Zesty Cook » sandwich

Chicken Club and Avocado

zesty — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:30:52 +0000

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was enjoyable.

Ever get tired of the same ole run of the mill sandwiches? I have an idea for you to try. A different type of spread than your typical mayo or mustard.

Try this as your next sandwich spread: Avocado, cilantro, lime juice, hint of salt and pepper and a spoon full of salsa – DELISH!

It is a simple spin on guacamole for the base of your sandwich. The results speak for themselves. For me, the sandwich quality is usually driven by the bread then followed by the toppings. If you try this sandwich – you will be impressed with the flavor combination and treat the bread as a vehicle.

Ingredients

Cooked chicken breast, sliced,
2 pieces of bacon, cooked
Handful of spinach
Pepper
Avocado spread – see above
2 Slices of bread toasted

Method

Begin by making the spread, combine 1 avocado and handful of cilantro, squirt of lime juice, and spoonful of salsa
Toast your bread
Smear some of the avocado mixture
Top with chicken, bacon and spinach
Set the other slice of bread on top .
Slice it up.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Use this avocado spread in many variations. This would work very well as a base for baked nachos or even on a white fish. Be creative and keep your taste buds guessing.

Alright, the first of the week is back again. I hope you have a great start to your week. I will be back on Wednesday.

Question: What is your favorite sandwich?

Take care

zesty

Top 7 Ways to Use Tomatoes

zesty — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:40:06 +0000

Ever feel that you are running out of meal ideas with certain foods? That happens to me sometimes so I try to step back and think about different ways to use that certain ingredient. The last thing you want to have happen is that you get bored with a great food. The food of choice today is “Tomato“. I never used to like tomatoes but as I grew older I have found a new love for them.

I am not a huge fan of the tomato on just any given deli sandwich however but I do love tomatoes roasted, in sauces and on certain sandwiches with cheese. I just compiled a simple list that I came up with on ways I like to use tomatoes.

Hopefully they will spark your interest to try them.

7 Ways to Use Tomatoes

No-Cook Pasta Sauce – In a large bowl combine several chopped tomatoes, a clove or two of minced garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Add olive oil to coat tomatoes. Add hot pasta and toss to coat pasta. Bits of fresh mozzarella can be added – they will get a bit melted when tossed with the hot pasta. At the very end you can add red chili flakes, basil, and freshly shredded Parmesan are all tasty additions as well.
Grilled Tomatoes – Slice the tomatoes nice and thick, coat with a little olive oil – season with salt and pepper and grill for 4 mins on each side. Yum!
Toasted Tomato and Pesto Sandwich – Spread two slices of your favorite sandwich bread with your favorite pesto (need a favorite? try this pesto), top one pesto-ed slice with several meaty slices of tomato, sprinkle with salt, sandwich, and enjoy!
Simple Salsa – Make your own fresh salsa by tossed chopped tomato with your choice of the following: minced red onion, minced garlic, finely chopped jalapeño or serrano chiles. Add salt to taste. A splash of red vinegar can be tasty, too. Another addition can be some fresh avocado as well.

A Kicked Up BLT – This is a classic with a twist. This takes a little bit of effort but is so worth it. I like to take two slices of a thick homemade bread, toast it, top with a little butter and a nice piece of cheddar cheese. After that I add the fresh romaine lettuce, juicy red tomatoes and crisp bacon. I top it with freshly ground pepper and enjoy!

In a Salad – Any salad of your choice – tomatoes are a great addition. Keep it simple and dress it just before serving.
Stuffed Tomatoes with Rice - This one is a great fun recipe on a cool day. Scoop out the insides of the tomato. To prepare the filling use cooked rice, oregano and ground beef ( or you can omit) Top with fresh basil and mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

So there you have it! My top 7 ways to kick up the regular tomato. Let me know if you have any other great ways to kick up the tomato in the comments section. I will be back tomorrow - Have a great Wednesday.

I am off to New York… and will blog from the BIG Apple on Friday!

Take care

zesty

Sour Dough Turkey Sandwich w/ Chutney

zesty — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:00:34 +0000

What goes better with a Cranberry Cherry chutney than a roasted turkey sandwich on grilled sourdough bread? I cannot take all the credit here for this sandwich…. the bread was store bought but so delicious. Instead of using a mayonnaise or mustard, I chose to smear some chutney on the bottom of the bread. Topped with a little baby greens, tomatoes and cucumber – I didn’t even miss the cheese. The turkey was left over from an earlier roast and was sooooo good!

Sometimes the simple things in the kitchen make me smile. The freshness of this sandwich not too mention the little tang from the chutney was very tasty. Usually I get sick of sandwiches but this one is one I would prepare over and over again.

Ingredients

2 slices Sour dough bread, toasted
1 Tbsp. Cranberry Cherry chutney
Roasted turkey breast, sliced
Tomato
Cucumber
Baby Greens

Method

Toast the Sour dough bread, smear the chutney on one side.
Add the vegetable on top of the chutney and than layer with turkey.
If you want, you can smear the other piece of bread with chutney as well.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When using baby greens on a sandwich, ensure you wash and dry the greens very well. The worst thing is to have wet lettuce and then it makes the bread soggy. Use a spinner or a towel to make sure every piece is dry.

Friday is upon us and this weekend marks a super busy weekend. I heard rumblings from the weather man/woman that we are getting sunshine both Saturday and Sunday. After my initial shock, I realized that this will make for a busy couple of days. We are cleaning out both garages and filling up our new shed. Exciting, I know. After that we will prep for all our outdoor furniture and clean all the windows in the house.

Sunday is screaming garden. We are finally planting the garden. Whoooo Hooooo. I will take some pics. Have a super weekend.

Take care

zesty

Chew This… and Smile

zesty — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:00:44 +0000

Ever have leftover food and not know what to do with it?

I had some beef shank left over from last week sitting in the fridge and I wanted to use it up. I thought what better way then to make a beef sandwich. Exactly what I did.

How about fresh cheese baguette, tender beef, spiked relish, hint of jalapeno and mozzarella cheese? Yeah I know, it was holy YUM!

I used what I had on hand, I think another cheese would have worked better but you do with what you have. The relish was the star of the show, it was paired up with a little mustard, dash of ginger to give it a kick that goes so well with beef.

Ingredients

Cheese baguette
Beef ( cooked and pulled apart)
2 Tbsp. Relish
1 Tsp. Mustard
1/2 Tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 Tsp. Ginger
Mozzarella cheese ( shredded )
1 Tsp. Jalapeno pepper ( chopped)

Method

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 Degrees F.
Slice open the baguette leaving one side still in tact.
In a small bowl, take relish, mustard, red pepper flakes and ginger and mix together. Add Jalapeno and toss.
Smear one side of the bread with the relish mixture, top with the cooked beef and add the cheese a top that.
Close the sandwich, cover with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For an extra crunch, you can remove the tin foil with 4 minutes to go or put the sandwich directly on the grill. I like to cook it covered for the first little while to make sure I can cut through the bread with my teeth.

I am off. Big day at the office, must shower and clean up so I look somewhat presentable. Have a super mid week Wednesday, enjoy the cloudy weather with rain showers for the next 5 days. I am guessing it is sunny somewhere. Tell me it is sunny somewhere! Talk to you Friday.

Take care

zesty

Fat Sandwich…. Thin Bagel

zesty — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:20:00 +0000

As I promised on Monday, a new product to show off, a new spin on my Super Star Toast, and something I am going to call - Fat Sandwich, Thin Bagel. Remember my posts from way back where I created my version of Super Star Toast I and Super Star Toast II, well today I wanted to create something similar with a whole new product.

Just this past month Dempsters has released a product called Thin Bagels. I myself am a big fan of bagels but tend not too eat them that much due to the heaviness and extra calories. Dempsters new line contains 100 calories per bagel and of course I was game to receive some in the mail. Within days they sent me a bunch of coupons and 3 flavors of bagels to try. They carry Cinnamon Raisin which I loved, Regular which Zesty Junior devoured in 2 days, and Multi grain ( which I ate three of while testing this recipe for you).

I had a few ideas in my mind as to how I wanted to kick this bagel up and make it a fat sandwich to play on the words thin bagel. The end result was a combination of high quality breakfast ingredients all packed into one sandwich. Here is the lowdown.

Ingredients

One Dempsters Thin Multi grain Bagel (toasted)
Almond Butter
Nutella
Drizzle of Honey
Banana (sliced)
Sprinkle of Flax seed
Dash of dry plain oatmeal
Unsweetened coconut

Method

Toast the bagel, and start adding the toppings.
Spread both sides with a little almond butter, follow up with Nutella and sliced banana.
The add a drizzle of honey to act as glue for the flax, coconut and oatmeal.
Put the two halves together and smile with excitement
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Be careful putting both sides together and possibly wear a bib – it could get messy. But oh my – this was delicious.

You need to try this. The picture I had with the two sides put together was not great as I was in a rush and the bus was almost coming for zesty Junior. Trust me though… I ate three of these in a row… they were that good! I am going to be doing a giveaway soon for some free Dempsters coupons so be sure to check back. What I really love about these bagels are how crunchy they get in the toaster. I added a little bit of nutritional information below so be sure to check them out.

Thanks again to the Dempster folks and the folks at High View communications for letting me try this out and share them with you. Overall it is a thumbs up from the zesty household. Let me know what you think.

Take care

zesty

The Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich

zesty — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 12:00:25 +0000

Good day to you! Is breakfast your favorite meal of the day? For me, I would have to say yes to that question. Although I love eating at anytime of the day, breakfast is usually one of my favorites. Whether it is cereal, oatmeal, bacon and eggs, fresh homemade bread and jam, or an super delicious breakfast sandwich – sign me up because I am ready to go.

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite sandwiches in the morning. It is strictly just bacon, egg and cheese but it is the combination of flavors and textures that sends me over the moon. Oh wait, maybe it is the grease from the bacon and the richness of the cheese, followed by the buttery flavored croissant that makes me smile. Either or, I am pretty sure you will love this sandwich.

Before we get to far involved, let me state that the choice of bread can be endless. Today I went with a nice fresh croissant ( bakery purchased) but often times I would go with just homemade bread, maybe a fresh biscuit or even an English muffin or bagel. No rules on the bread front.

Ingredients

1 Croissant
2 Eggs
1 Slice of real cheddar
2 slices of ham( cooked )
Black Pepper
Mayo ( optional )
1 Tbsp. Oil
1 Tbsp. Water

Method

Preheat pan to medium high heat.
Crack two eggs in a bowl, add water and pepper and whisk together
Add the oil in the preheated pan and pour the beaten eggs in moving them around. Waiting about 1 minute, until the underside of the egg is cooked, gently use your lifter/flipper/turner to get under the egg and fold it over like an omelet.
Place cheese slice on top of egg and let melt
Let cook another minute or so and remove the pan from the heat.
Assemble the sandwich: Slice open croissant, add the ham to the bottom slice, top with egg and cheese and complete the sandwich.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Often times if you want a crunch, I will turn on the broiler in the oven and toast both the croissant and melt the cheese at the same time in the oven. You could also just toast the croissant by itself and add the toppings once complete.

I hope all the US folks had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let’s not forget that today is the final day for signing up for the book giveaway. I will be back Monday with ( if all things go as planned on the weekend) a very cool post to share with you.

Take care

zesty

Hangry Pants Gets Eggy

zesty — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:00:14 +0000

Help The Students Event: Day 17

Heather from Hangry Pants submitted her Help The Students Event recipe in the form of an egg sandwich. Anyone like a toasted egg sandwich with cheese? How about an egg sandwich in under 5 minutes? And not from take-out? Now my ears are perked up and ready to listen.

It sounds pretty simple, the steps are super easy ( you can check them out below ) and it is healthy for you! She opted for just egg whites and whole grain bread. Myself I would be all over this like a plump kid on a Rolo Bar but I would like top it with some fresh tomatoes, leaf lettuce and some cracked black pepper. I love that combination. Follow along below for all the details.

Ingredients

2 – 3 egg whites
2 slices of whole grain bread
1 slice of Swiss cheese
Other Toppings as you desire

Method

Cook egg whites in the microwave for 1 minute. They will puff up.
If you have a toaster, toast the bread.
Assemble sandwich.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: This will work very well with an English Muffin or a kaiser roll as well as regular bread. I am always up for tasting bread with eggs and cheese. One of my favorite toppings is Jam or homemade preserves.

Thanks for a quick fun post Heather. I know there are millions of students out there that will find this post helpful. Such a great source of protein, somewhat in expensive and tastes great. Good Job! I cannot believe it is Thursday already! Have a super day and I will talk to you on Friday to wrap the week up.

Take care

zesty

Grilled Pineapple Sandwich…. ummm Yeah!

zesty — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:00:36 +0000

In honor of the weirdest sandwich post on Wednesday and reading the comments I was inspired to do something a little off the wall so to speak. I had some fresh pineapple in the fridge and a loaf of homemade bread from the local bakery. I thought what the heck let’s give it a grill. It has been raining cats and dogs here as of late so I decided just to do the grilling on the George Foreman grill.

I was unsure of how the pineapple would hold up so I did a quick grill of that first and set it aside as I assembled the sandwich.

Ingredients

2 slices of thick whole wheat bread
Sliced fresh pineapple
Drizzle of honey
Bunch of parsley
Dash of hot sauce
Mozzarella

Method

Preheat the grill to medium high heat and grill off the pineapple and set aside
Take the two slices of bread and drizzle honey on one side.
Place a thick slice of pineapple on top.
Add hot sauce, parsley and cheese
Set the second slice of bread on top and grill until golden brown and melted.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Make it crunchy! The pineapple has a lot of natural juice in the slice so grilling it before hand was a great idea. Keep the cheese heavy as it will lock the juice in the pineapple and keep the bread crunchy.

The sandwich was actually quite tasty. The one thing I did notice about it was the sweetness… duh right? But I found the little shot of hot sauce definitely help balance all the sugars from both the pineapple and the honey. I would try this again but I think over the open flame of the barbecue for more flavor.

Have a terrific Friday and wish me luck tomorrow as I put forth my handy man skills and donate some time to the habitat for humanity for the annual “Baby Barn Blitz”. Hopefully it is sunny where you are.

Take care

zesty

Let's Go Bananas!

zesty — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:00:29 +0000

Happy Wednesday! Ever just feel that there is one food that is so versatile for any meal? I think for me it has to be the banana. Whether it is breakfast, lunch , dinner or dessert - the banana can make you happy. High in potassium and fiber (9 grams for one), bananas are a no-brainer when it comes to eating your five a day quotient of fruits and veggies.

I was contacted by the folks at Endless Simmer and was asked if I would mind if they featured zesty in a post titled “100 things to do with a banana”. Of course I said yes and always more than honored when fellow bloggers choose to feature my recipes and posts. The one that was chosen is my use of banana on the super star toast. Here is a snap shot of the toast if you never saw it before.

Below are a few more banana recipes that I have feature in the past on zesty.

Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Monkey

Super Star Toast II

Banana Walnut Bread

Triple Decker Peanut Butter Sandwich

There you have a quick summary on the fabulous food called “BANANA“. Tell me what your favorite ingredient is for anytime throughout the day and feel free to plug your blog if you have one and link to the recipe in the comments.

Have an amazing mid week Wednesday! It is going to be sunny here… finally.

Take care

zesty

Toasted Chicken Basil Tomato Sandwich

zesty — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 12:00:57 +0000

A successful weekend has concluded and Mrs. Zesty has arrived back home from a getaway with the girls. While away, I on the other hand had somewhat of a normal weekend with the kiddos. We did have a lot of fun working outside in the yard, watching the Curious George dvd at 6:45 am, cooking and making a mess in the kitchen as well as playing hide and go seek. All in all, a great weekend and somewhat relaxing.

Of course with that being said, you have to eat! I was unsure what to eat all day Saturday, i just couldn’t come to grasp with what i was craving and for me that really bugs me. I did some grocery shopping on Friday night to avoid hitting the shops on Saturday. In the groceries I spotted some fresh basil which I love and a nice batch of cherry tomatoes. Me and basil are almost like baseball and glove – tough to survive without the other. Here are a few of my basil infused addictions:

That showcases a few and I can honestly say I think it is my favorite herb as you can tell by browsing some of my recipes. Now that we know I love basil – I knew I wanted to use that in whatever i was going to make for lunch. Then the energy efficient light bulb when off in my head, how about a toasted chicken sandwich with a basil tomato compote on top.

Sounded pretty good to me. And this is how it went down.

Ingredients

2 slices of Whole wheat bread
1 boneless chicken breast
2 Tbsp. Salsa
Handful of grape tomatoes
1 Slice Havarti cheese ( you could use any – I just happen to have this)
2 Sprigs of fresh basil
Cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 350 and roast chicken breast until cooked through.
In a saute pan, preheat to medium and add the salsa, tomatoes, pepper and cook down until tomatoes begin to break down ( about 6 minutes )
Add basil and stir through. Meanwhile your chicken is cooked you can add it to the pan whole and coat it with the sauce form the tomatoes and salsa.
Pop your toast in the toaster and then begin to assemble your sandwich.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Do not let this sandwich sit for a long time because the bread will become soggy and that will not be ideal. Of course I will always get one soggy one as I am slow with the camera.

Even though I had a hard time coming up with figuring out what I wanted to eat – the results were pleasing. I would definitely make this sandwich again.

The Seeded Grape

As I was browsing the grocery store on Friday – I noticed grapes were on sale. I am always on the look out for a grape sale cause both kids love them and polish them off in no time. So I grab these grapes with a proud smile on my face. I walk in the door and say ” I got grapes!” Immediately I am swarmed with the two turks at my legs. I wash a couple of handfuls and put them in the bowl… all seemed well. Ella chomps down a couple in a heartbeat, meanwhile Carter looks at me and says ” Umm Dad, these have seeds in them”. Oh for poop sake – that is no good! Needless to say a better part of my weekend food prep was spent slicing open grapes and picking the seeds out. I will be more attentive to the details next time on the grape front.

Have a super start to your week and I will see you all on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty