Easy Cucumber Sandwiches

My tastes have changed since I got pregnant. I was out at a restaurant eating a bagel and cream cheese with some veggies on the side. I had some leftover cream cheese and just came up with this idea to spread it on my cucumber. Amazing! The taste reminded me of one of my favorite simple appetizers - cucumber sandwiches!

These are perfect for someone like me that likes to eat healthy and doesn't want to spend a long time cooking. I started eating them for dinner and I love it!

Ingredients:
• mini rye bread (or something else if you prefer)
• cream cheese
• sliced cucumber
• dill weed

Spread cream cheese evenly on bread.

Top with a slice of cucumber.

Sprinkle dill weed on top.

Pig out!

Partying it up at these weekly link parties

Delicious Chicken Gyros Sandwiches

I've had this recipe sitting in my "To Make" pile for awhile. I'm SO glad we decided to make it because it was the best dinner we've had in a long time!

Adapted from here

Ingredients:
Tzatziki sauce
•10 oz. plain yogurt
• 1 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• salt & pepper
• fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Chicken
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• salt & pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breasts

To make sandwiches
• pita bread
• sliced tomato
• sliced red onion

Mix diced cucumber, yogurt, garlic, white wine, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes before serving.

Dice chicken into bite-size pieces.

Mix garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, yogurt, oregano, salt and pepper in another bowl.

Add chicken pieces and coat with mixture. Let chicken marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Once chicken is marinated, heat in a pan until meat is fully cooked.

Heat pitas in microwave or bake for a few minutes in the oven.

To make sandwiches, wrap a pita around chicken pieces, onion and tomato and then top with tzatziki sauce.

I could eat these every single day! SO good!

Delicious Turkey Patty Melts

Hubby created this dinner for us recently and I wanted to share it with you because it was so good. I've never had a patty melt before because I don't eat red meat, so this is our turkey version.

Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:
• 8 slices of bread
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 4 slices mozzarella cheese

In a small pan, heat vegetable oil and pour in onions. When onions start to soften, add brown sugar and grill for 5 more minutes.

Roll ground turkey into 4 patties. In a large pan, melt 1 T butter and then add turkey patties. Grill patties until meat is fully cooked.

Once patties are cooked, move them to a plate and heat 1 T in pan. Lightly toast slices of bread until golden brown and then flip to other side.

When bread is toasted, create a sandwich with turkey patty, grilled onions and a slice of cheese.

Messy, but very good! Enjoy!

Asian-Inspired Chicken Tacos

These were a creation from Hubby after he was inspired by an episode of Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. I was a little nervous when he told me about this, but I was happily surprised when they turned out SO good!

Ingredients:
• 2 t minced garlic
• 1 T chopped green onion
• 1 T chopped cilantro
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 T soy sauce
• shredded cabbage
• shredded carrots
• soft tortillas
• white rice
Place chicken in large pan and cook until no pink remains.

Add garlic, hoisin sauce, soy sauce and cook until sauce thickens.

Pour in cilantro and green onion and cook for a few more minutes until soft.

While chicken and sauce is cooking, make rice according to box directions.

Pour chicken and sauce onto taco shells. Top with cabbage and carrots.

Wrap up the sides and enjoy!

Delicious Meatball Subs

We kinda made up this recipe one day while we were at the grocery store and wanted to try something new for dinner. It ended up turning out great so I wanted to share it with you.

Ingredients:
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped pepperoni (we used turkey pepperoni)
• 3 teaspoons chopped basil
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• turkey meatballs (either pre-made frozen or make your own - for super exciting meatballs, try these cheesy stuffed meatballs)
• sliced mozzarella cheese
• marinara sauce
• Italian bread or large buns

In a large pot, combine onion, pepperoni, basil, marinara sauce, spinach, and meatballs. Cover pot and heat for about 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked. Stir every few minutes while cooking.

Once meatballs are done, spoon meatballs and sauce in buns and top with cheese slices. To melt the cheese, place sandwiches on a cookie sheet and heat in the over for a couple minutes.

A quick & yummy meal! Enjoy!







Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Another attempt at the crock pot came out great!

These BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches were really good and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 18 oz. bottle of BBQ sauce (we used Sweet Baby Rays)
• 1 medium sweet onion, diced
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 tpepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  
• hamburger buns
• optional: slices of cheese
  

Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove fat from chicken breasts and put in pot.

Pour diced onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and brown sugar over chicken.

Pour BBQ sauce over chicken

Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
If you're home, give the chicken a stir every couple of hours to keep from burning.

About 30-45 minutes before the chicken is ready, shred the chicken.
I think it's easiest to use two forks and pull the chicken apart.

After cooking for 8 hours, give the chicken a final mix and place on buns.
Add a slice of cheese to the top if you'd like.

Yum! And great leftover as well!

Easy, Lowfat Tuna Panini

I've had a tuna obsession lately so I've been busy looking for fun recipes. I combined a few different tuna sandwich recipes to create this one.

Ingredients:
• 1 can of chunk light tuna, drained
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 4 tablespoons red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 boiled egg, chopped
• pepper (to taste)
• sliced bread

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl

Mix well.

Ok, so there's 2 ways to make your panini: the EASY WAY and the REAL WAY.

The EASY WAY: Toast your bread and spread a thin layer of butter on it while it's still warm.

The REAL WAY: Heat 1 teaspoon of canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Put slices of bread in the pan. Then take another smaller skillet and place it on top of the bread to push it down. Use some extra cans of food to weigh down the skillet. Cook the bread until it's golden on one side (about 1-2 minutes). Flip the bread and cook the other side.

Either way you prepare your bread is yummy, IMO. Just depends how much time you have.

Scoop some tuna salad on your warm bread and top with cheese.

Enjoy!

Turkey meatball subs

We needed a fun & quick dinner the other night so we could get some work done on the house, so I wanted to try turkey meatball subs inspired by this blog.

To make the meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 white onion, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp Italian herbs
1 tsp crushed red pepper (I didn't use this because I don't eat spicy food)
salt and pepper to taste

To make the subs:
baguette loaf
marinara sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
oregano

As I was grabbing ingredients from the fridge, I turned around to see this:

Kitty wanted to help!

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients for meatballs in a large bowl.

2. Mix ingredients well by hand.
3. Roll into balls about 1 1/2" in diameter and place on a greased baking pan.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 30 minutes. Cut one open to see if they are done. When it's no longer pink in the middle, it's done. Ours needed an extra 5 minutes.
5. Cut a section of baguette and slice it down the middle leaving the bread connected in the middle.
6. Spread with marinara sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
7. Slice 2-4 meatballs in half and place on the sub. Top with more mozzarella, parmesean, and oregano.
8. Toast in a toaster oven or on broil in the oven until cheese is melted and edges of the bread are crispy and light brown.
9. Squeeze it together and enjoy!


Of course, we needed some college-style beer complete with camo art on the can!

These subs were great leftover too. I ate them for dinner the past 2 nights. Yum!

Pulled BBQ Chicken

Pulled chicken is a favorite is our house. I found this recipe from Rachael Ray that we decided to try the other night. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-1/3 cups barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• Hot pepper sauce
• 6 kaiser or French rolls, split
• 6 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese (about 1-1/2 cups)

Directions:

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in a heavy pot with the onion, garlic and just enough water to cover (about 1-1/2 cups). Add the barbecue sauce, vinegar and a few drops hot sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken from the sauce and shred with two forks.

   

2. Boil the sauce, skimming occasionally, until reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shredded chicken and heat through. Spoon the mixture onto the rolls and top with the cheese.

Chicken Philly Fun!

I love chicken philly sandwiches and they are so hard to find in restaurants. Why not make my own? I found this recipe from Cooking Light and had to try it.
*See my notes on the final outcome at the end.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 sandwich)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into (1-inch-thick) strips
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup red bell pepper strips
• 1 cup green bell pepper strips
• 1 cup vertically sliced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 4 (3-ounce) submarine rolls (such as Cobblestone Mill brand)
• 4 (1-ounce) slices provolone cheese

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Sauté 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan. Add red bell pepper and next 5 ingredients (red bell pepper through garlic) to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until tender. Stir in chicken and pepper sauce; remove from heat.

Slice each roll in half horizontally, cutting to, but not through, other side. Place 1 cheese slice and 1 cup chicken mixture on bottom half of each roll, and gently press roll halves together.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add 2 sandwiches. Place a cast-iron or heavy skillet on top of sandwiches; press gently to flatten. Cook 4 minutes on each side or until cheese melts and bread is toasted (leave skillet on sandwiches while they cook). Repeat with remaining sandwiches.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 490 (28% from fat)

Fat: 15.4g (sat 6.5g,mono 6.2g,poly 1.5g)

My notes:
-The sandwich could use a little more flavor. Next time I'm going to double the amount of spices and add carmelized onions.