Worldcup ⚽ is in full swing. Sweden is through hooray, England is playing today Columbia. Come on England! Simona Halep is doing great at Wimbledon. Go on Simona! ? Bring on the food, please, bring on the quick n’ yummy cream cheese and pesto bruschetta! Go on and make as many as you can gobble, they are soo delish! Glorious stuff!
I usually have this delicious bruschetta topped with pesto and something else. I have chosen to share the creme cheese and pan-fried tomatoes version which makes a perfect breakfast but who says it cannot make an amazing snack or even a superb lunch?!
Are you a breakfast person?
Talking about breakfast, this is quite an important meal for many of us, I’m one of those that breakfast makes my day. Literally. I start my day rushed with a no matter what I can grab for breakfast and I’ll be in a bad mood and grumpy pretty much all day. A breakfast like this cream cheese and pesto sauce bruschetta will always make my day a happy one. Sometimes it is creamed cheese ( blend my own fat-free or low fat cottage cheese), sometimes is homemade hummus, some other time can be tzatziki it really depends on what I fancy.
We are living in the 21st-century meaning running every day with loads to do, with even more and more to do each day but breakfast should be that meal in the day that remains uncompromised when you start the day right whenever possible with sitting down having a cuppa and get it all balanced and right.
As far as what to eat for breakfast is concerned here is a suggestion that will definitely make you happy, give you that nice kickstart to a long summer, spring, autumn or winter day.
What about lunch?
I aim to have a good lunch every day but I must say that if I’m okay with messing up with a meal that’d be lunch. It is generally the hardest time in the day to keep a regular meal coming other than a grab and go.
When I’m in the office, not a problem, but only on a day off or when I work from home, it’s when I often get it all messed up. I could easily live with two meals a day which is breakfast and an early dinner, that’s, in fact, my ideal. The trouble is the actual snacking and the sugar cravings. Arghhhh? sometimes if I could only have that magic happen? and all these cravings go away or get an instantaneous idea of a healthier snack like this bruschetta .... but hey, sweets are soo good, mmm.... no, ⛔ not really and should stay far away from any sweets.
A continuous battle in my head 😉 Not always possible to stay away from sweets and come on you tell me now, how can you start a bar of chocolate, have one piece and forget about the rest, is that possible? NO! Not for me!! Haha. That leftover chocolate bar will be talking, calling and shouting at me all day long till it’s no longer there and my head knows it.
I have learned that making a list of super quick n’ healthy snack ideas and stick on the fridge door to refer to when running out of ideas it’s a brilliant one. It is good for variety too.
Whenever cravings kick in just quickly put something together and for me, it really has to be a quick snack so by the time I reach the sweet jar area the snack is ready, haha otherwise it’s a lost battle, the sweets always win!
It’s almost the same with breakfasts - if no plans from the night before will fall into a pattern of quickly grabbing the easiest ingredients which almost always without a fail will be eggs, porridge, cereals or..... nothing.
I concluded that meal plans are the way forward despite being quite reticent to the idea for quite some time for some odd reason, but I can think and plan ahead especially at busy or hot summer times like now when cooking can be a little burden.
Well, will give it a try and then see but I know it helps with overbuying ingredients that, in the end, will be thrown away because we will never get to use. I’d really hate to have to do that. My worst nightmare from a food ethics perspective as we really live on the premise that food should never be thrown away.
Okey dokey! Let’s get back to this cream cheese and homemade pesto toast with pan-fried tomatoes -such a simple recipe so I’ll continue to keep it very simple ?.
Cream cheese and pesto bruschetta with fresh basil flowers
Equipment
- pan
- chopping board
- knife
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp pesto sauce homemade
- 8 slices nice and crusty bruschetta or 4 slices of wholemeal bread (I used both)
- 4 tbsp cream cheese any that you like *
- 2 tomatoes cut into quarters or 8 cherry tomatoes halved
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Fresh Basil flowers or basil leaves to garnish
- 2 tbsp pine nuts or sunflower seeds toasted optional
Instructions
- Wash and cut each tomato into quarters. Place in a pan with a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Allow to cook covered on medium heat for 1 min. Turn the tomatoes and cook for 1 min on each side. Drizzle more oil if you find it necessary. Cook until the tomatoes begin to soften but don’t over cook them. Once ready, set aside.
- Toast the bread in toaster or oven if you are making more than two people.
- Spread the creme cheese equally between the slices.
- Add a layer of pesto sauce over the creme cheese topped by 2 pieces of tomatoes.
- Garnish with some freshly chopped basil leaves or some basil flowers, some lightly toasted pinenuts or simply some toasted sunflower seeds. Enjoy
Notes
I am so sure you will throughly enjoy this simple but yet so pestolicious recipe!
Nutrition
Caroline says
Bruschetta makes such a great little snack and is perfect for parties. I've never tried with cream cheese but I imagine it balances out the pest and tomato well. Nice idea to garnish with the basil flowers.
Ramona says
Thank you Caroline, I totally agree with you - a perfect snack for any occasion - I have even made it a meal with a nice salad on the side - a lighter version but delicious. Basil flowers are such a pretty and delicate addition - short lived but a nice a flavourful addition indeed 😉 xx
Alexis says
Oh my goodness, this dish looks absolutely amazing. I'm grabbing these ingredients on my next grocery store run. I LOVE bruschetta!
Ramona says
Thank you Alexis , grab them you’ll love these little bruschettas - so delish!
Brian Jones says
I am in relative unknown territory, the semi finals of a World Cup for England, the hangover is intense this morning 😉
I love the sound of these we bites, particularly the basil flowers... I often struggle with growing basil, no idea why as most of our herbs work great. I've never even seen a basil flower but love using flowers in recipes.
Ramona says
Ha Ha Brian, we need a pinch! England is doing great! Croatia will be a tough cookie but hopefully they will be having a bit of a Sweeden day. Grrrrrreat football this World Cup, absolutely amazing! Let’s just hope they get to the finals and that “It’s coming Home” becomes reality.
These bites are just perfect for football times when cooking is something too hard to even think about. Hehe
We grow our basil in pots, it tends to do great and refresh it with new plants every now and again. I always try to use herbs flowers - theyre great and pretty too.
Tristin Rieken says
This is such a change from my go-to bruschetta! I love that it uses cream cheese but also suggests other lovely toppings like hummus.
Ramona says
Thank you Tristin, yes it is a really nice alternative to the usual go-to bruschetta. Enjoy and thank yuo so much for stopping by!
Jacqueline Debono says
Your photos are sooo mouthwatering! I need to go and eat something now! This cream cheese and pesto would be great! I also love putting pesto on my toast/bruschetta. A really heavenly combination!
Ramona says
Thank you so much cara Jacqui! The recipe is so good that mouth cannot help but water and water and water. Pesto is such a lovely invention, viva Linguria! I absolutely love it! Great for parties and any entertaining too!
Crystal says
Oooooh, I like the looks of this one! It ticks off all the things that are my guilty pleasures.... bread (even better if it's toasted!), cream cheese, and an option for Greek yogurt? I need to make something like this someday!
Ramona says
Thank you Crystal!
Guilty pleasures are good and there are options to make the guilt diminish to an almost no-guilt-at-all level. I feel no guilt at all having this 😉 It’s too good! Have a lovely day sweet lady!