Tag Archives: Dinner

Lasagna with Bechamel Sauce

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I love lasagna, its comfort food at it’s best.  Yesterday, I was doing my usual blog visits and when I went to my favorite blog for food inspiration, Smitten Kitchen, the feature for the week was lasagna.  Now, I’ve tried a couple different lasagna recipes.  My close friends and husband can attest to a very amusing lasagna experience which I won’t be sharing in this post but let’s just say it involved 2 different recipes, trying to impress my then boyfriend/now husband and “smoky” sausage.  Yes, very strange I know but it’s a good story to tell even now, almost 4 years later.  I digress.  Back to Smitten Kitchen’s current lasagna recipe.  It’s really good.  It involves an amazing bechamel sauce, yes, you heard correctly, Bechamel Sauce.  I had never even heard of adding the sauce into lasagna before but it sounded good, really good.  After making it, it really was good.  So good we ended up going for seconds even at 10 pm on a Monday night (shh! don’t tell my spin instructor).

This Bechamel Sauce was incredible.  I actually had never tried my hand at bechamel sauce as I thought it was one of those fancy french sauces but truthfully, it really isan’t, the way Smitten Kitchen explains things, it’s almost impossible to ruin.  One tip, do not forget or omit the nutmeg, in fact, I grated myself some fresh nutmeg and I swear it really brings so much more flavour and depth than the usual nutmeg that is “conveniently” grated for us but really doesn’t compare to freshly grated.

The wine sauce was the only part that was a bit of a disappointment, completely my fault though.  It’s recommended to let it simmer for least 3 – 4 hours.  I didn’t have the time and only let it simmer for 1 hour which was a huge mistake.  As the recipe states, you don’t want “boiled meat sauce”, which is the way my turned out, not completely inedible but definitely lacking in the flavour that I was looking forward to.  Simmer, Simmer, Simmer.  Can’t say it enough.

I wish I could say I made my own fresh pasta sheets but then I would be lying.  I just purchased the fresh sheets from Olivieri.  It really is so much better than the dried pastas.  Spend the extra $$$ because it really is worth it.  For the full 9 x 13 inch casserole pan, I only needed to use one package of the fresh stuff.  They look alot smaller than they really are.  Basically, you will only spend about $3 – $4 more, depending on where you shop.

Yes, this lasagna recipe is a keeper.  If you’re interested, check it out here.

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Lamb Meatballs

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As the weather gets colder and colder, the more I crave warm, hearty comfort food.  Today it was about 2 degrees outside and so I decided to make some good ole’ italian food.  I opened up my Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Recipe Book and proceeded to try his classic meatball and tomato sauce pasta.

About 2 months previously, we had company over and I had made some mini lamb meatballs that Rachel Ray had brought up in her daily talk show and I had served the mini meatballs as an appetizer with tzatziki, which turned out really lovely.  Today, I decided to use the same lamb meatballs instead of the basic beef meatballs Jamie Oliver recommended for the pasta.  The reason being, I always love to personalize every dish, sometimes it works out, sometimes it REALLY doesn’t, anyhow, I really love the lamb meatballs because it incorporates fresh mint, parsley, fennel and cloves, the perfect combo for lamb in my opinion.  And when Rachael Ray recommends grinding up the cloves with a mortar and pestle, it really feels like I’m a true italian chef as I grind up the cloves and the wonderful aroma fills up my kitchen.  Real comfort at its best!!

Fresh Ground Lamb

Flavours, Flavours, Flavours

Handmade with lots of love!

Basic Pasta Sauce with Fresh Basil and Spinach

Hot out of the oven…

Observations:

  • As much as I love the mini lamb meatballs, I think next time I will stick to it as an appetizer with tzatziki because i found the lamb flavour to overwhelm the pasta sauce.
  • Always go to a well-known butcher to purchase ground lamb, the fresher the better.
  • The pasta sauce was really excellent.  A basic sauce that anyone can personalize by adding any fresh vegatables of their choosing.  I added a bunch of spinach for some added health benefits :) .
  • I love using real fresh pasta instead of the dry pastas out there.  I confess I don’t actually make it myself but I purchase the fresh stuff that is found in the deli section of any market.

Low-Fat Butter Chicken

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This recipe is from Bal Arneson’s cookbook which I really love because she explains spices, healthy Indian cooking and her recipes are very easy to follow.  Don’t be detered by how many spices are listed in the recipe, it really is super easy.  You can find my personal thoughts on this recipe here.

Prep Time:  7 Minutes

Cooking Time:   20 Minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
  • 1 small red onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon red chile flakes
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup low-fat yogurt
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Serving suggestion: Serve with roti or rice

Directions

Put a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it starts to get hot, add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, or until the onion is golden. Add the tomato paste, brown sugar, cumin seeds, garam masala, red chile flakes, turmeric, and salt and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chicken cubes and stir well to coat. Add the yogurt and water and cook, stirring until the chicken is done, about 8 minutes. Serve the chicken with roti, naan or rice.