My Japanese wooden Rice Mold, goes to Jugalbadi's ever popular visual candy event "CLICK-WOOD".
Pasta with roasted Bell pepper, Artichoke hearts and Tomato, goes to Soma of "ecurry" who is guest hosting "Hay Hay, it's Donna's day #26" event. Roma has chosen Donna Hay's this recipe for us to try. This event's original host is Bron Marshall.
Mac and cheese with Italian sausage, goes to Srivalli of "Cooking for 4 all seasons", who is guest hosting "Monthly Mingle" this month with "Kids lunches" as a theme and Meeta started this MM event. Thanks to all hosts, enjoy! :)
Macaroni and cheese with Italian sausage casserole, also goes to Aquadaze of "Served with love", who is guest hosting this month's "Presto Pasta Nights #106", an event started by Ruth of "Once upon a feast".
Japanese Rice mould/mold:
Any kind of "mould" in India is called "Mold" here in USA, just like "colour" and "color" etc, just a little clarification about the spelling! :D
This beautiful Japanese rice mold is specially designed to pour and serve the sauce in the center. Spoon the cooked rice into the mold, press gently to fill the gaps, place on a serving plate and tap gently to release the rice. Pour any sauce into the middle of the rice and serve. I had made Egg butter masala, placed an egg in the center of the mold.
Another "clear" look:
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Chicken and Capsicum Pasta recipe is the choice of Soma's who is hosting "Hay Hay, it's Donna's day" from Donna Hay's blog. Although I followed the original recipe mostly, I had to make this with Artichoke Hearts with lots of fresh herbs from my herb pots since I made Butter chicken for kids few days ago and ran out of Chicken! So here is my chicken less version;
Artichoke Hearts and roasted Bell Peppers Farfalle Pasta!
Another look:
Here is how I made it:1. Cooked Butterfly/Farfalle Pasta al-Dente, drained and added to a bowl.
2. Roasted green and red Bell peppers, few Tomato slices, drained canned Artichoke Hearts, cooled them for 10mins.
3. Mixed Pasta, roasted veggies, 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, few slices of bottled Vinegary Jalapenos, 2 tbsp mixed fresh herbs like Basil, Oregano, Thyme and Parsley along with Donna's dressing and VOILA!!
Beautiful Pasta is ready to dig in. Enjoy! :)
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Everybody's favorite food, Macaroni and cheese with sweet Italian Sausage:
My kids always like to have Mac and cheese whenever my husband doesn't come home for dinner and I don't feel like cooking! Usually kids like to add add chopped up Hot dogs for a quick version, I had some Italian sausage this time to add to this Nac and Cheese. You can make plain Mac and cheese without adding anything or may be some veggies to make it healthier. I made a Casserole of Mac and cheese with crunchy Panko breadcrumbs on top!
Macaroni and Cheese with Italian sausage Casserole:
Here is how to make Mac and cheese Casserole:Preheat the oven at 350F to bake this casserole for 30-40mins.
Pasta:
Boil water, add 2 cups of dry Elbow Macaroni with some salt and 1 tsp oil until almost done, drain and pour it in a casserole dish.
Sausage:
Cut up Hot dog if you using those or take out and crumble Italian sausage links out of it's skin and saute the sausage for a while in a pan until light brown and set aside to add this to the sauce later)
For cheese sauce:
1. Heat a non-stick pan, add 2tbsp olive oil or butter, add 2 tbsp plain flour, stir fry until slightly golden or until flour is cooked. Now pour in about 2 1/4 cups of milk, gently heat.
2. When sauce is hot, grate a Nutmeg to add few pinches, sausage and take the sauce off of the heat. Add 1 tsp yellow ground Mustard, 1 cup of grated Cheddar cheese and stir gently and quickly until cheese dissolves. Add some pepper and salt if needed. I added 1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 tsp each of mixed spices and herbs.
3. Pour this sauce over the Macaroni, sprinkle some Parmesan and 1/4 cup seasoned Panko (or Italian) breadcrumbs on top and bake for 30 to 40mins until sauce is thickish.
Sauce thickens as the caserrole cools, so don't bake until Pasta and sauce is very dry. To get some color on the breadcrumbs, I broiled/grilled for 5 mins or just until crumbs get golden. DO NOT burn the crumbs!
You can Microwave this dish too to make it faster, bread crumbs will be whitish but it's quite tasty to eat anyway.
Enjoy, see you next time! :)
