Cooking With Amanda

Monday, August 3, 2015

Caprese Panini

Lunch tends to be the most difficult meal of the day for me. Sure, if there are leftovers from dinner the night before then I'm golden! I love when I've made a big tray of pizza pasta because I know my lunch the next day is going to be absolutely fantastic. Few things in life heat up better than pasta with a chunky vegetable sauce, sausage, pepperoni and all sorts of different cheeses. It's like an everything pizza in baked pasta form!

If not though, I find myself peering inside the refrigerator longingly wondering what to make for my mid-day meal. I personally want my lunch to be rather quick, and I don't want to spend too much time actually cooking at lunch time. Most of the time I usually find myself settling for a sandwich. Easy, right? I love ham and cheese just as much as the next guy, but it certainly gets real old real quick and just feels so blah.

Any time I can jazz things up a bit, I'm all over it. That's where this easy to make Caprese panini comes in. This is one sandwich that is no fuss, no muss yet it's way better that the same ol' same ol'. Zesty flavorful pesto packs a punch when it melds together with creamy fresh mozzarella, ripe juicy tomatoes and fragrant basil leaves.

Press these vibrant fresh ingredients together between two crusty slices of ciabatta bread until they're warm and the cheese has melted. In the end, you've got an easy lunch that will satisfy your hunger for good food without having to spend too much time preparing it. A drizzle of syrupy balsamic reduction is my very favorite part of this sandwich. It's the perfect finishing touch to this flavorful, easy to make Caprese panini recipe.

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Caprese Panini Recipe

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Ingredients

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 ciabatta roll, sliced in half lengthwise or 2 slices of ciabatta bread
2 tablespoons pesto
2-3 slices fresh mozzarella
3 large fresh basil leaves
2-3 slicess of tomato

Directions

In a small sauce pan, stir together balsamic vinegar and honey. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half and mixture has become thick and syrupy. Set aside.
Spread pesto on one side of the ciabatta roll. Place mozzarella slices on other side of ciabatta roll. Top with basil then tomatoes. Place pesto spread ciabatta roll on top to form a sandwich.
Place sandwich inside panini press and cook until cheese has melted. Open sandwich and drizzle with balsamic reduction.

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Goulash

This dish took me back. Way back. It was such a looooong time since I'd had goulash, but I had a random craving recently and decided to see if I could throw it together for dinner.

Mission accomplished. Dinner in a snap.

It was all very nostalgic. Why? Well, it took me straight back to high school because this was a super regular lunch in the school cafeteria. Some people don't exactly love the idea of reliving their younger days – hey, I get it. High school was HARD. Or so I thought.

At the time, of course it felt very stressful and confusing, but WOW were those simple times. Those were the days! Life was easy. I just studied and hung out with my friends. That was basically the extent of my life then. If given the chance to go back, I think I'd give it some serious thought!!

So, all that said, to be enjoying goulash again felt very nostalgic! I was immediately dropped right back into high school. It's funny how foods and smells, things like that, can take you right back to a memory from the past. That's how I felt when I was eating this delicious one-pot meal.

I didn't realize it until I made it, but goulash is apparently such a comfort food to me. While summertime might be a strange season to be thinking comfort food, I am always in the mood for comfort food. This is coming from the girl who still loves chicken noodle soup in Florida in July. Call me crazy, but I can always go for a cozy bowl of soup or a hearty and filling casserole. I know: crazy.

Between the nostalgia I felt from savoring an old favorite meal, and the fact that goulash is simply delicious, this dish was a home run. I whipped it up in one pot, and it was ready in about a half hour, with minimal hands-on labor involved. Although I love to bake, cooking is not my favorite thing, so I really appreciated that goulash is pretty quick and simple to prepare.

With plenty of ground beef for protein, loads of macaroni (yay, carbs!), and generous amounts of tomato sauce, this goulash is super filling and super yummy. Ah – and melted cheese. Perhaps the most important ingredient of all! It's such a fast and hearty dinner, and it makes for amazing leftovers to pack for lunch!

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Goulash Recipe

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Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 pounds ground beef
2 24 ounce jars tomato sauce
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably with green pepper & onion or italian seasoned
2 1/2 cups water
1 pound elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups colby jack cheese, shredded

Directions

In a large pot or French oven, cook the onion and pepper over medium heat until they are starting to brown and soften.
Add the ground beef and cook until it's browned and no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes.
Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water, macaroni, and Italian seasoning.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until the macaroni are tender.
Remove from heat, and serve with shredded cheese on top.