Tuna and pasta bake

2 big spoons margarine                               big pot

½ cup flour                                                   strainer

¾ cup grated cheese                                   small pot

One 250 gram can of tuna                          spoon for stirring

5 hand full’s of pasta                                    can opener

Milk

In the big pot on high heat, heat up the water which you’ve added the water from the tuna can and throw in at least 5 handfuls of pasta the pasta will cook while you are making the sauce.

 To make the sauce place flour and margarine in the smaller saucepan,

heat on low till marg is melted, stir into four and add milk slowly while stirring, you may want to turn up the heat slightly as you want this to thicken up a little first before you add cheese.

Add cheese and keep stirring , stir till your hand is sore and cheese is melted.

Add in the drained tuna and mix it in.

Remove sauce from heat before you drain pasta or it WILL stick.

By this time pasta will be cooked,

drain pasta off over the sink and put the drained pasta into an oven proof

 casserole dish

pour your sauce over the top of the pasta.

Bake in oven at around 200 or so for 15-20 minutes to brown

Serve with tomato sauce !

You can use a packet of cheese sauce if you like but you’ll still have to cook  it on the stove in order for it to thicken up

I added bacon to this one as we just happened to have some already cooked, you can add mushrooms canned (drained) or fresh or corn if you like those.

I use homebrand canned and milk, its cheap and tastes the same as name brand.

Some may say I cook pasta wrong I don’t cook it wrong I cook it differently, two handfuls per person and one for extra, thrown into warm water and brought up to the boil.

I don’t use salt either, never use it in cooking let folks assault their own food, less salt is better for you anyway. 

Tortellini(s) with Italian Sausage & Spinach

This comes to you via
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who will be posting on her own here on Tastebuds very soon.

When I think of
comfort foods, many come to mind... too many to name. Truth be told, my number
one go to comfort food when in a time of need is Hungry Jack Mashed
Potatoes.

Also on my list of
comfort foods would have to be most Italian dishes... one being tortellini(s). I
never knew if that "s" should be at the end but I have a habit of pronouncing it
with it on there.

Back to the
tortelline(s)... today I bring you: Tortellini(s) with Italian Sausage &
Spinach.

Unless you are
going to make your tortellini(s) from scratch, I suggest you use Barilla. They
have a very homemade, classic taste & come in several varieties... I prefer
the Cheese & Spinach.

Next comes the
sauce. Again I am going to stress, if you are not going to make your sauce from
scratch, I suggest Bertolli sauces. I sometimes make my own sauces, & on the
Italian side it is customary to make sauces homemade, but when I do not have the
time to make my own, I choose Bertolli all the way. It's perfectly made &
you do not have to add anything to it like "other" store bought
sauces.

I personally keep
several jars, of several different varieties in my food pantry at all
times.

Now that we have
established that, it's on to browning the sausage. I use a mild Italian
sausage.

After the sausage
is browned thouroly, add fresh spinach. Only add a handful at a time & allow
it to wilt down before adding the next handful. This takes only about 10
seconds so keep your eyes on it at all times.

Now it's time to
add the sauce. I used the Bertolli Vadilla Onion Sauce.

Allow the sausage
& spinach to simmer in the sauce on low. While that is simmering, begin to
boil the tortellini(s). This take aprox. 8 - 10 minutes.

The tortellini(s)
should be prepared el dante (delicate). Drain, but DO NOT rinse. After draining,
place the tortellini(s) back into the empty, warm / hot pot that you boiled it
in.

Now it's time to
pull out that fabulous pasta dish set from Pottery Barn, that is just perfect
for the occasion.

Serve the sausage,
spinach & sauce over the tortellini(s) with a slice of garlic
bread.

White Sauce

White sauce was the first thing I ever did in the kitchen, standing on top of the kitchen stool at 5 years old I stood and stirred the sauce on top of the stove
Didn't actually make it myself till much later but the stirring is the important part, you have to stir it constantly or it sticks
White sauce is a basic thing its the things you add that make the different sauces
If you want to make Macaroni Cheese add cheese
Or parsley sauce add parsley
Or go fancy french like here, just add the different things

Basic White Sauce
2 Big spoons of plain flour
1 Big spoon of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of milk (may need a little more than that, it depends on how big your spoon is)

Place margarine and flour in saucepan on low heat, stir till margaine is melted, slowly add milk while stirring constantly keep stirring over low heat till sauce is consistency of condensed milk

Thats it, that is all white sause is the same sauce that you use in a fancy chicken dish or on the macaroni cheese or over the roast dinner
Or like my favorite parsley sauce and sardines on toast