Category Archives: Sandwich

Poblano Chicken Salad

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I was inspired by this post to make this yummy sandwich – “inspired” because I modified this a lot to suit our tastes and my cooking style. I am so happy with how this little experiment tasted and I will make this again. The poblano gave this chicken salad a pleasant smokey/grassy flavor but if you don’t like poblano you could substitute red bell pepper. If my husband liked those I would try that combo sometime because I love the sweet flavor of a roasted bell pepper 🙂 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Poblano Chicken Salad – 

For the Roast Chicken:

  • 1 bone-in, skin on chicken breast
  • olive oil
  • kosher salt and pepper
For the Poblano Mayo:
  • 2 poblano peppers
  • 3 TBSP mayonnaise
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/8 tsp chili powder
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 vine ripened tomato, sliced
  • Romaine lettuce
  • sliced pepper jack cheese
Directions:
For chicken: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil. Prepare your chicken for roasting by washing with cool water then drying with paper towels. Drizzle olive oil over the top and season generously with kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 30 -35 minutes.  Place on a cooling rack when finished and let cool for at least 20 minutes before shredding. Set the shredded chicken aside.
For the poblano mayo: Place a rack about 6-8 inches away from your oven broiler, and set your oven to “broil”. Rinse your peppers, cut off the tops, take out the seeds and ribs inside. Take your knife and carefully cut in half from top to bottom. Place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil. Place under the broiler for about 7-10 minutes. You want them to blacken and blister so you can easily remove the skin later. Take them out once they’re nice and charred – set them aside to cool until it’s safe to handle them. Peel the skin off all the peppers (it’s ok if you can’t get every bit off). Place the peeled peppers on a cutting board and dice them for easier blending.
Using your stick blender and carafe or a food processor, blend poblanos, mayo, salt, pepper cumin, chili powder, and lime juice together until the peppers are minced fine. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Add the poblano mayo and diced celery to the shredded chicken then mix until combined. Serve on toasted bread (or in a wrap) with lettuce, tomato and cheese; enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

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Yum! Frying is something I don’t do very often so it’s definitely a treat for us. Everyone enjoyed it – even my pickiest eater. I love panko breadcrumbs because the texture creates the perfect, crunchy crust on whatever you stick it too. I have used it to top macaroni (twice), chicken parm, and mahi-mahi. I don’t even buy regular breadcrumbs anymore. Another great thing about this recipe is that it is easily modified if your family prefers more or less spice. Next time I might try more cayenne pepper or maybe I’ll add my homemade blackening seasoning to the panko. Oh, and if you don’t want to bother with pounding the chicken, you could use cutlets or chicken tenders and adjust the cooking time. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Sandwiches – Mom Makes…

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast (I had 3 large)
  • 1 cup AP flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups panko
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • kosher salt and ground pepper
To finish the Sandwich:
  • sandwich rolls
  • pepper jack or your favorite cheese
  • Plum tomatoes, sliced
  • Romaine leaf lettuce
  • barbecue sauce, honey, ketchup or your preferred condiment
  • pickles
Directions –
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees and place a wire rack on top of a half sheet pan. Place chicken breasts in a resealable plastic bag. Pound with the flat side of meat mallet until flattened to 1/2  inch thick. Once your chicken is pounded, cut each breast in half ( I ended up with 6 pieces). I did this so the chicken would fit better on the bun and also for easier cooking.
2. In a small bowl or shallow dish, season the flour with salt and black pepper, and lightly beat the eggs in another shallow dish. In a third shallow dish, combine panko breadcrumbs with oregano, garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper.
3. Dredge pieces in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the floured chicken into the egg and then coat with the panko mixture. Place on a plate to rest. Repeat with remaining pieces.
4.  Heat 1/ 2 inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, sprinkle a little flour over it. If it sizzles its ready. Fry chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
5. Once the chicken is done, place on the rack lined baking sheet and lightly salt while still hot then place the sheet in the oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining chicken pieces. Assemble your sandwich and enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich on Rosemary Focaccia

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Quick Post: Oh, this was so good! I think this focaccia is my favorite savory bread to date, and thankfully it’s my husband’s too. The last time I made it I baked two loaves off in a 9 inch cake pans; we used one for something that I don’t remember and the other one was stashed in the freezer. I marinated chicken cutlets in my favorite marinade, grilled it, fried up some bacon, sliced a perfect avocado and Roma tomato. I sliced and toasted the focaccia, placed baby swiss on each slice, topped it with a spring mix, and the rest of the toppings. It was the perfect sandwich 🙂 Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Simple Marinade for Chicken – Mom Makes

  • 2 pounds chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness (or use chicken cutlets)
  • Juice of one lemon (adding the zest would be a nice touch)
  • 4-6 TBSP olive oil (depends on how much lemon juice – more acid vs. oil will cook the chicken)
  • 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • oregano, parsley or your other favorite herb mixture – dried or fresh
Directions –
1. Place your prepared chicken in a Ziploc bag or some other sealable container.  Combine all marinade ingredients thoroughly, and pour over top of your chicken. Place the chicken into the fridge to marinade for 1 to 5 hours.

B.L.A.S.T.

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It has  all our faves – shrimp, check! Avocado, check! Bacon, check! I love a classic BLT, but the shrimp and the avocado really make it a substantial meal. I made ciabatta bread for the first time ever – yes, a bit time consuming, but a heck of a lot cheaper and flavorful than Publix. Once the bread was baked off this meal came together pretty quickly. Something I usually do to make life a little easier is bake my bacon at 400 degrees on a wire rack and half sheet pan lined with foil so I don’t have to babysit them.

Verdict: Everyone enjoyed this but it was a little difficult to eat, only because the sandwich’s innards wanted to fall out – but that seems to be a problem with lots of sandwiches. The shrimp weren’t too spicy and the lime mayo was a nice complement to this. I’ll try this with marinated grilled chicken next time. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

BLAST Sandwich – adapted from Soupbelly 

  • 4 sandwich rolls, I used these
  • 1 pound shrimp, thawed and deveined
  • 1 lime
  • 3 TBSP olive oil
  • Chipoltle powder
  • Chili Powder
  • Kosher salt
  • 6 slices of bacon, cut in half (12 small strips)
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 4 large leaves of lettuce

Lime infused Mayo:

  • 4 tbsp. mayonnaise
  • 1/4 lime, juiced
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions:

1) Make the marinade – squeeze the lime in a container, add the olive oil, kosher salt, chili powder and chipotle powder to taste; mix well and pour over shrimp. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

2) As shrimp are marinating in the fridge, slice and toast rolls. Cook bacon in skillet until crispy. Place on plate lined with paper towel to drain excess grease.

3) In a small bowl, squeeze lime juice, and 2 tsp of lime zest into 4 tbsp. of mayo. Mix thoroughly. Salt and pepper to taste.

4) In a skillet on medium high, cook shrimp until they turn opaque (approx. 2-3 minutes). Place cooked shrimp in bowl.

5) Slather mayo onto toasted rolls, assemble sandwiches with avocado slices, lettuce, 3 slices of bacon, 4-5 shrimp, and a slice of tomato. Serve and enjoy!

Blackened Tilapia Flatbread

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The picture sold me on this recipe first and I’m always on the lookout for fish recipe ideas. We recently got back from a three day vacation at Disney World, and while we were there we went to the Rain Forest Cafe. I tried their blackened tilapia with mango salsa and it was pretty tasty. I don’t normally order my fish “blackened” – it just doesn’t sound all that appealing to me ( “black” sounds like “burnt” to me ). So, on the shopping list was blackening seasoning and tilapia – thankfully the tilapia is on sale this week at Publix, but the blackening seasoning was not. I read the ingredients list and the first listed spice was salt….no thanks. I have salt at home, and I also have all the ingredients necessary to make my own salt-free blend! It pays to have a well stocked spice and dried herb cabinet. Bread making comes in handy too and for this meal I’ll make these pitas instead of spending almost four dollars for “fresh” pitas.

Verdict: These were so good – and the fish was cooked perfectly. The spicy tartar sauce was a great compliment to these, but next time I may add a little more cayenne pepper to the blackening seasoning. Overall we were all happy to eat this up, and it will definitely go into the rotation! Thanks for reading, enjoy!


Blackened Seasoning Mix – adapted from Allrecipes.com

  • 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika (*I used half smoked paprika, half sweet)
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 tablespoon ground dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions –
Combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, black pepper, cayenne pepper, basil, and oregano in a bowl until evenly mixed. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Blackened Fish Flatbread – adapted from Honest Cooking

For the Fish:

  • 1 lb tilapia
  • Blackening Seasoning of Choice
  • Kosher salt to taste
  • 1 TBS Butter
  • 1 TBS Canola Oil

For the Simple Spicy Tartar Sauce:

  • 1/3 cup Tartar Sauce
  • 2-3 tsp of Lemon Juice
  • Blackening Seasoning to taste

Other:

  • Pita bread, store-bought or these
  • Chopped Lettuce
  • Lemon wedges
  • Sliced tomato
Directions –
  1. Heat butter and canola oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper one side of fish and then coat with blackening spice to desired preference (we coat ours pretty well as we LOVE the heat).
  2. Place the fish, seasoned side down into the pan and quickly season the other side in the same way. Cook fish for roughly 3-4 minutes per side: 7-8 minutes in total (see above note regarding cooking times). Remove from skillet, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes.
  3. Heat flatbread in oven at 350° F until just warmed through (takes only a few minutes). Remove from oven and layer on the lettuce, tomato, red onion, and spicy tartar sauce to preference. Place fish filet on top, fold up the sides, and wrap one end in parchment paper or foil. Serve with a lemon wedge if desired.
  4. Note: The hubs says that the rule of thumb for cooking fish is roughly 1 minute per ounce. For instance, an 8 oz piece of fish will need about 4 minutes on each side (8 minutes total).

Hot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

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These are always really tasty! I have used this recipe more times than I can count. If you love the taste of Franks Red Hot and blue cheese you’ll love these. I bought boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and pounded them to make them cook quicker and for ease of eating. Doing this at home saved me over a dollar per pound – Publix wanted over 5 dollars for cutlets.

I took many liberties with this recipe starting with marinating the chicken – that’s a must in our house when we grill chicken. It adds so much to this meal and it couldn’t be easier. I also combine mayo with the sour cream to mellow out the sauce – it makes a lot so if you want to use the suggested celery and carrots you have plenty left over to dip. I’m sure I can talk M into getting us some buffalo wings later on this week to use the rest!;) We love all things “buffalo” and if you’re a regular visitor to this blog – that’s easy to see. Here are just some of the other buffalo style meals I have made. My two favorites by far are the buffalo chicken calzone and the buffalo chicken macaroni and cheese…so good!! Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches – (heavily) adapted from Rachel Ray

  • 1.5 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast – pounded to an even thickness
  • 3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • juice of one large lime
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

Sauce for Chicken –

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
  • Romaine lettuce leaves
  • 4 crusty rolls, split
  • 1 cups sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1/2 pound blue cheese, crumbled

Prepare your marinade by combining the lime juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, and cayenne in a small bowl. Place your chicken in a zip-top bag and pour the marinade over all. Mush the bag and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours – the longer the better.

Preheat your grill to medium high heat, then cook your chicken for 5-7 minutes each side.

Heat a metal or oven safe glass bowl over low heat and melt butter in the bowl. Add hot sauce to the butter and combine. When the chicken breasts are done, remove from pan and add to the bowl and coat evenly with hot sauce mixture.

Place chicken breasts on bun bottoms and top with crisp lettuce. Combine sour cream, mayo, pepper and blue cheese and slather bun tops with blue cheese mixture. Affix bun tops on sandwiches and enjoy!


Meatball Subs and Marinara Sauce

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Ooh…these were good. Even my picky eater enjoyed these, which is always a great because she often refuses to eat anything new. Another great thing about these recipes is that they made enough to become spaghetti and meatballs with marinara for last nights dinner. I’m so happy that my husband who hates spaghetti loved eating that meal too. Maybe it’s because this was all from scratch and not from a jar or package. I love being able to cook like this for my family and what makes that even better is that I thoroughly enjoy the process of it. Thanks for reading, enjoy!

Meatballs – adapted from The Comfort is Always Here

  • 1/2 lb of ground beef
  • 3 Italian sausages, casings removed
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 slices of white bread, crusts removed, torn into small pieces
  • 1/4 cup of milk
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
  • handful of fresh basil, chopped
  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 shallot, grated
  • Italian loaf of bread, or Italian rolls
  • 4 slices of mozzarella cheese per sandwich

Warm your marinara sauce in a deep skillet or a large saucepan while you prepare your meatball mixture.

Begin by soaking the bread in the milk for a few minutes. In a large bowl, add the meat, eggs, basil, seasonings, cheese and grated shallot. Squeeze the milk from the bread and add to the bowl. Thoroughly combine all ingredients, but be careful not to over-mix. Next form your balls and think about the size of them as you will place them onto the sub.

Cook your meatballs right in the sauce. Make sure the meatball is completely covered, and continue to cook on simmer for about 45 minutes, or longer.

When you are ready to make your sub, you have a couple of options. I hollowed out the top of mine, thinking I could place the cheese on the bottom, fill with meatballs, and place a couple of more slices of mozzarella on top. The choice is yours. You decide.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Add two slices of cheese to the bottom of the bread, and cook in the oven for about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and set your broiler. Add the meatballs to the top of the cheese, cover with two more slices of the cheese, and place under the broiler. Watch it carefully – the toasty goodness happens quick!

Marinara Sauce – adapted from Food.com

  • 3 -4 tablespoons olive oil (I use enough oil to lightly coat the bottom of my pot)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 4 -6 garlic cloves, minced (or to taste, the more the better I use 6 extra large cloves)
  • 1 tablespoon dried basil
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional or adjust to taste)
  • 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste (can use two cans for a thicker richer sauce if desired)
  • 1 (28 ounce) can whole roma tomatoes, undrained (break up with a fork before cooking, go ahead and use two cans if desired!)
  • 1/3-1/2 cup dry red wine (you may omit if desired but good to add in, can use white wine)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar (optional or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste, a good tomato sauce needs lots so don’t be shy with the salt)
  • fresh ground pepper

In a heavy bottomed stock pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, dried herbs and pepper flakes saute for 3-4 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add canned tomatoes and wine and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 – 2 hours stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper and sugar. You can add more water if you prefer a thinner sauce.

Sloppy Joes

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As much as I love having my husband home at dinner time, it’s nice to be able to make things that I know he doesn’t like to eat…sloppy joe’s is one of them. This is my go-to recipe for sloppy joe’s that I first tried out five years ago. It is the only recipe I can remember trying, because I knew my search was over for a  good ‘ol kid friendly, nostalgic meal. It’s really easy to put together and requires ingredients that I almost always have on hand. Little Man M always enjoys this, and S will eat some meat and the bun on the side – she’s my picky eater. Speaking of “buns”, the one’s pictured are the leftover buns I froze several weeks ago. The batch made eight buns and they were so much better than store bought that there was no way I was going to toss the remaining three. They, along with any other breads I have frozen, taste unchanged after hibernating in my freezer. The next time we have hamburgers, I will be sure to make them again and share it with you.  Oh, sorry about the lack of pictures – my kitchen is so dark that sometimes I have to use the flash on my camera – natural light is always 10x’s better! Thanks for reading, enjoy.

( brown sugar not pictured – oops!)

Sloppy Joe Ingredients – adapted from Rachel Ray

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
  • 1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 4 crusty rolls, split, toasted, and lightly buttered
  • Garnish: sliced ripe tomatoes and pickles

Directions –

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion and red peppers to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook onions, peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce with meat for 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops. Serve with your favorite sides or sliced tomatoes seasoned with salt and pepper. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

Today’s Lunch

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I love making sandwiches extra special. This has the “works” on it: baby swiss, romaine lettuce, tomato, roast beef and honey turkey. I use mustard topped with Boar’s Head deli dressing, kosher salt, pepper and dried oregano…not necessarily in that order. I’m running out of bread, so I will be sure to post one of my favorite bread recipes later on this week. I just wanted to share with you my favorite lunch – I eat this Monday through Friday and I’m not sick of it yet.