Pasta in a flash!

Quick Creamy Tomato Pasta

As a busy mum, I sometimes get so wrapped up in things I forget about organising meals for Madame until she says ‘mummy I’m hungry’.  Quick check of the watch and realise, yes, it’s dinner time and I need something quick.  This is one of those recipes that you can throw together in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients

2 TBSP olive oil

½ an onion chopped

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

2 TBSP of cream cheese

1 tsp of dried basil

50g of pasta per child (any shape will do)

Method

  1. Start cooking the pasta.  I’m not going to tell you how as the instructions are on the back of the pack.
  2. To make the sauce.  Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions until soft (approx 3-5 minutes).
  3. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, bring to a boil, turn down add the cream cheese and basil.  Heat through.
  4. Drain the pasta a mix into the sauce.

I tend to serve it with sweet corn or cucumber slices on the side.  If I have a bit more time to preheat the oven, as ours takes about 30 minutes to heat, I serve it with garlic bread.

Chicken Myers Recipe

Prior to meeting my husband I lived with someone for 6 years and this recipe is pretty much all I walked away with, thanks to the lack of common law legislation in this country! ;-)

However, this is one of my favourite recipes.  Honestly, it tastes better than it looks.

You will need:

  • 1 small head of Broccoli – cut into bite size pieces.
  • 500 g boneless/skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 400 g can of Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
  • 4 Tbsp Mayonnaise
  • 2 Tsp of curry powder (whatever strength you can cope with)
  • 25 g of cheddar cheese

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
  2. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the broccoli for about 5 minutes.  It should only be slightly tender.  Don’t overcook it as it still has an hour to go in the oven.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the soup, mayo and curry powder.
  4. Place the broccoli and chicken in a casserole dish and pour over the mixture.  Make sure it’s evenly covered.  But don’t lose sleep over it.
  5. Top with Grated Cheese.
  6. Cook for about an hour, the top should be golden brown and chicken cooked through.

I serve it on a bed of rice.

Enjoy!

Canada’s National Dish

I’ve just booked flights home to Canada in the summer and I’m a bit excited so thought I would teach you something about Canada.  As Canada is such a diverse place the national dish is debatable. Most people tend to associate Maple Syrup with Canada but contrary to popular belief it doesn’t flow through our veins.  However, if you’re from the West coast it may be Salmon and Wild Rice while in Montreal its Poutine.

What is Poutine I hear you ask???  Basically, it’s a heart attack on a plate:  Chips, Gravy and Cheese Curd but boy is it lovely!

Photo Credit

Here is a recipe if you want to have a go!

The first ever World Poutine Eating Contest was held in Toronto last week and Pat Bertoletti ate 13lbs of the stuff in 10 minutes!