Today I ate far more than I needed to at a food party at my Thursday lunch group.

However, I had the sausages out for dinner so I made the planned casserole. It was quite tasty, but I think it might need a few tweaks.

Unfortunately, the rice ‘caught’ a little on the bottom of the pan, so I think I shouldn’t be making it in a cast iron Dutch oven in the future. Also, it was a touch ‘gluggy.’ Perhaps if I were to sauté the rice before adding the liquid?

I think it would also be a good idea to add a can of chick peas to any future editions of the dish, just to add a bit of texture.

However, again we have leftovers for future nights. I’ve used almost all the jasmine rice that I bought last week, so that’s been added to the shopping list for next time.

We have a Winter Solstice Pot Luck to attend on Saturday night, and I’ve decided to take a Shepherd’s Pie. The mince has been released from the freezer and I’ve got some of my favourite tiny brown lentils soaking at the moment.

I like to add these to meat sauces to both help them ‘stretch’ a little, and to increase the fibre content of the dish.

Tomorrow, I’ll make up the meat sauce. Then, on Saturday afternoon, I’ll cook the potatoes and assemble the dish.

I will not be cooking dinner tomorrow night. It will be a “shop the fridge” night all round.

ttfn