Slow day...

This is how I am feeling today. Can't be bothered doing much so hopefully I will just potter around - there's washing to be done, still some Christmas to put away and maybe some baking for Kirby. We were supposed to go camping in Ruby to the beach but we had rain this morning and that isn't fun for camping. It's quite warm outside but dull and overcast.
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I am quite proud of how I have kept my linen cupboard de-cluttered. This pic was taken on
Jan 2, 2011 after I had a really good clean up.
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Twelve months later (Jan 4, 2012) and it is still in pretty good order. I reckon I could spend 15 minutes and have it de-cluttered again. I don't know why, but I collect empty boxes that things come in. I never use them, I just store them! Weird!
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Thursday night I made a delicious beef lasagne. It was from the Readers Digest site and claimed it was the 'healthiest ever lasagne'. I wouldn't go that far but it was good and certainly not too fat laden.
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Healthy Lasagne
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
350gms lean minced beef
150gms button mushrooms, chopped
300mls salt reduced beef stock
150 mls red wine
400gm can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano or mixed herbs
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Instant lasagne sheets
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used a bit more)
crack of salt and pepper
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White sauce - 1/4 cup cornflour
600mls low fat milk
pinch grated nutmeg

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Saute onion in oil for 5 minutes, add carrots, celery and garlic and cook, stirring, for further 5 minutes until onion softens and begins to colour.
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Turn up heat and add in beef mince, browning it and breaking up lumps with wooden spoon. Add in mushrooms and cook for one minute.
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Add in the stock, wine, tomatoes and tomato paste and dried herbs and stir together. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
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Put all ingredients for white sauce in small saucepan and stir on low heat until it thickens. Cook off for 2 minutes.
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Spoon a small amount of sauce into a lasagne dish, top with lasagne sheets then add more sauce, a little grated cheese and some white sauce, top with lasagne sheet and repeat until the top layer has meat sauce, white sauce and cheese. Sprinkle with cheese.
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This really was delicious as the red wine gives it a rich flavour. We served ours with a tossed salad.
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We had beef curry last night which I featured here. It was just as good - a real no fail recipe. I packaged up the leftovers for Kirby and froze them.

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Catchya later - Joolz