Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

Look at these beauties.  I'm seriously so happy about them right now.  I saw the idea to make homemade sun-dried tomatoes on Pinterest and pretty much immediately went into the kitchen to make them yesterday.  All you need is a little basket of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (if you only had regular tomatoes, I'm sure you could slice or chop them up and it'd also work just fine!), some olive oil, and spices.  I used salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder.  I just sprinkled it all on without any measurements.  Then, toss it all together on a aluminum foil sheet-lined baking pan and stick in the oven at 250 for 2 hours.  Yes, 2 hours! Once you bite into one of these babies, you will be in heaven.  Ah-mazing!! Oh and to warn you, your house will smell incredible while these are in the oven.

Then I had the marvelous idea to mix these babies with some leftover whole-wheat spaghetti in the fridge along with pesto and parmesan cheese.  Best decision ever! I very much recommend making this for lunch. Or dinner.  Just whenever. It's super easy and VERY TASTY and healthy too!

Homemade Sun-dried Tomato Pesto Pasta

1 carton of grape or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
dash of oregano
dash of garlic powder
dash of salt and pepper
Pesto sauce (can be homemade or jarred- I used jarred)
whole-wheat spaghetti, cooked
parmesan cheese, for sprinkling (optional)

Heat oven to 250 degrees F. On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the tomatoes and combine with olive oil, salt and pepper, oregano and garlic powder.  Just sprinkle the spices on until you feel like it's enough.  Toss until all tomatoes are coated and then spread out evenly on baking sheet.  Bake in oven for 2 hours.  When they are done, combine whole-wheat spaghetti with pesto sauce (1/4 cup of pesto for every 1 cup of pasta) and top with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Yum!

Sourdough Turkey Pesto Panini

 

I am SO excited that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! It really gets me through frustrating or stressful parts of my day! I even made my very first homemade pie today (okay so the crust was Pillsbury's but no one knew and it was SO easy that way!)- recipe to come soon- and it got me excited for the best pie day of the year.  Mmm!  

So anyways... this sandwich.  Is amazing! It's probably the best sandwich I've ever had.  Well I guess it's technically a panini, not a sandwich although it falls under the latter category.  The key to this recipe is the sourdough bread.  You have to use it.  No substitutions.  I know it just won't be the same.  It might taste alright.  But not amazing, knock-your-socks off good! My husband and I both raved over it.  And the best part- it is so dang easy and uses very few ingredients!  A winner recipe for sure.  I'm sure this would be great with Thanksgiving turkey leftovers also!

Sourdough Turkey Pesto Panini

from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise   

4 teaspoons basil pesto  

8 (1-ounce) thin slices sourdough bread   

8 ounces sliced cooked turkey breast   

2 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese   

8 (1/8-inch-thick) slices tomato   

Cooking spray  

Combine mayonnaise and pesto, stirring well. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture on each of 4 bread slices; top each slice with 2 ounces turkey, 1/2 ounce cheese, and 2 tomato slices. Top with remaining bread slices. 

Preheat grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add sandwiches to pan; top with another heavy skillet (or you can put in a panini press or indoor grill). Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.