Wants to go to the kitchen and cook something? Read this!

Im making soto for tonight! Yeayyy!
Ughh Ive been planning to make soto since forever, and mind you, this will be the first time Im making it. Woot woot for me!
Ive made soto before, but a diff version. Indonesian style soto, kuah kuning pekat. Baya would remember this soto, wouldnt you Baya? ;)
Teringat soto umi *sigh*

Anywayss, tonight Im making the normal soto, yang kuah putih version hehe.

And Im making begedil. Even writing this makes me hungry.

The point is,

I wanna share some recipeS (gila domestic!) here. But not the soto and begedil thought. I'll share it some other day.

Last Monday I made some Shepherd's Pie. Tetiba ada impulse to try it. Kak Norzi taught me this, but Ive improvised a lil bit following some other recipes online. Hubby came home, and ate it. And he loves it!

SHEPERD'S PIE

Olive Oil (Or any other cooking oil if you dont have it)
1 Brown onion, finely chopped
2 Celery sticks, finely chopped
500g Minced meat
1 cup of chicken/beef stock
A dash of Worcestershire sauce (I love this!)
1 tbs Kecap manis
1 tbs Tomato paste
Salt & pepper to season

FOR MASH
4-5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
40g Butter
1/2 cup Milk
Shredded Cheddar (to sprinkle on top of mash)

METHOD:

Oil saucepan, cook the onion and celery until soft, and add the minced meat. Stir until meat is fully cooked.

Add stock. Stir, and add Worcestershire sauce, Kecap manis and tomato paste. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat, and stir occasionally until sauce is thicken. Taste, and season to your liking.



(The measurements are based from online recipes, just an estimation for you guys to try. I think I added more of kecap manis and tomato paste. Hey, cook the way you like it!)

Meanwhile,

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Drain well.
Mash the potatoes with potato masher or fork until smooth. Add butter. Mash again.
Add milk and stir with a wooden spoon (a wooden spoon is a must have for me!) until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Pour the meat sauce into an ovenproof baking dish (or a casserole dish). Top with the mashed potato. Sprinkle the cheddar as much as you like. (I always put A LOT! :D)
Bake for 20 minutes or until it is golden brown.



I forgot to take a picture after I pour the mash. So here's the result.




And now, for the FAMOUS LASAGNE (self-claimed! haha) recipe!

Instant lasagne sheets
500g Minced meat/chicken
1 Large onion, finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped (I usually blend the onion and garlic together instead)
1 can of Tomato PASTE
1 1/2 cans of Tomato PUREE, or diced (I couldnt remember the brand I usually buy or the type. Sorry! If I could remember I'll update)
1 can of sliced button mushrooms (I prefer to chop it more to make it blend with the meat and sauce)
2 Fresh tomatoes, diced
1 Block of tasty cheddar, grated

To season:
Dried Oregano Leaves (MasterFoods or McCormick)
Powdered Basil (MasterFoods or McCormick)
Salt and pepper
Sugar

Cheese Sauce:

90g Butter
1/2 cup flour
3 cups of Milk
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, finely grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oil, add onion+garlic paste and cook until brown. Add minced meat.
Break up the meat until there's no clumps. Add some salt. Cook until the meat change its color.

Add tomato paste and the puree and stir until it blends well. Pour some water (not too much because you want the sauce to be thick).

Bring the mixture to boil, then reduce the heat. Add mushrooms and fresh tomatoes. Simmer the sauce. The sauce should not be watery.
Season with basil powder, and dried oregano leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste. And some sugar (but not too much!) if you like.

For the pasta, I always boil the sheets before layering it. You can boil with salted water, but lately Ive been boiling it in milk! It tastes much creamier! hehe

Pour the meat sauce into a casserole dish (make sure the dish is deep enough!), just make a thin layer. Then layer the lasagne sheets to cover all the sauce and pour the sauce on top of the pasta to make another layer. You can also add some cheese sauce between the layers (on top of meat sauce) to make it more creamier and delicious! hehe
Layer it until all the meat sauce finish. Make sure the last layer is the meat sauce. Pour the rest of the cheese sauce, and sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese. Last but not least, sprinkle some dried Oregano leaves on top of the cheese to make it smell oooohh la laa ;)

Preheat oven for 180 degrees. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese turns golden.

For the cheese sauce:

Heat pan. Melt butter. Stir in the flour into the melted butter and cook and stir constantly, until the mixture bubbles.

Add milk, gradually while stirring or whisking constantly.
Add Mozzarella cheese as much as you like, stirring until the cheese melt and blends into the mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

I know you girls will love this lasagne recipe. Some of you had been asking for the recipe (or the lasagne itself sbb malas nk buat sendiri :p ) for years dah kan?
Fatimah, awk sure suke hehe. So there. I wish Im in Malaysia and have dinner parties like old times and cook for you!
So while Im not there, you guys can make it on your own k! ;D

p/s The meat sauce for this lasagne is exactly how I make Spaghetti Bolognaise too. Just add more water to make it less thicker, and you dont have to dice the mushrooms. The sliced ones would be better for the spaghetti sauce instead of for the lasagne.


ENJOY!