Baked broccoli in tomato cream sauce

This is a 5 min recipe which is extremely tasty and can be eaten just the way it is or with a slice of bread! The crunchy broccoli added great flavor to the baked. Do not over bake or else broccoli would not taste well. It’s creamy without much need for cheese. I just added a tbsp on top for my satisfaction.  

Baked broccoli 

1 broccoli cut into florets 

1/2 cup ready made tomato sauce 

1 cup white sauce( I used tetra pack) 

Salt 

Chili flakes 

Garlic powder 

1 tbsp grated cheese. Add more if you like. 

1. Mix everything together and toss well. 

2. Put into a preheated oven and bake. 

3. Half way through mix the vegs around. 

4. Bake till golden brown on top. 

5. Serve hot! I just enjoyed it the way it was!

Walnut sun dried tomato pesto

Walnut , sun dried tomato pesto

I have wanted to do pesto at home but never tried. A few sun dried tomatoes and basil growing in my home pushed me into it. The family liked it too much. No more store bought pesto for us! Sharing the recipe. 

6-8 walnuts

4-6 sun dried tomatoes in oil

3-4 garlic cloves

3 cups basil

2-3 jalapeño peppers

1/2 tsp chilli powder

Salt

2-3 tbsp olive oil

Blend all the ingredients in a grinder to a fine paste.

Add this to boiled pasta! Awesome flavorful pesto made at home! Enjoy!

Ratatouille lasagne

 

 My family loves lasagna any day and I find it very interesting to put it together. I keep thinking of ways to make it more interesting and healthy and at the same time do not like to go out venturing looking for ingredients. The recipe should be simple, few steps and with easily available ingredients. This lasagna also was the brainchild of one such a lazy day. Since many things are available here like white sauce, it  makes it is easier to put together and also less work in cleaning. But for people who want to make it from scratch can do so too. So here goes the spicy ratatouille lasagna as I combined the two lovely Italian dishes into one. The product is amazing.
Ingredients
2 chopped aubergines
2 chopped zucchinis
1 chopped onion
1 chopped bell peppers
1 scrapped corn ( I used it)
8-10 cherry tomatoes halved
2 tbsp minced garlic
100 gms of tomatoes puree
4-5 tbsp tomato paste( can use more tomatoes cooked to thick paste)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Italian spice
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp garlic powder
Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 cup grated cheese
12 Lasagna sheets Soaked in hot water
400 ml white sauce- Heat 2 tbsp butter, add 2 heaped tbsp flour and saute. Add 2 cup milk and keep cooking till coats the back of the spoon. Add salt and pepper.

Method
Heat olive oil and add minced garlic and saute.
Add the onions and saute few mins.
Add the aubergines and zucchini and cook to color a bit and cook a bit.
Add the tomato puree and paste and mix well.
Add 1 tsp each of the herbs, salt and pepper.
Cook till the vegs are half done.
Add cherry tomatoes and keep aside.
Take a baking dish and grease it with butter.
Pour half the vegetable in the dish.
Layer up sheets of pasta on the vegetable.
Pour half the white sauce on it and sprinkle half the cheese.
Pour the rest of the vegetables.
Layer up rest of the sheets and top with white sauce and cheese.
Sprinkle the rest of the oregano, Italian spice , garlic powder and chilli flakes.
Bake at 200 deg till golden brown.
Rest it for 15 mins before cutting and serving.