Open Faced Meatball Sandwiches

My little helper. :)

I had left over french bread and meatballs and sauce from dinner the other night so we came up with these goodies tonight. I cut the meatballs in slices so they would stay on the bread, add some parm. cheese and slices of mozerella. YUM! Bake at 375 for about 15-20 minutes.

BON BON

Crispy Chicken

4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1 egg

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*****

Flatten chicken to 1/4-in. thickness.
In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and basil.
In another bowl, beat the egg.

Dip chicken into egg, then coat with crumb mixture.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in butter and oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

*****

This my friends, is WHAT'S FOR DINNER!

(can I get an amen?) BON BON

Garlic Toasted Balsamic Chicken Bruschetta Sandwich

I LOVE bruschetta and chicken so combined I'm sure they are divine! Recipe from Picky Palate. Enjoy. BON BON

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

pinch of salt

¼ Cup balsamic vinegar

¼ Cup extra virgin olive oil
4 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced

8 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced into chiffonade

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

Pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
8 thin slices fresh mozzarella

4 ciabatta rolls, or other rolls of choice

1. Preheat a grill pan over medium heat on the stovetop. Spray with cooking spray. Combine balsamic and olive oil in a bowl. Season both sides of chicken with pinches of salt and place on grill. Brush top sides of chicken with balsamic mixture. Cook for 4-5 minutes and flip chicken. Brush with additional balsamic and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes or until cooked through.
2. In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, basil garlic, salt and balsamic. Toss gently to combine. Set aside.
3. Preheat same grill pan over medium heat and spray with additional cooking spray. Place 2 slices of cheese on bottom rolls then layer with chicken breasts, spoonfuls of tomato mixture and 2 more slices of cheese. Place top rolls to close sandwich and grill both sides on hot grill pan until toasty and warm. Serve warm.

Garlic Toasted Open Faced Lasagna Ciabattas

I stole this recipe from Picky Palate's blog....it looks really easy and super yummy. A different take on lasagna and something that seems fairly easy to make and fast too. Hope you enjoy. Let me know if you make it...as soon as I am feeling well again this will be tops on my list. BON BON

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 lb ground Italian Sausage

1 26 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce

8 leaves fresh basil, chopped (taste great if you have them, but not necessary)
15 oz container ricotta cheese

½ Cup grated parmesan cheese

1 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon Italian Seasoning
8 garlic roasted ciabatta rolls (I get them from Super Walmart)

1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place oil into a medium dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Cook sausage until browned, about 5-7 minutes; reserve ¼ Cup of sausage for ricotta. Reduce heat to low and stir in pasta sauce and basil leaves. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Place reserved ¼ Cup sausage, ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella, salt, pepper and Italian Seasoning into a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
3. Split each ciabatta roll and place cut side up onto a large baking sheet. Spread ricotta mixture over each roll, about ¼ Cup (*you probably won't use all of ricotta.). Top with a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce, and fresh mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is melted and hot. Remove, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.
*If you don't use all of your ricotta, save it and use it in a pasta dish for later in the week. I made a baked pasta dish where I stuffed the ricotta in the middle of some penne with red sauce, it was great.

Oven Baked Meatballs

Meatballs
2 slices white sandwich bread, torn into small cubes
4 tablespoons milk
1 pound meat loaf mix

(equal portions of ground beef, pork and ground turkey)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon basil
Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese to serve on the side

******

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a large roasting pan or a baking sheet with sides. Place the bread and milk into a small bowl, mix together and set aside.

2. Place the meatloaf mix into a large bowl and add the egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, and basil. Mix together--it is best to use your hands to ensure everything is evenly distributed.

3. Squeeze any excess milk from the bread and crumble it into tiny pieces. Add the bread to the meat mixture and mix again.

4. Take 1/4 cup of the meat into your hands and roll into a ball about 2 inches in diameter. You should have 12 meatballs total. Place the meatballs on the greased pan--do not crowd. Bake for 15 minutes, and then turn. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, turn again and continue to bake until meatballs are browned and cooked through. Let cool slightly and then sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

BON BON

Meatball Subs

1 cup spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. KRAFT 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese
12 oz. (3/4 of 1-lb. pkg.) frozen cooked meatballs
4 crusty sandwich buns, split
3/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
COOMBINE spaghetti sauce, water, Parmesan cheese and meatballs in large skillet. Bring to boil on medium-high heat.
REDUCE heat to medium; simmer 8 min. or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.
SPOON into buns; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

these are YUMMY!

~truly~

Italian Sausage, Spinach and Pasta

My sister Jenny emailed me this recipe that she found in the Boston Globe. Her family loved it! (and she has picky eaters) I haven't tried it yet but will make it for dinner this coming week.

2 lbs (spicy) Italian Sausage

(cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced into 1 inch pieces)

1 large onion, chopped

5 to 6 c low-sodium chicken broth

1 lb thin spaghetti, broken into thirds

2 pks baby spinach

1 c half and half

1/2 c parm cheese

Heat large pot over medium heat and add the sausage. After about 2 min. add onion and cook stirring until sausage is cooked through - about 5 more minutes. Drain off fat, add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 8 min. Add spinach and cover to wilt, about 3 min. Stir in half and half and parm cheese. Continue to stir until sauce thickens, about 5 min. Serve immediately. Enjoy!!!

BON BON

CHICKEN PARMA-SHAWN

8 CHICKEN BREASTS

1 QT. PLAIN YOGURT

1 TUBE RITZ CRACKERS

1 TSP SALT

1 1/2 TSP GARLIC SALT

1 TBSP PARSLEY

4 TBSP PARMESEAN

4 TBSP BUTTER (MELTED)

DIP CHICKEN IN YOGURT. CRUSH CRACKERS AND ADD OTHER INGREDIENTS, EXCEPT BUTTER. DIP CHICKEN IN CRACKER MIXTURE. DRIBBLE WITH BUTTER. COVER WITH FOIL AND BAKE AT 350 FOR 30 MIN. UNCOVER AND BAKE 30 MIN MORE. ENJOY!!!

I took this from one of my friends blogs (thanks Shelby)....I thought it looked simple and yummy. I hear it's a "real crowd pleaser" a lot like myself :) JUST KIDDING!

EXCUSE ME, BON BON and GG, are you guys not eating these days....whatcha' got cookin?

Love, T. Scrumptious

Baked Ziti

INGREDIENTS:

Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 ounces ziti rigate (ridged) or other short pasta
1 cup part-skim ricotta
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 jar (24 to 26 ounces) best-quality tomato sauce (about 3 1/2 cups) (I'm not so sure that Ragu qualifies as a "best quality" sauce, but I use it anyway!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions; drain and reserve.

2. In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper (if desired.)

3. In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes (ish).

***Editor's notes: I don't follow this recipe exactly--(Don't be scared, Truly--it's easy!) I usually add a little more sauce (trust your instincts!) because I can't stand it when baked pasta dishes dry out, and once in a while I like to add cooked, sliced italian sausage to this dish before baking. And, of course I serve this with salad and garlic bread.***

~GG