Turkey, Pesto & Mozzarella Panini

I found a great resource for meal plans at LivingLocurto.com

I'm planning on trying out a couple of the recipes this week including this one. Simplicity is what I need this week.

Turkey, Pesto & Mozzarella Panini

• Your favorite thick sliced bread
• Sliced Mozzarella cheese
• Deli sliced turkey
• Pesto
• Sliced tomatoes

DIRECTIONS
Place everything together and grill. (Note from me: a George Foreman grill would be perfect, but I'll just be doing this on the stove-top.)

• Kid version: Grilled Cheese
• Sides: Carrots, apple slices and organic tortilla chips.

turkey meatball subs

These were really really really good. So worth the work. The sauce is so delicious! YUM! Though the original recipe says 1 tbsp of garlic salt WAY too much, i halved that and had double the recipe, so i think she meant to say 1 tsp!

Turkey Meatball Subs

Ingredients:
For Red Pepper Sauce:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 large red peppers, roasted (or large can of roasted red peppers)
1 large (28 oz) can whole tomatoes, lightly drained and coarsely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp crushed chili peppers
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper
For Meatballs:
1 lb. lean ground turkey or beef (we like Shady Brook Farms turkey)
1 Tbsp garlic salt
2 tsp parsley, minced
1 tsp ground pepper
1 Tbsp oil

3 sub rolls
3-4 slices deli provolone cheese, sliced in half

Directions:
-In bowl of food processor, pulse roasted red peppers until relatively smooth and set aside
-In large saucepan, over medium heat, heat oil
-Add diced onion and cook until translucent and just beginning to brown.
-Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds
-Add pureed red peppers and chopped tomatoes and heat until starting to bubble.
-Turn heat to a simmer and add remaining sauce ingredients, stirring to combine and cover.
-Meanwhile, in medium bowl combine meat, onion, and spices.
-Form 3-in wide balls with mixture.
-Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
-Place meatballs in pan so that none are touching.
-Cook, not moving, until side is well browned (about 5 min).
-Rotate each meatball 1/4 turn and brown each side before turning again (about 3-min per side)
-Make sure meatballs are cooked through and add to red pepper sauce.
-Cut open sub rolls along side and place, open faced, on baking sheet.
-Scoop out a bit of the bread from the bottom of the sub roll to make room to rest the meatballs.
-Turn broiler on high setting.
-Spoon three meatballs (or as many as you'd like) onto the roll and spoon over some additional sauce.
-Place 2-3 half slices of provolone on top of meatballs and place the baking sheet into the oven.
-Cook until cheese has melted to desired gooeyness (<-- that's a technical word).
-Remove from oven, plate and half.
-Enjoy!

Original Recipe HERE

Veggie and Cheese Bagel Sandwich

If you've never been to the Pioneer Woman's cooking site you must stop and go NOW. She has some amazing recipes. And if you've never heard of the Pioneer Woman you ABSOLUTELY must go RIGHT now. Stay awhile and explore. She is a talented lady and I'm positive you'll find some inspiration. Go on. Go.
Now, if you're still with me I'd like to make sure you try this recipe of the PW's. We had it yesterday and it was wonderful. Fresh, healthy, and perfect for summer! Enjoy!

Italian Beef Dippers

We had this for lunch yesterday and it was so filling that John and I skipped dinner. So it might not be that healthy (see nutrition info below) but it seems justifiable when it's 2 meals, right? And we thought it was YUMMY! Which is always the most important thing to me!

Italian Beef Dippers
Pillsbury Kids Cookbook Copyright 2005

1 can (18.5 ounces) ready-to-serve French onion soup
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
3/4 pound thinly sliced roast beef from the deli
6 crusty French rolls (each 3 to 4 inches long)
6 slices ( 3/4 ounce each) provolone cheese

Pour the soup into a saucepan. Measure out the Italian seasoning. Toss it in the saucepan. Mix the soup and the seasoning.

Heat the soup over medium heat until it is hot. Stir every once in a while. Add the slices of beef to the soup. Continue to heat for 4 to 6 minutes, until soup and beef are heated all the way through. Stir every once in a while so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan

Use a serrated knife to cut the French rolls in half sideways on the cutting board. Use a slotted spoon to remove the slices of beef from the soup. Put the beef on the bottom halves of the rolls. If you like onions, put a few onions from the soup on the beef.

Cut each slice of cheese into two pieces. Put two pieces of cheese on top of the beef on each sandwich. Cover the beef and cheese with the top halves of the rolls.

Scoop out 1/3 cup soup and put it in one of the custard cups. Put the same amount of soup in each of the other custard cups. (If there's any soup left over, divide it into the cups.) Serve the sandwiches with the warm soup for dipping.

Makes 6 servings.

Approximate values per serving: 280 calories, 10 g fat, 47 mg cholesterol, 20 g protein, 28 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1,410 mg sodium, 32 percent calories from fat.

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

This sandwich is so good! Definitely our new favorite!

Chicken Pesto Sandwiches

1/4 cup basil pesto (such as Classico)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
olive oil
chicken breasts (3 or 4)
salt and pepper to taste
french bread (I bought some at wal-mart that was crusted with red peppers on the top - very good)
mozzarella
bottled roasted red bell peppers

Combine pesto and mayonnaise in a small bowl, stirring to blend.

Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken to cutting board, and cool slightly. Cut chicken lengthwise into thin slices.

Cut bread in half horizontally. Place bread, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove bread from pan. Spread pesto mixture evenly over cut sides of bread. Arrange the chicken slices evenly over bottom half. Sprinkle cheese on top. Return to broiler until cheese is melted. Top with red peppers and cover with top half of bread. Cut into individual sandwiches.