Mint & Walnut Pesto Sandwich

Pesto is a blend of herb, olive oil, cheese and nuts which is widely used in pasta recipes and in addition, pesto sauce can also be served as a dip or spread. Though the basic pesto requires fresh basil leaves, I have used mint and cilantro along with walnuts to get a flavorful creamy spread for my sandwich. This is a very simple and tasty sandwich which is stuffed only with the flavorful pesto sauce. This is also a perfect breakfast meal as this can be whizzed up in 10 - 15 minutes according to our taste bud in busy mornings. Variations can be made by including veggies to get delicious pesto veggie sandwich.

Ingredients :

1 1/2 Cups Mint leaves
1 Cup Cilantro leaves
4 Garlic pods, peeled
3 Tbsp Walnuts, crushed
1/2 Cup Cheese, grated 
5 Tbsp Olive oil 
Salt to taste 
Bread Slices for sandwich ( I have used whole wheat bread slices in this recipe ) 

Method :

Add mint leaves along with cilantro, garlic pods and walnuts in a food processor or mixer grinder.

Blend it and add the olive oil.

Blend till the mixture turns into smooth paste.

Add the grated cheese and blend again.

Once the pesto gets a smooth and creamy texture, transfer it to a bowl and keep aside.

Take one bread slice, spread butter on one side of the bread and place it on the non stick grill tawa.

Gently spread the mint - walnut pesto sauce on top of it and place another bread slice on it.

Brush little butter on top of the bread slice.

Flip the other side and grill it till both the sides of slices turns golden brown color.

Once done, remove from the tawa and repeat the process for the remaining slices.

Serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with any fresh juice. 

Macaroni Cheese Pie

Happy Monday Folks ! Had a tiring weekend with loads of cleaning stuff and of course, with lots of delicious stuffs.. "Macaroni Cheese Pie" was one of the yummy and cheesy stuff prepared a day before, which was loaded with white sauce and cheese. I am sure, for the one who loves cheese ( like me ), it's a heavenly dish. To enhance the taste and flavor, filled the pie with Tomato and Bell pepper mixture. As, we are on fasting, baked this with veggies but chicken or sausage acts an excellent substitute.. This can be served as Main course as it is very filling and heavy. Every bite of it tasted yummmm for us... So,wanna try this ?

Here is the recipe of Macaroni Cheese pie.................

Ingredients :

1 Cup Macaroni
1 Cheese Cube, grated

For White Sauce :

1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp All purpose Flour / Maida
1 Cup Milk
2 Cheese cubes, grated 
Salt to taste
 
For Stuffing :

1 Tbsp Butter
2 Tomatoes, Finely chopped
1 Bell pepper / Capsicum, Finely chopped
1 Tbsp Italian Sesoning
1 Tsp Tomato Sauce
1 Tbsp Chilli flakes
Salt to taste

Method :

Cook the macaroni in a salted boiling water for 10 minutes.

Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again. Keep aside.

Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a pan and add the flour.

Cook for a minute in a low flame and add milk, whisking constantly.

Heat until the mixture boils and simmer it for 5 minutes.

Add salt according to the taste and keep stirring frequently.

Now add the grated cheese and cook until the cheese has melted, then remove from the flame and
keep aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp in a pan and add the chopped tomatoes.

Saute for a minute and add the chopped bell peppers / capsicum.

Add Italian seasoning followed by salt, chilli flakes and tomato sauce.

Simmer and cook till the tomatoes turns soft.

Once done, remove and keep aside.

Grease ovenproof dish and tip half the cooked macaroni .

Pour over half the white sauce and mix well.

Now, layer the tomato capsicum mixture evenly over the macaroni.

Tip the remaining macaroni and pour the remaining white sauce.

Spread it evenly and add the grated cheese on top of it.

Bake it for 30 minutes or until the top of the pie turns brown, in a preheated oven at 200 degree C.

Once done, carefully remove from the oven and serve hot.

cheesy Corn cups

I believe that few combination of Ingredients compliment each other and gives a delicious recipe. One among them are "Corn and Cheese" which is widely used in pizza, pasta and sandwiches. When corn gets cooked with the cheese, the aroma of corn and the flavor of cheese blends so well to give a finger licking tasty dish. Corn and cheese snack is one of my favorite munch during rainy days. Just a cup of cooked corn with a grated cheese will not only make my tummy full, it also brings a complete joyous in each spoon. Diet Watchers, excuse me ;)
Cheesy Corn Cups, a baked yummy cups filled with cheesy corn and flavored with pizza seasoning can be served as a starter or evening snacks. As this recipe goes to my favorite monthly event "5 ingredients Fix Challenge", I have used only 5 ingredients with CORN as the main key ingredient. 5 Ingredients Fix Challenge is a monthly event hosted by Lakshmi Vimala from Cookingclub17 in which 5 Ingredients were given and an innovative dish should be submitted before end of the month. And for October month challenge, the twist of challenge was to prepare a recipe using Corn as the key Ingredient.

Check out my previous entries which were prepared with 5 Ingredients.

Watermelon Rind Kheer
Papad Pockets
Veggie Macroni Soup
Veggie tart with an Indian Twist
Strawberry Kulfi
Chicken and Spinach Soup

If you are Interested to participate in our 5 Ingredients Fix Challenge, mail to vimalalakshmi2010@gmail.com

Ingredients :

• 1/2 Cup Fresh corn kernels
• 3 Cubes Cheese, grated ( I have used Amul cheese in this recipe )
• Salt to taste
• 1 Tsp Pizza seasoning 
• 6 Puff sheets

Method :

Thaw puff sheets according to the instructions given in the box.

Grease the muffin tray with little oil or butter.

Take one puff sheet and place it in the muffin tray. keep aside.

In a small bowl or plate , add grated cheese followed by corn kernels, pizza seasoning and salt.

Mix well and fill the puff sheet cups with corn mixture.

Bake it for 15 minutes at 180 degree Celsius in a pre-heated oven.

Once done, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Serving Options :

Serve hot with Tomato sauce.

 

Linking this recipe with  Lakshmi's "5 Ingredients Fix Challenge"