Olive and Fennel Pasta with Turkey

I was going to make hamburgs for dinner last night, but then I saw nice olives on sale. I would have put the olives in the hamburgs, but then I found some nice fennel and turkey drumsticks.

In a big pan or pot:
1 tsp oil
brown the drumsticks
1 1/2- 2 onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 large carrots chopped small
1/2 cup chopped turnip or swede
1 bulb of fennel (save the tops)
1 cup chopped olives
Cook the veg down for about 5min.
Add 1 can of tomatoes and water to cover.
Salt, pepper, dried herbs (oregano, basil, parsley) and 1 tsp of smoked paprika.
Cook for 15 min or until the turkey done.
Top with fresh parsley and the fennel tops.

With so much nice veg in the sauce, pasta is optional. We had tagliatelle and it was yummy!

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Veg.

This is the story of two kinds of canned milk and how never ever to use them.

What happens if you make Key Lime pie with evaporated milk when your recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk? A friend of mine tried it yesterday and sadly it did not come out well. Too bad, because that person (who is still nameless) makes great pie!



It got me thinking about evaporated milk. My whole life there has been an opened can in my parents frig waiting for my father's morning cup of coffee. What I just learned is that his 'can milk' habit was inhered from his mother. My Grandma puts it in coffee, mash, mac and cheese and just about everything else she makes. What if one day I stared to cook with it? Maybe I would use cream of mushroom soup or broccoli and cheese too! Worried about my fate I decided to make an anti-can pasta bake.



Take:

1 leek sliced
2 cups mushrooms sliced
2 chicken breast (optional)
2 bay leaves
fresh thyme

Cook until the mushrooms stop giving off water.

Add:

1 broccoli crown chopped

Cook for 3 more min. Remove the veg and return the pan back the heat and start the rue.

Rue:
Add
2 Tbs butter into the pan and let melt
Then
2 Tbs flour stir into the butter for about 1 min
Finish with
2 cups of milk stirring until thick ( I also added mustard and nutmeg at this point)

Salt and Pepper

Mix:

Everything together with 3 cups cooked pasta. Top with cheese and into the oven (200c) for 20 min.