Another masterpiece last night at the Arter house.

Hi friends- happy Tuesday to you!

I’ve been doing a lot of cooking at the house lately.  It’s a combination of wanting to save a little money eating out (which does add up fast when I do it) and also trying to eat a little healthier.  Last night, I decided to use our cast iron panini pan and try something different.  I grilled some chicken cutlets that I marinated in just a little bit of olive oil and fresh basil.  This initiated the “smells” in the house as I progressed.

Once those were cooked- I took a splash of olive oil and heated in a pan.  Once it was hot, I added 8 cloves of garlic, some crushed red pepper and a jar of sundried tomato.  I sauteed those for a bit them added a huge handful of fresh spinach for just a minute or so…

Then I took slices of fresh Italian bread (only 50 calories per slice!) and built my sandwiches.  I splurged and added a little bit of fresh mozzarella to keep things “together”, and placed them into the panini pan:

My panini pan has a “lid” that I preheated as well; this way the sandwich cooks on both sides at once, and it’s “smashes” it into a panini. After 4 minutes in the pan:

They came out great! So I added up the calorie count with all of the ingredients, and these beauties are somewhere in the 400 calorie range and were full of flavor. I’ve never made a panini at home (that special pan has been sitting in my cupboard for years now) and I don’t have anything but great reviews making these tasty meals at home. Pair it up with some fresh veggies and fruit and you have an awesome meal.

Why blog about this? It’s my attempt to try to convey a “healthy” lifestyle while simultaneously trying to keep myself to healthy choices when I eat; what’s on the menu tonight? I’ve got some slow roasted pork in the crock pot that we will eat with steamed green beans, fresh pineapple and white rice. I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow too!

Ok, enough about food. I already ate lunch and now it’s making me hungry again. Remember Ryan – eat better. Stay away from that candy bowl – it’s my Achilles’s heel!

Take care, Ryan