Running Mama Cooks

I was thrilled to find out that this week's theme for the recipe swap was sandwiches. Quick weeknight meals is what I am in need of the most since I am now teaching every evening during the week except for Tuesdays. Healthy sammies and wraps are the perfect fit for our family right now.

I was assigned Elisha's "Graceland" Eggplant Panini and it was great! I lightened it up by baking the eggplant instead of frying and also skipping the oil on the sandwich itself. I actually cooked the eggplant in the afternoon and all I had to do was assemble and cook the panini after putting the kiddos to bed.

Here is Lishie's original Recipe. I shared our go-to recipe for French Dip Sandwiches, one of our family favs.

Eggplant Panini
Recipe adapted from DeLish

1 Eggplant
1 egg, whisked
1/2 cup Bread crumbs
Italian Sub Rolls or full Italian Bread, sliced into sandwich sizes
1 Jar of Roasted, Sweet Red Peppers or 1 Fresh Red Pepper, Roasted
Fresh Mozzarella, sliced
Fresh Basil
Approximately 2-3 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Clean, peel, & slice the eggplant length-wise. Set up a mis en place: Whisked egg in one shallow bowl, Bread Crumbs in another. Heat oven to 400. Dip the eggplant slice first in the egg then coat the slices with bread crumbs & place on a baking sheet. Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

After the eggplant is breaded & cooked, assemble the sandwiches... Bread, eggplant, peppers, mozzarella slices, basil leaves (I leave them whole) & finally the splash of balsamic vinegar.

Close the assembled sandwich & cook it either on a panini maker OR on a grill pan with a weight on the sandwich (another pan or heavy plate) until the mozzarella is melted.

ZACH'S RATING - *** 1/2

Spring is here!!! The weather the past couple of days has been absolutely beautiful. We took advantage of it tonight but grilling a yummy meal and eating outside for the first time this spring.

This meal was a staple for us last summer. Light and good. I served it with a simple salad.

Grilled Roasted Red Pepper Chicken
A Running Mama Original Recipe

1 package thin cut chicken breasts
1/4 cup fat free Italian dressing (tonight I used roasted red pepper vinaigrette)
4 roasted red peppers, cut in half
1/2 cup low fat Italian blend cheese

Place chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and pour in dressing. Marinate for at least an hour.

Place chicken on a hot grill and cook through. Place 1/2 a roasted red pepper on each piece and sprinkle with cheese. Remove from grill when cheese is melted.

We enjoyed some more outdoor time by dying Easter eggs and making s'mores by our fire pit! Such a fun Saturday night!!

Today was all about culinary challenges for me. I've never made risotto and have honestly been a little intimidated by it. Well, it was not that hard, but definitely a little tedious. The end result? Totally worth it. Super delicious and I really loved this flavor combination. This recipe, from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, was excellent. I can see using the base recipe and adding any flavor combo I feel like, which Mary Ellen has done throughout her blog.

I am officially a big risotto fan! It was the perfect compliment to my Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

Risotto with Roasted Red Pepper and Baby Spinach
From Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

•1 tbsp butter
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 shallot, chopped
•2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
•Optional: a few dashes of red pepper flakes
•1 c arborio rice
•1/4 c dry white wine
•5 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version)
•1 roasted red pepper, chopped (to roast, put over an open flame until all of the skin is charred. Put in a bowl covered with plastic to sweat the skin off. After 10 minutes, peel the skin to reveal your beautiful roasted red pepper)
•1 c fresh baby spinach
•3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

•Heat olive oil and butter in a large saute pan
•Add shallots and garlic (and red pepper flakes); stir until tender, about 2 minutes.
•Add arborio rice and stir until coated
•Add the white wine and stir until absorbed
•Add the chicken broth, one ladle at a time, stirring constantly. Add more broth only when all of the broth in the pan has been absorbed by the rice. This entire process takes anywhere from 17 to 25 minutes.
•Near the end, stir in the spinach and red peppers.
•When you add your final ladle of broth, add the cheese.
•Serve immediately.

The other night I watched Giada's Ingredients in 15 minutes episode of Everyday Italian and she made this recipe. My husband said "ohh" when he saw the roasted red peppers so I added it to my "to do" list.

I made a few additions. I marinated about a pound of chicken breasts in Italian dressing and had Zach grill them and cut into bite size chunks. I also added small bits of fresh mozzarella and a generous handful of shredded asiago cheese.

This afternoon I made a new soup recipe. This Corn Soup (recipe from my friend Brenna) caught by eye because of the roasted red peppers, one of my husband's favorite ingredients. Plus I wanted an excuse to use my new hand blender :D

Cut the peppers in half and scoop out the seeds and cores. Set one aside. Cut the other into ½-inch dice.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and sauté over low heat for about 10 minutes, until it is translucent and soft. Stir in the diced pepper and corn and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.

Spoon the contents of the pan into a food processor, pour in the chicken stock and process until almost smooth (I used a blender because it is a lot of liquid). This processing can be done in batches if necessary.