Chicken and Red Pepper Bruschetta

Good morning to all!!! Forgive the excitement, but I am coming off the most wonderful birthday yesterday, and still smiling inside and out. It was a day full of so many of my favorite things, and was made even more special because my husband manged to completely surprise me with a party with a few of my closest friends. Best birthday surprise EVER!! Thank you, Markus 🙂

Yes, the cooking slump continues, but I think Michelle and I finally figured something out. It’s not actually a cooking slump — it’s an eating slump! It is hot, hot, hot here in the Boston area — heading towards 97 F today. Yeah, that can take away both my desire to eat and to create appetizing meals. Occasionally I do get rumbly in my tumbly, but all I want to eat are apples dipped in peanut butter, egg sandwiches, and salads. Tasty, but not too exciting. But Michelle’s got it even worse – she only wants avocado! This was my breakfast this morning — I wonder if this would satisfy her?

I did manage to pull off something delish over the weekend that everybody really loved. Thanks muchly to my girl, Heather, for the idea! Feast your eyes on this Chicken and Red Pepper Bruschetta!

And the best part? It is so quick and easy, and only uses the oven for 20 minutes. Ten minutes of prep time, 20 minutes to cook, and Voila! you are all sitting down to a delicious, simple meal. Add a salad or some cut melon and it’s quite complete.

Chicken and Red Pepper Bruschetta
Serves 4-5

One 1-lb loaf of ciabatta bread
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
12 ounces jarred roasted red peppers
2 packages Perdue Short Cuts
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella
1 teaspoon oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (for easy clean up). Cut loaf of bread in half length-wise, and place them side-by-side on cookie sheet. With your fingers, rub the garlic all over the cut sides of the bread.

Chop both the peppers and chicken into bite-size chunks, and layer them evenly over both bread halves (Peppers first, chicken second). Spread the mozzarella over both halves, then sprinkle with the oregano.