepare, use a rule of thumb that one guest would enjoy half and egg. There may or may not be left overs.
• Mint leaves – Mint leaves add a zesty taste to the curry. These can be popular for guests who are not big fans of hot and spicy food. Though it subdues the spiciness, it adds its own unique flavour to the dish. Also serve them on a separate plate.

…

Shepherd’s pie hails from northern Britain, but it has found a place in the modern American cooking lexicon as well. This rich lamb stew blanketed by a mashed potato crust is a dish that sticks to ribs on one side of the Atlantic as well as on the other side. This recipe shows us how to make simple but delicious shepherd’s pie from scratch.

– Ingredients

• 3 lbs (1350g) ground lamb
• 2 medium onions, minced
• salt
• 4 medium garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press (about 4 tsp)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/3 cup (80g) all purpose flour
• 3 cups (700ml) chicken broth
• 3/4 cup (180ml) dry red wine
• 2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves or 1/4 tsp dried
• 1 lb (450g) frozen peas and carrots (do not thaw)
• ground black pepper
• 3 lbs potatoes (about 6 medium), peeled and diced
• 1 1/2 cups (350ml) heavy cream, warmed
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• minced parsley leaves (optional)

Shepherd’s Pie – Cooking

1. Cook lamb in large pan over medium-high heat, breaking the meant into small pieces with wooden spoon, until meat is no longer pink and fat has rendered. It all takes about 5 minutes. Drain lamb in fine strainer, reserving drippings.
2. Return 2 tablespoons of reserved dripping to pot and heat over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-8 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1 – 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and red wine. Stir in drained lamb, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, and rosemary and cook until mixture begins to thicken, 2 – 4 minutes. Off the heat, Stir in peas and carrots and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to baking dish (13in by 9in or 36cm by 23cm), set aside.
3. Meanwhile, place potatoes in large pot and cover by water. Lightly season with salt. Brign to boil over high heat, then reduce to simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 – 25 minutes. Drain potatoes, return to pot set over low heat, mash to smooth consistency. Stir in cream, then add butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. With large spoon, dollop mashed potatoes over lamb filling. Using rubber spatula, smooth potatoes out into even layer and push the edges of the baking tray.
5. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius). Bake until sauce is bubbling and top is browned, about 1 hour.

Shepherd’s Pie – Storing

To store shepherd’s pie wrap baking dish tightly with plastic wrap, then with tin foil. Refrigerate up to 2 days or freeze up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw casserole in refrigerator at least 24 hours before baking.

 

Shepherd’s Pie – Optional

• To add little colour, sprinkle the top of the finished dish with chopped parsley leaves before serving.
• Ground beef or even ground turkey can be substituted for the ground lamb. For a turkey or beef version, use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil instead of reserved lamb drippings. Bake the pie as directed above in the recipe, reducing the baking time to 35 minutes.

Based on recipe by Megan Wycoff and Matthew Card.…