Pumpkin & Bacon Lasagne

Here's another nostalgic recipe from the other side of the family. It's loosely based on one of my husband's family favourites. His mum had created the recipe, but it was just something she kept in her head, not a written thing. I got the gist of it, added a few of my own bits and bobs, and have written up the recipe for sharing.
At first I was highly skeptical about how the pumpkin and tomato would mesh, but this wonderful marriage of flavours has to be tasted to be believed-it's honestly even better than a meat lasagne-and I have a wonderful recipe for that too! The bacon pieces scattered through the golden cheesy white sauce that tops this great family meal really makes it sing.  You could easily leave out the bacon for a vegetarian meal if you so desired.

PUMPKIN & BACON LASAGNE

800g-1kg pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1/2 cup sour cream or cream
3x chicken stock cubes
1/2 cup hot water
700g jar tomato passata
400g can diced tomato
1 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tsp mixed herbs
1-2 boxes dried lasagne sheets
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp plain flour
1 cup cheese, grated
2 cups milk
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese
80g diced bacon


Place diced pumpkin in a saucepan with water covering the top. Cook until soft. Strain the water and place the pumpkin in a blender with the sour cream, chicken stock and water. Puree until smooth.
In a saucepan heat up the passata, diced tomatoes, garlic and herbs until warm.
Heat the oven to 180C.
Place a layer of the pasta sheets on the bottom on the 9x13 inch lasagne dish. Top with a layer of the tomato mixture. Place another layer of the pasta sheets over the tomato mixture. Spread a layer of the pumpkin puree over these pasta sheets. Repeat, alternating the tomato mixture with the pumpkin puree between the layers of pasta until exhausted (the ingredients, not you!)
The last layer should end with pasta sheets.
To make the white sauce which covers these pasta sheets, place the butter and flour in a saucepan on low heat. When the butter melts, quickly whisk the butter into the flour while pouring in a little of the milk at a time, to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining milk and heat through. Add the grated cheese and stir through, and continue stirring until it has melted, and the white sauce is thick.
Pour this white sauce over the final pasta layer. Sprinkle with Parmesan and cooked bacon pieces.
Cook in preheated oven for approximatey one hour, or until the top layer forms a golden cheesy crust.
Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

 

Tomato & Spinach Tortellini Soup

I was only 19 when I met my husband and started dating him, so I had only been on a handful of proper dates with other people up until then. So maybe I just don't know what's the norm, but I always thought I'd see swags of other young people out for dinner beside us, wining and dining. Do young people not do dinner dates in the 2000's? Where do they go, and what do they do? We always seemed like the youngest ones eating out in a restaurant, surrounded by couples aged 30+. Was dining out uncool? Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I think it's an amazing way and opportunity to get to know people better, and to me that's what dating is partially about. Those talks over dinner were priceless! I wouldn't have traded them for drinks with my boyfriend in a noisy bar. You know, the ones with such loud music that you have to yell, and then just end up giving up and dousing down another drink, with the hope to soothe your sore throat?
Okay, I realise I'm beginning to sound old now.
Moving on! What's your favourite cuisine? I have two in particular,  French and Italian, closely followed by Indian. Take me out for Italian, and I'll probably be hanging around you for life.
If you're looking for great spots to go out for dinner in Brisbane, try out the Ceylon Inn for Indian, Boucher for French and Mario Sarti for Italian. They're three of our favourite places to dine out. And they never disappoint.
Neither will this Italian recipe I'm about to share with you, inspired and adapted from a blog called Diethood. Now you know I don't believe in diets, and this soup is filled with delicious carbs (oh yeah!) It's also vegetarian, so it is perfect for those who are looking for meatless meals, which are great for Lent and Fridays. Or if you don't indulge in meat. If you'd like a meat addition, you can add any sort of tortellini, and many have a meat filling. I used spinach and ricotta filled agnelotti and it was just divine! The recipe feeds many mouths too, and is great with a dollop of sour cream and some nice, crispy garlic bread on the side.

TOMATO AND SPINACH TORTELLINI SOUP (Adapted from Diethood)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 cans diced tomato with added herbs (basil, garlic and oregano)
4 cups passata/tomato sauce (pasta sauce)
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 package tortellini (frozen or fresh is fine)
1 cup fresh baby spinach, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Place the oil and butter in a saucepan, and heat until the butter has melted. Ad the chopped onion and cook for two minutes or until somewhat softened. Add the garlic for a further two minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce and bring to the boil on a medium-high heat.
Add the stock and return to the boil. Then add the tortellini and spinach. Cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with optional dollop of sour cream and crusty garlic bread.

Serves 6-8

Cinnamon Brown Sugar and Almond Instant Oatmeal

Like so many things in the kitchen, vegan food has scared me a little bit. I suppose it's just because I've never known life without eggs, milk, cheese, meat and anything pertaining to the animal world. I've never lived without chocolate! And I've never had to cook without my trusty and well known ingredients.
I was pretty intrigued that for this month's Secret Recipe Club assignment, I was given the vegan blog We Heart Vegan to select a recipe from. There are lots of interesting looking recipes on this blog, and I planned to go all out and buy some ingredients I usually wouldn't have in the kitchen, such as flax seed. But unfortunately I had a busy busy month and found myself running out of time, with the reveal day just looming in the very near future. It gets a bit like that sometimes, when you have children. Sometimes you need to do things in a very quick manner, although I do like to spend time and lots of love over my creations in the kitchen.
But I didn't have too much time to spare, so I went hunting on the blog gain, and found a very time-pressed-mummy-friendly recipe on We Heart Vegan. Then this yummy recipe hit me in the face--Cinnamon Brown Sugar Oatmeal--which just happens to be a favourite around here! My babies even love it and I love the idea of having it packaged up in ziplock bags, already mixed and ready to pop straight into the breakfast bowl with some boiling water. You could even take them to work those mornings you don't have time to eat at home, or on road trips and the likes.
I omitted the chai seeds and walnuts that were in the original recipe, and added a few tasty things of my own from the pantry, including milk powder for extra creamy oatmeal. Thanks We Heart Vegan for making my life that little bit easier in the morning...makes my sleepy smile appear more quickly than usual, and my eyes can stay closed just that tiny, tiny bit longer!

CINNAMON BROWN SUGAR AND ALMOND INSTANT OATMEAL (Adapted from We Heart Vegan)

1 1/4 cup oats
1 flat tsp cinnamon
2 heaped tbsp brown sugar
1 cup dried milk powder
1/4 cup slithered almonds, walnuts or other nuts and fruit of your choice

Place the oats in a food processor. Pulse until the oats have broken down into smaller peices. Place the oatmeal in a medium bowl and stir in the cinnamon, brown sugar and milk powder. Add any dried fruit and nuts you desire. Mix thoroughly, and divide between three ziplock bags, about 1/2 a cup to each.
To serve, pour into a bowl and add boiling water, and stir through. Enjoy!