I’m going to come out and say it.
I’m a crap cook.
I can get by. I know how to bake, grill, pan fry. It is all possible.
However, I just seem to forget I’ve got something cooking.
And what happens more often than I’d like is an epic meal fail.
Ending either in take out or toast for dinner.
Only last week I left boiled potatoes unattended.
They ended up being smoked potatoes.
As in all the water evaporated and the layer of potatoes on the bottom of the pot burnt. And the smoke permeated the rest of the potatoes layered on top.
Surprisingly tasty in a mash…
I’m absolutely certain these meal fails are all borne of laziness with an added dash of distraction.
Like: “I’m going to boil these potatoes to within an inch of their lives so they are easier to mash.”
Ending in: “I boiled these potatoes to death. Smoky, charred death. And now I will still mash them because I don’t want to start again.”
Masterchef is here, with its Fig and Walnut bread and chicken on a cans and all the rest.
And the only thing I seem to be able to manage in the kitchen without completely stuffing it up is oven food.
And Sausage Pasta Bake.
You heard me.
Sausage Pasta Bake is my specialty.
It involves nothing more than 6 sausages, whatever veggies are left over, pasta, pasta sauce and cheese.
White sauce if you’re getting fancy – or have learnt how to make it in the microwave like I have.
I told you.
Lazy.
I’m so lazy I don’t even have a picture of a finished pasta bake to show you.
But I did manage to take a photo of all the ingredients while I was cooking them!
I’m awesome like that…
I guess while I’m sorting out that I’m not a craft blogger, I may as well admit:
This is why I’m not a food blogger.
–
For those who’d like to know:
Ingredients
Sausages (I find 6 are enough to feed our family of 5)
500g pasta (penne or twists are the best for this, I find)
750g pasta sauce (I use homebrand – it really is the best one!)
Veggies (I usually have an onion, capsicum and a zuchinni on hand, but ANYTHING goes)
Basil/Italian herbs (I usually just use the dried Italian Herbs mix, but had some fresh basil left over so used that instead).
Garlic (if you have it)
White sauce and cheese to top.
Method:
1. Dice onion (or chop randomly as I am wont to do)
2. Fry off with some garlic if you have it.
3. Using some kitchen scissors (like I said, lazy) to chop the sausages into little pieces, straight into the pan.
4. Brown.
5. Throw in your chopped veggies.
6. Cook down a little (but not heaps, because it’s going in the oven soon).
7. Pour in the pasta sauce ( I always do the swirl of water to get the last of the sauce out of the jar!)
8. Cook down for a while (maybe 10-15 minutes?)
9. Cook pasta as per instructions.
10. Turn off the heat, pour in drained pasta and mix.
11. Pour into casserole/lasagne dish.
12. Top with white sauce (if you can be bothered) and cheese.
13. Cook in oven at 180°C for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.
14. Eat it.
–
What’s your no fail recipe? Or are you a Masterchef in the making?
OH fantastic, i pulled sausages out of the freezer for tomorrow night but was lacking inspiration. This will mean we can have something other than bangers and mash or sausage sizzles lol
I know! My kids live sausages and I know they aren’t the best meat but they are easy and I know they’ll get eaten. But like you it’s hard to find easy things to do with them (curried sausages are too messy and take too long, in my opinion!)
So true and it is one of the few ‘meats’ all 4 of the kids will eat. Although i do love the ease of just chopping snags up and smothering in gravy served over pasta, rice or mash (have been known to hide the odd veg in the mash and add some diced bacon, tomato, mushrooms and capsicum in the gravy too lol)
Oh yum! All those yummy veggiesin gravy!
Great idea!!
I like to cook and I’m good at what I can cook but sometimes I forget things or over cook them. Just don’t like the washing up afterwards do I try to limit to one or two things when cooking eg pan/tray, saucepan.
Thank Ness. Yeah, I hate washing up too! This is great because it’s only one pan (hopefully non stick so a quick swish with some detergent and hot water gets it clean straight away), the pasta saucepan (which is basically just water so only needs a quick scrub too) and a casserole dish. I use the Pyrex dishes with the lids so it’s easy to put leftovers away in the same dish and also because they are dishwasher safe!
now, thats MY kind of cooking! yum! thankyou for adding another recipie to my lazy cooking files
Lyndal recently posted..in case you were wondering…
Honestly, so lazy and so hearty! Perfect for winter and for a rushed dinner. Makes great lunch leftovers too;)
In the States we have this device which you set and when the required cooking time is reached it beeps real loud reminding you to turn off the heat. I’ll bet they have them down-under as well!
Cranky Old MAn
Cranky Old Man recently posted..VOICES OF AUTHORITY
Oh cool Joe! I will look for them! I obviously need it…
it doesn’t work…the bell goes off and you wait just one more minute…………….
Bernadette recently posted..L=Life
I have made mounds of smoked vegetables over the years. I feel a little sick at the thought of some of my cooking disasters. Rachel x
Rachel from Redcliffe Style recently posted..It’s a hard job, but someone has to do it
I try to just move on. And make my husband clean out the burnt dishes…
I do love to cook, and like a hearty meal. But, I’ve had my share of disasters… I’m sure I’ve done the “smoked” veges a couple of times, as well as “smoked” boiled eggs.
I’d love to hear how to make white sauce in the microwave!
Julie recently posted..4 children under 5
It’s easy!
Melt your butter or marg in a Pyrex jug for 30-60 seconds (depending on how much you are making)
Stir in your plain flour (I don’t really have measurements, I just sorta go by look and feel) until its a thick paste
Whack the butter and flour mix in the microwave for 1 min
It will come out looking a bit fried or bubbly, but that’s ok.
Pour in about a tablespoon of milk at a time and stir.
Keep doing that until it resembles a thick sauce.
Back in the microwave for a minute at a time.
If it thickens too much, a whisk and another tablespoon of milk will set it right.
If its too thin no dramas, it will thicken up in the oven and just mix in with the pasta bake anyway!
I’ve burn’t potatoes many a times and did you know you can buy white sauce in a jar and everyone tells me my Lasagne is delish. I’m lazy. Perhaps a little bored.
Mandy recently posted..Autumn Mobile Craft
Haha! I find the jar one a bit too tangy! Believe me, I tried to like it! The microwave white sauce only takes about 5 minutes and is pretty hard to stuff up, so if I can be bothered I’m happy to use that!
I’ll have to try that sausage bake soon looks tasty. I didn’t want to be a food blogger but I started my blog cause I kept forgetting recipes and my recipe cards kept getting lost or dirty. So I though hey the internet is the perfect place and quickest place to store my recipes. I’m no master chef. Far from it. I have also been known to burn food and we will still have to eat it cause I can’t be stuffed starting all over again and we don’t have money for take out.
My blog has turned in a different direction but I still post up my recipes. It’s easy for when I’m planning what I want to cook that week.
Salz recently posted..Leaving kids in the car
Yeah, I find that my blog has turned into my recipe book! Any recipe that I’m excited about or use heaps and heaps tends to go up here, so if I need a memory jogger it’s great to have a blog!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
Yum. Sausages are awesome. I’m not a crafter or a cooking genius, either – and amd always on the lookout for a quick, yum recipe with a high “stuff up” threshold! This looks perfect
Thanks for sharing!!
MsMandie recently posted..Let’s Get Physical (Reluctantly)
No worries! I hope you get some use out of it! Yes, nearly all my meals need a high “stuff up” threshold!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
I can cook pretty well, but I still like quick and easy things which I know the kids will eat. No use being a masterchef if your little food critics don’t like the menu (Mum – there is just not quite enough tomato sauce on the plate to go with these sausages).
Jo @Countrylifeexperiment recently posted..Our Winter Garden
LOL! Can you imagine how soul destroying it would be if they critiqued our food rather than just refusing it?
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
Daisy Finlay…you ARE so a cooking blogger now…look at you!!
My take on the burnt potatoes..you did what I do, and I get into sooooo much trouble for..walked away to do something else..”twitter/FB/Blog” and whooppsie “what’s that”
OH NO
Smoke Alarm is dead giveaway.
Your awesome capabilities are now out there, Ms Sausage Pasta Bake.
Thank goodness P washes up. You would be overwhelmed by this awesomeness as a cooking blogger…yeah? Oh, and I am here making what I think are witty comments from #TeamIbot where Jess has sub-contracted comments.
Denyse
Denyse Whelan recently posted..It’s JELLY BABY Month.
Hi Team Ibot! Thanks Denyse! Thankfully I got to the potatoes before the smoke alarm got set off!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
I’m so not a craft blogger either
Oven baking is my speciality too! After ravioli & tinned tomatoes of course. I kinda like the sound of your smokey mash. You might be on to something there xx
Nee recently posted..5 reasons why I will never be a food blogger
Haha Nee! I love that we were on the same page for ibot! Yes, we did ravioli last night! Latina should be my middle name!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
Wow, that tip about the sausages and the scissors is the BEST cooking tip I’ve read ever. LOVE it.
Kate @ Our Little Sins recently posted..Even optimists have bad days…
Seriously, I stole it from NIgella who I saw use scissors for chopping up bacon one time! Changed. My. Life!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
Wow, that tip about the sausages and the scissors is the BEST cooking tip I’ve read ever. LOVE it.
Kate @ Our Little Sins recently posted..Even optimists have bad days…
I love pasta so long as its tomato based and not creamy. It’s my absolute fave!
I don’t have a huge repotoire of meals, but what I can do I do well.
That spud story cracked me up!
Jess recently posted..Run for Your Life
Smoked mash is the new fig and walnut bread!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
I think laziness is not the problem here, but being easily distracted. I know that multi-tasking can save you a lot of time, especially on those moments that you are supposed to wait for the food to get done. However, if that doesn’t work for you, then stay focused on what you are cooking.
On another note, thanks for your recipe.
Klaus recently posted..scrubs for women
Seafood dishes are high in important dietary vitamins and minerals and an easy way to make dinner seem a little more special.
Laura recently posted..Balance – experience and tooth loss
Yummy! That sounds really delicious! I shouldn’t have read your post before dinner, I just got so hungry…
lelxandra recently posted..Bald gehen wir in Urlaub
Haha! Always the way!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
I have discovered this fabulous Scambled Tofu and mushroom recipe. It’s amazingly tasty and surprisingly healthy. Great for those days when my carnivore eating habits have gone into overdrive.
This looks absolutely delish, Daisy! I’m trying to master this whole baking/cooking/stirring a pot thing too. But this recipe ? I think I can actually do this one
Grace recently posted..Just like a prayer
Oh yum! THAT recipe sounds great!
Daisy recently posted..On sausage pasta bake being my specialty…
That actually looks like a recipe my wife makes. I’m gonna have her try yours and see which one we like more.
Rich recently posted..Costa Mesa dentist
Love this foods and I will add this recipe on my list. Indeed, right now I am listing it on my recipe list book so that I can be able to try to cook this one. Thanks for the method. I love reading your awesome experience in cooking.
Myka Aniston recently posted..ProExtender Review
I love sausage pasta. If I will do shopping in the supermarket, I will not miss this sausage. Sausage is my favorite.
Irish Sherks recently posted..You Are Sure To Be Impressed With The Results Of These Teeth Whitening Tips