grilled cheese | This Girl’s Gotta Eat!

Last Night’s Leftover Ingredients = Today’s Lunch: Provolone & Prosciutto Grilled Cheese With Arugula Salad

5 02 2012

I never leave food behind; I always enjoy leftovers for lunch or use them to create a new dinner; turning those leftover ingredients into thoughtful and creative dishes! For a quick lunch today, I used leftover ingredients from last night’s delicious dinner: Provolone and prosciutto grilled cheese with a simple arugula salad.

Provolone & Prosciutto Grilled Cheese With Arugula Salad

Provolone and prosciutto grilled cheese:

2 slices of Italian bread
2 slices of provolone cheese
1 slice of prosciutto
Butter or olive oil garlic spread

Spread slices of bread with butter or an olive oil garlic spread (I get this in the deli of my grocery store for quick garlic bread and grilled cheese recipes). On the inside of a slice of buttered bread, layer one slice of cheese, the slice of prosciutto, next add the other slice of cheese and top with the other piece of buttered bread. Saute in a small skillet over medium-low heat until toasty brown on one side. Flip, pressing down to help the ingredients stick together, and continue toasting until the second side is brown.

Arugula and spring mix salad:

Handful of arugula and handful of baby spring mix salad
Good sprinkle of garlic powder
Pinch of salt
Good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
Drizzle of red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and taste – adjust the oil and vinegar to your liking. I have a heavy hand when it comes to the vinegar 🙂

Tomato Soup and Pastina with Grilled Cheese

7 09 2011

I’ve been away from the kitchen for the past few days, and Ohio for that matter – missing the intense near 100-degree heat and humidity that was here over the weekend. I came back to cool, crisp fall-like weather….a 30-degree temperature drop from day-to-day can be norm in Cleveland! So what does that mean for dinner? Some sort of soup of course!

I have a few different ways of making tomato soup, but this recipe was a new one I discovered in Cuisine For Two. I made a few tweaks to the ingredients based on what I had in the fridge, as well as how my Italian fam likes to eat pasta in soup. We tend to use “pastina” which in Italian means “little pasta” and is the smallest pasta you can find. This meal is simple, fast and delicious along side some gooey grilled cheese.

Tomato Soup and Pastina with Grilled Cheese

This recipe is great if you’re in a hurry, simply follow these steps to make this soup in 15 minutes (serves 2). If you have a few more minutes to spare, check out my tip below for how I did it.

1/2 cup diced onion (I used shallots instead)
1/4 cup diced celery (I used green bell pepper instead)
1 heaping tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry orzo pasta or pastina (meaning “little pasta”)
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste
Minced lemon zest
Chopped fresh parsley
Grated parmesan cheese

Saute garlic, onion and celery in oil in a saucepan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth and pasta. Bring to a boil and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper flakes. Serve with zest, parsley and parmesan garnished.

This Girl’s Way: Saute bell pepper in oil in a saucepan over medium heat for a minute or two. Add the shallots, garlic and dash of red pepper flakes and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and broth, bring to a boil and then simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Mash the tomatoes a little with a potato masher to help break up the chunks. Add the pastina and cook through, about another 10 minutes back over medium heat. Season with salt and zest. Garnish with parsley and parmesan.