Oven Baked Penne

After all of the turkey, ham etc. of Christmas and the leftovers, we fancied something completely different for our tea tonight.  To be honest I was feeling quite lazy also.  I did a shop this morning and after that, I was pooped.  It's freezing out there today.  The frost of the day has not melted and the sun is now going down. It's going to be a pretty cold night tonight!   Something warm and comforting was in order!



I don't mind saying that I am a more than a little bit frightened at the way food costs are going up.  I didn't buy anything much out of the ordinary and I was shocked at how much my grocery bill came to.  I did score a package of ground beef that was marked down and yet was not out of date either and so I decided to use that to make us a tasty casserole today  . . .  albeit it a lazy one.

 

I browned the beef really well in a nonstick pan along with some Italian garlic seasoning.  (It contains a mix of herbs, salt, pepper and garlic.  Any well flavoured Italian seasoning would do.) Once it was browned I added a couple of jars of pasta sauce and some water . . .



I added some cheese that I had which needed using up before the end of the month . . .  ricotta and mozzarella . . . along with a bit of Parmesa . . . and then I stirred in some dry pasta .   I poured the whole lot into a buttered casserole dish, covered it tightly with foil and then baked it in a hot oven for about 55 minutes, by which time the pasta was all nicely cooked and all the flavours melded together.

 

I sprinkled a bit more mozzarella on top and baked it a bit longer in order to let it get all bubbly and then dinner was served.  All we needed was a nice mixed salad on the side.   Easy peasy.  No hassle and definitely comfort food for a cold winter's day.   The pasta hater did not complain overly much.  Whew!

*Oven Baked Penne*

Serves 4 to 6

Printable Recipe  

A deliciously easy casserole that the family will love.  Perfect for those days when you just want to bang something into the oven and then eat.  

2 400g jars of pasta sauce (26 oz, I use Napolini tomato and basil)

340ml of water (about 1 1/2 cups)

425g of ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)

260g of grated mozzarella cheese, divided (2 cups)

50g grated Parmesan Ceese (1/4 cup)

1 pound ground beef

2 tsp Italian garlic seasoning

226g of uncooked penne pasta (8 ounces)  

Brown the ground beef, breaking it up with a fork in a large skillet along with the Italian garlic seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.   Lightly grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish.   Set aside.



Combine the pasta sauce, water, 1/2 of the mozarella cheese, the ricotta cheese and the parmesan cheese with the meat.   Stir in the uncooked pasta.  Pour this mixture into the prepared baking dish.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake for 55 minutes.   Remove the foil and top with the remaining cheese.   Bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer, until nicely bubbling away.   Serve hot.

Quite Simply Delicious!

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Easy Steak Pie . . . Friday Pub Grub

    

I think it's pretty much a given that whenever we go to a pub for a meal out Todd will order a steak pie and I'll order the fish and chips.  They invariably disappoint however . . .  which says more about the type of restaurant we can afford to eat in rather than the restaurant themselves.  I guess when you are used to eating really good food at home then it's not that hard to be disappointed when you go out to eat!



I don't know why so many places get this wrong . . .  a good steak pie is not that hard to make.  Normally Todd ends up with a huge pile of gravy . . . containing very little meat, and topped with a soggy crust.  



This doesn't happen at home.  This pie is so easy to make.  You just take cubed beef steak and vegetables and stew it until it's fork tender in a flavourful stock.  I like to use swede (rutabaga) and carrots in mine and perhaps some leeks if I have them, otherwise onion will do . . . a few mushrooms, also add another depth of flavour.  You can thicken the gravy or not with some flour if you like.



I actually recommend you doing the beef the day before.  That way it kind of ripens and the flavours develop even more.  The next day you just put it all into a shallow casserole dish and top it with some puff pastry rounds and bake until it's all heated through and bubbling and the pastry is all puffed up and golden brown.



A vegetable on the side and some crisp chips complete the meal.  I use oven chips mostly, unless I am feeling really generous . . .  and really there are some lovely ones out there.  The ones which use beef dripping are extraordinarily good.  Just sayin!  Anyways, it's a pub meal . . . at home.

*Easy Steak Pie*
Serves 6

Printable Recipe  


We are real pie people in this house.  You could put pretty much anything between two crusts and we would love it.  This is a particularly delicious steak pie.  I suppose you could just stew the meat and add some frozen mixed veg if you wanted to, but I love the flavour of the swede and carrots when they have been stewed along with the steak.  It's pretty yummy!  (Plan ahead as it takes several hours to make) 


1 1/2 pounds stewing steak, diced
1 TBS olive oil
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 of a large swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into chunks
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced (optional)
2 TBS flour
a 1/2 cups beef stock
a pinch of thyme
salt and pepper to taste
A sheet of ready roll puff pastry

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water 

Mix the flour with some salt and pepper to taste and coat the pieces of meat in this mixture. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet that has a lid, and when hot, add the meat and brown it slowly on all sides.  When it is nicely browned add the onions and garlic, and mushrooms if using.  Cook for a few moments, and then stir in the carrots and swede.  Cook and stir over medium heat until they begin to brown a bit and then add the stock and thyme.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and allow to simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is quite tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 


Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/gas mark 7. 

Spoon the meat mixture into a shallow casserole.   Cut six 3 1/2 inch rounds out of the puff pastry.  Place evenly on top of the meat mixture.  Glaze with the egg yolk 


Place on a baking tray and bake in the pre-heated oven on the middle shelf until the pie is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Serve hot with some nice vegetables and chips on the side.

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Pork Chops & Beans

  

This wholesome family friendly dish may not exactly win any beauty contests, but I guarantee she will come up with Miss popularity every time.  It's a simple dish . . .  there is nothing extraordinary here . . .  but it has wow flavours!

    

I don't have a lot of tasty photos to show you of this one because, in all honesty . . .  it just ain't pretty, but this is one case where you won't want to judge the book by it's cover.   This is very family friendly and quite, quite delicious!



You will also want to use a cheaper cut of pork chop, one with a bit of fat on it and some bone . . . really lean ones will dry out in the long cooking time.  The cheaper ones tend to have a lot more flavour and succulence anyways.  In any case I do hope you will enjoy this.  We had it simply with baked potatoes . . .  thick and tasty beans with a barbeque flavoured sauce, with fork tender chops and a mealy baked potato to soak up all those lovely juices!  Winner/winner/winner!

  

*Pork Chops & Beans*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

Deliciously different.  It may not be that pretty to look at, but what it lacks in looks it more than makes up for in taste! 

4 thick pork chops, on the bone, fat side slashed at 1/2 inch intervals

salt and black pepper to taste

garlic powder

1 (400g) tins of baked beans (2 14-oz tins)

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 green pepper, trimmed, de-seeded and chopped

165g of tomato ketchup (3/4 cup)

100g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

1 tsp dried mustard powder

2 TBS cider vinegar

pinch cayenne pepper  

Preheat the oven to 180*C350*F/ gas mark 4.   

Season the chops well on both sides with salt, black pepper and garlic powder.   Brown them well on both sides in a lightly greased skillet.

When the chops are browning, combine the remaining ingredients in a large oven proof casserole with a lid.  Lay the browned chops on top of the beans.  Cover tightly and bake in the heated oven for 40 minutes.  Uncover and flip the chops over.   Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes.  The chops should be very tender and lightly glazed and the beans nicely thickened.

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Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken and Potatoes

I love to cook and eat chicken.   Once upon a time, when I was working full time . . .  I was able to afford free range organic chicken, and I won't like . . . it was lovely.  These days all I can rise to buy with the budget I have to work with is higher welfare chicken.  I am not sure I want to really know what constitutes higher welfare, but  . . .  I like to believe that they are not that badly treated, or as badly treated as the other kind.    Unemployment is a great equalizer.  If I could afford it I would certainly still prefer to buy free range and organic, but one must do what one must do.
 

We do most of our shopping at Aldi these days.   They have good prices and they have a much wider variety of goods in the store than they use to have way back when.  I have always liked their cheeses and meats, and their like brands are pretty close to the real thing in my opinion.

 

They even have luxury food lines which are quite good as well.  I reckon we have cut our grocery bill in half by shopping there.  Seriously.  I only go to the other shops for what I can't get at Aldi.   (They even stock tv papers now.   Bonus!)



They had chicken leg quarters on offer this past week @ £1.15 per pack of two.  That is a real bargain, and so I picked up two packs and jointed them so that I ended up with 8 pieces of chicken.  They were a really nice size as well.  I do love chicken breasts, but they have a tendancy to be rather bland when it comes to flavour, really only taking on the flavour of what you are cooking them with or in.



Legs and thighs however . . .  these are the joints which do the most work and which develop the most flavour when it comes right down to it.   They also lend themselves to a bit of a slow roast, which helps them to really absorbe the flavours which I used today when I cooked these . . .



Delicious additions such as fresh thyme from my kitchen garden and fresh lemon wedges, squeezed over top . . .  some seasoning and garlic . . . olive oil and white balsamic vinegar.   Roasted together with red onion wedges and new potato wedges they went down a real treat!  They made for a really delicious economical meal.  I simply cooked some frozen corn and some peas to have along side, but a salad would have gone equally as well.   Enjoy!

*Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken and Potatoes*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

A delicious meal in a dish.  Everything is here.  Moist and tender pieces of chicken, potatoes, onions . . . all flavoured beautifully with the wonderful flavours of lemon and thyme.  

4 large chicken leg quarters, jointed, skin left on.

1 1/2 pounds of small to medium potatoes, washed and quartered

2 medium red onions, carefully peeled and quartered

6 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed

6 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 large lemon, cut into 6 wedges

60ml of olive oil (1/4 cup)

2 TBS white balsamic vinegar

60ml of chicken stock (1/4 cup)

salt and black pepper to taste  

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 6.  Have ready a large roasting pan or baking dish.  You will want it large enough to hold your ingredients in a single layer for the most part.

Place the chicken pieces and potatoes in the roasting tin.   Insert the wedges of onions and the cloves of garlic in between them, here and there.  Squeeze the lemon wedges over all and tuck the spent wedges in between.   Whisk together the olive oil and vinegar and drizzle this over top.  Season with salt and pepper.   Splash the chicken stock over all.  Tuck in the sprigs of fresh thyme.  Cover tightly with foil.  Roast in the heated oven for 20 minutes.  Uncover and continue to roaste for an additional 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan and basting the chicken and potatoes occasionally, until the chicken is fork tender along with the potatoes and both are beginning to brown.

Serve hot from the oven with some of the pan juices spooned over top.

Note - if you think it is getting a bit dry while it is baking splash over some more stock.

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