Beef and mushroom lasagne

A recipe that takes a bit of effort, but the results are well worth the time 'cos you can tweak the ingredient amounts to your liking. More mushrooms and more cheese, please!

Serves 4-6 with a simple side salad 

Ingredients:

For the ragu/meat sauce:

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

300g ground beef

250g fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

2 tablespoons dried Italian seasoning 

4 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

For the white sauce:

50g butter

50g flour

600-700ml milk

2 bay leaves

Etc:

150-200g grated cheddar cheese (I like lots of cheese)

Uncooked lasagna sheets 

Directions:

Ragu/meat sauce:

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Fry minced garlic till fragrant. Add in ground beef, season with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning. Cook till browned, about 5 mins. Remove beef from pan, draining any excess liquid.

2. Fry mushrooms in pan with remaining tablespoon of Italian seasoning. Add beef, drained tomatoes and tomato paste to pan. Cook until liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.

White sauce:

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and mix till you get a thick paste. Gradually add milk, stirring frequently as mixture thickens. This will take a while, but it will happen as the flour cooks.

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Lightly oil a 18x24cm deep dish pan. 

3. Add alternate layers of meat sauce, white sauce, grated cheese and lasagne sheets. You should be able to get in about 3 layers of lasagne sheets. Finish off with a final layer lasagna sheets, white sauce and cheese. (See photos below)

Bake in preheated oven for about 30-40 mins. The cheese should be golden brown and bubbling slightly, mmmm...

Simple oven frittata

Are you a fan of cold pizza? This crustless quiche tastes delicious hot or cold, making it a great lunchbox staple. And it's low-carb too!

Recipe for one 18x18cm pan

Ingredients: 

(This is a guide, feel free to mix and match with your favourte veggies e.g. capsicum, broccoli, zucchini,corn)

6-7 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 cup milk (I used soy)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs

1-2 tablespoons dijion mustard

3 sun-dried tomatoes, cut into small pieces

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters

200g white button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup spinach, chopped (I used frozen, after defrosting)

100g grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. In a 18x18cm deep dish pan, toss mushrooms, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and Italian herbs in olive oil. Spead into one layer and bake for 10 mins in preheated oven.

3. While waiting beat together eggs, dijion mustard, spinach, half the cheese and salt and pepper.

4. Remove pan from oven. Pour in egg mixture and mix everything well. Top with remaining cheese.

5. Bake for 30-40 mins until cheese is golden brown and eggs are firm. A skewer inserted in the middle should come out clean.

6. Slice into generous wedges and enjoy! The balance can be kept in the fridge for a yummy breakfast the next day.

Pizza @ home

Before baking.

After baking.
Pasta sauce, musrooms, sundried tomatoes, bacon, olives, CHEEZEEEE...

Pizza dough recipe link

Total time: Approximately 1 hour
Comments: Roll dough as thinly as possible for crispy crust, it kind of springs back again. And as tempting as it is to do so, do not pile on too many toppings!!! Lesson learnt from soggy pizza the second time I made this recipe.