Meatball Sandwiches with Tomato-Cream Sauce, Mozzarella, and Pesto, from Gael

Meatball Sandwiches with Tomato-Cream Sauce, Mozzarella, and Pesto, from Gael

From Plated meal-kit service, made 6-11-19. LOVE the sauce, could eat it plain! Not low-calorie!

Plated comments: "Italian meatball subs rank pretty high on our list of all-time sandwich greats.
This version is our favorite one yet, with all the essentials: tender roasted meatballs, red sauce, and plenty of mozzarella. We add a splash of cream to enrich the marinara as it simmers, then drizzle over pesto after baking for a one-two sauce punch."

1 yellow onion
1 clove garlic
2 demi-baguettes
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs
12 ounces ground beef
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
1 ounce heavy cream
2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons pesto

1. Prepare ingredients
Preheat oven to 450ºF. Peel onion and finely chop. (Note: REEEEEEALLY FINE, and use less if making for Rob. Or sub in onion powder.) Mince garlic. Slice baguettes open horizontally, if they arrived whole, keeping 1 edge intact. Line a baking sheet with foil.

2. Form and bake meatballs
In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons onion, half of garlic, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired. Pat beef dry with a paper towel and add to bowl. Using your hands, mix well, then form into 6 equal balls, about 2 inches thick (see recipe tip). Arrange meatballs on prepared baking sheet, spacing apart as much as possible. Bake until slightly browned and cooked through, 15–18 minutes.

3. Make tomato-cream sauce
While meatballs bake, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. When oil is shimmering, add remaining onion and remaining garlic; sauté, stirring, until softened, 3–4 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened and flavors have melded, 5–6 minutes. Remove pan from heat; stir in Parmesan and half of cream (see recipe tip).

4. Assemble sandwiches
Once baked, carefully halve meatballs on sheet (so they fit in the sandwiches). On a clean, dry surface, arrange baguettes cut-side up. Spread half of tomato-cream sauce inside baguettes, dividing evenly (save remainder for the next step). Add 6 meatball halves to each baguette. Discard foil from sheet and add sandwiches (see recipe tip).

5. Bake meatball sandwiches
Spoon remaining tomato-cream sauce over meatballs in baguettes, then sprinkle over mozzarella. Bake until cheese is melted and baguettes are golden, 5–6 minutes. (This is a great time to get ahead on dishes.) 6. Plate meatball sandwiches Once sandwiches are baked, drizzle over pesto. Halve meatball sandwiches crosswise and divide between serving plates. Dig in!

Gochujang Grilled Cheese with Peanut-Kale Salad, from Gael

Gochujang Grilled Cheese with Peanut-Kale Salad, from Gael

From Plated meal-kit service, made 5-27-19, Memorial Day. Yum! I didn't know what gochujang even was. Probably any chile paste or spicy spread of your choice will work. This is great--easy, tasty, love the simple healthy salad.

Comments from Plated: "In yet another brilliant twist on grilled cheese, we’re adding gochujang (a savory, spicy Korean chile paste). It melds with the melty Fontina and white Cheddar as the sandwiches toast in the pan. On the side, a crunchy and refreshing kale and green apple salad is tossed in our popular peanut vinaigrette.

Korean gochujang combines fermented soybeans with dried red chiles, garlic, and other seasonings for a condiment that’s spicy, salty, and rich. We're slathering the sauce over sourdough bread, piling on white Cheddar and Fontina, and toasting the sandwiches until crisp and melty."

1 packet peanut butter
6 ounces dinosaur kale
1 Granny Smith apple
3 scallions
1 tablespoon gochujang
2 packets mayonnaise
1 packet gluten-free soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
½ tablespoon dark brown sugar
4 slices sourdough bread
2 ounces shredded white Cheddar cheese
2 ounces shredded Fontina cheese

1. Prepare ingredients
Set peanut butter aside to soften at room temperature. Rinse all produce. Stack kale leaves and thinly slice, discarding long stems. Slice off rounded sides of apple, discarding core, and thinly slice. Trim and discard scallion roots and thinly slice.

2. Make gochujang sauce
Heat ½ tablespoon canola oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add scallions and cook, stirring, until softened, 3–4 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Transfer scallions to a small bowl, add gochujang and 1 packet mayonnaise, and stir to combine. Wipe pan clean and set aside for cooking sandwiches.

3. Make peanut-kale salad
In a large bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, 1½ tablespoons canola oil, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and pepper as desired. Add kale and apple to bowl with dressing and toss to coat. Set aside until ready to serve (don't worry about the salad getting soggy—sturdy kale will only get more tender and delicious the longer it soaks up the dressing).

4. Assemble grilled cheese
Place bread slices on a clean, dry surface. Spread remaining mayonnaise over 1 side of bread slices, then flip. Spread gochujang sauce over plain sides of 2 bread slices; top remaining bread slices with white Cheddar and Fontina. Add gochujang-topped bread slices to cheese-topped bread slices, mayonnaise-side up (see recipe tip).

5. Cook grilled cheese
Return pan from scallions to medium heat. Carefully hover your hand a few inches away from the pan—when you can easily feel heat, add sandwiches. Place a medium heavy pan or large plate on top to weight down and cook until bread is golden and cheese is melted, 3– 4 minutes per side (see recipe tip). Transfer to cutting board.

6. Plate grilled cheese
Halve gochujang grilled cheese and divide between serving plates. Serve with peanut-kale salad. Enjoy with fellow cheese lovers!

Homemade turkey Sloppy Joes, from gael

Homemade turkey Sloppy Joes, from Gael

From Rachael Ray magazine, Oct. 2011. Made these in Sept. 2011 with turkey and they're great!

1 small onion, quartered
1 red bell pepper, quartered
2 T olive oil
1 lb ground turkey (beef OK too)
2 t chili powder
2 c tomato puree
1 1/2 T packed brown sugar
1 T cider vinegar
1 T worchestershire sauce
1 t coarse salt
whole-wheat hamburger buns

Using food processor, coarseley chop onion and red pepper

In skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add onion-pepper mix and cook till soft, about 3 minutes.
Add turkey, breaking it up w spoon. Cook for a few minutes. Stir in chili powder. Add puree, brown sugar, vinegar, worchestershire and salt.

Simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Spoon over buns.

Cuban Sandwiches with Sriracha, from Gael

Cuban Sandwiches with Sriracha, from Gael

Really tasty sandwich, the Sriracha (chili sauce, aka Rooster sauce) just makes it. From Epicurious.com. Gael made these 9-26-11 and she and Rob really liked them.

• 1 cup mayonnaise, divided
• 1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
• 1/3 cup (packed) finely chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 1-pound loaf ciabatta bread (I bought two individual rolls instead)
• 12 deli slices Swiss cheese
• 1 pound thinly sliced Black Forest ham
• 6 1/4-inch-thick slices cooked turkey breast

Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise and chili sauce in small bowl. Mix 1/2 cup mayonnaise, mint, and next 4 ingredients in another small bowl.

Spread chili mayonnaise over cut sides of bread. Top each bottom half of bread with 1 cheese slice, ham slices, and 1 turkey slice. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Spoon mint mayonnaise over turkey. Top with remaining cheese and top halves of bread.   Press in panini maker.

                            

 

Open-Faced Veggie Sandwiches, from Gael

Open-Faced Veggie Sandwiches, from Gael

• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 3 garlic cloves, minced


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano


• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil


• 1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced


• 2 medium zucchini, halved and sliced


• 1 large onion, sliced


• 1 medium sweet red pepper, sliced


• 1 medium green pepper, sliced


• 1/4 cup mayonnaise


• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar


• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard


• 4 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick), toasted


• 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced


• 4 slices Muenster cheese

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the oil, garlic, salt, oregano and basil. Add vegetables and toss to coat. Transfer to two 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.


• Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar and mustard; spread over toast. Place on a baking sheet. Top with vegetable mixture, tomato and cheese. Broil 6-8 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

From Taste of Home online. Made these for Rob June 30, 2010 and we both loved them. Nice to have meatless options. Good use of summer veggies.