Andaiz:

Okay, turning this into a pasta instead of spagetti with meatballs/minced meat thread.


Anyone has tried baked pasta? A bit like lasagna only with whatever kind of pasta you can find in your kitchen:

- pasta
- tomato sauce
- garlic, onion minced (to taste)
- vegetables (that bake well, eg carrots, brinjal cut into thin slices then dried; brocolli; sliced mushrooms etc)
- minced meat if you want.
- cheese
- (optional although my personal favourite) bechamel sauce (see method below)

Method:
(1) cook pasta till just hard, not soft (okay one, trust me...you're going to bake it later);
(2) Slice the vege or cubed if you're using short pasta (for convenience, can eat with spoon, I'm lazy to wash so many utensils ma! )
(3) fry garlic and onion in olive oil (not the extra virgin kind, just normal one for frying/cooking); then saute the vege from (2) but not too cooked.
Remove from pan.
(4) Brown the minced meat if you are using. Don't overcook. Remove from pan
(4) heat the oven at 200C.
(5) now, put into a deep baking tray 1 layer of vege, then 1 layer pasta, top with tomato sauce and meat. Repeat with veg, pasta, sauce with meat till you're 3/4 of the pan thick.
(6) Top with cheese and/or bechamel sauce (if you want).
(7) Bake with a metal foil/cover over the tray for at least half an hour. (test with skewer into the pasta to ensure that it is soft enough; longer if you've got more vege or have a bigger pan).
(8) Remove cover and allow the cheese/bechamel sauce to crust and brown. After 5 minutes, or the top has turned golden brown, partially cover the top and switch off oven.
(9) Allow tray of baked pasta to rest in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
(10) serve


Bechamel Sauce(white sauce)
(must make enough to cover the tray)
150g self raising flour;
150g butter;
300-500ml of milk (think it's healthier than half and half or cream, but not so rich);
1/2 small onion minced;
1 tsp nutmeg powder;
salt to taste
bay leave (optional)

(a) Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan and over low heat.
(b) When the butter bubbles, add the flour all at once.
(c) Stir with wooden spoon or hand whisk
(d) Do this for 3-4 minutes till all the flour is incorporated in the butter
(e) Remove from heat and let it cool for 10 minutes (this step is important!)
(f) In separate pot, bring milk to just before boiling. DO NOT LET IT BOIL or you'd have cuddled milk
(g) Put (e) back onto medium heat. Add half of (f) whilst stiring gently with wooden sppon or hand whisk (so that there are no lumps).
(h) Add the onion, and bay leave and keep stirring over low heat for 10 minutes till smooth and thickened.
(i) Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Mix and remove from fire.
(j) You may strain this (I usually don't)
(k) Stir in some cheese (ricotta and possibly paremesan, cut salt) if you like a richer taste
(l) Scoop the bechamel sauce on the pasta layers and cover the entire tray.

Enjoy! :celebrate:

Andaiz:

Dun , schweppes as literary blood one, okay!

autumnbronze:

schweppes:

[quote=\"Andaiz\"]I love carbonara but cream sauce and half and half...not very healthy with CNY looming!

aiyoh... how true. With CNY looming, my tummy's ballooning! sigh... :!:

schweppes:

Andaiz:

I love carbonara but cream sauce and half and half...not very healthy with CNY looming!

aiyoh... how true. With CNY looming, my tummy's ballooning! sigh... :!:

Andaiz:

I love carbonara but cream sauce and half and half...not very healthy with CNY looming!

Funz:

I hate the kind where the sauce is just dumped on the pasta.

peterch:

Should try with smoked beef or smoked honey ham

peterch:

Should try with smoked beef or smoked honey ham

autumnbronze:

schweppes:

After all these discussion on meatball spaghetti, decided to make the dish for dinner tonite! :drool:

Andaiz:

Okay, got this cut out for my weekend menu liao. :love:

Wah Andaiz and Schweppes,

I'm joining the club too. Gonna make it a lunch dish on Sun :celebrate:

Andaiz:

I use tomato puree for the colour and consistency as well. Also some sundried tomato (for extra punch) diced.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but for good meat (bolognaise), the traditional Italians do it with 3/4 beef, 1/4 pork or chicken or veal, depending on your liking

Andaiz,

I will try the 3/4 beef and 1/4 chix combi and ummm sundried tomatoes ... yummy, will add that too :drool:

schweppes:

autumnbronze:

Ha ha Schweppes,


'cept for no 2, everything else ditto!!! :celebrate:

heh heh heh... looks like we have mucho similar tastes! books, lifestyle, food... pun intended!

schweppes:

After all these discussion on meatball spaghetti, decided to make the dish for dinner tonite! :drool:

Andaiz:

Okay, got this cut out for my weekend menu liao. :love:

Andaiz:

I use tomato puree for the colour and consistency as well. Also some sundried tomato (for extra punch) diced.

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this but for good meat (bolognaise), the traditional Italians do it with 3/4 beef, 1/4 pork or chicken or veal, depending on your liking

caroline3sg:

I would like to ask, why must heat olive oil? I was told olive oil is not meant to undergo heat. Instead to mix with the spaggetti after boiled to prevent sticking.

Poonie:

The steps are more or less the same as the others' but you may want to consider making your own tomato puree if the kids are eating pasta frequently. It's quite easy.


- boil some hot water
- submerge the big ripe tomatoes in it for 15 secs
- take them out and slice the tomatoes into half
- press it with fork and the whole skin will come off
- simply chop up the tomatoes and cook them in a small pot with half a cup of water

Alternatively just blend them in a blender.

For fibre, you can add some cauliflower and/or celery.

elle_yv@hotmail.com:

Hi,


Can anyone advise how to make nice spagetti?

I learnt to make the mince meat spagetti from my previous Filipino maids.

Ingredients include:
- Mince meat
- sausage
- union
- Can mushroom
- Prego spagetti sauce

Pls advise steps by steps from cooking the spagetti till adding in the sauce.

Thanks in advance for valuable advice.

elle_yv@hotmail.com:

peterch:

[quote=\"elle_yv@hotmail.com\"]Hi,


Can anyone advise how to make nice spagetti?

I learnt to make the mince meat spagetti from my previous Filipino maids.

Ingredients include:
- Mince meat
- sausage
- union
- Can mushroom
- Prego spagetti sauce

Pls advise steps by steps from cooking the spagetti till adding in the sauce.

Thanks in advance for valuable advice.

Try to help here, :lol:
Usually my recipe as follow:
1kg mince meat
(Sausage is optional)
Onion
(U can put can mushroom, but make sure u drain the water)
1 can Delmonte Tomato Paste (Only come in small can)
About 500 ml Tomato Puree (depends how thick you want the sauce to be)
Salt to taste
Oregano (Usually I put quite a lot, almost half the small spice mc cormick bottle)

I make quite a lot of this sauce and when it is cooled, I divide into several portion and packed in plastic and then freeze them.
When kids want spaghetty, I would just cook the pasta and reheat the sauce

Remember, when u cook your pasta, make sure the water is boiling before you put the pasta, and put some salt in the water. Of course u put some oil after u cook the pasta so they won't get sticky

Hope this help...

schweppes:

This is what I usually do:


1. Minced beef (marinated with soy sauce, pepper and red wine if u want a more intense flavour) ; bacon (optional)
2. Heinz Roasted Capsicum and Tomato Soup (don't quite fancy the canned tomato paste version)
3. Fresh mushroom (button or portebello) (again, not keen to use canned mushrooms)
4. Fresh herbs - oregano or rosemary - i buy from Cold Storage
5. Garlic
6. Olive oil
7. Red wine - started adding red wine when kids went to primary sch. Not too much tho (abt 2 or 3 tablespoon)

Heat olive oil, fry garlic, sliced mushroom and add bacon if you want extra flavouring. Stir in the marinated minced beef. Pour in the canned tomato soup. As the sauce starts to boil, add the herbs (rosemary or oregano)

Yummy... one of my kids fave dishes!! :lol:
Enjoy :drool:

peterch:

elle_yv@hotmail.com:

Hi,


Can anyone advise how to make nice spagetti?

I learnt to make the mince meat spagetti from my previous Filipino maids.

Ingredients include:
- Mince meat
- sausage
- union
- Can mushroom
- Prego spagetti sauce

Pls advise steps by steps from cooking the spagetti till adding in the sauce.

Thanks in advance for valuable advice.

Try to help here, :lol:
Usually my recipe as follow:
1kg mince meat
(Sausage is optional)
Onion
(U can put can mushroom, but make sure u drain the water)
1 can Delmonte Tomato Paste (Only come in small can)
About 500 ml Tomato Puree (depends how thick you want the sauce to be)
Salt to taste
Oregano (Usually I put quite a lot, almost half the small spice mc cormick bottle)

I make quite a lot of this sauce and when it is cooled, I divide into several portion and packed in plastic and then freeze them.
When kids want spaghetty, I would just cook the pasta and reheat the sauce

Remember, when u cook your pasta, make sure the water is boiling before you put the pasta, and put some salt in the water. Of course u put some oil after u cook the pasta so they won't get sticky

Hope this help...