Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

One of the great things about a stay-cation - is having the time to make something really good for lunch.

Don't get me wrong, I really like leftovers for lunch, and have them quite often, but sometimes it's nice to make something fresh.

Since we had a couple of tomatoes from the farmers market just begging to be used, we decided to turn our Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich into a Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

I best get back to the vacation fun of cleaning the garage...

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Pesto Tomato Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices of GF Bread (Udi's is shown here)
Basil Pesto (homemade is best, but Classico Basil Pesto shown here)
2 slices of Provolone cheese
1 slice of tomato
Olive Oil


Directions:

Heat pan or griddle to medium heat.
Drizzle olive oil on one side of each slice of bread. This side will be placed directly on the heat.
Spread pesto on the non-oiled side of each slice.
Lay down one slice of cheese on top of pesto
Lay down the tomato slice.
Lay down the last slice of cheese. This encases the tomato in an envelope of cheese.
Cover with remaining slice of bread. Remember Pesto side toward the cheese/oiled side on top.

Place sandwich on pan and cover. Covering will help the cheese melt.
Check after 1 - 2 minutes - make sure it's not burning. Flip when GBD (golden, brown & delicious)
Do the same to the next side.

I'll let you decide how best to slice your sandwich. Personally, I think diagonal cuts taste far better. :-)

Since GF bread slices tend to be smaller, I made 2 sandwiches.

If you're looking for gluten-free tomato soup to go with this, check out our Gluten-Free Tomato Soup!


Until the next good eats...

Al

Minestrone Soup



This recipe is adapted from Living Without Summer 2005 issue.

It's one of our favorites and gets rave reviews from all who've tried - gluten-free or otherwise.

We save it for the fall/winter when it is cold and yucky on the outside and warm and yummy on the inside.

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large onion - diced
2 medium carrots - sliced
2 stalks celery - sliced
1 medium potato - diced
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 small zuchinni
1 tspn oregano
2 tspn salt
4 cups GF chicken broth (Kitchen Basics, Swanson’s, Pacific, Imagine)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup fresh or frozen green bean (1 1/2" pieces)
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained & rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (optional) or 2 cubes of frozen homemade basil pesto (See Al Notes)
Parmesan cheese (optional)



Add olive oil, butter & garlic to a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute until onion is transparent and soft.

Add celery, carrots, potato. Sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and chicken broth.

Bring soup up to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15-30 minutes. Veggies should be tender.

Add the corn, green beans, kidney beans, zucchini and simmer for another 15-30 minutes.

Stir in fresh basil or add frozen pesto cubes and allow to melt.

Serve hot and don't eat too much. You could also top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.


Al Notes

Since we made a double batch, we use both kidney beans and black beans.

In the summer I will make fresh basil pesto. This is usually a Saturday project for me. We have a little farmers market downtown and I'll get several bunches. I'll whiz up a batch and pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. After about a month of pesto making, we'll have several freezer bags full of pesto cubes we can use for a whole bunch of things...like this soup!