Green Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich

I call this a GREEN chicken sandwich because all the other ingredients besides the chicken are green in color: avocado, green onion, cucumber, and spinach.

I made this sandwich for a light lunch with friends.  It was a little fancier than deli meat and cheese, but not too difficult for a quick lunch.  It’s also great as a make ahead.

 

Start with two cans of chicken breast.

 

Mix in mayo, mustard, juice from half a lemon and salt and pepper.

 

Add in half an avocado, diced up in the skin.  You can then easily scoop this out with a spoon into the bowl.

 

Dice two green onions for a little kick.

 

Peel and dice up half a cucumber for crunch.

 

If you want a carb-free option, this would be great in a leaf of romaine lettuce too!

 

Toast and slice the ciabatta and lay down a bed of baby spinach.

 

Spoon on some of the chicken salad and enjoy an easy but fancy chicken salad sandwich.

 

Green Chicken Ciabatta Sandwich

2 (13 oz) cans chicken breast

2 Tbsp mayonnaise

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp cracked pepper

Juice of half a lemon

Half an avocado, diced

2 green onions, diced

Half a cucumber, diced

1 cup spinach

 

Drain the chicken and place into a medium sized bowl.  Mix in all the remaining ingredients except for the spinach.  Toast and slice the ciabatta bun and layer pieces of spinach on one side.  Top with chicken mixture and the other slice of bun.  Slice on the diagonal.  Make 4 sandwiches.

Meatball Marinara Sub

My family likes to go to a popular sub sandwich shop for lunch on the weekends.  For as long as we have been going to this home of the $5 foot long, my daughter only orders the meatball sub.  With all the different options of sandwich fillings, I cannot get her to try anything else but that.  So, that’s what gave me the idea to make them myself.  My daughter did say that mine tastes better……….smart girl!

Start with the combo of beef and pork.

This is the best way I’ve found to make uniform meatballs.  My secret weapon is the ice cream scoop.  I use it for ice cream, cookie batter and of course meatballs.

Roll each meatball  into little balls.

Baking makes for a little healthier meatballs and it’s a lot faster than cooking on the stove top.  Really, it’s because I’m just too lazy to stand at the stove and turn each of these little meatballs.

When they come out of the oven, place them into a pan with marinara sauce.  Of course you can use these with spaghetti, but my daughter insisted on meatball subs this night.

Meatball Marinara Sub

Meatballs

1 ½ pounds ground beef (80/20)

1 ½ pounds ground pork

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup milk

½ cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp garlic salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp dried basil

¼ tsp paprika

Sandwich

1 jar marinara sauce

Bread rolls

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and mix until well incorporated.  Scoop with ice cream scoop onto baking pan.  Roll between your hands to make them into a ball.  Drizzle some olive oil over each meatball.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Place the meatballs into a pan and pour in your favorite jar pasta sauce until sauce is warmed through and the meatballs soak in the sauce.  Slice and toast the rolls in the oven until a little crisp.  Fill each roll with meatballs and sauce on top, then sprinkle on some mozzarella cheese.

Makes 35 large meatballs.

Italian Bruschetta Sandwich

This whole sandwich was made from leftovers of an Italian dinner date at home with my hubby.  The sandwich is the perfect package when it comes to packing in lots of flavor all in one bite.  It was so very true in this instance.

Here I have layers of creamy cheese and avocado, salty Italian deli meats, and the bruschetta provides the tang from the balsamic vinegar and freshness of basil.

I layered a piece of whole wheat bread with goat’s milk cheese, capicola, salame and my homemade tomato bruschetta (which I’ve posted before).

And then I topped it all off with avocado slices.  Why?  Because everything tastes better with avocado.  I used hass avocados because that’s what we have most of in Southern California and because I think it has the best flavor.

I didn’t provide a recipe because the pictures are pretty self-explanatory and because this post was mostly to get you thinking about putting anything into a sandwich that you might want.  There are NO RULES when it comes to sandwiches, am I right?!

The Ultimate Steak Sandwich

I was pretty sure that I loved steak the good old-fashioned way…medium rare and a big slab of it.  That is, until I had this sandwich.  I was happily surprised that I could still taste the steak in this sandwich, and it was good!  Of course caramelized onions, peppers, and succulent mushrooms on a crusty deli roll didn’t hurt either.

I know it’s good when my hubby says, “This may be my new favorite.”  Not just any sort of food makes it onto his “new favorite” list ya know.

For you girls out there who’ve heard the term, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” this would be the dish they’re talking about.

Of course we gotta start with the mise en place, just a French term which means to have everything in its place, ready to cook.  In a restaurant kitchen, this would be the job of the sous chef, but seeing that mine is a little 7-year old girl, I wasn’t about to hand over my chef’s knife.

Make rings out of your peppers.

Slice the onion and try not to let your tears drip onto the pile.

One package of button mushrooms.  They are cute as a button!

Let me introduce you to the humble cube steak.  It is cut in a way that if you were to pull on two ends of this, you would see little holes cut all over.  It definitely serves to tenderize the meat and also allow lots of flavor to penetrate it.

Slice the 4 filets of cube steak into thin strips.

Red meat cooking in butter……enough said!

Put it aside on a plate, while you start the veggies.

Saute the vegetables in the same pan.

Add in the liquids and seasoning and cook until everything is softened.

Add your meat back in and allow the liquid to reduce by half, to concentrate the flavor.

Lay your meat and veggies on a toasted deli roll with a slice of provolone cheese and make sure you ladle on some of those cooking juices.  Now take your first bite.  I would suggest you close your eyes as you chew so that you can concentrate all your senses on the flavors of this amazing sandwich.

You can thank me later!

Okay, now open your eyes.  It’s kinda creepy to eat with your eyes closed.

The Ultimate Steak Sandwich

From The Pioneer Woman

 

4 Tablespoons Butter

2 pounds Cube Steak (round Steak That’s Been Extra Tenderized)

Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

1 whole Large Yellow Onion, Halved And Sliced Thick

2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings

2 whole Red Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings

3 cloves Garlic, Minced

16 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Sliced

1-1/2 cup Sherry (regular Or Cooking Sherry Is Fine)

4 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

4 dashes Tabasco (more To Taste)

8 whole Deli Rolls (the Crustier The Better)

2 Tablespoons (additional) Butter

8 slices Cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Pepper Jack)

 

Cut cube steak into strips against the grain. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over high heat. As soon as it’s melted (but before it burns) brown strips of cube steak in two or three batches, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove meat to a clean plate when brown. Set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-high. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, green peppers, and red peppers and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until relatively soft (but not flimsy.)

Pour in sherry, then add Worcestershire and Tabasco. Cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, or until liquid has reduced by about a third.

Add in meat, stirring to combine. Cook for just a few minutes to heat everything up, adding more sherry and Worcestershire (and Tabasco) as needed. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter at the end. Keep hot.

Toast halved deli rolls in plenty of butter until golden brown and crisp. Spoon meat/veggie mixture on the lower half of the bun, then spoon one or two tablespoons of pan sauce over the meat (it will soak into the bun.) Drizzle a little sauce on the underside of the top bun, too, for extra flavor and moisture. Top with cheese and broil for a minute or two, until the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately.

Pork Sandwich with Cilantro-Jalapeno Slaw

We had friends over for dinner and I wanted to make something that did not require the use of my oven.  Southern California summers are pretty brutal, so I didn’t want to add to the heat in my house.  I made this pork sandwich with a slow cooker and I was able to “set it and forget it!”  Anyone remember that from those infomercials in the 90’s?  Very catchy phrase…

With these kind of ingredients together, it’s gotta be good!

Here’s my pork butt in the slow cooker.  I love the sound of the fizzling soda  as I poured it over the meat.

I wonder what a soda and chipotle bath would feel like!  Is it weird that I think of these things when I cook?  Nah!!

For the cole slaw, start by coring your cabbage.  Very simply cut a triangle shape out of the core.  Easy peasy.

And Ree, coring is not boring.  It’s fun!

Slice very thinly.

Do the same thing with this beautiful purple cabbage.  Love that God gave us such beautifully colored foods!

I added half a bag of this broccoli slaw.  I love the crunch that it adds.

After adding the chopped jalapenos, slather on the dressing….the best part.

I heard somewhere that everyday you should eat foods from every color of the rainbow.

I’ve got green, orange and purple covered!!

Here’s another shot of the very tasty pork sandwich for you to drool over.  The amount of spice and sweet, then hot and cold are in perfect balance in just one bite.  You can’t ask for anything more!

Now go and try this one and let me know how you like it, or LOVE it!

 

Pork Sandwiches with Cilantro-Jalapeno Slaw

Adapted from pioneerwoman.com

 

1 whole Onion, Peeled And Quartered

1 whole Pork Butt (pork Shoulder Roast, about 5-7 lbs)

Salt And Pepper

1 can (7 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce

3 cups or 2 cans Cola (Dr Pepper, Coke, etc.)

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

12 whole Good Quality Kaiser Or Deli Rolls

12 Tablespoons Butter

½ head Cabbage, Sliced Thin

½ head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin

½ bag Broccoli Slaw

1 whole Jalapeno, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced

½ cups Whole Milk

½ cups Mayonnaise

1 teaspoon White Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Sugar

¼ teaspoons Salt

¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped

 

 

MEAT

Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in a slow cooker.

Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

Place lid tightly on pot, then set the slow cooker on high. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, cook for another hour.

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.)

If you find the pork is too spicy, tone it down with some sweet bbq sauce.  This works well for kids.

 

SLAW

Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.

 

SANDWICHES

Butter both halves of Kaiser rolls, then brown them on a griddle or skillet until golden and crisp on the surface. Load up each sandwich with shredded pork, then REALLY load them up with the slaw.

The magic is in the combination of the hot liquid from the meat and the cool, creamy liquid from the slaw.

Open Face Egg Salad Sandwich

 

I saw this recipe on Foodnetwork’s, The Best Thing I Ever Ate show.  This recipe had me at “soft boiled egg.” Call me crazy, but I love runny egg yolks.  It’s also one of the reasons I love eggs benedict.  I’d never seen an egg salad sandwich look so gourmet, so I had to give it a try.

It delivered on so many levels. The crunchy whole wheat toast and greens and of course my runny yolks.  This is packed with flavor and texture beyond any egg salad sandwich you’ve had as a kid. This is what egg salad sandwiches want to be when they grow up!

 

Open Face Egg Salad Sandwich

2 slices whole wheat bread, toasted

2 Tbsp sundried tomato pesto

1 cup mesclun salad mix

3 eggs, soft boiled

1 Tbsp chives, chopped

salt

pepper

 

Put your eggs in a pot and add enough water to cover them.  Bring water to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium and allow to cook for 6 minutes, they will be soft and runny. Toast your bread and spread with sundried tomato pesto on each slice. Top with mesclun salad greens and add the eggs on top.  Add salt and pepper to taste and finish with chopped chives.