Family meals from the pantry

I love having a variety of meals I can make quickly using what I have in the pantry and garden. This is an old standby that I make every month or so - salmon mornay. I grew up eating this, although in those days it was considered a sophisticated and fairly expensive meal, even though it's made on tinned salmon. I remember loving this when I was a child, so I think it might be a good meal to encourage children to eat more fish, which is always a good idea.

TO MAKE THE SAUCE
2 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons plain (all purpose) flour
salt and pepper to taste
1½ cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan over heat and add the flour, salt and pepper. Mix together into a paste. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the milk, stirring while you do it. Keep stirring to prevent lumps forming. Place the pan back on the heat and when you have a nice smooth sauce, add the cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted and take off the heat.

In a large bowl, add...

1½ cups of cooked brown rice.

I always use brown rice in savoury dishes. It has a delicious nutty flavour and is much more nutritious than white rice. Even if your children don't like brown rice (or have never eaten it before) put it in because when this meal is cooked they won't be able to tell if it's white or brown. I used to sneak in all sorts of food into these dishes when my sons where small boys. It helped them develop the taste for good food without us arguing over what they should eat. I think there is a lot to be said for camouflage. BTW, both my sons are now fine dining chefs.
1 finely chopped onion, 2 finely diced sticks of celery, ½ capsicum (bell pepper) already cooked in a little olive oil
1 cup corn
1 tin of red or pink salmon 415 grams/16ozs
a few sprigs of finely chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all this together then add the cheese sauce and mix in. Pour into a greased baking tray and smooth down the top, sprinkle over about ½ cup cheese and bake in a moderate 180C/350F until the top is golden and bubbling.

Serve with a nice fresh salad from the garden. The recommendation now is to eat five serves of vegetables every day. This dish has the five vegetables (onion, corn, celery, parsley and capsicum), adding the salad is extra for that day - which is always a good option.

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