Recipes Part 1

One of my loves is cooking. I have cooked for years, ever since high school. I'd like to share with you some of my family favourites

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni (Green Snakes 1)

This is an oldie, but a goodie. My eldest used to call this green snakes from when she was able to firstly speak. She would eat this even when she was going through her fussiest stages. The ingredients are simple.

Ingredients
1 tub of Ricotta Cheese
1 packet of frozen spinach defrosted (or a bunch of english spinach washed, chopped and wilted)
1 packet of home brand cheese sauce made up to instructions (or if you have the time make your own bechamel sauce)
grated cheese to taste
1 packet of dry pasta canelloni or 1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets

1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Spray Pyrex dish with cooking spray
3. in a dish combine the ricotta with spinach and grated cheese(about a handfull or to taste), mix well so no lumps of spinach ither
4. fill dry pasta canelloni with mixture, or cut lasagne sheets in half, fill one end with mixture and roll like a sausage roll
5. Place canelloni into pyrex dish, side by side. May need to do 2 layers
6. Top with cheese sauce so all pasta is covered.
7. Top finally with remaining grated cheese
8. Cook for approx 30 minutes
9. Enjoy

Meat Sauce

Never fails, this can be made in bulk lots and can be precooked and frozen, used in both lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise

Ingredients
500g of beef mince
1 clove of garlic or 1tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp of Tomato Paste
1 tin of Tomatoes or fresh is better(i still have frozen home grown tomatoes)
Vegetable stock to taste
swig of balsamic vinegar (don't knock until you taste it with this in it)
shake or 2 of mixed herbs

1. Brown mince making sure no large lumps
2. once brown combine all ingredients
3. add water and simmer until all combined and uniform colour
4. serve on top of cooked pasta or add to lasagne

Lasagne (Meat or Spinach and Ricotta (Green Snakes 2))

Ingredients

Pasta sheets (either dry or fresh)

Cheese sauce (packet or home made)

Grated cheese

Filling- either spinach and ricotta or meat (see above)

1. in a pyrex dish add meat sauce or spinach and ricotta
2. top with pasta sheets
3. add cheese sauce to coat pasta
4. repeat 1 to 3 until run out of ingredients
5. top with grated cheese
6. cook for approximately 30 minutes
7. Enjoy