Open face Tomato Sandwich

In order of layers:

Mayonnaise

Sandwich sprinkle

Shredded cheese

Thin sliced tomato, marinated in olive oil & balsamic vinegar

Salt on top

Broil sandwiches without tomatoes until cheese is melted, then add tomatoes and broil a little longer.

Caprese Panini Sandwich

http://www.trailingrachel.com/cheap-weekday-aldi-meals/
Caprese Panini Sandwich

Ciabatta bread, (Aldi sells these in packs of 6)
bacon (1 lb, regular)
garden tomatoes, sliced
fresh mozzarella, sliced
pesto
mayo
basil leaves

This was so delicious. I toasted Ciabatta bread in the toaster since David wanted his that way, but for mine, I used gluten free bread and cooked it in the skillet (same used to cook bacon, grease was poured off) to get the mozzarella a little warm/melty, but not near as melty as in the picture.

I didn't have any basil leaves but I'm sure it would have been even better with it.

Tilapia Po' Boys

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/tilapia-po-boys-00000000057184/index.html

I have a whole package of frozen tilapia fillets that I need to use up soon, and this is one of the recipes I've found to use it up. David isn't the biggest fish fan either, but this recipe fries up fish and then you eat it in a baguette. Which he did like.

It could be that the baguette was too small (10.5 oz is what the store had), but there was more fish called for in this recipe than would fit on 4 sandwiches. If the baguette is small, 10 or 12 oz of tilapia is plenty for 4 sandwiches, or two hungry people. I used some generic fish seasoning I had in a packet in the cupboard (a salt free one). He had a hard time deciding between 3.5 and 4 on this one. This could benefit from some tangy sauce, like a horseradish sauce or something. But we didn't have any. I served this with pickles, lettuce, and mayo. I liked it too, but it was somewhat bland.

Salmon Cilantro Burgers

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-salmon-cilantro-burgers-10000001891952/
Salmon Cilantro Burgers

This is also in my Cooking Light 1500 calorie cookbook. I liked it quite a bit. David liked it too.

341 calories per sandwich.

BLT Turkey/Avocado/Cheese Melt

BLT Turkey/Avocado/Cheese Melt

So I have a "Snackster" and I adore it. It is one of those sandwich pocket things, that turns out two sandwiches that look like this:

So anyway, tonight I used it. I put turkey, cheese, and miracle whip (because DH is of that variety) on two sandwiches and toasted them in the snackster. I had cooked bacon as well, and when the sandwiches were toasted I pulled them out and put bacon, avocado, tomato, and lettuce in them.  They were great! I like doing a  hot sandwich dinner each week because it is quick but interesting. Toasting it makes it seem like it goes beyond lunch food somehow.

I also just saw this website that has ideas for a bunch of fillings. I'll have to check it out.

BELT Sandwich

The BELT sandwich is bacon, eggs, lettuce, and tomato. You fry an egg and put it on. DH thought it didn't enhance the BLT at all, but didn't detract from it. I think it is still fun, and a nice way to get extra protein in a sandwich.

http://www.ahintofhoney.com/2010/09/belt-bacon-egg-lettuce-tomato-sandwich.html

Indoor Pulled Pork

This is from the Jan/Feb issue of Cooks Illustrated. Or, here: http://thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword/2010/01/indoor-pulled-pork-and-other-superbowl-food-ideas.html

I made the lexington vinegar sauce because it has the least amount of sugar. This pork was SOO good. The texture is best when you don't over pull the pork--make sure it is still in big chunks.

The one and only time previous to this that I attempted pulled pork it turned out SUPER NASTY (it was a crockpot recipe... usually crockpots work well but not for this!)

This recipe is a winner. I used a 5 lb pork shoulder and tried to cut it in half (slabwise..is that a word?) but there were some bones that made it uneven. But it worked. There was way too much sauce. Easily half a recipe for sauce would be sufficient. We ate this for two meals and then froze the rest. It will last another couple meals I think.

I highly recommend this if you are at home for the day. I had to start dinner at 11 am, but most of that time it was in the oven and I was doing something else. Eat it on hamburger buns.

Reuben Sandwiches

DH and I had Reuben Sandwiches.

I could not find any sliced corned beef, so I purchased roast beef instead.

This is what I did:

rye bread

Thousand Island dressing

swiss cheese

sauerkraut

roast beef

rye bread

In that order. And then I buttered (lightly) each side of bread that would be in contact with heat. We got a "Snackster" from DH's grandma for christmas. It is one of those sandwich pocket things. We put the sandwiches in the snackster and then crushed them into gooey oblivion. It would have worked just as well to grill them in a skillet.