Mum's Cannelloni
Is it just me or do none of your family members comment on your blog as well? I know they read it but no matter how much I bribe (“I’ll give you some cookies that I baked in exchange for a comment”) or beg (“please, please leave a comment”) – still no comment.
It would probably be particularly difficult for my Mum who, to put in mildly, is technologically challenged.
When my Dad taught her to send e-mail he had written VERY detailed instructions which went something like this:
Step 1 : Turn on computer
Step 2: Go to “icon” that has a picture of envelope and says E-mail and “double click”
Step 3: To send a message click on New on the upper left hand corner of the computer screen
…all the way to…
Step 12: To close your E-mail, click on the white X surrounded by a red square on the upper right hand corner of the computer screen
Step 13: Go to lower left hand corner of the computer screen and click the windows icon
Step 14: Find the arrow to click “shut down”
We were so proud of her when we started receiving e-mails. She had finally joined the 21st century!
It was only months later that we discovered that for each and every email she sent out – she would actually follow step one to fourteen. So for instance if she wanted to send three different emails out in one sitting – she would have to turn on the computer three times and turn it off three times as well!
So believe me, teaching her to leave a comment on this blog was another milestone! I told her that at least she only has to do it ONLY once for every post! 🙂
It’s a good thing that Mum’s much better at cooking than computers. As she is here from the Philippines for a short vacation, I am making the most of her time here by asking her to teach me some dishes. Tonight she taught me to make her take on the Cannelloni, or what she calls Canelones in Spanish. No one in my family can resist this dish. It’s made of chicken, mushrooms, chorizo, and smothered in a rich bechamel sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese…
Yes… I know.
I’m very lucky!
Cannelloni smothered in a rich bechamel sauce
Recipe
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 pieces of chorizo, chopped
- 500 grams boneless chicken thighs, boiled and chopped (leftover roast chicken can be used in a pinch)
- 1 handful of mushrooms, chopped
- 1 jar (400 grams) of your favourite tomato based pasta sauce (we used Barilla)
- 1 box cannelloni pasta
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bechamel Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- Cook the cannelloni as per instructions on the box. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan and saute the onions, then add the chorizo and brown them
- Next, add the chicken, then the mushrooms and cook until the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated
- Add the tomato sauce and allow to simmer for 25 to 30 minutes
- Season with salt and pepper
- Allow to cool to room temperature
To make the Bechamel
- In a saucepan, melt the butter, once this has melted, add the flour
- Slowly add the milk, incorporating this into the butter and flour mixture a little at a time
- Cook out the mixture for around 5 minutes over low heat, making sure to stir constantly to ensure that the bottom does not “catch”
- Add the 1 cup of mozzarella cheese to the mixture and set aside.
To assemble
- Fill each cannelloni with the chicken mixture and lay these on a baking dish
- Top with bechamel sauce
- Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese
- Bake in a 180 c fan forced oven for 30 minutes
- Garnish with parsley (optional)
Thanks for dinner Mum! It was lovely. 🙂
Trissalicious 
Im thankful for the blog post.Thanks Again. Excellent.
Ha ha ha, I love your story! Your mum is great, not only she obviously cooks wonderfully but she also leaves comments on your blog, brilliant! 😉 I have to learn my mom to do it.
Love how you mom turned on the computer each time. That’s classic! I was sure I was going to see condensed milk from a can in this recipe, but it uses real milk. LOL.
[…] smoothly Saturday morning as my Mum and I prepared breakfast. There was some debate with the Blog Monster as to how this dish was really […]
[LOL] No one in my family ever comments on my blog even though they swear they read it regularly! My mom picked up on e-mailing fairly well but she’s more of a texting fiend – the keys on her cellphone are all worn out. You and your mother must be having a wonderful time cooking together, judging by this delightful cannelloni!
Cannelloni looks sooo yummmy!!!
That is too funny! My parents are much more tech-savvy, sometimes they even show me things (although that is few and far between). My grandma though, would definitely need those instructions. She doesn’t own a computer and surely wouldn’t know what to do with one =D. Love the cannelloni my dear!
also love the humour in your blog….but be easy on my BFF
Uy, be careful Tris, mom might start her own blog!!!
Had this the other night – super yum!
[…] think I may have created a blog monster. Ever since I posted my Mum’s Canelones recipe and taught her to comment, she’s been very enthusiastic to say the least, about this little […]
I’m amused by your story about your mom. Both my parents are about 80 years old….easier to call them. I have still not managed to get my eldest sister on the internet. Her children have not succeeded in teaching her yet. Yet, she has a new laptop! I suppose she just wants what others have 😀 I agree with you that family members and even non-blogger friends do not leave comments no matter how you try to persuade them but they they say they enjoy reading my posts…strange I thought…hmmm.
Love your cannelloni dish. My children would love this. I learned it in a cooking course called ‘Can’t Cook But Want To Cook’…interesting name I thought. My children loved it very much. I should cook it again. Thanks for sharing.
Hello
Wow this is really a cute and innocent story of your mother.I like it very much.Well in my case my mother knows all technology very well.I like your Cannelloni smothered in a rich bechamel sauce recipe.Thanks for this nice post.
Oh my, the cannelloni looks so yummy! Your mum sounds adorable! I’ve got both my parents onto Gmail and SMS but i’m holding off on introducing them to Google Wave! hehe 😉
hahaha! i could just imagine your mom doing that step-by-step email thingy. and i bet your tita chi would do the same. i just had lunch with her the other day, btw 🙂
happy new year!
Actually, your mom is much more technologically advanced than my dad…. My dad has never opened a computer.
By the way, your cannelloni sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow – SOLD – that is our dinner sunday night. Thank you! and Thanks to your mum!
oh wow that lasagne looks heart clotting lols
no one in my family coments, but it hink my little sister reads it from time to time
and i know how u feel abt moms and technology /sigh
Fabulous recipe! I love cannelloni- everything good in this recipe and mozzarella too.
Good for your mother- she makes the effort!
And I agree- my family members NEVER comment. In fact, I posted my sister’s soup recipe today and actually emailed her to tell her to look AND gave her the URL.
Honestly!
O that was such a funny story! I could almost see your mom turning of that computer for every single email… 🙂 My mom would probably do the same though; my dad does all the computer work and he prints out stuff that she would like to read… They also never comment on my blog, which probably is also partially due to the fact that their English is well… not so good! I think my dad commented once on my Dutch blog when he had to read that I passed the photography school… oops, forgot to mention it!
This dish looks totally and I mean, totally, delicious! I love cannelloni, so thanks to your mum for teaching you the recipe so I can copy it… 🙂
PS. I noticed she has commented now!
What a delicious-sounding dish. And that’s such a cute story about your Mum – surely she must have wondered how this thing called “the internet” was faster than a letter. lol
Oh my goodness, this looks positively splendid. I would love some of this, perfect for a cold day like today.
*kisses* HH
Wow that looks so delicious!! I think its cute that you taught your mom how to comment! My mom usually just leaves me comments reminding to call her more often!
It’s good to have your mom with you Trissa. I hope to meet her one day. Love the recipe.
Oh, Triss,
Your mum is so blessed that her family has such patience of teaching her computer. And you’re so lucky to have her cook you yummy dishes!
Triss,
It was great doing the step by step canalones with you…. More to come folks. I m here for another 18 days just hold on…. Mom
Mmm that looks and sounds so good! I want it for dinner!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,….I do get comments from my family members. My mom & dad even give comments on the foodblog!!
This dish looks superb, I think!!
MMMMMM,….
Awww, aren’t mums just the best?!
My futile attempts to lose weight over the past 10 years have been nil. I just don’t try period. My only gauge to eat less (not stop) are my jeans. There is always an abundance of food from both sides of the family and I believe life is too short to skim on the good (although bad) stuff. But I have made a conscious effort to start going to the gym which started this morning. I had a BLT Sandwich for brunch and told myself that I would eat healthy tonight. Then, I open your email… Salivating by reading the recipe.
We, from the Old World, are techno- challenged!
I still have not learned how to make the DVD work!!!
But I love the computer… And I love your blog, Trissa.
Buen provecho!
The canalones looks delicious!
Please, may I have more?
Mums are just hilarious. My mum is pretty computer savvy. She goes on eBay and post comments on blogs ehehhehehe. Your mum is an unbelievable cook Trissa and she has certainly passed a lot of those skills on to you.
This dish looks so good. So lucky that you mum can cook. And my mum reads my blog but never comment. It is ok but she will text or msn me though…. heh
Looks really yummy. Well done. Mum-recipes are always so good.
Hehe those detailed instructions remind me of when my mum was trying to teach my grandma to use a mobile phone! But I think she’s learnt now and she doesn’t need the long list of instructions of how to turn it on, make a phone call, etc. The cannelloni look scrumptious – anything with bechamel sauce has got to be a good thing!
I had my first comment from family member last week and I was so excited!! I am still patiently waiting for my mum’s first comment. This cannelloni recipe sounds wonderful. I like everything with chorizo in it.
My mum is a computer teacher and she still doesn’t leave me any comments. Happily she is not on facebook, I think that would be a bit weird.
The cannelloni look awesome. My plate would be that clean too!
Mum’s the best! The Cannelloni looks out of this world. I love reading your personal stories on every post. You have a wonderful way of connecting with your readers.
ahahahaha – that got me laughing (turning the computer off three times) – so cute!
Mum’s are great. I hope you have a fantastic time 🙂
Looks delicious. What type of chorizo do you use? Spanish/Portuguese or Mexican? Spicy or sweet? I would love to make this for the husband.
The cannelloni looks fantastic and I want to make it for my husband. But I am unsure of what type of chorizo you use. Is it the Spanish, already cooked type (spicy or sweet?) or the Mexican chorizo that is common here in Southern California. Let me know – I would love to make it this weekend.
No one compares to moms… you know what, this post actually reminded me to leave a comment on sis’s blog..hee
LOL.. i can totally relate to teaching momz to use the gadgets we can’t live without. I left my old computer with my mom when I left India. My mom was actually really interested in learning how to use it but it wasn’t any easier to teach her.. LOL.. now she has gotten used to it so much that sometimes I get way too many emails ;-)) LOL
That is so cute of your Dad to write out those detailed steps. And even cuter that your Mum followed every single step to write multiple emails haha! I don’t think I would be able to teach my Mum how to comment on my blog, still need to teach her how to write an email! That cannelloni looks like a winner of a dish by the way 🙂
With cannelloni like that, who needs email? Yum!
My mum commented on 2 posts? But I know she reads it religiously =P I used to write instructions for my mum too and now she’s really good with her comp. I was really surprised when she added me on facebook!
Awwww my mum’s the same! She’s only learned how to send sms and not use a computer yet…
Mums are the best….especially being one myself 🙂 and watching my kids devour my cooks and bakes! When my mum comes to visit from Nigeria though, she rustles up some super tasty meals. How delicious does this look?
Hi,
I just wanted to tell you how much I love your blog. I am sorry I have not left a comment earlier. I love the warmth of your stories, the very practical & delicious recipes, and am so impressed with your commitment to sharing all of this with us. Please keep it up. I get so excited when I get an email about a new posting. Thank you. Angela
Are there any more leftovers?? I want some more!!
Oh how cute! My mom is technologically challenged as well. Growing up she would ask me to plug the VCR into the TV and I would say “Mom, let me show you how to do it, so that you don’t have to wait for me every time.” She always made some excuse to not learn how. Me and my brothers always joked that she didn’t want to know how so that she wouldn’t have to do it herself. 🙂 I don’t think she realized how easy it was. She has gotten a lot better and is now on Facebook all the time.. but she still doesn’t leave comments on my blog. 🙂 She has always been scared to give her e-mail address. I think I have finally convinced her that the only scam artist that is going to be seeing her e-mail is me. 🙂
hahaha… MRL is soooo funny and I thought RRB was bad. I miss celebrating Christmas at Mama’s house.
Oh Lord. This makes me wish I wasn’t Lactose Intolerant. And I totally know what you mean about the mom thing… My Dad is that way! It makes me facepalm all the time.
Yum! That looks amazing! My mum is completely technologically challenged as well. At least they can impart worthy skills such as that canneloni – it looks seriously good.
Hi Trissa! Oh my goodness that looks so so delish… I love a good bechamel sauce! Yum…
I found another canelloni recipe online a couple of months ago that was really quite good too, but I had to go through great pains to look for the canelloni, and actually never found any in time and had to use some conchiglioni instead! (And that wasn’t easy to find either…) When I finally chanced upon some canelloni a few weeks later, I bought a few boxes to keep in storage =)
Singapore is just not the bestest place to get not-so-common pasta…
They look splendid and I love your added stories:) As far as my blog goes..at first i didn’t even tell my daughters:) None of my friends or aquaintances here know..My vacation ones do.. 3 of them..I never tell anyone..I don’t know why but I am shy about it.At work I close the screen when someone comes in..:)
Oh your poor mama starting over all those emails..I wonder if my mom would have enjoyed this era~
I have two older friends..in their late 70’s early 80’s that I sometimes help w/ computer..it’s always a treat..really.Have fun with your visit.
The canelones look “muy bien” Trissa! Say muchas gracias from me! And by the way, my mum doesn’t even know what email is!!!
Awww, that is just such a cute story. Actually, my dad and bro had a similar set of instructions for mum so she could play Tetris 🙂 But she surprised me one day by leaving a comment, using a nickname no less, I didn’t even realise it was her until she asked me about it when I phoned her! Too funny.
Yes, you are lucky and those canelones look very, very rich and delicious.
Ahhh, we learn so much from our mothers! Even when ones like mine don’t technically ‘teach’, at least I can steal secrets by watching =p
Omg how good that does that look?! You can never go wrong with chorizo, mushroom and bechamel 😀
And I understand how you feel. I had to teach my Mom so much about computers, facebook and playing Farmville! Then there were the trying times when she bought a new mobile phone, new tv, new HDD recorder and she didn’t know what to do with it all. Sigh….
Trissa,
This looks awesome! Do you have any hints for filling the Cannelloni tubes without breaking them? I usually par cook fresh lasagna sheets and roll the filling to make tubelike creations.
I know what I am having for dinner tomorrow!
Thanks
Mark
I get no comment from my family members either. Well, I don’t think they read my blog :-0!
I too can’t resist your Cannelloni, which looks absolutely scrumptious!