Chicken Parmesan Sandwiches

This is a "cheater" recipe, no doubt about it! But it's quick, easy, tasty, and no complaints from those it's served to.

oops! forgot to sprinkle on the parmesan before snapping the pic!

Pre-made chicken patties
Provolone cheese slices
Maranara or pizza sauce
Hamburger buns
Parmesan Cheese

Begin by baking chicken patties according to package directions. You can use the microwave, but they will have a crispier crust if you bake.

When patties are heated through, place a slice of Provolone cheese over each patty., return to oven until melted.

Place patty with melted cheese on bottom bun and top with a couple tablespoons marinara sauce (more or less to your preference). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cover with top bun and serve it up to hungry folks!

I made these when trying to come up with an easy Chicken Parmesan recipe for Caleb to make. In the future, I will probably use a meatless patty from "Morning Star Farms". We have those sometimes as a chicken sandwich because they are healthier than a regular old chicken patty, and we really like them! 

Ham and Swiss Sliders

Serve 'em up with some yummy sweet potato fries!

These little sandwiches have been all over the internet for quite a while. I have eaten them on different occasions, but have never made them until tonight. They are easy to put together, cook quickly and taste scrumptious! Here's what you need to make them for your crew...

1 package of King Hawaiian Rolls
1/2 pound shaved ham
6-8 slices of Swiss Cheese
Mayo or Miracle whip

Poppyseed Dressing:
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon poppyseeds
3/4 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon finely diced onions
2 quick dashes of Worcestershire sauce

To make the sandwiches, slice the rolls in half. I did this with them still at attached to each other, so I had two large slices of bread to work with, a top and a bottom. You could certainly separate them if you wanted.

Spread miracle whip/mayo on bottom layer of rolls.

Evenly distribute ham over bottom of bread layer.

Top with slices of Swiss Cheese.

Spread mayo/miracle whip on cut side of top layer.

Place top layer of rolls on top of cheese, and place in baking dish.

Make poppyseed dressing by melting butter, then whisking in remaining ingredients.

Pour dressing over top of rolls.

Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes at 350* or until cheese is melted and sandwiches are heated through. Uncover last couple minutes to brown the tops.

Serve 'em up!

This is actually 1/2 of the recipe I used. I think it is plenty for most families, but if you have big eaters in your house, just double it up!

Wraps

Pre-made breaded chicken tenders, I get mine at Aldi's
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, diced
Cheddar cheese, shredded
Dressing of your choice
Flour tortillas

Bake chicken tenders according to package directions.

Cut tenders lengthwise into long strips.

Lay out one flour tortilla and top with lettuce, tomato, chicken, cheddar, and your choice of dressing.

Wrap it burrito style and eat it up!

Chicken Salad

2 or 3 chicken breast, boneless/skinless

mayonaise or miracle whip, I always use a light variety

pickle relish

Boil chicken breasts until done, 20 minutes or so.

When cool enough to handle, break chicken into a few large pieces and place in a food processor or blender with a grinding blade. Grind the chicken.

In a meduim size bowl,  place ground chicken, enough mayo to bind it together and relish to taste. Stir to combine all ingredients.

Serve as a sandwich or alone with crackers on the side.

Caleb and Jonah really like this. They actually enjoy it as a sandwich between meals, 

or to take in a sack lunch to school. 

Boys...they can eat all the time!

Pulled Pork

  bumped this to the top since I now have a pic!

2 lbs. pork roast
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

Place pork in slow cooker.

In a bowl combine all other ingredients. Stir well and pour over roast.

Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until meat falls apart.

Remove pork from crock pot and allow to cool slightly. Remove and discard any bones. Pull meat into shreds using 2 forks, or if cool enough, your hands.

At this point you can either return the meat to the sauce in the crock pot, or serve plain and let each person add their own choice of sauce. If serving plain, I do use a little of the sauce it was cooked in to help keep the meat moist. Serve on a buns or hoagie rolls.

We use KC Masterpiece bbq or plain ketchup for Jonah.

Shredded Beef Au Jus

before...

1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 lbs)
2 cups water
2 teaspoosn beef bouillon granules
1 1/2 teaspoon dried italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed
8 buns or hoagie rolls.

Place roast in crockpot.

Combine all other ingredients, except buns, and pour over the beef.

Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until meat is very tender.

Remove meat from crockpot and allow to cool slightly. While cooling skim fat from cooking liquid.

Shred meat with two forks, return to cooking liquid and reheat.
I like to add a teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce to make the au jus a little richer...

during...

 

Split buns/rolls and toast under broiler in oven, remove from oven.

Using a slotted spoon, place about 1/2 cup of meat on bottom half of each bun.

Top with a slice of provolone cheese and return to oven and broil until cheese is melted.

Serve with a small bowl of cooking liquid (au jus) for dipping.

and after...

I found this recipe in Taste of Home magazine and tweaked it a little to meet our needs.

Meatball Sandwiches

Meatballs:
1 pound ground chuck
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
milk (enough to mix it all together and be somewhat moist-no more than a half a cup)
 
Mix all together and form into balls, not quite as large as a golf ball.

Additional ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can or jar spaghetti sauce
provolone cheese slices
hoagie rolls

 Drizzle some olive oil in a hot skillet.

Add onion.

Cook onion for a couple minutes and then add the meatballs to the skillet making sure they sit on the skillet and don't rest on the onions. This allows them to brown.

Your kitchen is starting to smell delicious right about now.

Cook a couple minutes, then gently turn the meatballs to brown the other side.

When browned, pour a can of spaghetti sauce in the skillet, reduce heat and continue to cook the meatballs in the sauce until done. To completely cook the meatballs, you will probably have to cook and additional 20 minutes. Test a meatball by removing it and cutting it in half. You may need to cover the skillet to prevent splatters.

You could stop right here, boil some pasta and have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner!

When meatballs are cooked, split and toast hoagie rolls under broiler.

Arrange 3-4 meatballs on bottom half of each hoagie, top with a slice of provolone cheese and return to oven under broiler to melt cheese. Remove from oven and top with top half of hoagie roll and serve.

Can you tell I really struggle with side dishes? At least it's healthy this time!

A very filling sandwich and the recipe will serve 5-6 easily. Doug likes it with extra sauce....surprise!

The Pioneer woman made these as sliders using one meatball on a dinner roll with provolone cheese. I made it this way once the guys really liked it. It's all about variety!

You could very well "cheat" and use premade meatballs from the frozen food section. I don't think it will be quite as good, but would definitely work in a pinch.

Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwiches

2 whole, boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, diced
6-8 slices of bacon, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
salt and pepper as desired
hoagie buns or any bun of your choice, sometimes I use whole wheat hotdog buns






In a large skillet, over medium high heat, drizzle 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Add chicken, bacon and onions (salt and pepper if desired) and cook till done and browned, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Remove from heat.

Split and toast 5 hoagie buns under the broiler.

Top one half of each bun with chicken/bacon/onion mixture, then top with a slice of provolone cheese.

Return to oven under broiler until cheese is melted.

Add ranch or other favorite condiment, top with other half of bun and serve.

I like to jazz mine up with lettuce, tomato and maybe a pickle. The boys are happy with meat, bread and cheese!