Guacamole Chicken Sandwich on Ciabatta + Tomato Basil Soup

"What to do with Shabbos leftovers?!" The infamous question, something that never ceases to cry for help. I hate eating leftovers, I get bored (which is why I usually end up cooking just enough for Shabbos so that I won't have to deal with leftovers). So, whenever I am faced with leftovers, I try my hardest to transform it into something completely different. Case in point, tonight's dinner (yes, just for one!).. I took a leftover bone-in chicken breast, slathered (yes, slathered) a toasted deeeelicious ciabatta roll with guacamole, then added in the baby spinach, sliced tomato, & of course the chicken which I took off the bone & sliced. You can repurpose any kind of chicken in a sandwich, when can a sandwich fail? Or you can make this sandwich with fresh chicken. This chicken I baked after marinating it in fresh herbs, lemon, a lot of garlic, and a little bit of dijon mustard. But that's for another blog post :-)

The second part of my meal is a good old Tomato Basil soup, the quintessential "sandwich soup"- aka it goes perfectly with any sandwich (I am of course thinking of the classic tomato soup + grilled cheese sandwich). That is why I am specifically putting the recipe on this blog post. I had 4 large plum tomatoes that were getting a bit too soft, so in a way this is also a "leftovers" soup! It took all of 20 minutes to put together (normally I would have roasted the tomatoes with some balsamic, but I didn't have the time, so I just added the balsamic to the saute instead), and I let it simmer for a while before pureeing.

Guacamole Chicken Sandwich on Ciabatta
-2 baked chicken breasts (bone-in or not)
-Guacamole (my go-to easy guac is avocado mashed with some mayo [I like the additional creaminess- guilty pleasure], lime or lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste)
-Spinach leaves
-Tomato slices
-Square ciabatta rolls

-Toast the ciabbata rolls in a warm oven. In the meantime, prepare the guacamole & slice the chicken breast off the bone, and warm it up.
-Spread the guacamole on both sides of the toasted rolls. Top the bottom half with the spinach leaves, sliced tomato, & the chicken. Cover, & cut sandwich in half.

Tomato Basil Soup
-1 medium onion, chopped
-2 minced garlic cloves
-2 stalks of celery, chopped
-3 small carrots, chopped
-salt, pepper, & Italian Seasoning
-1/4 cup white wine (optional)
-2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
-4 large plum tomatoes, seeds removed
-28 oz. box (i.e. POM) or can of whole or chopped tomatoes
-4-5 frozen basil cubes (i.e. Dorot)
-2-3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (i.e. Trader Joe's or Imagine) or water. I used about half a box.
-1 Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped

-In a pot, heat up a tbsp. of Earth Balance & a drizzle of olive oil. Add the chopped onion, salt, pepper, & a sprinkle of Italian seasoning, & saute a few minutes before adding the celery, carrot, and garlic.
-Let saute around 4 minutes, & deglaze the pan with the balsamic & white wine (if you don't have the wine, then the balsamic will do the job. The acid brings up the all the bits of flavor).
-Add the chopped de-seeded tomatoes, & the box/can of tomatoes. Season again with some salt & pepper.
-Add the potato, & then pour in the broth, better to add in less now & the rest later, than too much because you don't want to accidentally thin it out too much.
-Drop in the basil cubes (they will defrost with the warmth of the soup)
-Bring to a boil & then reduce it to simmer for about an hour.
-Puree until smooth, & season with salt and pepper if needed. 
 

What is more comforting than a sandwich & soup combo? This is the perfect one!
Enjoy
E