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Meatless Monday: Grilled Veggie Parmesan Sandwich!

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This Meatless Monday I have a tasty sandwich idea for you to try. Grilled Veggie Parmesan Sandwich. Yes I know already you are thinking… WHAT?? But this sandwich is super easy and tasty, and a bit messy too.

I first made these sandwiches at a restaurant I worked at right out of culinary school. We would grill halved zucchini (and eggplants slices sometimes) and then slice them into thin slices. We would then arrange the vegetables on a pie plate in a circle – about the size of our bread – top with a few spoonfuls of Marinara sauce (or your favorite spaghetti sauce) and heat. When it was all warm, add a slice of your favorite cheese- we used Provolone and heat until melted.

Now, carefully slip that whole arrangement onto a piece of toasted whole wheat bread.

Delish!

We used to serve these with a second “top” of bread, but when I make them at home, they are so messy that we are better off to serve them open-faced on a plate and cut up with knife and fork.

Now that we have discovered the Trader Joe’s Marinated Grilled Eggplant & Zuchinni (Misto alla Griglia) we can make them much more often.  Sometimes we sprinkle the hot veggies and sauce with some Parmesan cheese just before adding the sliced provolone. But sometimes we forget that too!

grilled veggies

We hope you love these quirky/ messy sandwiches as much as we do! Sorry there is no photo…we ah forgot and just started eating! OOPS!

Meatless Monday: Go Italian This Week

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This Meatless Monday we found a great new-to -us product at Trader Joe’s and thought it would be just fantastic for an Easy, Yummy  Meatless Monday Main dish, with a little Italian flair.  The product? Trader Joe’s Misto Alla Griglia Marinated Grilled Eggplant & Zucchini (ready to go in the freezer section of the store).

When we were planning this meal, we remembered that we had a half- used jar of spaghetti sauce as well as a tub of Parmesan cheese so we thought we would construct a mock- Eggplant Parmesan dish of sorts. The best part? we only used 3 ingredients for this dish!!!

Meatless Monday This Week

Meatless Monday This Week

First, we thawed the package overnight in the refrigerator, (but there are also microwave thawing directions printed on the label). Next we layered the grilled eggplant and zucchini in the dish and with the pasta sauce. (We placed half of the grilled veggies in the bottom of a 8×8 baking dish and then spread a thick layer of sauce over the top. Then the second layer of vegetables was placed on top of the sauce.) We then added a final layer of sauce to finish the dish.

The First Layers

The First Layers

Ready For The Oven

Ready For The Oven

We baked the dish at 350 for 15 minutes in the over, covered with a piece of foil. We then took it out and sprinkled the dish with parmesan cheese, and placed it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.  That was it!

Meatless Monday- Ready to Serve

Meatless Monday- Ready to Serve

We served this rich sauce Meatless Monday entrée with a green salad. But I also wanted to mention that garlic bread might be a nice addition to this meal.

Meatless Monday Dinner

Meatless Monday Dinner

This Meatless Monday Meal was so easy to put together and it smelled just WONDERFUL as it baked. We were really impressed with the Trader Joe’s Grilled Eggplant and Zucchini product as well. The vegetables were all the same thickness, and had nice grill marks but the best part was that they were not overcooked (or super soft from the freezer). They cut very easily but were not all “mush” when we served up our dinner.

How is Meatless Monday going for you? What exciting new dishes are you serving up?