Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

This isn't a gourmet meal but it's quick, easy, and yummy.  I had these at my sister's baby shower and knew I would want to make them sometime.  The lady who made me told the basics of what she did so I went on-line and found what I thought was a similar recipe and then made adaptions of what was used for the ones I ate.

I found this recipe here at Tasty Kitchen.

FOR THE SANDWICHES:
8 whole Sandwich Rolls (or 16 Dinner Rolls) *
½ pounds Ham, Any (sliced Thin Or Chopped)
½ pounds Cheese, Any Variety That Melts Well *

FOR THE ONION BUTTER:**
8 Tablespoons Salted Butter
½ cups Finely Minced Onion **
3 Tablespoons Prepared Mustard, Any (the More Flavorful, The Better)**
1 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
1 teaspoon Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice

Preparation Instructions
To make the onion butter, combine ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat gently just until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are well combined. Cool to a spreadable consistency.

To prepare sandwiches, place roll bottoms, cut side up on a sheet pan. Spread some onion butter evenly onto each of the halves (use about half of the onion butter for this step), top with 1/2 the cheese, next add all the ham, now add remaining cheese, and end with the rest of the onion butter. Top with the roll tops, cover pan with foil, and heat in a 300F oven for 10-15 minutes until the sandwiches are heated through and the cheese melts.

Note: Sandwiches can be assembled up to 2 days in advance, but store them in an airtight container to control the smell of raw onions in your fridge.

* I used Hawaiian rolls, 16 pack and pepperjack cheese.  I split the rolls down the middle put the onion butter on them then layered them with cheese, ham, then more cheese!  I put the top half on then cut them into the rolls and put more of the butter mixture on them.

**  I only prepared half the butter mixture and I felt that was plenty.  I also used 1tsp of onion powder instead of onions and I used honey mustard.

These were tasty both me and hubby liked them.  Our 2 year old son not so much but maybe it was the butter mixture.  They were also good the next day warmed up.  We just ate with chips and a pickle!  Nothing fancy but for some weeknights it does the job and it's better and cheaper than going out to eat!!:)

Cuban Sandwiches ~ page 260

Fabulous! I made these in 2o minutes! We got home from church and we were eating less than 30 minutes later! I didn't read the directions well enough, they were from the "leftover" section, I didn't realize that I was suppose to use left over pork loin with the deli turkey. So ours were straight turkey, but I think I would do it again, yum! Bot kids ate them too, so that is a big winner in my book. The melted swiss cheese with the pickles and banana peppers were perfect! I did them on my cast iron griddle and used cast iron pans to flatten the sandwiches. Give these a try! --Carissa

Sweet & Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwich (p95)

This is one sophisticated grilled cheese sandwich. While I did like the idea of making this traditional sandwich a little more novel, I didn’t really like this specific twist. I didn’t feel like the caramelized onions & the pepper jack cheese were a good blend. Has anyone else tried this? In Martha Stewart Living (October) there is an article with a bunch of recipes for dressing-up the traditional grilled cheese. I think I will try merging some of those options with this one & see what I get.

Sweet and Spicy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches ~ page 95

What a nice change from regular grilled cheese! The onions were fabulous! I think I will always put caramelized onions on my grilled sandwiches now! And the tomato was a great addition too, it gave the sandwich more substance! I forgot to buy pepper jack cheese, so I just used Monterey Jack with Cheddar. It was still great. I can imagine the pepper cheese would be REALLY good! Definitely give this one a try! --Carissa

Sloppy Joes ~ page 91

These were a hit at my house! I didn't have pinto or red beans like she called for in the recipe, so I used black beans. I made it a couple hours before dinner and just left the sauce on low on the stove till dinner time...made getting dinner on the table super fast when Adam got home.

I toasted the buns on a griddle with a touch of butter...I would recommend that, it helps keep the bun from getting soggy while you eat it. The only change I did to the recipe was to add a tablespoon or so of ketchup to the sauce so it had a more tomato-y taste. It made enough for me to freeze the leftovers for dinner another night. My husband said it tasted healthy, but that it was really good. My kiddos gave it 2 thumbs up also. Give it a try! --Carissa