Grilled Veggie Sammiches

I love vegetables, but I don’t typically condone making a meal of them. I love my meat. In fact, I can probably count the number of vegetarian-type meals I make on less than one hand. (Grilled veggie sammiches, grilled cheese and tomato soup, eggs and toast, and a bag of Old Dutch Sour Cream ‘n Onion chips with a side of Cadbury chocolate).

But today, in a coincidence to top all others, the hubby and I were both craving grilled veggies and not much else. So we threw some veggies on the grill pan with some balsamic vinegar, piled it onto bread with some fresh mozzarella, grilled the sammiches, and voila!

Of course, I’ll probably be gnawing on a frozen ham in about an hour.

Grilled Veggie Sammiches
Serves 3-4

1 bell pepper, cut in four pieces
1 red onion, cut in thick slices
1 large zucchini, sliced
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Additional balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
16 leaves fresh basil, minced
Additional salt and pepper
1 large loaf French bread, cut in four pieces
Optional: Butter and Italian seasoning

1. Combine veggies in a large bowl. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Grill on a grill pan over medium-high heat 5-10 minutes – the peppers will take the longest to cook, followed by the onions, then the zucchini.

3. Remove veggies from grill and cut peppers in smaller pieces. Sprinkle with additional balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

4. Slice bread. If using a panini press, butter outsides of bread and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

5. Layer zucchini on bottom half of bread, followed by peppers and onions.

6. Add the cheese and basil, and the top half of the bread. Grill sandwiches in a panini press or grill pan until cheese is melted.