Grilled Cheese, Roasted Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwich

I like to cook, but there are days when I don't want to deal with making an entire meal because  a) it's too hot to cook b) I've been busy and just want to chill and/or c) we've eaten something giant and delicious for breakfast or lunch, like a burrito from our local restaurant, The Mad Cow Calf-A, and we just don't need to eat another big meal.

That's when it's perfectly okay to assemble dinner, use one pan and that's it. Grilled cheese is one of those perfect quickie meals, and this one is not only cheesy, but juicy and savory as well. I used some shredded cheese I found in the fridge, but slices are just fine. Add some flavor punch with some purchased pesto and moistness with some jarred, roasted red peppers and a homegrown or farmers' market tomato. I used a yellow Jubilee tomato for this sandwich.

Butter or olive oil the outside of the sandwich, so when you grill it, the bread is lightly browned.

If you feel the fam needs veggies, make this salad in the morning (pictured below) so all you have to do is set it on the table along with the grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grilled Cheese, Roasted Red Pepper, Tomato and Pesto Sandwiches

Ingredients (makes 1 sandwich)

2 slices bread

1 T prepared pesto

1 or 2 tomato slices

1 oz. cheese, your choice, sliced or shredded

2 or 3 pieces jarred roasted red peppers

butter, margarine, or olive oil

Directions

1. Heat a grill pan, griddle, or skillet over medium-low heat

2. Butter or brush some olive oil on one side of the bread slices.These will be the outside of the sandwich.

3. Assemble sandwich: pesto on the bread, then cheese, tomato, and peppers.

4. I like to add a little cheese on both sides of the juicy ingredients so when I grill the sandwich, it all sticks together.

5.  Carefully place the sandwich on the hot griddle. If you want to make it panini-style, place a piece of aluminum foil on top of the sandwich and then put an iron skillet on the foil to smash it all down. Let the bottom of the sandwich grill. Check that it isn't burning and that the cheese is melting.

6. Flip the sandwich over, replace the foil and the iron skillet if you are making a panino, and keep an eye on it. 

7. Once the cheese is melted and the bread is brown, you are finished! Enjoy!

 

Guadalupita/Coyote Historic District: Montoya Cemetery

Fall 2011 photo

 Almost a year ago the area where we live was approved as a State Historic District because of its historic, cultural and environmental significance. Here's what the application said:

"The Guadalupita/Coyote Historic District in Mora County is 8,140 acres of mountains and valleys dotted with small ranches, homes, mines and religious sites dating back to 1851. It was one of the last land grants in New Mexico. To this day, descendants of families that first settled there continue to use nearby natural resources and acequias that divert water from Rio Coyote to irrigate crops for their sustenance."

One site included in the district is the Montoya Cemetery, just a short walk across the pastures from our place. The newest grave that I can discern is from the early 1950's, a baby that died the year I was born. Others date back to the 1800's, people from a family who braved high altitudes, poor roads and frigid winters to make a life for themselves in a remote place often cut off from the rest of the state for months on end. The Montoya family is still around, some scattered to other parts of the state and country, but most still here living on ranches in the area on land kept in the family for generation after generation.

Family members take turns keeping the weeds at bay, straightening the markers that can be straightened and ensuring the fence around the site is in good repair since beef cattle live nearby.

The graves are marked with a variety of materials:  weather worn wooden and rusty iron crosses, flat stones, hand chiseled markers and one professionally done granite marker for the baby's resting place.

Fred Montoya

Dennis Montoya

When someone asks where where we live and I tell them, the most common response is, "Oh, that's God's Country!"

Summer 2012 photo

Yes, it is.