Slider Night!

Most of you can probably relate to the story that brought about "slider night." My sister and I lived several hours apart from each other for our college years, and we are finally only about 40 minutes away from one another. And, after *mumblenumber* of boyfriends that I really didn't like so well, she has a boyfriend that I am very fond of, and actually like to spend time with. Trouble is, all of us work full time, and we all have variable hours. Thus, our family time is limited. So, after not getting to spend time together as a family-group for the last 6 months or so, we finally found a night to get together for dinner. With this being such a rare and golden opportunity, we made a big to-do about it, and had "slider night," also known as "a smorgasbord of sliders" (because that is more alliterative). It was a grand success: as a result, I have recipes and photos to share!

To begin, here are the basic ingredients for the filling of our sliders, which required no preparation more complicated than slicing:
Slider Buns! (also known as dinner rolls)
tomatoes
smoked salmon
cheese! mozzarella, havarti, goat cheese, red leicester
fresh basil

Also, there were 4 filling options that actually required cooking, but since we made so many fillings, none were too difficult.

Roasted Peppers (START THESE FIRST!):
1 red bell pepper, large chopped
1 green bell pepper, large chopped
1 orange bell pepper, large chopped
1 T olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar

Toss peppers in oil and vinegar; place in baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about an hour.

Grilled Portabellas:
1 T olive oil
2 portabella caps, sliced into slider-bun-sized pieces
salt and pepper

Oil a portable grill (such as a Foreman Grill) and preheat. Add mushrooms, season, and cook until done.

Sauteed Squash:
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced

1 small onion, diced

1 T olive oil
1 t garlic powder
1 t paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in medium pan; add onion and cook until translucent. Add squash and seasoning, cook until it reaches desired texture.

Also there was steak, but I did not make the steak, so I will hold no responsibility for what was in it or how it tasted.

And, last but not least, I made homemade tsatsiki, which is incredibly easy and the recipe was stolen, so I won't bore you with the details.

So! All these ingredients came together to create these exciting sliders:

Veggie Philly: sauteed squash, havarti or red leicester cheese, mayo (optional)
Roasted Peppers and Goat Cheese: self-explanatory, with optional drizzle of honey
Grilled Mushroom with Tsatsiki: also self-explanatory
Caprese: fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil
Bagel-Caprese: mozzarella or cream cheese, tomato, basil, smoked salmon

And obviously one can mix-and-match to his/her heart's content. I even made dessert, from a recipe 100% stolen from the Food Network. On that note, I shall leave you to salivate: