How about Canelonni ? my kids actually cheer when they hear I'm making this!
Caneloni is the huge hard pasta tubes , (sains do a large box of them for 99p , for family of 5 (mine are bigger kids) you may need slightly more than 1 box tho. and they are filled with a spagbol type sauce , and covered and baked with cheese sauce over the top.
You can use both this spag bol sauce and cheese sauce for lasagne, or caneloni. Or just the cheese sauce for macaroni cheese or just the spag bol sauce for spaggetti bolonaise.
Spag bol sauce -
Ingreadiants
1 large Onion
some mushrooms sliced or quartered
Two cans chopped value plum toms
Samall can of tom puree
Beaf Oxo cube
1/4 pint boiling water
heaped table spoon brown suger (counteracts some of the tom puree strong taste, and makes it taste like shop sauce for kids!)
salt pepper
small squirt of garlic puree tube
any garden herbs you have or italian dried herbs or dried oregano and basil are best
Make a spag bol sauce,
Fry off Onions and mushrooms in splash of oil - in non stick deep frying pan or saucepan
add garlic puree squirt (make sure you add the mince in next minute, so you don't burn garlic!
add mince and fry till all goes brown
add the chopped plum toms
add the tom puree
add herbs
break oxo cube into 1/4 pint just boiled water , mix and then add to pan
Mix all up with wooden spoon and turn pan down to medium simmer for at least 20/30 mins
Don't put a lid on the pan as this will mean it will get thicker as the water steams off !
When the sauce is cool enougth to risk you fingers getting near! then get a oblong or square , flatish oven cooking dish (open top) and slowley fill the caneloni tubes with sauce with a spoon, then lay tubes doen in a row , this can take 10 mins to do, and watch your fingers, (sauce flows in the tubes easier if still warm).
Then we need to make the yummy cheese sauce
Ingreadiants
50g hard butter block
only 1/4 teaspoon mustard power (believe me makes for tasty cheese sauce)
4 heaped tablespoons cornflour
500mls of milk (I used powered milk as it's well cheep and makes a good sacue without useing all your fridge milk!!)
salt and pepper
How to make the sauce (do not do anything else while you make this, can be a little tricky but well worth trying, once you have it sussed , your fine)
Small saucepan, add butter and melt on low heat
take off heiat, put on wooden heat mat on counter etc
stir in 4 heaped tablespoons of cornflour and the 1/4 teaspoon of mustard powder (or fresh mustard is fine) and mix to a thick paste quickly with wooden spoon. (this bit stops you getting lumps in sauce)
then add splash of the milk and stir squshing the sauce against the side of pan with spoon as you stir round, then a bit more milk and slowly add till the sauce is runny and no lumps , then add rest of the milk. that;s the harder bit done.
Return pan to heat, turn up to medium hot and add salt and pepper and just stand there and stir .
after about 5 mins the sauce when it's hot enought the sauce will suddenly go thick, (so if you do anything else and are nto stiring it the whole time, you will ruin your sauce and it will turn into lumpy custard!
then once sauce thickness take off heat again and add value strong cheese , and stir round, taste it and add more cheese till you like the strength. (we use strong cheese as you use less!)
Then just poor over your caneloni tubes , sprinkle with a little cheese and bake 180 deg for 20 mins till browny topped
or for lasagne layer spag bol sauce, then dry pasta sheets , then sauce , the the same again finishing with sauce and a sprinkle of cheese , and bake at 180 deg for 30 mins till browny topped
or just poor over macaroni or brocoli and califlower - kids love this !
If you want a meaty shepherds pie, make the spag bol sauce and once cooked add 1/4 pint bisto or ready oxo gravey and mix to make more meaty then pour into flat oven dish and top with mash ( don't add milk to your mash when squishing it , just butter as it will make it too wet as it is going ontop of the sauce.
Sorry was long winded , hope it makes sense - please give it a go, it will save you so much money from brought sauces !
Nom nom!
