Veg Au Gratin.

ooo, the camera lens got misty with the steaming hot pasta

Somtimes we simply dont feel like eating chapati at night and both my husband and I are not great fans of rice either. So it actually gets really difficult to think what to make for dinner. A couple of nights back I just did not feel like cooking. I checked the freezer and nothing seemed intresting and then I noticed I had a bag of mixed vegetables in Butter sauce. I had got this from Trader Joes. Humm,I thought that would save me a lot of trouble of cutting veggies. yes, that was it I decided to make Veg Au Gratin.

Its very weird, I have never seen anything like that in the restaurants here in San Diego. But its so common back in India. That was one of the first things I learnt in my Cookery Class when I was in class X. Its a complete comfort food,perfect for a cold evening.

Here is the recipe.

For the white sauce

• 2-3 tbsp Maida
• 3-4 tbsp of butter
• 2 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
  

For the Gratin

• 1/2 packet Pasta- macaroni pasta or penne. (I used half a packet of the 1 lbs bag)
• 1-2 cups Vegetables (carrot, peas, beans, corn, cauliflower- all diced and boiled). I used the frozen vegetables from Trader Joes.
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese.

Method:

1. In a pan, melt the butter. Saute the maida till about 5 minutes. Do not let it brown.
2. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, so that no lumps are formed. In case you do get lumps, strain the mixture and then return it to heat.
3. Add the salt,pepper and oregano.
4. Boil the pasta as per the instructions.
5. Drain the pasta. Keep aside.
6. Add the boiled or frozen veggies to the simmering white sauce. cook for about five minutes.
7. Add the pasta and mix everything up.
8. Turn the heat off. Its ok if you find the pasta sauce a little liquidy, the pasta tends to soak the sauce.
9. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
10. Dish out the pasta into an oven proof dish. Cover the top with grated mozzarella.
11. Bake in the oven for 10- 15 mins or till the cheese turns brown.
12. Take it out from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving.
13. Serve hot with garlic bread.
    

Yummy. Enjoy.

Note: If the white sauce tends to thicken up, you can add some pasta liquid (the water in which you boiled the pasta). This will help you thin the sauce a bit.

VEG QUESADILLAS

Somehow for a change I had all the ingredients needed for the perfect veg quesadillas . So I decided to make some nice cheesy, spicy quesadillas.I called a friend over and we had them for dinner.
I tried making the first batch on my new panini grill, but all the cheese oozed out. So I made them in the oven.
The guacamole was home made, but all I did was mix two avocados into a guacamole mix we had got from the grocery store. It was a no brainier.

Here is the recipe

You have to

• tortillas- 4
• chopped bell peppers (red, green, yellow and orange)-1 cup
• chopped onions-1 cup
• Mexican cheese or any shredded cheese-1 cup
• chili beans or baked beans-1 can
• cilantro (chopped)- 1/2 cup
• hot sauce- 1 tsp
• salt and pepper - to taste
• olive oil- to brush the tortillas
  

You have to

1. Heat a little oil in a pan. add the chopped onions. saute.
2. add the chopped bell peppers. Add salt and pepper. cover and cook till bell peppers cook.around 10 mins.
3. In a bowl add the beans. add the grated cheese along with the cilantro and the hot sauce.
4. mix everything well.
5. heat oven to 350 degrees.
6. take a tortilla, spread the bell pepper mixture. spread the bean and cheese mixture.
7. top it with the other tortillas. brush the tortilla with olive oil.
8. bake in the oven for 5-10minutes till the cheese begins to melt and the tortilla becomes golden brown.
9. cool for a few minutes and cut into triangles.
10. serve with sour cream, guacamole and some salsa.

enjoy.