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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Cheezy Baked Pasta





I did this in 2 variations, tomato sauce and béchamel sauce. It was my first attempt at making béchamel sauce, and it was easy and tasty!!

I first tasted béchamel sauce at Pizza Hut when they had this Baked Chicken Spirals few years back, and I tot making béchamel sauce was difficult… no it wasn’t. It’s much much easier that I thought.

What u need to make 3 portions:

200gm pasta of choice (macaroni, spirals or whatever short pastas)
- Boil pasta according to instructions together with some salt. Drain and rinse with some cold water to prevent sticking.

Chicken
- 300gm chicken thigh meat marinated with ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 1 Tbsp honey abd 1/3 tsp ground oregano. Marinate for 1 hour and fry in a bit of oil until chicken is browned.



Bechamel Sauce
- In a saucepan, on medium heat, heat 2 heaped Tbsp butter (abt 30gm) until butter starts foaming, put in 2 Tbsp flour and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Put in 2 cups of milk and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Season with ½ teaspoon of salt. Remove from heat.

Tomato Based pasta sauce
- Any brand of bottled sauce that u like.

Toppings:
Baby tomatoes, Capsicums, onions, mushrooms, and 250gm mozzarella (sliced or grated, as u like)

Assembly:
Divide cooked pasta into 3 portions into foil pans, or any bakeware u prefer.
Put in enough sauce to cover. Put some chicken and preferred vege, and lastly top with cheese.
Grill pasta until cheese melts and turns golden brown.









Yummy and so so cheesy.........



Half eaten.... half to go.........



Verdict: With Mike and me both being cheeseheads, we love the bechemel version...
Yummy!!!!!






14 comments:

  1. ...that's y i love your blog...step by step with pics...made for idiot cooks just like me!
    pity my in-laws r not into gwai-loh's food, if not i'll certainly try this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hmm. yum yum yum! it is my first time to visit your blog. it's me! mary anne... we are friends on facebook because of restaurant city... hope you recognize me.

    anyway, this is a cool idea! i have been looking for new recipes and this one seems pretty delicious and easy to follow. my boyfriend will love the one with bechamel sauce and i will surely try that one day soon.

    thanks a lot! hugs!

    by the way, i am now following your blog, too.

    maxi/mary anne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melody: I really had u in mind when I posted this, cos u asked me b4 whether I ahve any recipes for u to make with ur toaster oven. This is one of those that u can try.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Zeta: Thanks

    Maryanne: Oh yes I know who u are. :)
    Thanks for following my blog. Let me know how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. These dishes look perfect! I love making bÉchamel.

    ReplyDelete
  6. hi, can i know how long it roughly takes to grill in the oven ya?

    SY

    ReplyDelete
  7. SY,
    Depends...
    Some oven presets the temperature at 220C, some at 240C, some is up to you to set.
    Maybe 5 maybe 10? As long as the cheese melts and turns golden. No need to preheat oven, just put it in, near the upper heating elements, turn on to 220 or 240C and watch it melt and turn golden. Won't take too long.

    ReplyDelete
  8. hi,
    Does the chicken need to be fully cooked?

    EL

    ReplyDelete
  9. EL,
    the chicken are in small pieces, that browning will cook it through. Important is to get that browning, if not the chicken won't smell good.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I've tried this recipe for dinner tonight.It's delicious...but, while preparing the bechamel sauce,lumps formed, and not smooth. Also, I didn't precook the onion, so the onion was abit raw...

    EL

    ReplyDelete
  11. EL,
    Use a whisk and add the milk gradually as you whisk

    ReplyDelete

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