Cannelloni - Beef, Spinach & Ricotta Filling

This is another winter favourite  of my family and I get them to eat spinach and tomato's with out much fuss!!  It is a recipe that takes  a long time to make but it makes so much you can freeze it the extra.  I also make double the white sauce because I don't like the strong bit the tomato puree can have.  I also use more cheese than they recommend.  You can alter it according to your taste.

Filling
1 tbs Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g Beef mince (I think Americans call this ground beef)
250g packet frozen spinach thawed (I usually use fresh spinach and about a 250g packet as well I just cut it up very thinly).
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 Egg
1/2 tsp ground oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

White Sauce
There is a white sauce recipe added to this but it is so much work and I really can't taste the difference they way they suggest, they also name it Bachamel Sauce.
1 tbs butter/margarine
1tbs Flour
1 cup milk
1 cut thickened cream
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce
425g can tomato puree
2 tbs chopped fresh basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sugar
salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste

12 - 15 instant cannelloni tubes
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Method

1. preheat oven to 180 C.  Lightly oil large shallow casserole dish. Seth aside.

2. To make beef and spinach filling: Heat oil in frying pan.  Add onion and garlic and stir over low heat until onion is tender.  Add mince and brown well, breaking it up to a fine consistency with a fork as it cooks.  cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat.  In a small bowl, mix ricotta, egg, oregano salt and pepper.  Ad to mince mixture; Stir to combine. Set aside.

3. To make White Sauce: Melt butter. Remove from heat and add 1 tablespoon of flour and mix to form a paste.  Mix in a little bit of milk at a time to make sure no lumps form and return to heat to allow to thicken. Add cream and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

4. To make Tomato Sauce: Place all ingredients in a medium pan; stir to combine.  Bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Spoon beef and spinach filling into piping bag and fill cannelloni tubes or you could use a teaspoon.  (Expect if you use a teaspoon to get really messy).

6. Pour some white sauce over base of casserole dish and then spoon some 1/2 of the tomato sauce over the white sauce.  Then Place the cannelloni tubes in and add remainder of the white sauce and tomato sauce. 

Put mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese over top and add a bit of paprika if you have. 

7. Bake uncovered for 30 - 35 minutes or until golden brown. 

Spinage & Bacon Creamy Sauce Pasta

This is a recipe I worked out based on the tastes I could put together. It was a dish I had at a restaurant.

What you'll need:
1 Medium onion finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Crushed garlic
1 Bunch of fresh spinege.
120g Bacon
30ml Butter
15ml Flour
250ml Thickened Cream
60ml Parmesan Cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Preferred pasta

Method:
1. Cook the pasta of your choice.
1. Sauté onions till see-through.
2. Add garlic.
3. Boil spinege till par cooked.
4. add to onions and garlic and fry slightly.
5. In a new sauce pan melt butter
6. Mix in flour to make a paste.
7. Remove from heat. Turn stove down to a simmering temperature.
8. Add a little of the thickened cream to the paste at a time until all the cream is mixed in.
9. Return to the stove and allow the sauce to heat and thicken a little and then add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
10. Once the cheese is melted into the sauce add the onion, garlic and spinege to the sauce and remove from heat.
11. You can serve the pasta and sauce mixed together or serve the sauce as a topping.

Easy Chicken and Pasta

My husband, on the way home from church yesterday, said, "Honey, would you like me to cook dinner tonight?" Wha..wha..what? Um, sure, yeah, twist my arm! "Do you want chicken or hamburger?" I told him my preference would be chicken, but if he was cooking I wouldn't be picky as long as it had some veggies for the girls. When he found this recipe on the net at Allrecipes.com I was very shocked & surprised as my hubby doesn't do veggies as a general rule. In fact, I describe my husband as a pasta-tarian. This was very yummy, but I think we are going to tweak some things next time. See below for additional thoughts.

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut up
1(10.75 oz)can Campbell's cream of mushroom soup(regular or fat free)
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed(I just had plain, old basil, already crushed in my cupboard)
2 cups frozen vegetable combination (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
2 cups uncooked corkscrew-shaped pasta
grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned, stirring often. Set chicken aside.
Add soup, water, basil and vegetables. Heat to a boil. Add pasta. Cook 10 minutes, over medium heat stirring often.
Add chicken back in. cook 5 minutes or until pasta is done, stirring often. Sprinkle with cheese.

**So here are a few extra thoughts. I personally CAN NOT stand dry poultry(chicken, turkey, etc.)So I've learned to brine it first. This recipe is one you'd definitely want to brine your chicken on, or I feel it will end up dry.

*Brining- 1 quart of cool to room temp. water with 1/2 cup kosher salt mixed until dissolved. If you don't have kosher salt, use 1/4 cup table salt. Place 1 # of chicken in water & soak for no more than 20 minutes. Rinse your chicken, & then either cook as per recipe or pan fry 3-4 minutes per side.
With this particular recipe, brine your breasts whole, then cut up before you cook it.

Our family also loves onions & garlic, so next time we make this, I think I'm going to throw some fresh onions in with my chicken to saute & then add a clove or 2 of fresh garlic when I add the veggies.
We topped ours with fresh grated Parmesan & a bit of cracked pepper, from the pepper mill. This was definitely good, easy & an all in one meal! ENJOY

Tangy Noodle & Ham Salad

120 g Pasta shells cooked (I also usually cook about 250g)

200 g Ham cubed

410 g tin sliced peaches

½ Green pepper

1 Onion diced (I use ½ onion)

150 ml Mayo

5 ml Curry powder

10 ml Honey

20 ml Peach juice (I usually add a little more just to take the bite out of the curry powder)

Method

1.Combine pasta, ham, peaches, green pepper and onion.

2.Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over salad.

3.Toss.

I don't think this is exclusively South African but it is one of my favorites.

Easy Taco Bake

Hi, my name is Gail and like Stephanie, I too am a new contributor to Recipeasy, and also honored that the original 4 ladies would even consider letting me join their ranks and share recipes with you. Going with the Mexican theme Stephanie started; this is about the easiest kid-friendly recipe I've ever found. We were searching for pumpkin carving stencils when I found this, so I must give credit where credit is due. I found this on Kraftfoods.com. We tried it this week and it is yummy.
It makes 6- 1 cup servings.

Take 1 pkg. Kraft macaroni & cheese, prepare it as directed on package.(yes, milk & butter)

1 pound ground beef, browned with taco seasoning.

1 cup of salsa, mild, chunky type

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take an 8 inch sq. baking dish & layer; beef, mac & cheese, then salsa. Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with your favorite steamed veggie and/or salad.

We topped ours with sour cream & hot pepper rings, and also used medium heat salsa. But when it comes to Mexican foods in our house the spicier, the better. The girls even liked it.
I must warn you though, if you are trying to watch your weight, it isn't the most diet friendly recipe out there. I think my girlfriend figured the weight watcher points to be 9 pts./per serving.

Spaghetti Squash

If you haven't tried spaghetti squash...you should! My kids aren't big meat eaters, but you can serve this with a meat sauce. The point is, the squash is your "pasta" and you put whatever sauce you want. Here's how you cook it:

Wash the outside of the spaghetti squash. For using a microwave oven (which is what I do because its quick), place squash in a large covered glass or ceramic microwaveable baking dish. With a large sharp knife, poke two or three lengthwise cuts into the squash about half way through, each cut about one inch long. Cover the baking dish.
Bake until the squash begins to get soft. Do not let it get mushy. In the microwave oven the baking time should take about 20-25 minutes. Remove the spaghetti squash and set on a large plate. Cut in half lengthwise and set the two halves side by side. Remove the seeds and set them aside.
The outer skin of the spaghetti squash should be hard (like a shell) and should be partially separated from the soft inside of the squash. Some of the spaghetti-like strands of squash should also be visible. Take a fork and rake the "noodles" out of the shells.
Serve with sauce of your choice.