Pizza Sliders

Ok, so I don't really consider this a recipe... more like what to do with some soon to be stale rolls when you're hungry and feeling lazy. Many of my best or favorite creations are the result of just this kind of cooking: What do I have on hand and what can I make in less than 15 minutes (usually because I was too busy to eat something earlier and now I've got a hunger headache... like today). As much as I enjoy preparing something on a more grand or challenging scale, on a normally lazy Sunday that's been thrown off schedule, sometimes you just have to go with what's quick and easy. And everybody likes pizza, right?

Ingredients:

2 rolls (these were left over from a take-out Italian lunch at work yesterday)

turkey pepperoni

provolone cheese (the classic mozzarella would be great too, of course)

sun dried tomatoes

fresh basil

olive oil

garlic powder (if you wanted to use a more classic bruschetta technique, use a whole clove of garlic instead of the powdered stuff to rub on the toasted bread... I don't keep fresh garlic in the house anymore because it's one of my migraine triggers)

parmesan cheese (the kind that comes from the green can actually works better than fresh grated in this application)

Basically, I was looking for something quick to throw together for lunch today since I didn't have time to indulge in my classic Sunday breakfast/brunch fair and I was feeling more than a little peckish by the time I was able to fix something to eat. I had these 2 rolls leftover from lunch yesterday so I sliced them in half and brushed the insides with a little bit of olive oil and put them oiled side down in a skillet over medium heat to toast slightly. After just a minute or so, I pulled them off the heat and sprinkled them with the garlic powder and parmesan cheese before returning to them pan for another minute to allow the parmesan to form a crust on the bread. If you decide to use real pepperoni (the greasy stuff), then I would skip this step because the grease from the pepperoni will moisten the bread.

Remove from the heat and layer on the turkey pepperoni, provolone, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves while the rolls are still hot. I actually put the formed sandwiches back into the pan (with the heat off) and covered them for a minute to allow the residual heat to melt the cheese. A great way to use up left over rolls and just as tasty as a real pizza, only faster.

Enjoy!