Creamy Potato Bake

What is there not to love when a dish consists of carbs aka potatoes, half a tub of cream cheese and two rashers of bacon? Rather than calling this potato bake,  I would describe this as more of a baked potato that has been pureed with some milk and an egg, or a fancy mashed potato.  Whatever you want to call it, you have to try it, whether you are in need of some comfort food or you like carbs (like me!).

The onion, bacon and cream cheese mix tastes good on its own, like a chunky dip.  I was ready to hunt down some crackers but then I remember the potatoes.  Sigh, sometimes life is tough.  ;)

Creamy Potato Bake (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly)
Ingredients
500g potatoes
30g butter
1/4 cup milk
125g cream cheese
1 onion
1 egg
salt, pepper to taste
chopped chives for garnish (optional)
2 rashers of bacon
1 clove of garlic

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes.  Boil the potatoes until tender and drain.  Mash the potatoes with the milk and half the butter.
2. Finely chop the onion and bacon, and mince the garlic.  Start to saute the bacon until some of the fat renders out, add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly.  Add the garlic and cook until most of the onion is tender.  
3. Beat the cheese until soft, then beat in the egg.  Beat in the onion, bacon, salt and pepper. Stir this mixture into the mashed potatoes.
4. Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish.  Dab the remaining butter onto the top.  Bake in a 200°C oven for 25 minutes or until the top starts to brown.  Garnish with some chopped chives.
5. Eat with gusto.

Broccoli with lemon sauce

I'm not sure about teaming lemon sauce with broccoli. I googled this dubious combination and I do get hits for it though. I see this is another dish that I was missing out on while growing up.

Awwful Dinner #1 - Part 1

Hello, hello, hello, this is Mary here.   This is the first post for me too.  :D  I will be occasionally posting about recipes that we have made and eaten (or attempted to). Occasionally because there is only so much 'vintage' food I can handle per week, I would say my limit is 0.8 vintage meals per week.

This second roadtest of AWW recipes puts to the test THREE AWW recipes.  Ambitious?  Yes.  Without further ado, I introduce to you Awwful Food's first Awwful Dinner.  The epicness of this feast will be split into three parts.  Here I introduce you to Part 1 - the Vegetable Rice Ring.  May your appetite be whetted or destroyed, and may Worcestershire sauce be your new soy sauce.  




The directions for this recipe were strange.  I have never cooked rice in boiling salted water and then drained it.  Don't pretend it's pasta.  Also, "moderate oven" is not a specification of heat.

The final result was cheesy (good) and a little soggy (bad).  Onions don't grate well, onion juice sprays everywhere resulting in a crying Mary, so to spare you the pain I would suggest you use a food processor, finely chop it or just omit it.  Overall, this is edible and is actually nice.  Try it, I dare you.
 

Vegetable Rice Ring (adapted from Australian Women's Weekly)
Serves 4 as a main dish
Ingredients
3/4 cup long grain rice
1 onion, grated
2 medium carrots, grated
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125g cheese, grated
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
packaged dry breadcrumbs

1. Cook rice according to the directions on the packet.  Let the rice cool until it is warm.
2. In a bowl, combine the vegetables, rice, eggs, cheese, fresh breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, parsley, milk and the Worcestershire sauce.  Mix until it is well combined.
3. Grease and line a 20cm cake ring or a medium loaf tin (255 x 145 x 60mm or thereabouts).
4. Sprinkle the bottom with dry breadcrumbs to help absorb the liquids from the vegetables.
5. Bake in a 180°C oven for 45-50 minutes until the top is dry looking and starting to brown a little.  Serve this as a side dish or top with cheese sauce and serve as a main dish.  

Admire my baking tin lining skills.