You smell what I'm cookin'?

Well, we're finally starting to see signs of spring again here in sunny Leeds :) it's getting warmer, and hopefully we'll be seeing a bit more sunshine. Adam and I have a day off on Wed., so maybe we'll get out and enjoy the day, if we're lucky enough for the weather to cooperate. Last year we had quite a few random outings when the weather was nice, and it would be nice to have a chance to do that again.

So, I've been trying to do a bit more creative cooking lately, try some new things. Last week I had a hankering for pad Thai, like the dish that Adam had at the Thai place we went to for our anniversary. I didn't use proper rice noodles though, as I wanted bigger ones, so I subbed some tagliatelle instead, which worked out nicely. Some pad Thai sauce (thought the store-bought sauce was easier than getting all the ingredients to make my own)onto the egg-fried and seasoned noodles, and a stir-fry mix of bean sprouts and some other veg, and some prawns, and it really turned out perfect. Definitely one to try again often.

So, tonight's culinary adventures are taking us into the world of casseroles. Chicken parm casserole, to be specific. Found a recipe on Pinterest, and it gave me an idea to base mine on. I never follow recipes exactly, I just use them as a guide, changing ingredients and sometimes cooking methods as well to suit my preferences. I diced the chicken breasts (about 550g) and coated them in egg and breadcrumbs, seasoned with garlic and basil and parmesan. Threw on mushrooms and onions. When it's ready to go in the oven, I'll add a jar of pasta sauce, cook for 30 min. on 175 C, then take it out to add the mozzarella and cook for maybe another 30 min. or so. Since my recipe uses a smaller portion than the original recipe called for, it may need less time, we'll see how it turns out. Hopefully it'll be awesome.