I've been spending WAY too much of my hard-earned income lately on tomato & mozzarella (sans the cheese) on ciabatta paninis from Panera. I put up such a battle with myself spending $7 on something like a headband or much-needed art supplies, but I seem to have no problem dropping that much money on one single sandwich, the traces of which will disappear entirely within half an hour.
I decided I needed to do something to stop this habit, so I went to the grocery store and got the ingredients I'd need to make it at home. The total cost was just under $9, and I'll be getting at least four sandwiches out of it.
I purchased:
4 mini loaves of ciabatta bread
1 can of sun-dried tomatoes in oil
4 tomatoes
1 pack of fresh basil
I just cut a loaf in half and drizzled olive oil over it before layering on some tomato, sun-dried tomato and basil. Then I put it on my mini George Foreman grill and applied as much weight as I could muster to close the lid completely over my sandwich, thus turning the grill into a pseudo-panini-press. The results were almost exactly like the Panera sandwich! The only thing I'd change is adding less olive oil, since it made my bread a little soggy, and I'd definitely choose the ripe tomatoes over the cheap ones next time (hey, I was trying to save money, what can I say?)
I complimented my sandwich with my favorite tomato + chickpea recipe, and it was delicious! And if you're a cheese-eater then just add some mozzarella to the mix & it would be exactly like the one from Panera, without Kate editing :)
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4 comments:
This is my favorite sandwich from Panera's too! Your recipe sounds really good - I'll have to give it a go! :)
Oh I've never tried the tomato & mozarella panini. Will have to give it a go. I go to Panera almost weekly. It's just so convenient to have lunch there before I go grocery shopping at Market Basket next door.
I know what you mean about spending money on food. But at least you cook and come up with recipes on your own. Imagine eating out every day? That gets super expensive. I've found that I eat better quality meals that are healthier and less expensive (and some meals I wouldn't be able to find anywhere!) if I make them myself.
Can you e-mail me about how you photograph your food? I need help, especially since now I live in a cave with very little to no sunlight.
That looks so yummy! Basil + tomatoes = heaven.
And I do the same. exact. thing. I put off buying these little $9 hair pins from Etsy for MONTHS meanwhile dropping money like that all the time on food! Oh well.
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