It is day two of birthday week!

As I mentioned my big baby (husband) is turning 40 this week and as such gets to choose all of the dinners.

Last night’s curry udon noodles were terrific. The peanuts on top are a must and the end squeeze of lime really finished them off. I will jack-up the heat in the next batch but otherwise they were great. I think this might be one of my favourite new ways to use leftover chicken. My biggest surprise though was the babes ate as many noodles as I did. She sat in her highchair (normally not a favourite place) and sucked noodles into her mouth for almost an hour. This is the first time she’s really been into any sort of pasta as she’s usually my carnivore girl.

Admittedly, I do ~~most~~ all of the cooking. I like to. I like the planning and I like the total change in thinking space that it gives me after working all day. My mother-in-law (gesh, we miss her so much still) had a very clever scheme going when my husband was growing-up. Everyone in the house made dinner one night a week. It didn’t matter what you made or how complicated it was, everyone sat down and was grateful for it. This is especially amazing considering my husband’s age when he started to contribute. They had quite a few Wednesday’s of boiled hotdogs and canned beans. I remember Jeanne telling me that she had had him all trained for me but then I spoiled him. It’s likely, slightly true but he is also pretty useful in other ways.

So tonight is not going to be boiled hotdogs and canned beans but will instead be all about pierogie lasagne.

When I first moved to Ottawa I had a roommate who was existing on Pizza Hut pizza, between the sheer awfullness of it and the expense I suggested that he just chip-in funds for groceries and I would take over the cooking. The future husband and I were seeing each other often by then and a dish that my roommate and he would ask for again and again was pierogie lasagne. I don’t know why but I haven’t made it in a lot of years but it was on the request list this week. I also have no idea where I originally got this recipe. It’s on a messy recipe card but with no source AND lasagne is INCORRECTLY spelled!

I’ve lightened the recipe with a layer of cottage cheese but for the hardcore carb lovers out there you can ignore that layer and let it be all about the potatoes. Why not go whole hog (pardon the pun) and have grilled sausages to go with this. So that you don’t totally feel guilty-make a bit of salad on the side that noone will eat. Make sure that you schedule some nap time that this carb overload will induce.

I actually made two pans and took one to work for a lady who is on her way to South Korea to pick-up her new son. HOW exciting! I can hardly wait to meet this new addition to our work family and am so happy for this little guy to have lucked-into such great parents. Adoption always seems like such a special way to get a child. It’s almost like all of us end-up with our lovely kiddoes by a master plan and sometimes it just takes more paperwork to get them.

1) Boil and mash two large potatoes with 2 T. of milk and 1 cup of sharp cheddar.
2) Mix: dash of dill, 2 cups cottage cheese, 1 egg and 1 cup onion.
3) In a 9×11 pan, start layering: lasagne noodles (I actually used dry and just added a bit of water to the whole pan while it cooked in the oven. Fresh noodles are also really great for this), cottage cheese mixture, noodles, potatoes, noodles and a healthy (ie thick) layer of shredded, cheddar cheese.