Sandwiches Galore

Our family absolutely loves sandwiches. There are so many varieties, that you can have a sandwich for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon tea, or a midnight snack and each one would not have one ingredient repeated.

Sandwiches are so popular, there are restaurants that name their sandwiches after celebrities or certian historical events. Even Dagwood, a cartoon character, is famous for his outrageous sandwiches.

The first sandwich is said to have been made by John Montague, the fourth Earl of Sandwich during a card game. Since he was playing cards with one hand, he decided to stack his bread, cheese and meat enabling him to hold it in the other hand, making a sandwich.

Some other stories date the sandwich back to 100 years B.C. when a Rabbi placed apple slices and nuts between two matzos.

Either way, the sandwich has become one of our favorite all time meals. They're an inexpensive and easy way to make a quick meal.

Here are some suggestions for making delicious healthy and not so healthy sandwiches.

Start with the......

Bread: A variety of breads to make your sandwich unique

Bagels, baguettes, beer bread, biscuits, ciabatta, croissants, Cuban bread, flatbread, focaccia, French bread, hoagie rolls, Italian bread, Irish soda bread, Jewish rye bread, loaf, marble bread and marble rye bread, multi-grain bread, onion bread, pita bread, potato bread, Pullman loaf also known as white or whole wheat bread, pumpernickel bread, rye bread, sourdough, split-top roll, Vienna loaf, white bread, and whole wheat bread.

Then add.....

Protein: Meats, deli spiced meats, and canned meats

Almond butter, bacon, baked ham, beerwurst, boiled ham, bologna, capicola, chicken breast, chorizo, cooked ham, corned beef, deviled ham, eggs, fish, genoa salami, hard salami, head cheese, honey-maple ham, italian sausage, kielbasa loaf, knockwurst, liverwurst, lobster, mortadella, olive loaf, oven roasted turkey, pastrami, peanut butter, pepper loaf, pepperoni, pickle loaf, pimento loaf, pork, pork sausage, prosciutto, roast beef, roast pork, salami, serrano ham, shrimp, smoked bacon, smoked ham, smoked turkey, sopressata, Spam, steak, tuna, and turkey.

Then......

Cheeses: Low fat, Lite, flavored or Regular

American, asiago, blue cheese, brie, camembert, colby, cream cheese, edam, feta, fontina, gorgonzola, gouda, havarti, roquefort, cheddar, goat, gruyere, jarisberg, monterey jack, mozzarella, muenster parmesan, provolone, romano, and swiss.

And don't forget the.....

Toppings and Condiments: Mild, medium, or hot

Alfalfa, avocado, bar-be-que sauce, celery, chipotle sauce, cucumber, dijon mustard, dill pickles, fruit slices, honey mustard, horseradish mustard, horseradish sauce, jellies and marmalades, ketchup, lettuce, mayonnaise, mushrooms, mustard, onion, peppers, radishes, relish, sauerkraut, spinach, shredded veggies, and tomatoes.

Dressings: Salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar.

Once you're done choosing all your ingredients, you can decide to serve it cold or hot. Sandwiches can be paired with a soup, chips, or a salad to make a complete meal.

Some of our favorite sandwiches are:

BLT: bacon, lettuce and tomato

Chicken salad

Club sandwich

Egg salad

Grilled cheese

Lobster roll

Monte Cristo sandwich

Panini

Pastrami on rye

Patty melt

PB & J: peanut butter and jelly

Philly cheese steak

Pulled pork sandwich

Reuben sandwich

Sloppy Joe sandwich

Tuna melt

Tuna salad

Other types of sandwiches can also be made by mixing certain ingredients together such as spreads and salads.

With eggs, you can mix veggies (onions, peppers, tomatoes), meats and cheeses to make an omelet. Add your favorite bread and you have yourself a healthy sandwich.

Mix tuna, eggs, seafood, or cubed meats with mayonnaise to make a spread or type of salad such as egg salad, ham spread, or tuna salad.

Sandwiches are also an alternative for those busy nights when you just don't have time to cook. They can be premade in the morning or night before and heated up on a grill. Add a simple side dish and you have a meal.

There's a world of sandwiches out there to be made so make a plan to make yourself a unique and delicious sandwich today.