The What's for Dinner Thread- June 2012 (recipe index in OP)

[PrincessInOz]

Lasagna Dinner



My starting ingredients:






For sauce

• Minced beef, 500 g
• Tinned Tomato, 2 x 440 g
• Tomato Paste, 1 satchet
• Diced Onion, 1
• Diced Carrot, 1
• Diced Celery, 2 stalks
• Diced Red Bellpepper, ½
• Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon
• Paprika, ½ teaspoon
• Dried basil, 1 tablespoon
• Dried oregano, 1 teaspoon
• Salt and pepper to taste

I made the sauce the weekend before. Sadly, I deleted the pictures before I downloaded them, so I don't have any to share.



But....fry the onion until translucent. Add the other diced vegetables and fry for another 3 minutes. Add the meat and brown for 5 minutes. Add the tin tomatoes and the herbs and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes and remove from heat.




For béchamel

• Butter, 1.5 tablespoon
• Flour, 1.5 tablespoon
• Milk, 2 cups
• Grated cheese, 1 cup
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat the butter and flour together. When the butter is melted, let it cook for 1 - 2 minutes.







Slowly add the milk whilst stirring constantly so that no lumps form. Reduce heat and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.







Add the cheese and mix until the cheese has melted.







Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.








Constructing the lasagna

In a greased baking dish, put a little of the sauce at the bottom.







Layer with the pasta. I used a pre-made commercially available lasagne sheets for this.







Then top with more sauce.







Continue building up the layers until near the top of the dish.







Top with the béchamel sauce.







Bake at 180 C for about 40 - 45 minutes (or as per pasta instructions) until cooked.







My dinner!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Fish Parcels



My starting ingredients:

• Snapper, about 150g per person
• Sliced ginger
• Broccoli, cut into florets
• Carrots, finely sliced
• Oil
• Soya Sauce

Create the parcel using a double layer of aluminium foil. Put a little oil and place a couple of ginger slices on the foil.








Place the snapper on top of the ginger. Then top with carrots and broccoli.







Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of soya sauce over the food.







Fold the foil over to form a parcel and place in a preheated oven at 180 C for 15 minutes. When cooked, remove and serve.



My dinner!

 

[kimmar067]

....what was for dinner last night? Rotini and turkey/chicken meatballs filled with mozzarella.....

 

[franandaj]

We had dinner at Michael Symon's B Spot, which is a fast food type food court pal specializing in Burgers and Brats. We both had the standard brat with onion and mustard.

 

[kimmar067]

We had dinner at Michael Symon's B Spot, which is a fast food type food court pal specializing in Burgers and Brats. We both had the standard brat with onion and mustard.

....wow, I would have thought that his place would have been a little more upscale....

 

[franandaj]

....wow, I would have thought that his place would have been a little more upscale....

That was his restaurant at the food court at the casino. We have reservations tomorrow night at 9PM after our rehearsal at Lola which is his flagship restaurant where almost everything is made with bacon. Yum! I'm getting the pig ears at his place!

 

[EJ4Disney]

Good morning everyone!!

Brandi ~ What is you favorite thing to can/freeze? Stephanie has shown an interest this year in learning to can. She makes a killer Salsa and will be wonderful canned. I can't wait to show her.

PIO ~ Your lasagna is so different from mine. I love it, yours looks so easy and so very yummy. I am going to try it!! Thanks!!
I know how you were sad to see the FE student on her way but I also understand about getting back to normal.

Kim ~ did you make your cheese filled meatballs yourself? If so I would love your recipe. I have tried a few of your meatball recipes and they are wonderful, as I am sure these are too.

Alison ~ I think of myself as a very adventurous diner, but I don't think for one minute I would ever want or look forward to eating pigs ears. We raise pigs............nope no way!!
But it am glad you are having fun!!

maslex ~

The Garage Sale went ok.....nothing great. School starts this Wednesday, there were 2 huge golf tournaments, a 2 day softball tournament and then the funeral. Not a good day for a garage sale at all. The money hasn't been counted yet so I have no idea but I don't think it did real good.

Doug and I went to Kearney on Saturday and we had a ball..........until the rain and hail started. My brand new car has about 6+ hail spots. I am SO disappointed and so sad. They are coming today to have a look at it. I haven't even had it 2 weeks and now this. Thank goodness for insurance!!

WFDT ~ Today is Doug's birthday so Marty, Stephanie and Lilly are taking us out for dinner tonight. Doug hasn't decided where he wants to go yet, so I will have to tell you tomorrow about dinner.

Make it a great day!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Tuesday night and all is well in Oz. Cold....but well.


Ellen - I hope the hail damage isn't too bad. So sorry to read about it.

Alison - Hope you're having a great time in Cleveland.

Kimmar - What is Rotini? I don't think I know what that is at all!!!

Brandi - If you're checking in, we're starting to harvest the broccoli in the garden. I keep thinking of you every time I grab something. We've been enjoying the kale and snow peas for the last month. The cabbage is coming along nicely and I'm going to pull the carrots soon.




Life is returning to normal here. We've cleared up the 3rd bedroom and have a mountain of washing to do. Between our sheets and towels and the extra guest sheets and towels, we just seem to have the washing machine going this week. Oh well, I think one more load should about clear the backlog.

 

[EJ4Disney]

Terrific Tuesday to you all,

PIO ~ Oh my your garden sounds amazing. I love having company but I also love getting everything back to normal. You will get there soon my friend.
Are you off work? School starts back up here tomorrow so our "summer" break is over.

Well the garage sale went better than I thought. We made close to $650, so that gives each kid a bit over $100. I was thrilled and to be truthful there is still money coming in. I set the dates and this year I had to change it 2 times and then got this date and it was NOT the greatest with school starting tomorrow. Never again will I do it in August - June is much better.

The kids ended up taking us out to Applebees (Doug's choice) and we had a really nice meal and a great evening. I had put together a Nano bag for the Grands and she loved it. There is a bit of everything for each one of them. Kept her busy all night. We colored and played with some clay. I am so glad that the kids (neither one of them) set their kids with an IPad or tablet to play by themselves. I know I am in the total minority, but going out to eat is a real treat for us and I want to enjoy all of them not just pacify them. Ok off my soap box now.

WFDT ~ Spaghetti with my canned sauce, green salad and 7up garlic rolls.

Make it a great day!!

 

[franandaj]

PIO - I'm glad things are getting back to normal. Good luck with the laundry! I don't think I commented in your lasagna. It looks very tasty and meaty. I love things that combine red sauce and bechamel.

Ellen - i'm glad the garage sale made more than you thought. Sorry about the hail spots. I never even know that was something that happened! I love you new picture on FB!

We had a fabulous dinner last night! We ate four courses each, and yes I tried the pig ears. I probably wouldn't order them again, but they were interesting. I'll try and post pictures later this week.

Our concert is tonight and it's our last night in Cleveland. We drive to Auburn Indiana tomorrow and the pace slows down considerably. Rehearsing for five hours a day takes a lot out of you!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Ellen - Sounds like the sale made more money than expected. That's great for the kids. And I'm guilty of being in the majority....not necessarily by choice. I believe that eating is for family time and we get DS to put away all the gadgets when we eat. But DH and I have a difference in opinion about handing over the screen after dinner. I don't think DS should get a screen just because he asks. It should be at the appropriate time. But the ipad belongs to DH and he just hands it to DS when asked. I'm losing the battle. *sigh*
And no, I'm not on holiday. Normal work routine.

Alison - Hope you are enjoying the time with the band. Drive safe.



Wednesday night and we ate at my mother's. Normal rice and stir fry and curry for dinner.
Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[dgbg100106]

Lasagna Dinner



My starting ingredients:

PIO - that looks awesome, hmmm, so yummy

 

[dgbg100106]

Fish Parcels



My starting ingredients:

The fish packets that David really likes (and me too) is made with tomatoes, lemons, and kidney beans, with a white fish of some sort. Almost Mediterranean style.

This looks really good too.

 

[dgbg100106]

We had dinner at Michael Symon's B Spot, which is a fast food type food court pal specializing in Burgers and Brats. We both had the standard brat with onion and mustard.

Sounds really good.

Just some food trivia for you, when you bite into a sausage of any sort, that is in a natural casing, you know that pop sounds it makes, and then all of the juices are released. That first bite is called "knack". I learned that from a food scientist at McCormick.

 

[dgbg100106]

Good morning everyone!!

Brandi ~ What is you favorite thing to can/freeze? Stephanie has shown an interest this year in learning to can. She makes a killer Salsa and will be wonderful canned. I can't wait to show her.


The Garage Sale went ok.....nothing great. School starts this Wednesday, there were 2 huge golf tournaments, a 2 day softball tournament and then the funeral. Not a good day for a garage sale at all. The money hasn't been counted yet so I have no idea but I don't think it did real good.

Doug and I went to Kearney on Saturday and we had a ball..........until the rain and hail started. My brand new car has about 6+ hail spots. I am SO disappointed and so sad. They are coming today to have a look at it. I haven't even had it 2 weeks and now this. Thank goodness for insurance!!

WFDT ~ Today is Doug's birthday so Marty, Stephanie and Lilly are taking us out for dinner tonight. Doug hasn't decided where he wants to go yet, so I will have to tell you tomorrow about dinner.

Make it a great day!!

Ellen,

I think my favorite and least favorite is tomatoes.

Tomatoes are so easy to can...
We put up about 3 gallons of salsa this past weekend, and about 24 pints of diced tomatoes. I will put up another 3 gallons of salsa this coming weekend, and tomato sauce.

I pickle cucumbers and green beans, and in sept/oct I start to make apple sauce.

I will jar some fruit or make preserves, when I have so much I can't eat or if I got it really cheap. But mostly we just can/jar, tomatoes, cucumbers, and apples.

do you have a pressure cooker or would you water bath?

 

[dgbg100106]

Tuesday night and all is well in Oz. Cold....but well.


Ellen - I hope the hail damage isn't too bad. So sorry to read about it.

Alison - Hope you're having a great time in Cleveland.

Kimmar - What is Rotini? I don't think I know what that is at all!!!

Brandi - If you're checking in, we're starting to harvest the broccoli in the garden. I keep thinking of you every time I grab something. We've been enjoying the kale and snow peas for the last month. The cabbage is coming along nicely and I'm going to pull the carrots soon.




Life is returning to normal here. We've cleared up the 3rd bedroom and have a mountain of washing to do. Between our sheets and towels and the extra guest sheets and towels, we just seem to have the washing machine going this week. Oh well, I think one more load should about clear the backlog.

PIO - that garden sounds lovely.. I put up a bushel of tomatoes this past weekend, and I have about a bushel plus more to go. I know you are enjoying all those veggies, I would for sure.

 

[dgbg100106]

Terrific Tuesday to you all,

PIO ~ Oh my your garden sounds amazing. I love having company but I also love getting everything back to normal. You will get there soon my friend.
Are you off work? School starts back up here tomorrow so our "summer" break is over.

Well the garage sale went better than I thought. We made close to $650, so that gives each kid a bit over $100. I was thrilled and to be truthful there is still money coming in. I set the dates and this year I had to change it 2 times and then got this date and it was NOT the greatest with school starting tomorrow. Never again will I do it in August - June is much better.

The kids ended up taking us out to Applebees (Doug's choice) and we had a really nice meal and a great evening. I had put together a Nano bag for the Grands and she loved it. There is a bit of everything for each one of them. Kept her busy all night. We colored and played with some clay. I am so glad that the kids (neither one of them) set their kids with an IPad or tablet to play by themselves. I know I am in the total minority, but going out to eat is a real treat for us and I want to enjoy all of them not just pacify them. Ok off my soap box now.

WFDT ~ Spaghetti with my canned sauce, green salad and 7up garlic rolls.

Make it a great day!!

Happy Birthday to Doug!!! glad you had fun with the family and enjoyed each other.

 

[dgbg100106]

PIO - I'm glad things are getting back to normal. Good luck with the laundry! I don't think I commented in your lasagna. It looks very tasty and meaty. I love things that combine red sauce and bechamel.

Ellen - i'm glad the garage sale made more than you thought. Sorry about the hail spots. I never even know that was something that happened! I love you new picture on FB!

We had a fabulous dinner last night! We ate four courses each, and yes I tried the pig ears. I probably wouldn't order them again, but they were interesting. I'll try and post pictures later this week.

Our concert is tonight and it's our last night in Cleveland. We drive to Auburn Indiana tomorrow and the pace slows down considerably. Rehearsing for five hours a day takes a lot out of you!

Hope the concert went well and you are recovering... Love it that you tried the pig ears.

 

[kimmar067]

Kimmar - What is Rotini? I don't think I know what that is at all!!!.....

...it's just another type (shape) of pasta....they look like little corkscrews...

 

[kimmar067]

Kim ~ did you make your cheese filled meatballs yourself? If so I would love your recipe. I have tried a few of your meatball recipes and they are wonderful, as I am sure these are too.

A

Make it a great day!!

....it's the same recipe as I used for my meatballs (without the breadcrumbs and more grated parm cheese). I took fresh mozzarella cheese and cut it into 1" cubes. Then, I made a pockets with meat, put a mozz cheese into the middle, added some more meat on top and rolled it into a ball. They are larger than regular meatballs, so allow extra cooking time...