Oven Roasted Tuscany Potatoes & Pesto Paninis

My darling husband expanded our garden this year to include potatoes – one of my favorite foods (he’s a nice boy). It’s harvest season now, so we have been enjoying them almost daily. One of my new favorite Tastefully Simple seasonings is the Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix^™, so imagine my excitement when I saw Dawn Onuffer’s Oven Roasted Tuscany Potatoes recipe in Everyday Easy this month! Two of my faves, plus Roasted Garlic Infused Oil and cheese. What’s not to love?!

Personally I would have been content with a big bowlful of potatoes for dinner, but as a parent I do at least attempt to serve a balanced meal. A Panini sounded good and fit nicely with the Italian theme. (Writing that makes me laugh, because A: Paninis sound fancy, but it’s really a glorified grilled cheese and we have them at our house about once a week, and B: bless you if you are a “themed meal” person, but at my house our theme is usually “what’s in the fridge!” But I digress …)

The best things in life start with “P” (pizza, popcorn, pasta, potatoes, Panini) so why not really crank things up tonight with potatoes and Panini? Ours were both easy and tasty!

j*a*N*e

Oven Roasted Tuscany Potatoes

Dawn Onuffer (FL)

• 6 medium baking potatoes
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil or Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
• 1 Tbsp. Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix
• 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt to taste

Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle the oil over the potatoes and stir to coat. Sprinkle on Tuscany Bread Dipping Mix and Parmesan cheese; stir to coat evenly. Place mixture on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 400º for 28-30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Salt potatoes to taste. Makes 6 servings.

Pesto Paninis

Adapted from a recipe submitted by Connie Pietila (MI)

Ingredients

• 2 slices Italian bread
• Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil
• 1 Tbsp. softened cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp. prepared Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto
• 2-3 slices deli chicken breast
• 1 slice deli provolone or mozzarella cheese
• Sliced olives, optional
• Sliced bell pepper, optional

Directions

Brush outsides of bread slices with Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil. Spread inside of one slice with cream cheese and prepared pesto. Place bread oiled side down on preheated skillet; top with chicken, bell pepper, olives and provolone. Place second slice of bread, oiled side out, on top. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Makes 1 Panini sandwich.

Oven Roasted Tuscany Potatoes & Pesto Paninis

Testing Notes:

• I used red potatoes instead of bakers, since that’s what we had in our garden. I didn’t peel them (yay!), just scrubbed and diced.
• I would use a little less oil next time – maybe 2 Tbsp. instead of 3.
• I needed to increase the bake time by almost 15 minutes – probably due to the type of potatoes I used.
• I added ½ teaspoon of Seasoned Salt.
• The potatoes came together very easily, and it was so nice to just put the pan in the oven and forget about it while I got the Paninis ready. No stirring required!
• My tasters gave the potatoes a 5 on a scale from 1–6. It made a lot more than we needed, but we are all looking forward to the leftovers!

Print Recipe