Cook your oven chips according to package directions. Mix the cheeses together.  Heat your turkey, and your gravy.   I take the stuffing and I stick it into the oven with the chips for the last 10 minutes, then it is nice and hot.  Divide your chips amongst 4 hot plates.  Top each with a quantity of stuffing,  Scatter with the turkey chunks.  Spoon the hot gravy over all and scatter on the cheese.  The hot gravy will melt the cheese and everybody's happy!   Serve immediately, with or without cranberry sauce!    




*Poultry Stuffing*

I love sandwiches.  I think next to potatoes, chocolate and lemons, sandwiches are one of my absolute favourite things to eat!!  Yep, low carb does not work for me.  Not at all.  Sandwiches can be as simple as you like or as complicated as you like.  It all depends on how you are feeling.   Some days I am in ecstacy over a simple jam sandwich and others I am wanting an Italian Grinder.  It's a mood thing I guess.

 

I was recently sent some Spam ® in these new pop top plastic containers!  Way cool beans!  So easy to open and to use!  I love them!



The old tin was always a bit fiddly to work with and I was always afraid I would cut myself on it.  This is a really nice improvement.  Did you know that SPAM have a competition running at the moment to win five weekend theatre breaks plus £100 spending money plus 100 runner up prizes.  In order to enter you can simply upload a photo, video, drawing or even just a short sentence at www.spam-uk.com.   The contest closes on the 28th February, so you still have enough time to enter if you wish!

 

Next week is Spam Appreciation week and in honor of that I have created a tasty sandwich for you all. It's a hot sandwich so is perfect for a simple supper.   Did you know that Spam is the number one favourite luncheon meat in Hawaii?   Hawaiian's just love the stuff.  I'm not surprised actually.   We are big fans of it in this house too.



I decided to take on a Hawaiian theme with this sandwich because they are such fans and I thought it would be fun.    Hot dog buns stuffed with a delicious spam filling created by using chopped spam, cheese, onion, pineapple crush, hot peppers, mayonnaise and spicy barbeque sauce!   You just mix it all together and stuff the buns, which are then wrapped tightly in foil and baked until the filling is bubbling and oozingly tasty good!



A man and kid pleaser, this is luau food, without the trouble of pit roasting a whole pig!  All joking aside, these are incredibly tasty! The Toddster tucked into two of them all by himself.  I love it when that happens!  I served these with some oven chips, but potato chips would be great with them, as would some potato salad.  I think you'll agree that these are quite simply delicious!

 

Make sure your pineapple is really well drained.  You don't want it to be too wet or the filling will be too wet.  If you have to, put it in a clean tea towel, wrap it up tightly and squeeze it really well.  Mash together the spam, cheese, pineapple, onion, mayonnaise, barbeque sauce and pepper to taste.  Split the hot dog buns.  Divide the mixture evenly between the buns filling them well.  Wrap each tightly in foil. Place them onto a baking tray and then bang them into the heated oven.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, at which time the buns should be a bit crisp on the outsides and the filling will be oozingly tasty good.  Let stand for several minutes before serving.   The filling will be very hot so take care.  Serve garnished with more chopped onion and a sprinkling of cress.   



Now that's tasty! 

Many thanks to Rachel and the people at SPAM® for sending me these tasty little tubs!

I made a nice Macaroni and Cheese for supper one night at the weekend and had a bit extra mac and cheese that didn't fit into the casserole dish.    I hate waste and so I decided to do what any who loves to cook, loves to eat and hates waste would do.  I created something tasty with it.  Don't shoot me because once you see this, your life will never be the same again. 💕  Sorry about that!

Meet the Grilled Mac, Cheese and Pancetta Sandwich.    I know . . . I can't help it, the wheels in my culinary head are always turning.


I can't claim to have invented this . . . but it's new to me.  If you've already done this, I haven't stolen your recipe.  We are just great minds that think alike!  (What a fab idea to think that the world is filled with great minds thinking alike!)  They say there is nothing new under the sun, only new ways of doing things.   I expect that is true.


This is so tasty   . . . yes . . .  more than  tad bit hedonistic to be sure.  But once in a blue moon a gal just has to do what a gal has to do . . . and as you know by now I like to push the envelope a tad bit now and then.

Each bite brings the taste of buttery toasted bread |(Garlicky if  you have used garlic mayo instead of butter), salty crisp pancetta and creamy peppery macaroni and cheese!  WOWSA!  This was FABULOUS!

I was too afraid to eat the whole thing.  My arteries were constricting just thinking about it so I tortured the Toddster with half of it.  He seemed to enjoy it as well.   Now I am pondering what else I can do to this to take it even further over the top. Any ideas???  (I think some rocket/arugula would be a nice addition.  Next time!!)


My instructions and amounts are for one sandwich, but can easily be upped to more.  I used my homemade macaroni and cheese for this, before it was baked in the oven.  I just removed about a cup of it and then put the rest into the casserole dish to bake a bit later on.  
2 slices good white bread 4 slices of pancetta, cooked until crisp softened butter or garlic mayo about 1 cup of prepared good macaroni and cheese
a small handful of grated cheddar cheese Fresh ground black pepper

Note:  If you really want to be hedonistic, you can brown them in the fat leftover from cooking the pancetta.  I'm not going to admit to this.  ;-)

You can find a really good Mac & Cheese recipe here. 

One of my favourite things to get when we are eating out is a Chicken Sandwich or Burger.   Yes, I know  . . .  we eat chicken all the time at home, and dollars to donuts I eat it again when we are out and about.  I am just a boring person I guess!  Chicken Sandwiches or Burgers can often be very high in fat and calories however and so today I created one which is delicious and a little bit healthier than normal, well certainly healthier than those breaded deep fried ones you get in the restaurants . . .  and not only that, but it is pretty economical as well.

 

I have to admitit,  and come clean with you all. . . when I was a growing up, I would never have touched a sandwich like this with a ten foot pole!  Yes, I will come clean. I was very picky and a bit stroppy when it came to food or trying out anything different.  I know!!   Very hard to believe!

 

But there you have it.  There would have been far toooooooooo much stuff mixed together in this for my childhood tastes.  Too many questionables.  Too much texture and colour.  Sliced chicken on buttered white  bread with some salt and pepper, and possibly a teensie dab of mayonnaise??  But of course . . .  never anything extra!!  Oh no!!  No cranberry sauce, or stuffing or anything else.  (I quite like chicken, cranberry and stuffing sandwiches now!)

 

I'm happy to say that is definitely not the case anymore.  I have an extremely worldly palate now, which whilst that means I still wouldn't eat a snail or squid . . . I will eat food with different ingredients and textures and I would choose a whole grain bread over a white bread most days of the week!

 

This is a fabulous chicken salad.  It's nutty and fruity and not overly filled with mayonnaise (as some tend to be)  You don't need a lot of mayo as there are so many other flavours and textures in this.

 

Of course you don't have to have it in a sandwich.  It's equally as delicious scooped onto a lettuce leaf!  But just look at that bread.  It's Swiss Muesli Bread . . . my new favourite . . . all stogged full of grains and seeds and raisins.  (Don't judge me.  It's delicious with chicken salad.  Trust me on this.  It also goes great with Ham and mustard.)

 

We had these for lunch today after church and they went down a real treat.  Seriously.



  
*Tasty Chicken Salad Sandwich*
Makes 4
Printable Recipe

Don't knock it until you try it!  These are fabulous!!

2 cups of chopped cooked chicken breast meat, no skin or bone (about half a pound or so, 2 single breasts)
75g of dried cranberries, chopped coarsely (about 1/2 cup, loosely packed)
60g of chopped toasted walnuts (1/2 cup)
1 stalk of celery, trimmed, washed and chopped
1 spring onion, trimmed and chopped
75ml of buttermilk (1/4 cup)
1 large dollop of low fat mayonnaise (about 1/4 cup)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried dill weed
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
fine seasalt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
softened butter for spreading
8 slices of a sturdy bread (I used Swiss Meusli Bread)

Stir the mayonnaise, buttermilk, lemon juice, seasonings, herbs and seasonings together in a bowl.  Fold in the chicken, cranberries, walnuts and celery.  Mix all together well. 
Spread your slices of bread with a small amount of softened butter.  Pile on the chicken salad, dividing it equally amongst four slices, butter sides up.  Top with the remaining four slices of bread, butter side down.  Press gently together.  Cut in half diagonally, and serve immediately.

Whenever we take a long journey in the car, I always make sandwiches for us to take. We always make several stops at rest stops along the way . . . and the food they have on offer in these places is always expensive and not very tasty . . .



The sandwiches are usually not very well filled, bread dry, and not very interesting or tasty. It's the same thing, time and time again . . . tuna with cucumber, lacking in flavour . . . tuna or chicken with sweetcorn, same thing . . . skimpy slices of ham with a few bits of stale salad . . . chicken and stuffing, heavy on the stuffing and light on the chicken . . . etc. it goes on and on . . .



It doesn't really take much time to make your own sandwiches and they are always alot tastier than anything you can buy on the road, and a lot cheaper too!



There are a few rules I like to follow though:

1. Spread any sandwich which is going to have a wet filling generously with butter, and right to the edges, so as to prevent any sogginess.
2. Use a sturdy bread which will hold up to the journey and standing for several hours.
3. Spread the filling generously and to the edge. Helps to prevent dry corners from being discarded in the trash later on.
4. Cut in half so that you have rectangles. This shape is a lot easier to pack and a lot easier to eat out of hand.
5. Wrap well in greaseproof paper (wax paper) or cling film to help keep them fresh and store in a sturdy container to help keep them from becoming crushed.
6. Don't forget the napkins. If you have followed my advice and generously filled them, you will quite happily need them!

Here's two of our favourite on-the-road sandwich fillings. We both enjoy these, although I do add shredded lettuce to my tuna, placing it onto the buttered bread just before I add the filling. Todd deplores salad in his sandwiches and so . . .



You guessed it. I don't put any on his. It goes without saying that if you are taking these in the car or on a picnic, they are best eaten on the day. Don't save any overnight that you haven't eaten on the day for the next day. Bad, bad idea, unless you have been brilliant enough to store them in a well chilled cooler.




*Ham Salad Filling*
Makes 2 or 3, depending on how generous you are with your filling
Printable Recipe

Savoury chopped ham, combined with some crunch, and tasty bits.

1 (200g) tin of cooked ham
(or 200g of cooked ham, chopped finely)
1 TBS good quality mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
1 heaped tsp of Dijon mustard
(if you like extra texture, use a grainy one)
1 TBS sweet pickle relish
1 TBS chopped gerkhins
1 spring onion, trimmed and chopped
freshly ground black pepper
Bread (choose a sturdy one)
softened butter

Mix together all of the sandwich ingredients. (Ham, mayo, mustard, pickle relish, gerkhins and onion.) Taste and add pepper as required. Butter your slices of bread to the edges with softened butter. Spread half of the slices with the filling and top with the rest. Cut in half to serve.

If taking out, wrap well and then store in a sturdy container.



*Tuna Salad Filling*
Makes 2 or 3 depending on how generous you are with your filling.
Printable Recipe

Tasty tuna with some crunch and savoury bits.

1 (200g tin) of albacore tuna in spring water, drained and flaked
1 TBS of lemon pepper salad cream
1 TBS of good quality mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
1 TBS sweet pickle relish
1 stick of celery, finely chopped
1 heaped TBS of finely chopped red onion
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Bread (choose a sturdy one)
softened butter

Mix together all of the sandwich ingredients. (drained tuna, salad cream, mayonnaise, pickle relish, celery, and red onion) Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Butter your slices of bread to the edges with softened butter. Spread half of the slices with the filling and top with the rest. Cut in half to serve

If taking out, wrap well and then store in a sturdy container.



Don't forget the napkins!