Whew! Finally time to sit down with a cup of tea, relax and do some blogging. This is my second attempt at this; my first attempt was a false alarm as I was about to sit down and remembered the clothes in the washer needing to go in the dryer…after the laundry in the dryer was taken out and folded, oye! It’s been a busy Saturday, but a fun filled one spent as a family. With grocery shopping, practice for Hailey at the archery range, a trip to the movies, cooking and cleaning, I was happy to have a simple and quick recipe to try during our free time at lunch! I love margherita flatbreads and my husband and I order them often when we go out for date night so how I didn’t think of a sandwich version before stumbling upon this recipe is a mystery! Either way, I made it for the first time today and it will likely become a regular on our menu at home! We’ll start with the ingredients…

Overall, I classify this under the pretty healthy food category. It was the first time I’ve cooked with garlic pepper and really liked it, a seasoning I’ll definitely look to use in other recipes! Once you have your ingredients gathered, set aside two pieces of bread for each sandwich you are making. Using the garlic, rub it against each side of each slice of bread (or you can spread minced garlic over the inside pieces of bread). Next, top one slice of  bread with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Sprinkle some garlic pepper over the tomatoes and top with fresh basil and another layer of cheese.

Complete your sandwich by placing the other slice of bread on top and brushing it with olive oil. Sprinkle a bit more seasoning on top and add it to your skillet heated with one teaspoon of additional olive oil, brushed side down. Brush olive oil on the slice of bread facing up at this point and add seasoning if desired. Cook for just a couple minutes on each side allowing the bread to brown and the cheese to melt.

I will share the recipe I found for this sandwich, but will be honest in telling you I didn’t really follow it. For something like this it just depends on how many sandwiches you are making, personal preference for amounts of each ingredient and watching it closely as it cooks! Now, my step daughter wouldn’t try this after seeing the tomatoes and basil…she really missed out! It’s a delicious sandwich! My husband approved right away and we both really enjoyed the sandwich! I made potato soup later in the day for dinner and I think I’ll make this to go with the soup next time! Hope you all find the time to try it out and enjoy!

Grilled Margherita Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 4 (1/2-inch) slices crusty Italian bread (I used thinner slices as I’m not much of a ‘bread person’)
• 1 large garlic clove, quartered
• 4 to 6 thin slices fresh mozzarella cheese (about 3 oz.)
• 1 large plum tomato, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic-pepper seasoning
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions:

1. Rub both sides of each bread slice with garlic. Top each with a fourth of the cheese and half of the tomato and basil.
2. Sprinkle each with 1/8 teaspoon of the seasoning; add remaining cheese and bread slices.
3. Brush tops of sandwiches with oil and sprinkle with seasoning. Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Place sandwiches, brushed-sides down, in skillet.
4. Cover and cook 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cheese on bottom of sandwich begins to melt.
5. Reduce heat to medium low. Brush tops of sandwiches with remaining oil and sprinkle remaining seasoning. Flip and cover to cook another 2 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.

As always, thanks for reading!!