Sandwich Fun

During summer, we eat a lot of sandwiches for lunch! We're either running around outside and need something portable or I'm in the middle of a project and need something quick. Also, school is starting soon and I'm sure you'll be after some new sandwich ideas. Here are a few ideas to liven things up.

1) New Shapes. Simply use a large cookie cutter and cut out a shape from a prepared sandwich. Image from Family Fun.

2) Cheesey Face. Cut out a face shape on one slice of bread. Make a grilled cheese sandwich and add some tomato ears and chip "hair". I have no idea where this is from, I like to give credit to whoever came up with it, but I just found this pic in my files. If it's yours, please tell me! :)

3) Robot. Cut crusts off sandwich and cut into two rectangles. Add a banana smile, grape eyes, and cheese puff antennae.

4) Puzzlers. Make one sandwich on white bread and one on whole wheat bread. Cut a similar "puzzle" piece out of each sandwich. Swap the pieces and serve. (This one is great for school lunches!)

5) Cell phone Sandwiches. This one's from Denise. She's actually a soapmaker, but came up with these cuties!

6) Tic-Tac-Toe Melts from HomeBasics. To make the “board”, top a slice of lightly toasted bread with a slice of cheese. Then use thin strips of ham to divide the slice into nine squares. Decorate with playing pieces: “O’s” made from black olive rings and “X’s” made from small strips of red bell pepper. Broil until bubbly and serve.

Muffins, Muffins, Muffins

This is a great "base" muffin mix so that you can add your own favorite fruits, etc. They aren't too sweet and really satisfying!

2 c. all purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. sugar (add up to 1 cup if you like them SWEET)
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. In a 2 cup measuring cup, mix the egg in with the milk. Pour milk mixture and oil into the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened..but do not beat. Batter may be lumpy. At this point add your favorite fruit or cinnamon & sugar for "coffee cake" muffins.

Pour into paper lined muffin tins. Usually I can squeeze out 14. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Store in ziplock bag or tight lid container to keep fresh.

To my muffins, to make "Lemon Blueberry" muffins, I added:

2 Tbl. lemon zest
2 capfuls of lemon juice (or fresh juice if you have it- add 1 1/2 tsp depending on how "zingy" you want it!)
1 cup of frozen blueberries

Then for the topping:
Glaze: 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
Mix together until smooth and drizzle over warm muffins.

Balsamic Salmon

My husband and I are trying to be a little more healthy so I have been making salmon more often. My husband cannot stand fish!! I decided to try and see if I could get him to enjoy it by experimenting and cooking it different ways. This is a recipe thatI made up that he actually really enjoyed! He even agreed to eat it once or twice a week!!

Ingredients:
Salmon Filet (I have been buying preportioned single filets at Albertsons and they only cost $1 each!)
Balsamic Vinegarette salad dressing

Directions:
Add fish to a frying pan with a little olive oil or butter (i used butter to mask the fish taste even more). Pour a little of the dressing on top of the salmon, let it cook (can add a pinch of garlic powder also), repeat on other side. I cooked it until it was starting to brown. Take the filet out and peel off the scales (you can cook that side a little longer if desired).

Only 5-10 minutes and you have a tasty and fairly healthy serving of fish!

As Sides:
-I steamed some broccoli (and added roasted sliced almonds)
-sliced potatoes to look like french fries and cooked them on the stove in a little olive oil and some steak seasoning. My little boy loves to dip food so he was able to dip these in some ketchup!

ENJOY!!