Summer Sandwich Classic: BLT

To tell you the truth, I was never a fan of the standard BLT sandwich, but that was mostly because I didn't appreciate the ingredient.  However (as with most simple things), quality is the key. In the past, this was my impression of the classic BLT components:

• Bacon--this is one ingredient that I have always LOVED
• Lettuce (yuck-I never ate green veggies until I went to college)
• Tomato (flavorless!)
• Bread (those pieces of flavorless air from the bagged bread aisle in the grocery store aren't sturdy enough to hold up to the lettuce and tomato)

My view on BLTs began to change about a month ago when....

My patio tomatoes began to ripen.... And I really wanted a sandwich and wasn't in the mood for peanut butter and jelly.... I *knew* that I should eat some lettuce because it's "good for you"... I had just baked bread.... And I just happened to get a hankering for bacon...

The base of this sandwich is this wonderful Sharing Bread from King Arthur Flour.

The nice thing about homemade bread is you get to slice it as thick as you want. I sliced a tomato from my container garden (and took out the seeds), cooked 3 slices of center cut bacon (only 2 slices made it to the sandwich ;-)), and layered on some crisp romaine. Instead of mayonnaise (I'm just not a fan), I substituted spicy mustard. 

And voila! My original presumptions about the simple BLT sandwich were found to be unfounded!

In other news- I finally got a job! Look for more regular posting in the next few weeks. I have been trying out some new recipes, so be sure check back soon!

Double Duty: Chicken

You may remember the Chile-Garlic Spiced chicken from a couple of posts ago. There were a few cups of chicken leftover, so I had an idea to turn it into a BBQ chicken sandwich with a Tex-Mex twist. The final product resembled more of a sloppy joe sandwich, hence the post title. Instead of barbecue sauce, I added 1 cup of enchilada sauce (made from scratch, though the spices/seasoning were a little off) to 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken, and heated the mixture on the stove top. I used toasted whole wheat hamburger buns I bought from the Wal-Mart bakery (they were really crusty and held up well to all of the sauce.)

In hindsight, I could have added some minced jalapeno and cheese to the sandwich, but the meal still got an A+ from my #1 tester. You could also use a store-bought can of enchilada sauce if you don't want to make your own. I served this with a side of roasted broccoli.