Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

image by jeffreyw via Flickr CC license

My mom used to make these yummy hot ham and cheese sandwiches for special events. They are quick to make and taste really good. Figure about 4 to 6 sandwiches per pound of ham, depending on how much ham you put on each bun.

This is what you need:

• sliced ham — any kind is fine: shaved, spiral sliced, leftover.
• sliced baby swiss cheese (1 or 2 slices per sandwich; or any kind of cheese you like)
• hamburger buns — poppy seed, onion, sesame seed, Hawaiian buns or plain
• mustard (any kind) — I like spicy brown or horseradish mustard best.
• finely minced onion (or use onion powder)
• butter

Soften 4 Tablespoons of butter. Add 2 T of mustard.
Mix in about 1 to 2 T. of minced onion (or more to taste).
Some recipes include 1 or 2 teaspoons of Worchestershire sauce in the mix as well. Mix all together.

Spread the butter/mustard/onion mixture on both sides of each hamburger bun, laying all the buns out on a cookie sheet or other flat surface.

Onto each bun bottom place a slice (or 1/2 slice of cheese) and your desired amount of ham (sliced or shaved). Top the ham with another slice of cheese (or 1/2 slice). Put a bun lid on each sandwich. Hopefully they all match up!

Wrap each ham and cheese sandwich in foil, sealing each little package tightly.

Place all the foil wrapped sandwiches on a cookie sheet. It is okay to stack them if you have too many.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Unwrap carefully. Enjoy!

I like to serve these with vegetables (carrots, celery, cucumber, radish) and dip (ranch, dill or spinach). They are also good with home made soup of any sort.  Crispy green salad?  You bet.

image of open faced ham and cheese fondue sandwich by Chris Gallevo via Flickr CC license

Okay, the photo above is not of this recipe.  But it does look like a pretty amazing hot ham and cheese sandwich, right?

Here are some links to similar recipes:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-ham-n-cheese
http://andreadekker.com/delicious-baked-sandwiches/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hot-colby-ham-sandwiches

This sandwich is not similar but this guy’s site has many delicious looking recipes for many different kinds of sandwiches:  http://whats4dinnersolutions.com/2015/03/03/sammich-pr0n-pulled-pork-with-slaw/

 

 

 

The Tromp Queen’s Tuna Salad

I was scrounging around looking for something for lunch recently.  I found a couple of cans of tuna in the pantry and decided to whip up some tuna salad.  I had boiled a couple of extra eggs that morning which was handy, since my recipe uses chopped boiled eggs.

This is how I like to make it:

You’ll need 2 cans of good quality tuna — solid albacore is my choice (in oil if I’m splurging).
Open the cans, drain them thoroughly.
Dump the tuna into a nice sized bowl.
Break up the tuna with a fork.
Splash a little lemon juice on the tuna (about 1 t. or more if you like a lot of lemon).
Add a couple dashes of salt if you aren’t watching salt intake.
Dice a couple of stalks of celery and a small amount of onion (about 1/4 of a smallish onion or less).
Add the celery and onion to the tuna.
Add 2 T. (or more) of sweet pickle relish including some extra juice and a squirt of yellow mustard (French’s).
I like to add about 1/2 t. of dill, but you can leave that out if you don’t like dill.
Peel the eggs and using an egg slicer, cut the egg three ways.  The eggs go in the bowl, too.
At this point, add several dollops of Hellmann’s Mayo.  How much depends on how saucy you like your tuna.
I like mine fairly dry, but moist enough to hang together.
My mom usually adds a small sprinkle of sugar (about 1/2 t.) but I don’t always do that.
Other add ins I like but don’t always add are:  chopped green pimento stuffed olives or chopped pecans.
A little chopped fresh parsley would be good, too.

image via Flickr CC by cookbookman17; Fresh Parsley —
A bunch of freshly picked parsley.

Stir it all together and let it cool in the fridge if you have time.  If not, just pile it on the best whole wheat bread you can find and top it off with some fresh lettuce.  I like mine cut diagonally.

Summary of ingredients needed:

2 cans of solid albacore tuna (in oil or water)
2 stalks of celery
a small onion
3 hard-boiled eggs
sweet pickle relish
dried dill from Penzeys (or fresh if you have it)
yellow mustard (French’s)
Hellmann’s mayo
salt, sugar
optionals:  green olives, parsley

If you are making just 1 can of tuna, just use less of all the other ingredients.  I would use one boiled egg for one can.  If you don’t have time for making a boiled egg, you can leave the eggs out all together.  I just like them in there, though.

I found this photo on Flickr (Creative Commons).  It has cilantro and dijon in it.  Sounds good!  Maybe I’ll try it that way next time.  You can find the recipe for this version here.

Dijon-Cilantro Tuna Salad on Whole Grain Bread
Read about it at thebittenword.typepad.com/thebittenword

Other tuna sandwich ideas:

From Pioneer Woman:  Tuna Melts.
From Rachael Ray:  No-Mayo Tuna Salad.
From Food Network:  Tuna Salad