"Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Melts

A hot Monday today but still not humid enough to keep me out of the kitchen. Now, you may already know how much I dislike waste when it comes to food or that I like to get the most out of the fresh foods that I prepare. Maybe you remember my post about three different meals that I made with my roaster chicken? Or the one about leftovers? Well, tonight's dinner was derived from the veggies I had left from last night's creations. My newest test kitchen creation is called "Everything but the Kitchen Sink" Melts.

The idea behind these is that I used what I had, plus some other things in my fridge and freezer, basically pulling together a taste that was unlike any recipe I had ever made before, and completely unexpected. The items I had left were Baby Bella mushroom slices, cherry tomatoes and fried zucchini sticks. I found over a pound of ground turkey in the freezer among other items in the refrigerator. Here they are:

• Approx. 1 lb. of ground turkey
• Half container of sliced mushrooms- Baby Bella; chopped
• Quarter container of cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup of shredded mild cheddar
• 6 zucchini sticks (bread crumbs and all); chopped
• 3 pats of butter
• 4 slices of American cheese
• Sourdough bread; 8 slices
• Zesty lemon flavored hummus
• Salt
• Fresh ground pepper

First, I sauteed the chopped mushrooms, tomatoes and zucchini sticks in a pan with butter. When softened, I prepared the ground turkey in a large bowl and combined the sautee, folding in. I then added the shredded cheddar, salt and pepper and formed into 4 flat/square patties (in the shape of the bread slices). I lightly toasted the bread while I heated a skillet for the patties, then grilling them. I placed the cheese slices on top to melt when the turkey was browned on the outside and cooked through. Before placing patties on the toast, I lightly spreaded zesty lemon hummus on the top slice. Finally, I built my melty sandwich and served with kettle cooked potato chips.

Tonight's dinner was absolutely mouth-watering and as I said before- unexpected. I enjoy coming up with ways to utilize all of my food in the fridge for a meal. Everything but the kitchen sink!