Meals in minutes – that’s the answer to those busy days. Add “melt” sandwiches to your arsenal of answers. They are fast and they are good. You can vary them according to your mood or the tastes of your family. If you have guests over, make several types and serve up a plate of mixed sandwiches, without spending a lot of time. Each is made with toasted English muffins, spread with a filling, and topped with cheese. The sandwiches cook for about five minutes on the broil element, the top element of your oven, until the cheese melts.
Melted Sandwich #1. crispy crab sandwich
If you choose a good crab salad, this one is delicious. Stop by the deli on the way home and pick up your favorite crab salad. You’ll need some English muffins. The preparation time for the sandwiches in the oven is less than ten minutes. That is how:
1. Toast the English muffins.
2. Load each with the crab salad. Top each with a slice of cheddar cheese.
3. Place your sandwiches on a baking sheet and slide it under the broil element in your oven. Cook them for about five minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve them hot.
Melted Sandwich #2. Shredded chicken and cheese
When we think of pulled pork, we think of the Carolinas and great barbecue restaurants. These are made with chicken instead of pork. If you choose a good barbecue sauce, it will be excellent, and although it takes longer, it only has three ingredients. This recipe will make four sandwiches.
1 chicken breast
1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
Saute chicken breast in a skillet. Let the chicken cool down. While it cools, fry the onion in the same pan.
Using your fingers and a fork, pull the chicken breast into strands. Return chicken to skillet with onions. Add the barbecue sauce and stir.
Now that the filling is complete, you can assemble and cook the sandwiches as before. We covered the chicken filling with provolone cheese.
Melted Sandwich #3. Chicken and Cheddar Salad
They are very good and very fast sandwiches. Make your favorite chicken salad for sandwiches or stop by the deli for a bite to eat. Toast the muffins and load them with the chicken salad. Top with deli sliced cheddar or other cheese and grill until cheese is bubbly.
Of course you can make the exact same sandwiches with tuna salad or canned salmon salad.
Melted Sandwich #4. California turkey, bacon and avocado
Instead of creating a spreadable filling, you can top your sandwiches with meat, vegetables, and condiments. Next up is a very good sandwich.
Spread the English muffin with a little mayonnaise. Top that with turkey and then a couple of half slices of crisp cooked bacon. Top the bacon with avocado slices and tomato slices. Top with cheese of your choice and grill until cheese is melted.
Melted Sandwich #5. Rueben’s melt
If you like Rueben sandwiches, you’ll like this version. Toast your buns and add some thousand island dressing topped with corn beef. Add a thin layer of sauerkraut and top with Swiss cheese. Grill sandwiches until cheese melts.
We found this sandwich a bit overwhelming if we didn’t keep the ingredients sparse. It was very good with just a couple of layers of roast beef and a dollop of sauerkraut spread evenly over the meat.
Melted Sandwich #6. Summer tomato, fresh basil and mozzarella
This is a classic summer combo when the tomatoes are ripe and fresh basil is available. Since this is a meatless sandwich, you’ll probably want extra cheese.
Spread some butter or mayonnaise on your toasted muffins. (The mayonnaise or butter will help protect the bread from the tomato juices.) Arrange tomato slices, fresh basil, and cheese on muffins in that order. Grill sandwiches until cheese is melted and bubbly.
make or buy
You’ll make great sandwiches with store-bought muffins, but homemade ones always seem a little better…and satisfying. English muffins may be the easiest yeast bread to make, they’re not much more of a problem than pancakes. You have to wait 40 minutes for the yeast to set and you have to use English muffin rings to hold the dough. Other than that, it’s pretty much like cooking pancakes. Because they are thicker, they take a little longer to grill.