Portabella Pesto Sandwich with Balsamic Red Onions

I am especially proud of this vegetarian sandwich because my meat loving husband absolutely loves it. Portobellas have a natural meatiness, so it doesn't feel like you're skimping on heartiness here. The roasted peppers and balsamic red onions are complemented by a delicious pesto mayonnaise and melted provolone cheese. Put together on a grilled roll (or baguette), this sandwich will quickly become one of your favorites too!
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 tbsp. pesto (recipe to follow)
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
3 slices provolone
1 small red onion, sliced
2 portabellas
1/3 cup olive oil
1 sweet Italian red pepper (or a bell pepper)
1 tsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt, black pepper
2 deli rolls (or baguette pieces)

Assembly:
Turn portabellas in olive oil to coat. Do the same for the pepper. Grill the pepper over high heat for 10 or so minutes until the skin is black (an indoor grill, grill pan or oven all work). Remove to a paper bag for five minutes to allow the skin to fall off. Reduce heat to medium high and grill the portabellas about 5 minutes on the first side, about 3 minutes on the second (until you have nice grill marks and the mushroom appears cooked). While the portabellas are grilling, saute the onions in 1 tbsp. olive oil (you can do this right on a grill pan if you're cooking indoors). Lower heat to medium-low and cook about 10 minutes before adding vinegar, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the vinegar is absorbed. You will have removed the portabellas by now. Let them sit for a few minutes before cutting them into 1/2 strips. Remove the skin and insides (membranes and seeds) from the red pepper and slice. Mix the pesto and mayonnaise. Place each side of the rolls on a baking sheet (your oven should be preheated to 400). Assemble your sandwich (mushroom, red pepper, red onion mixture) then top with provalone. Bake for about 5 minutes until cheese begins to melt and the edges of the bread appear crispy. Remove from oven, spread pesto mayonnaise on the top side of the roll and press the sanwich together. Serve immediately.

Honey Dijon Grilled Chicken Wraps

My husband is a huge fan of these chicken wraps which really surprised me at first because they are completely loaded with raw vegetables! This is one of my favorite things to make for a quick dinner~ it's got all sorts of crunchy, fresh vegetables, but it also has deliciously marinated chicken, pepper jack cheese and, of course, bacon! It's one of those great sandwiches that everyone will like, even if they swear up and down they don't like raw veggies. You can just go right ahead and forget that you're eating bacon, cheese and mayo (they're cancelled out by the veggies, of course). Because I'm posting this on Thanksgiving, I wanted to mention that you can easily swap out the chicken for turkey. You can also combine some cranberry sauce with mayonnaise instead of using the mayonnaise/dijon blend. YUM. Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the wrap:
2 large flour tortillas

4 strips of cooked bacon

2-4 sliced mushrooms

julienned red pepper

julienned red onion

a small handful of greens (I prefer spring mix)

sliced avocado

sliced pepperjack

For the mayonnaise: mix 3 tbsp. mayonnaise with 1 tbsp. djion mustard

For the chicken:
1 chicken breast

juice of 2 lemon

3 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. dijon mustard

salt

black pepper

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Assembly:

Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes on each side over medium heat. Let the chicken rest for about 5-10 minutes then slice it on the bias. Using a spoon, smear the mayonnaise/dijon mixture on the tortilla then add a few slices of chicken and each of the vegetables. Be careful not to overfill the tortilla, otherwise you will have problems closing it, and it might rip. Wrap one side over, then wrap the bottom and roll the tortilla over (burrito-style). Slice in the center and serve.