Ciao! I’m Sabrina Imundo; and this is the result of being a foodie and a designer. This column will act as a vehicle to provide students and the community with inexpensive and/or fast recipes. At times this column may have an Italian flare, but that only makes sense since I am a third generation Italian-American. A lot of these recipes are from my family: some have been passed down to me while others are ones that we have created together or have been things I experimented with on a college budget. The majority of these recipes will have meat in them, however some will be vegetarian or vegan friendly, or could be adapted to those diets, just look for the indicators. Speaking of indicators, there will be one that indicates the cost of the meal. When I figured the cost of the meal I did not include ‘staple’ pantry items. These items are not factored into cost: soups/broths, flour, sugar, spices, sugar, eggs, milk, olive oil.

Here are the indicators for this column:

Chicken Bruschetta Sandwiches:

Time: 25 minutes Servings: 5 – 6

This dish is inspired by a classic Italian appetizer. Bruschetta is a colorfully layered dish of bread, prosciutto (a dry-cured ham), basil, garlic, tomatoes and mozzarella. This sandwich incorporates all those elements on a larger scale along with some chicken.

Ingredients

French bread sandwich rolls or a pane of French bread, sliced three-quarters of the way through the middle

1/4 cup olive oil or 6 tablespoons of butter 2 cloves garlic, minced Dried oregano, to taste Dried parsley, to taste

12 large fresh basil leaves 2 tomatoes, sliced Three oz package, or 6 slices of prosciutto (optional)** 2 cups pre-cooked chicken strips, (thawed if frozen) Package of sliced mozzarella cheese (minimum of six slices) Bottle of balsamic vinaigrette (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Evenly coat inside of bread with olive oil. If using butter, place a half-tablespoon of butter on each roll. Season rolls to taste with dried oregano and dried parsley. Distribute minced garlic evenly among each sandwich roll. Bake in oven for five minutes.

Remove from oven. Place two large basil leaves on one side of sandwich rolls so that they cover bread surface. Place two tomato slices on the basil leaves. Layer one slice of prosciutto on each sandwich. Add desired amount of chicken to each sandwich, and add desired amount of mozzarella cheese to cover all other ingredients. Bake 10 minutes. Just before serving brush or pour on one tablespoon of balsamic vinaigrette to the inside of the sandwich. If desired, more balsamic vinaigrette could be used as a dipping sauce for the sandwich.

Notes: **Cost and cost per serving will be lowered with the absence of this ingredient.