Friday, May 13, 2016

Grab 'n Go Sandwiches


I have made this recipe for years and years, usually around Christmas when we need party food. But when I came across slider rolls at the store, I thought I would make this recipe again using these slightly larger rolls. And this time I'm wrapping them in pairs before freezing.

That way, when Daddy-O needs a quick lunch while he is busy outside working, or wants to pack a cooler to take with him in the tractor during hay season, he can grab a pack or two. Of course, they are meant to be heated before eating, but there is nothing that must be hot to be safe.

If he ends up with a cold sandwich, the worst thing would be the cheese not being melted. He could live with that. But if he takes a break while still in the field, he could lay those foil-wrapped sandwiches on the hot tractor engine for a few minutes. Use it like a toaster oven. Tractor hack!


It will be great to take some of these to the lake, too, where the kitchen is the size of a postage stamp. We could even heat these wrapped sandwiches on the grill if we wanted to. There is really no cooking—they just need to be heated.

 

Don't know what your summer schedule is, but these sandwiches might be a handy addition to your freezer stash. A grab-and-go kind of meal.

HAM DELIGHT SLIDERS

1/2 lb. butter, softened (that's 2 sticks)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
3 tablespoons French's mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, minced
1-1/2 lb. ham from deli, shaved (I have used smoked turkey)
2 packs ultra thin Swiss cheese slices (18 per pack--you won't need quite all)
2 packages slider rolls (12 per pack)

Mix butter, poppy seeds, mustard, Worcestershire, and onion, blending well. 
Spread top and bottom of rolls with butter mixture. On bottom half, place ham and cheese. Replace top half of rolls. Wrap in heavy duty foil. Bake at 400 degrees and bake for 10 minutes.

These can be frozen and heated straight out of the freezer. Just allow extra oven time if you do it that way.

I also heated a couple of them in the microwave for Daddy-O's lunch when, on the day I made them, he came in late from hauling hay and needed a quick lunch. Microwave heating means NO FOIL, remember? Those two sliders were not frozen, but ones I had saved out from my freezer stashing.


Here's how I packaged them for the freezer... I wrapped two sliders in foil, using pre-cut foil sheets and then slid them into a freezer ziplock bag. Two sliders is the right size for Daddy-O's lunch. This foil, like regular aluminum foil, is NOT a freezer wrap. If you want to wrap and freeze them without the plastic bag, you need to use heavy-duty foil.

If you have made the original recipe, you'll notice that the amounts here are slightly different. I discovered that 1 lb. of shaved ham wasn't enough to make 24 sliders. I got 18 sliders from my single pound of meat.






12 comments:

  1. I was just thinking the other day that now that my kids are grown up, I need to make food in smaller quantities. But now I'm thinking I just need to make better use of my freezer.

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    1. I love dividing things I cook into smaller portions and freezing some for later. It's nice not to cook every night!

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  2. That spread sounds delicious! And your reminders for food safety are always helpful. How do the buns do after thawing? Soggy or too soft? Just curious. GN has an issue with it. I don't. She won't even eat a sandwich for school lunch that was prepared in the morning. :-(

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    1. I'll be honest. I have not heated these up from frozen on the slider rolls, but I have done them many, many times on smaller dinner rolls. I haven't found them soggy. Maybe it's the heating in the oven as opposed to microwave. Anyway, I've never had a complaint. Can't imagine that these slightly larger rolls will be different. But then, we all have different tastes and sensibilities!

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    2. I'm sorry. I don't think I asked my question clearly enough. I was thinking about the paragraph where you wrote about if Daddy-O ended up with a cold sandwich... I assumed that would have been the sandwiches from the freezer and possibly eaten without heating it up.

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    3. Oh, I did misunderstand. The sandwich would not be soggy. There is nothing soggy included in these fillings. Cold butter wouldn't be the ultimate way to enjoy these, but it would be better than no lunch for him! Your question was really about the bread--we do not object to bread that has been frozen. But I know there are people who don't like it. Personally, I can't tell that much difference.

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  3. Great idea! I would never have thought to do this!

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    1. Oh...but you think of so many other cool things!

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  4. I love the idea of heating these up on the tractor engine bonnet :) I have never thought of adding poppy seeds to a sandwich filling, what a great idea! Ha I bet that's something you do all the time, isn't it?! :)
    Wren x

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    1. Only in this recipe, Wren. Only in this recipe. :-)

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  5. As I road tripped through blogs who did the A to Z in April I discovered yours when you won the purse, so I took a side trip here. I am enjoying your posts. I have 5 granddaughters - all under age 6, do I can relate. https://everyonehasafamilystorytotell.wordpress.com/category/2016-blogging-from-a-to-z-challenge/

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    1. Hi, Jeanne! Thanks for stopping by. Only had time this morning for a quick glance at your blog. Will come back for a longer visit. How wonderful that you have put the family stories and photos where everyone in your family can have them!

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Hi, y'all! I love that you've taken time to tell me something here. Makes me feel like we're neighbors.