5 Minute home-made pizza-Deliciozo!!

I love hosting dinners and lunches at home. The feeling of having your friends surround you, hearing stories about home, talking about home is just precious. Everytime we have friends over, I try to come up with atleast one new dish. Well, in a sense, apart from hubby dearest, they too become guinea pigs to some of my culinary adventures. Till a few weeks ago, we met up with our friends every weekend incessantly. Just like the soaring temperatures in the month of Kathiri (the hottest period in Summer in TamilNadu), our ‘eating-out’ expenses soared sky-high! So we decided to have them over for a weekend to work on a cultural event. As usual I decided to come up with something…I decided on the 5 minute home-made pizza slices as a evening snack. This was something I saw on Sandra Lee’s show.

Although I am not a major fan of making something out of processed food, I don’t mind it on such occasions as it reduces the time of preparation and allows more time to spend with friends. But sadly, our friends left soon after lunch that afternoon(after having been subjected to the horror of 3 meals at my hands!). So the following week, I decided to try the dish on my favorite (‘coz most of the times, the good man that he is rarely complains!) guinea pig…hubby dearest. His reaction was a smack of the lips and followed by a “Bellissimo!”.

Here goes the recipe for this easy-breezy, lip-smacking snack.

Pillsbury crescent roll-1 pack

Pasta sauce-1/2 cup

Black Olives, sliced – 3-4 nos

Roasted/Fresh red bell pepper-1 no

Mozzarella Cheese, grated-1/4 cup

salt-as per taste

red chilli flakes-as per taste

oil-1 tsp

Heat oven to 400F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or just a dab of cooking spray. Thaw the crescent rolls as per instruction. Separate the individual rolls and lay them out on the baking sheet in their triangular shape. Spread a few drops of oil on the crust. Then spread a spoonful of the pasta sauce followed by the grated cheese. Lay the vegetables on the sauce. Sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or till the crust turn golden. Garnish with chilli flakes. Serve hot.

Pilsbury Reduced fat Crescent roll-$3.40, pasta sauce-$3.49, Part Skim shredded mozzarella cheese-$5.49, Expressions on your hubby's face after the first bite-Priceless 🙂

Pasta with Mint Pesto and sundried tomatoes

Since the day I started watching Giada de Laurentiis’s shows, I have been fascinated by pesto. To me, it was the Italian version of chutney/chamandhi. I have always been tempted to pick  a bottle of basil pesto at the supermarket. My hand reaches out to it and then I look over my shoulder only to catch a glimpse of my husband glaring. He who hates packaged food tries to restrict me from buying such products but isn’t quite successful most of the time! During our last weekly trip to the Indian grocery store, I was delighted to find a bunch of pudina(mint)(yes delighted…almost all fresh herbs are a precious commodity around here). I also successfully managed (by avoiding his glares and promising to  use them up before their expiry date!)to get some sun dried tomatoes during our last trip to the supermarket and I was dying to use it in some dish. I love the heightened tangy-sweetness of these tomatoes.  After a week of Indian food, I decided it was time for Italian food. I wanted to deviate from the usual fare of pasta with marinara sauce/ lasagna. So I was going to try my hand at pesto with the fresh and fragrant mint and toss in some sun dried tomatoes and garnish it with pine nuts. M-m-m-m-M(that reads Tasty in Rachel Ray’s language)!!

A delish Italian supper

For 2 servings:

Farfalle/or any other pasta-1/2 lb or 225 gms

Mint leaves-1/2 bunch

cilantro (I used the stalks too)-1/4 bunch

garlic-2 big cloves

red chillies-3 nos (if using flakes-2 tsps)

fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

sun dried tomatoes-1/4 cup

lemon juice-1/4 cup

pine nuts-a handful

Dried herbs-1 tsp

Parmesan cheese-2 tbsps

salt-to taste

E.V.O.O(extra virgin olive oil..again Rachel Ray’s)-1 tbsp

Heat 1/2 tsp e.v.o.o(annoying huh?) in a pan. Add the garlic (you can add it as a whole), fennel seeds and red chillies/flakes. Add the mint and cilantro and saute till leaves shrink and the raw smell vanishes. Transfer the contents of the pan to a blender. Once cooled, add lemon juice, salt and the rest of the olive oil and blend to a smooth paste.Cook pasta as per directions. Drain the water. Toast the pine nuts in the pan or in the oven (@350 F for 10 minutes) till golden brown. Add the sun dried tomatoes, dried herbs, pasta, mint pesto and Parmesan cheese. Mix and serve.

Flavors and colors maketh a Bee-utiful dinner!

The fragrance of the fresh mint with the crunchiness of the pine nuts is definite to earn you a “Grazie, principessa!”(Ok..thats my limited italian, from the movie “Life is beautiful”)

The all Season Soup

All of us have had those lazy, slow days when all we want to do is curl up on the couch and have someone serve a plate of great food. That’s one luxury I have missed the most since I started living outside India. I still remember the morning after I came here following our wedding. I wasn’t teary eyed at the airport about leaving home or on the flight but the next morning it hit me…I wouldn’t have anyone cooking for me till my next visit! Not that my husband doesn’t cook, he does and does it well when he WANTS to and that wanting doesn’t come by very often. 😦 Its like the famous (or should I say the infamous) dialogue from the Jen-Vince movie, I want you to want to do the dishes (in my case cooking).

I rarely complain about it ‘coz I love to cook but sometimes, like the song goes, girls just wanna have fun!! No seriously, I was quite bugged this week after loads and loads of work from the previous week. I just wanted to take some time off. So I decided to make the quickest, easiest and wholesome soup which happens to be a one-dish, nutritious (if you use whole grain pasta, that is 🙂 )and great tasting meal-the minestrone soup. My first ever minestrone soup experience was in a restaurant called ‘Little Italy’ in Chennai. It was good but didn’t really catch my attention. Later, when I came here and had the Minestrone soup at one of our friend’s place, I knew this was one dish that was going to feature quite often in the menu at our place. I got the ‘You-should-get-that-recipe’ look from my hubby and our hostess was more than happy to share it with me. Thanks R!

We get some great Minestrone soup at Olive garden too and I can vouch that this soup is just wonderful at anytime of the day and any day of the year. Hence the name of the post. The sweetness of its tomatoes combined with the crunchiness of the vegetables and the softness of the pasta makes its extra special. I usually serve it with toasted bread rubbed with garlic and olive oil .

Sprinkling some cheese on the soup gives it the glamour quotient that it rightly deserves!

To make two servings:

chopped garlic-2 pods

tomatoes -2 (if using small ones, make it 3)

chopped onion- 2 tsps

pasta (I used bow-tie, you can use any small pasta)-1/2 cup

red kidney beans-1/2 cup

mixed vegetables (carrots, beans, zuchini, asparagus)-1/2 cup (you can add spinach too but I don’t)

dried herbs – 2 tsps

Pasta sauce-3/4 cup

salt to taste

pepper powder-3 -4 tsps(4-5 if you prefer it spicy)

chopped cilantro-5 sprigs(parsley is the original ingredient but we love the flavor of cilantro)

water-1 cup

oilve oil-1/2 tsp

Cook the pasta as per directions. If you are using raw red kidney beans, soak them the previous night and pressure cook it just before making the soup. I use the canned variety so that life is a little simpler! Heat oil in a pan, add the dried herbs (crush them between your palm and fingers to bring out the flavor) and garlic followed by the onions and saute till the onions turn translucent. Add the vegetables and saute for a 2-3 minutes. Since we like them a little crunchy, I don’t saute it longer. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute till they turn soft. Now add the cilantro and saute for a few seconds. Add the pasta sauce, water, salt and pepper. Allow this to come to a boil and then add the cooked pasta and the red kidney beans. Check the consistency, add water if its too thick. Simmer the soup for a couple of minutes and turn the heat off. Serve with some garlic bread.  I had seen Giada make some great pamesan poppers that afternoon so I served mine with them!

Minestrone soup served here with some parmesan poppers

If I had to make a list of my top ten comfort foods, this is sure to bag a place among the top 5!