Lasagne

The trick of having a good lasagne is a creamy bechamel sauce...i'm suck at doing that...this time round too by the Masterchef came to the rescue... haha... to make it quick, i used readymade pasta sauce to make the filling and prepared it earlier..

Lasagne sheets (ready to cook)
1 jar readymade pasta sauce (i used prego)
minced meat
fresh white/swiss mushroom, sliced
carrot, chopped
celery stick, chopped
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
fresh oregano, chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper

cheddar, parmesan and mozzarella cheese, grated

for bechamel sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
2 1/4cups milk
salt and pepper
grated nutmeg

• Prepare the filling. Heat oil in pan. fry the onion and garlic till fragrant. Add in minced meat and fry until brown.
• Add in carrot, mushroom and celery and fry till soft. 
• pour in the pasta sauce, mix well. add in the oregano, season with salt and pepper.
• set aside
• Prepare the bechamel sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Whisk to combine.
• Add milk, continue to whisk until mixture comes to boil. add nutmeg, season with salt and pepper. reduce heat to low and simmer. stir frequently until mixture thickens.
• now assemble your lasagne: filling, lasagne sheet, bechamel sauce, grated cheese. repeat until 3 layers.
• bake in preheated oven 180 degrees celcius for 40 min until cheese bubbling hot and turns golden.

Minestrone soup

out of idea what to cook for the family...? this one-dish meal saved our day... we love soup very much and i ditched in some vegetables (whatever available) and pasta to complete it... adapted from Jamie Oliver's ...

1 tablespoon olive oil 
minced chicken
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped 
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped 
2 carrots, washed and chopped 
2 sticks celery, chopped
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf 
1 can chopped plum tomatoes 
1 large potato, scrubbed and diced 
4 cups chicken stock
Large handful spinach, stalks removed, chopped
½ cup mixed small pasta shapes 
1/8 teaspoon sea salt 
large pinch freshly ground black pepper 

• Heat a large pot over a medium heat and add a lug of olive oil. Throw in the minced chicken and fry it gently until it starts to turn brown and smell fantastic. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, celery, oregano and bay leaf and cook slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables have softened.
• Add the tomatoes, potato and chicken stock, then cover with a lid and bring everything slowly to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes, then check (with the tip of a paring knife) that the potato is soft and cooked through.
• After that, add the kale and pasta, and cook for 10 more minutes, until the pasta is cooked. If the soup is too thick for you after cooking the pasta, thin it with a little more broth or water.
• Finish by seasoning with a little salt and black pepper.

I did not mix the pasta in the soup, rather boiled it separately..