Whole Wheat Chicken Parm Sliders

It's faster than a speeding bullet takeout. 

It's faster than a plane pizza delivery guy. 

It's super fast chicken parmesan sliders on whole wheat rolls.  

Slightly messy, super cheesy, crunchy tasty chicken, delicious bites that are perfect for eating before running out the door to a game, practice, church, or football game. Trust me. You'll wonder how you ever lived without them. 

We watch a lot of super heroes in my house full of boys. Seriously though this super kiddo friendly and wallet friendly dish, might be my new super hero "go to easy fall dinner". 

Speaking of super.... What do you get if you cross the man of steel with a hot broth?

Souperman.

I thought it was funny..... food blog... soup-er :) 

Okay I am nerd. I don't mind. 

The timing of finding this idea is so perfect. We have a super busy fall ahead of us. Soccer. 2 college classes. Piano lessons for everyone. Bass lessons. Orchestra. Working full time. Two busy kids. Physical therapy. Speech therapy. Teaching my first women's bible study (ahhh!). Yeah. Just thinking about this list makes me want go hide under the bed and go back to bed. But its going to be okay. I might be drinking a ton more coffee this fall lol especially ugh with those early saturday morning practices and games, but at least I have recipes like this that literally fall out of the freezer and onto plates. The first time I made this, my oldest ate double what he usually does, and asked me when I was going to make it again. Super hero mom to the rescue.... feeding the kids without breaking a sweat. Lol Okay okay. No more super jokes. Besides not breaking a sweat in August in Southern Az might be impossible. 

Warning: This recipe is unlike majority of what I have on my blog. It uses a bunch of short cuts that aren't exactly healthy but in my mind this is better than a drive through and tastes amazing so yeah. The only thing thats not store bought is the sauce and its because I had leftover pasta sauce in the freezer ready to go. Its been that kind of week. 

Whole Wheat Chicken Parm Sliders

Makes 2- 12 sliders adjust ingredients accordingly to whatever you need

Most people and hungry kids would eat 2 each

Ingredient list: 
1 package of store bought of 12 whole wheat dinner rolls
Sliced provolone cheese - 1 slice per slider
Breaded fully cooked chicken strips 
Pasta sauce - You'll need about 1-2 Tbs per slider (see tips below)

Pasta Sauce Tips: 
1. This recipe only uses a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce so if you are just opening a jar for this recipe. Freeze the rest. It freezes beautifully in a freezer container or plastic freezer bag and you'll have it to use in many places like on top of pasta, as sauce on a pizza, as a dipping sauce for cheesy Italian bread/bread sticks, on top of a Italian pepperoni burger (Yum!), ect.  

2. Or next time you make spaghetti double the sauce and freeze it. Don't use store bought sauce unless you're in a pinch. It only takes a few ingredients and 15 minutes. See my base recipe below - I say base because i am always changing it slightly based on what I have. 

Super easy 15 min pasta sauce: pour into a blender 2 cans of tomato sauce, 1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, and some italian seasonings - right now I am on an oregano kick so I put 2 heaping tablespoons of that in. Use what you have. Use what you know tastes good. On the stove I sauted a few veg that I already had in my fridge (zucchini, onion, and 1 clove of garlic) in some olive oil and then added that to the blender. Last pour the mostly pureed sauce back into the pan to heat up to use immediately or put in covered containers in the fridge to use over the next 2-3 days or in the freezer. It keeps for a long time. If you like garlic add more. If you have some squash throw that in. If you have eggplant saute that up. Lots of great veggies and nutrition can be added and hidden this way. If you like the taste of red wine pour a cup of that in... super flexible. super yummy. Great way to introduce new veggies to your kids. 

What does a super hero put in his drink?

Just ice.

Lol. Funny? Okay mabye. 

Assembling the sliders: 

1. Cook the chicken strips in the oven as indicated on the package. 
2. Gently slice open the whole wheat dinner rolls
3. After the chicken is cooked cut them in half depending on how large the chicken is. I cut a couple of them in half and put the halves on my kiddos sliders so nothing would be sticking out. Small hands need smaller portions :) 
4. Layer the chicken on the bottom of the roll, then the sauce, and the cheese on top. Put the top of the roll on and let it sit and melt the cheese a little bit. 
5. Eat and enjoy :) 


Super easy 
Super yummy
Thanks for stopping by! 

Stephanie

Whole Grain Banana Bread

I have made this bread a few times. Can't believe I haven't shared this recipe yet. We make a lot of banana bread in our home because no one likes brown bananas. So the bananas get lovely transformed into milkshakes, banana bread, or banana pancakes. No complaints here! This loaf bread recipe is easy and most of the time it only takes 15 minutes to throw it together and 65-70 minutes in the oven. It is great for breakfast, brunch, afternoon snacks with coffee & friends.  It would be an excellent homemade gift, if you wrapped it up cute.  love the nutrition in this bread with three fruits, and my husband and son love the sweetness from the fruit, honey, and brown sugar. Win win! :) Try it. You won't be disappointed. This recipe was adapted from a Light & Tasty 2002 magazine recipe. To find it click here. 

Grab two bowls one for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients. 

The dry ingredients you need are:
1/2 cup oat flour
2/3 cup corn meal (finely ground not the course stuff you use for cornbread - if you can't find this use all purpose)
1 cup of all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped nuts ( I used walnut but use your favorite nut)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

The wet ingredients you need are: 
2 Tbs unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
4 really ripe (disgustingly brown) bananas, mashed
scant 1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup homemade pear applesauce, heaping (click on link for a good recipe)
2 tsp vanilla extract


1.Mix ingredients in their separate bowls
2.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet bowl slowly while mixing it
4.Once the mixture is combined and looks homogeneous, prep the loaf pan with butter or non stick spray
5. Pour the nutty fruity mixture into the pan and bake for approx 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Check on it at the 1 hr mark. If it is looking too dark on the top, cover it with foil. 
6. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes and put on a wire rack before storing or serve immediately. 

*Note: Please do wait the whole 10 minutes after baking or it will not come out in one piece. Trust me! haha I have tried to skip this step before.

Yeilds approx 10 slices :) 


Enjoy!
From my kitchen to yours!