Of all the recipes that exist on Pinterest and Google, you wouldn’t imagine that it would be so challenging for a girl to find a meal to cook for a dinner date. Keep in mind this is a girl who has eight cookbooks. The collection of eight includes two cookbooks put together by her mom and older sister presented as “gifts” to get more domesticated, and one is a “Campbell’s 1-2-3 Dinner” cookbook held together by duct tape because it caught on fire while sitting on a heated stovetop in college. The remaining five books sit prettily stacked on top of the refrigerator as part of the decor.
Oh, Paleo.
Not only did I put pressure on myself to find a delicious, yet not too challenging, dinner recipe, I also wanted it to be Paleo-friendly. The man friend for whom I was cooking was following that cave man diet - the chicken, bacon, fruit, nuts, and veggies meal plan - the “Oh, c’mon, no cheese at all!?” diet.
Since I’m a culinary novice who struggles to keep her chef’s hat on during cooking-type situations, I resorted to a family favorite: Italian Tuna Melts. The little sammies are healthy, scrumptious and simple to prepare. My special guest can either ditch the bread or ditch his diet for the evening, but at least he’ll be happy to know he’s getting his protein.
Italian Tuna Melts
Ingredients are easy to gather. I was thankful to not have to embark on a frustrating grocery store quest of searching for 10 different herbs and spices. It was a quick jaunt as I picked up the following to mix into the tuna salad:
- Chopped artichoke hearts
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice and zest
- Diced red onion
- Chopped celery
- Handful of baby spinach
- StarKist Tuna Creations; any flavor, Lemon Pepper, Sweet & Spicy or Ranch will do
Make the melts by:
- Toasting sliced English muffins or any bread that you want to sink your teeth into
- Sandwiching a scoop of tuna salad between each slice
- Topping with sliced tomato and provolone cheese (cheese optional for the cave man, cheese non-negotiable for the girl)
- Heating the sammies under the broiler for the cheese to melt
Serve and bon appetit!
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