Sorry for the lack of a post yesterday! I was spending the day with my parents and seeing one of my best friends.
I had a lovely, relaxing day. Although it still feels so bizarre that I don’t have any Uni work to do. I know it starts back up again next week, but when I’m sat on the sofa, I’m like Surely I should be doing something else…!
It is lovely to have some time to myself though. I can catch up on all of my TV programmes (Thank God for Sky+) and just veg out on the sofa. I’m also having a pyjama day today!! Not had one in so long!
I’ve been able to get back into the kitchen as well, which makes me so happy. It’s times like these which make me even more sure that baking is what I want to do in life, I’m so relaxed, calm and happy in the kitchen, I usually have a million things going on in the kitchen, which strangely doesn’t stress me out, I just love it.
Ever look at something and say to yourself “I must not forget that” and then you get somewhere and you’ve forgotten that thing? Yep, that happened yesterday. I was sat on the sofa looking at my Granddad’s birthday present and I kept looking at it saying I must put that in my bag so I don’t forget it…
Got to my parents then realised I’d forgotten it. Brilliant.
We’re going for a meal this weekend with my parents which I’m so looking forward to. We’re going to Miller and Carter. I know it’s a steakhouse and I don’t eat steak, but their onion loaf is to die for and they also do this barbecue chicken breast with Provolone and chips. I’m drooling just thinking about it!
Hopefully I’ll remember my Granddad’s present…
I’ve wanted to make Spinach and Ricotta stuffed cannelloni for ages. I had it at my cousins Christening and it was delicious so I just knew we had to have it for dinner. It’s lovely and simple to make, bar making the sauce, (you could use store-bought) you just have to put it in the oven and leave it to do its thing!
Serves 2
Recipe by Annie
Ingredients for the sauce:
> A little vegetable oil (about 1tsp)
> 1 garlic clove, sliced thinly
> One 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
> 1/2tsp Italian Seasoning
> Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for the Cannelloni:
> 250g bag of Spinach
> 250g tub of Ricotta
> 1 egg
> 2tbsp grated parmesan cheese
> 12 -14 Cannelloni tubes
> Grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Method:
> Make the sauce first so it has time to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C.
> Place the oil into a large saucepan or wok and place over a medium heat. Once the oil is hot add in the garlic and sauté for a minute.
> Add in the chopped tomatoes and Italian seasoning and mix everything together. Season to taste.
> Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook until the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes.
> Take the sauce off the heat and leave to one side whilst you make the filling.
> Place the spinach in a colander and pour boiling water over to wilt the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, squeeze the excess water out.
> In a medium sized bowl, place the ricotta, egg and parmesan and mix together. Add in the wilted spinach and mix until well combined.
> Now to fill the tubes, I found the best way was to use a piping bag without a nozzle. You could also use a ziploc bag with the corner cut off or spoon it in. I tried to spoon the filling in at first, but it really didn’t work for me… I filled the piping bag to about halfway and then piped filling into each tube. Place the filled tubes into either a pyrex or ceramic roasting dish. Mine was about 30 x 20cm. I had to double up my tubes in layers, so I’d probably use a bigger dish next time.
> Once all the tubes are filled, pour the tomato sauce all over and then sprinkle parmesan on top.
> Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cannelloni is soft, it’s piping hot all the way through and the parmesan has melted and turned golden brown.
> Serve immediately, we had it alone, but you could serve it with a salad.
> Enjoy 🙂
Entered into What’s Cookin’ Wednesday at Buns In My Oven, Thursday’s Treasures at Recipes For My Boys and Foodie Friends Friday
