Saturday, July 19, 2014

My very first Lasagne & Sticky Date Muffins with Butterscotch Sauce

Last night a made Lasagna for dinner which was a big deal for me.  I make Spaghetti Bolognese every other week and after I've made that I think Lasagna is a whole other process beyond this and I can't be bothered with the time that it takes.

I've only made Lasagna a couple of times in my 20's when it was a Weight Watchers Recipe that you used Cottage Cheese (yuk) instead of white sauce so I'm calling last night's "Lasagna" as my first real Lasagna.   I was usually only cooking meals for myself way back then, and whilst I doubled my recipes so I could have freezer meals when I didn't feel like cooking, Lasagna is a large dish that serves many so it was not something I ever made for myself.

I also think Lasagna is rather a heavy meal however when we were down visiting our friend Donna at Rainbow Bay she made Lasagna and it was light and delicious so I decided there and then I would make it for my family.  Having a Thermomix helps because I made the Bolognese part in the Thermomix and then cleaned it out and made the white sauce.  I just threw the ingredients in, pressed a couple of buttons and hey presto the sauce was made with no lumps and no stirring by me which was perfect.  I do know how to make a white sauce on the stove but throwing the 3 ingredients in and pressing some buttons, even better.

I used 3 layers of Lasagna sheets with the Bolognese, the white sauce and parmesan cheese which I found was plenty for this dish.  I did run out of the Lasagna Sheets but felt it didn't need any more layers anyway.

Here's the Lasagna straight from the oven.

Served up with some rainbow salad.

I made "Sticky Date Muffins with Butterscotch Sauce" and home made vanilla bean icecream.  This was going to be our dessert however yesterday was so cold and windy I decided that we (Aunty Lisa aka my sister, James, Sienna and I) would have this for afternoon tea to warm us up instead of dessert later that evening.  It was a very wise move and we also were hungry as opposed to trying to fit this in after our  Lasagna.  Sticky Date Pudding/Muffins are normally a heavy dessert as well however if you try this recipe you'll see how light and fluffy they are.  I have made this recipe once before and have frozen the muffins for a lovely dessert when you need it.  Try them....delicious.


And to finish off Sienna drew this lovely drawing for me yesterday morning and she asked me if I liked the mustache she drew on James.  She told me we were on top of the mountain where we were close to the sun and I love those "M" birds in the sky.  I remember drawing birds like that as a child.

7 comments:

  1. We love Lasagne here too and please don't think bad of me but I make the Cottage Cheese version which is the recipe given to me by my mother-in-law! Your dessert looks absolutely delicious, sticky date is one of my absolutely favourites :-) Mel x

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    1. Mel, I think the cottage cheeses of today is very different to the cottage cheeses of 30 years ago which is probably when I last made it. Kathy

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  2. That Lasagna does look pretty darn goo. These thermomixes seem to save heaps of time in the kitchen. I have only one gas cooker and making a lasagna takes ages before it even goes into the oven. I too like a light lasagna served with salad, nothing too heavy here.

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    1. Liz, the Thermomix are a zillion dollars but it is an amazing investment and if you like cooking from scratch and not using chemicals this is the machine for you. I think they have payment plans as well. Of course you can do everything on the stove without a Thermomix but if you get the opportunity to go to a demo you'll be amazed. I make soup, pasta, bread, biscuits, dough, boil our eggs, sorbets, ice creams - it's an amazing kitchen item. I wish I had one of these when my kids were babies because it would have been great with those first foods. Kathy

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  3. Lasagna is one of my favourite comfort foods, it was one of the first recipes my mother taught me to cook too, so tasty!

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  4. I LOVE lasagne but I can't be bothered to make it... well... ever. I have made it about 2 - 3 times in the last 15 years...................

    I saw a recipe on Pinterest for stove top lasagne which I made and was nice enough, but nothing to write home about. Rather stick with bolognaise :)

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    1. Marcia I'm with you until I tasted the one I made.... Totally worth it. Thanks for stopping by. Kathy

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