Improvise: Tuna Tuesday

What happens when you are planning on Cafe Rio (Taco Tuesday - every Tuesday!) for dinner, and out of nowhere your husband tells you he has to leave at 5:00 for meetings. And it's 4:30. And your car is in the shop, so that means you'll be stranded at home. And you haven't gone grocery shopping in almost two weeks (because it's summer, and who has time for grocery shopping in the summer?), so your fridge is empty? And your husband's answer to your despair is, "How about tuna sandwiches?" But you hate sandwiches (unless they are hot)?

You google 'Tuna Melt'. That's what happens. Because you remember a few years ago when you found this fabulous tuna melt recipe (before Pinterest was invented), but you didn't print it out like a level-headed person, and instead lost it to the black hole of cyber space.

What then happens when you find a recipe that tickles your fancy over at Pioneer Woman's blog, but you don't have any of the ingredients? Except for the tuna?

Why, you channel your Grandma Orton, of course! You improvise like it's going out of style!

(minus the raisins, though)

You combine tuna, zucchini, onion, tomato, dill pickles (you were just barely smart enough to can oodles of your own last summer - whew!), mayo, spicy brown mustard (remind yourself to buy more of that, cause you canoodled every last scrap out of the jar), Parmesan cheese, pepper and salt. Then you pile it onto sandwich thins, bake it, top it with shredded cheddar, broil it, and dinner is served! In about 15 minutes flat. Well, with a little help from fresh cherries, melon, and chips. Gotta have some fruit and chips to make it a real meal.

That's what.


*No pictures were taken because I didn't expect it to be terribly good. But it was. Terribly. In a very unterrible way. Also, I am convinced that you could add whatever vegetables you have in your fridge, and it would be fabulous. Just make sure you have the pickles and onions in there. And the cheese.

Reader Recipes - Sandwiches

I chose Sandwiches as the Friday theme, because I need recipes! I want to incorporate more of them into my menus, but have a hard time getting excited about them. You know how Merica feels about fish? Well, take that aversion, square it, and you'll have my opinion of sandwiches. I just can't stand them. Which has made lunch a dreaded affair in my life since Elementary School.

It doesn't make sense. My favorite food item is the hamburger, which is just a glorified sandwich, right?
Same goes for Mexican food - it's all just a tortilla sandwich. And I can eat Quizno's subs all day long. Or chicken salad on croissants. Or Thanksgiving turkey on left-over crescent rolls.

So, I guess what my problem is, is sliced bread. It just wasn't meant for anything but toast! I finally realized that as long as my sliced bread is toasted, I really enjoy a good sandwich. Oh, and the filling has to be greater than or equal to the volume of the bread (more filling than bread).

That, combined with a heavy dose of lazy, is why I made a few modifications to this recipe for California Sandwich:

Filling (combine the following):
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 cucumber (I use half a really big English cucumber), diced
squeeze of lime juice
2 TB. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Toast your bread (I find that the recipe makes three generous sandwiches, so I make one for me, one for my husband, and then I have enough left over for another sandwich - for me - the next day)
Spread it with mayonnaise.
Sprinkle it with garlic salt.
Add the filling on top of one slice.
Pile on lots of alfalfa sprouts.
Slap on a slice of pepper jack cheese (has to be pepper jack - that's what makes the sandwich).
Top with second slice of toast.

It is really delicious. We have been partaking for a couple weeks now, and even my husband (I pack his toast and filling separately, to be assembled @ lunch time, so as not to get soggy) can't get enough of it; the same husband who hates the following items:

avocados, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cilantro.

That's why I call it the Magic Sandwich.

(also, it is just fine without the tomato, if you happen to think you have some and then find that you don't - like I did yesterday)