Pesto Loaf: Version 1

Pesto Loaf

Version 1:

½ cup pesto (see below)

½ cup feta

¼ cup goat cheese

¼ cup olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 6-oz can tomato paste

salt and pepper

1 lb stir fry beef, browned and diced

2 tubes Pillsbury crescent rolls

Pesto:

1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic

½ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

1.     Make pesto: Blend ingredients until smooth. Season to taste.

2.     Blend cheeses, oil, and garlic.

3.     Heat oven to 375* F.

4.     Lay dough in rectangle on baking sheet.

5.     Add filling: beef, cheese, paste, pesto. Wrap in dough.

6.     Bake 20 minutes, or until dough is golden brown.

Changes I would make:

Instead of layering sauces/cheeses separately, I would rather mix them all together; maybe even cook them with the beef (if using ground beef) like Lasagna Loaf. Next time, I would even use ground beef rather than stir fry beef. Also, less oil might be best, as some of the pesto leaked a bit as it was folded and first cooking. Again, nothing horribly wrong, but I think there might be a better texture and overall balance of flavors. In sum: a success for first time experimentation with these ingredients.

Changes

I have finished a few projects and abandoned others since I last wrote here. For now, I'm trying to keep my domestic life clean and frugal, which means facing the fact that some projects are not meant to be, and that others will require a lot more effort than I have been putting into them. One big part of the latter half is my writing. I used to flex those muscles frequently and fervently, but now they have atrophied to the point where even my academic writing has suffered. I wanted to change that last semester, but some part of my adult psychology shifted, and I ended up failing at much of what I was trying to accomplish. I did not even begin many of those changes in earnest.

Today, I'm trying to get a lot done. I've already cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed. I also want to finish a few crafty projects, order my textbooks, and other such beginning of the semester activities - last minute revels in freedom from anything but a diurnal lifestyle and limited budget, organizing and mind clearing to start this new year and semester as clean and smooth as possible.

I've always been a words person, but I will do my best to sit back and take a few pictures as well. I live with far more potential project models than I used to, so that is no longer an excuse, especially since several of these projects are for those folks.

2013, let's dance.