Ok girls... gimme your best.....

[Indadhanu]

I did a thread yonks ago too......

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...l-secrets.html

[briggsy's girl]

i make a pasta bake more so than lasagne - made it last night, and my bro's kids who are rather finicky eaters (esp the littlest) came back for seconds last night and have just had two serves for lunch today!

i essentially do meat (about 500g), onion (one or two), jar of sauce (or two), veg (spud, carrot, capsicum, zucchini) cut up small to bulk it out. cook pasta and whack it in the pan to mix through. dump that in the lasagne tray, top with cheesy white sauce, chuck in the oven and hey presto - delish!

[Pandora]

so you dont need to pre-cook the mince?
what kind of pasta do you use, something like penne?

[The[cookie]Doctor]

i make a pasta bake more so than lasagne - made it last night, and my bro's kids who are rather finicky eaters (esp the littlest) came back for seconds last night and have just had two serves for lunch today!

i essentially do meat (about 500g), onion (one or two), jar of sauce (or two), veg (spud, carrot, capsicum, zucchini) cut up small to bulk it out. cook pasta and whack it in the pan to mix through. dump that in the lasagne tray, top with cheesy white sauce, chuck in the oven and hey presto - delish!

I do this when i cant be bothered messing around with lasagne sheets... i am more indulgent with the bechamel in this too

[briggsy's girl]

ooh i'm very indulgent in the white sauce for pasta bake - i add fresh parmesan to the white sauce before the milk, lat night was 300ml of cream and then milk to add more volume - then add extra handful (or two) of grated tasty cheese

mmm, left overs were sooooooooooo good at lunch!

[feeb]

ohh can you tell me recipe for your yummy sounding bechamel sauce as i use jar!

[Indadhanu]

I pre-cook the meat, so it doesn't take so long in the oven (i just wait for the cheese on top to melt and go brown).

[briggsy's girl]

okies - this is going for guess work - i don't measure anything at all!

basically have everything ready to go, and don't stop stirring - keep to a low heat the whole time - i start with a spoon until i add liquids, then the whisk come outs! the amounts i'm stating filled a large-ish saucepan - enough to top a lasagne tray about half inch thick and have a little left over

- in a saucepan heat an amount of margarine or butter til it melts - last night, i think it was about 4 tablespoons full
- when it's melted, start gradually adding plain flour until all the butter is absorbed - cook it off a little as it gives it more flavour - but don't burn it - you just want it really lightly colored so you don't get a floury taste
- add a little bit of water just to make it a bit pasty so that it doesn't stick while you mix in next stuff - only a little bit - if i'm making this sauce to go over caulli/brocolli, i use some of the juices from that for extra taste
- add some parmesan cheese - either fresh grated, or grated in a bag as a minimum - none of this jarred kraft spew cheese - it just doesn't taste right - i'd say it was about quarter of a cup last night.
- pour in cream - last night was about 300ml - add it gradually and whisk away to make a thick creamy texture, without lumps - it will probably have a bit of a yellowish tinge - not a drama - just keep stirring!
- once cream is mixed through, add milk gradually - add a little bit, then mix it through - don't add a heap at once or you're more likely to get lumps. keep mixing until the milk is taken up nicely. keep going til you have a decent volume and reasonable consitency - you don't want it runny - needs to be a little bit thick but not too thick - just keep adding a little at a time - patience is a virtue! lol
- when you have it almost done, whack in a handful or two of grated tasty cheese - and mix it through - as the cheese melts it will thicken up a bit, and as soon as it's mixed through and melted, kill the heat.

if this is the first time you've done your own cheesy sauce at home, sample before you add to any food to make sure it hasn't come out floury at all - if you cooked the flour off, it should be fine, but you want to check first! with the amount of cheese in it, it's definitely more of a cheese sauce than a white/bechamal sauce!

we use this same sauce as a base for vegie bake too - dice up a bit of everything (spud, sweet spud, carrot, turnip, onion, swede, parsnip, zucchini, boiled caulli and broccoli), stir fry it in a light garlic butter, stir through this sauce, whack it in a pan, and bake away. freezes really well and is so tasty (and relatively healthy - if you ignore how rich the sauce is!)

[briggsy's girl]

ooh, for meat part - if you have a jar of spag sauce, follow those destructions - but bulk it out with veg for extra flavour and nutrition!