Roasted Chipotle Chicken Sandwich

I eat sandwiches practically every day. I really do like them, but when it comes to eating PB&J or even ham & cheese over and over again... it gets kind of old. I found a recipe for a Tomato Pesto and Chicken Sandwich from FavFamilyRecipes.com and adapted to fit my taste buds--and budget. Now, I don't just have to eat PB&Js every day, but I can have the sophisticated taste of chicken, cheese, and a whole lot of flavor. I guarantee you'll like this sandwich just as much as my husband and me :)

(PS. This is a great way to use some leftover grilled chicken)

Roasted Chipotle Chicken Sandwich

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Mezzetta Roasted Bell Pepper & Chipotle Sandwich Spread

2 TBS Mayonnaise

2-4 Medium Chicken Breasts

Sprinkle Grill Time Chicken Seasoning

1 TBS Olive Oil

4 Slices of Wheat Bread

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

1 large Tomato, sliced

1 Avocado, sliced

Lettuce

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken to skillet, sprinkling each side with Grill Time Chicken Seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. 
2. Meanwhile, combine mayonnaise and sandwich spread in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Remove chicken from skillet, and slice into even strips. Set on a plate to cool a bit. 
4. Toast bread until lightly browned. Slice tomato and avocado.
5. When toast is ready, evenly spread the mayonnaise/sandwich spread mixture onto one side of each piece of toast. Layer chicken slices over the spread (only covering one piece of toast per sandwich). Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over chicken.  
6. Place the two pieces of toast layered with the spread, chicken, and cheese onto a cookie sheet and broil on high for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese has melted. 
7. Remove from broiler and top with tomato, avocado, and lettuce. Cover with the top half of the bread and eat up! 

 

A Writer's World

So before heading off to Virginia I really, really, REALLY want to get further on all of my books (and by further, we all know I mean finished). I have two in the process for those of you who don't know: "Forever & Always" and "The Harvest".

I'm a speculative fiction writer--I've always loved it and I always will. My goal, which I'm publicly posting so you can make sure to hold me accountable, is to write 1,000 words a day. It's not much, but I need to get myself out of my writer's block rut that has been holding me hostage for about 5 months now! Today was the first day (1,000 words is about 2 1/2 pages, double-spaced) and it was pretty easy. Once I get into the habit of writing 1,000 words a day, I'm going to bump it up to 1,500, then 2,000, and so on. If you're interested, check out the novels I've been working on:

Forever & Always:

I struggle to hear any footsteps or creaks; but it's silent, too silent. Edmund had at least made a little noise when he'd come into my room the other night. This isn't Edmund. I try to open my eyes, but I don't dare. I don't want this intruder to know that I know they are here.

Before I can decide what to do, rough hands grip around my neck. My eyes fly open as a scream erupts from my throat. The hands grip tighter, cutting off my scream and airway in an instant. Slowly my body is pulled from the bed. I claw at the hands wound around my neck, they are too tight, too welded on. I can't find a hold. I struggle to bring any amount of air as I kick and thrash around as much as possible. Within seconds my feet leave the floor, my back pinned against the wall, nothing but the hand grasped securely around my neck holding me dangling in the air. 

Forever & Always is a young adult/science fiction book that follows Chloe as she tries to escape the problems of her life, including the death of her father, by travelling into the past. Unfortunately, Chloe ends up in the wrong time and her journey turns from one of saving her father, to scrambling for her own life. She must learn to live in this new world in order to return to the old one. However, as fate would have it, this new world slowly becomes her life as she grows to be self-reliant, to face her problems head on, and as she falls in love with the one man she always thought she'd despise: Edmund.

The Harvest:

How do you control desire? How do you survive obsession? You don't.

Two young lovers must fight against life and death in this Paranormal Fantasy novel of unconventional and impossible love. Jace never thought what he once knew as myth would turn into reality. Let alone, he'd be the one to uncover the truth about the disappearances of males from Santa Cruz...

That is until he fell for Iris—a hauntingly beautiful girl that looked more stunning in the moonlight with the glow of the ocean on her skin than anywhere else on the planet. Sirens, after all, tend to captivate the male species the closer they are to their feeding grounds. Troubled by her own life, Iris doesn't mean to complicate it by letting Jace pull at her heart strings; but before she knows it, it's too late—she's in love with her prey.

It isn't until the only boy who Iris has ever fallen for hears her song (a pure, hypnotic melody of notes that lures men into the ocean, sealing their deaths with her words) that her world turns completely upside down. Suddenly Iris must choose who she stands with: her family or the humans?

Either way, many will die.  

Ham & Cheese Garden Vegetable Wrap

I love eating wraps. I'm not sure why, but they just taste healthier, more refreshing, and overall more delicious than sandwiches. This basic wrap recipe is simple, but I love it because it is so easy to add any of your favorite garden vegetables to create a blend of all your favorite crisp vegetables.

Go ahead and give it a try--you won't be disappointed.

Ham & Cheese Garden Vegetable Wrap

Serving: 1 Wrap

Ingredients:

1- 8 in. Flour Tortilla

1 TBS Mayonnaise

1/8 tsp Mustard

4 Slices Deli Honey Ham (Approx. 2 oz)

1/8-1/4 cup Colby Cheese, shredded or sliced

1 TBS Green Onions, sliced and separated

1 TBS Ranch Dressing

2 Leaves of  Iceberg Lettuce, washed

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spread mayo and mustard across entire tortilla with butter knife.

2. Lay 4 slices (approx. 2 ounces) of ham down center of tortilla, topping with cheese, green onions, and other vegetables (*see "For a Variation"). 

3. Drizzle ranch dressing over vegetables and then lay lettuce leaves on top.

4. Tuck the top end of the tortilla (one of the ends closest to the meat of the wrap) in towards the center about an inch. Carefully fold one of the open ends over the toppings, tucking it tightly underneath them. Roll tortilla until the entire thing is folded into a wrap. 

5. Enjoy!

For a variation: Try adding some of your favorite garden vegetables to the wrap: juicy tomatoes, shredded carrots, shredded red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, avocado, banana peppers, red/green peppers, pickles, olives, or whatever else you love!

What's your favorite kind of wrap? Let me know so I can try it out, too!