Sandwiches for Sunday

Good morning Blogosphere!  I hope you are all enjoying a lovely weekend… I know I am, except for this liiiiiiiiiitttle nagging voice in my head.  You see, I am a chump.  Yes, a chump.  On Friday, I somehow let myself believe that I should leave work because I would accomplish the rest of my work over the weekend.  Work on a budget, no less.  I don’t know why I would be so stupid, but I somehow convinced my chump ass that I would do work on a precious weekend that I avoid like the plague on a plain ol’ weekday.  As you have probably deduced by now, I have yet to do said work.  Who knows if it will actually happen or if I will just stumble in on Monday morning with more Asian guilt than usual.

So yesterday was spent quite productively – depending on your definition of productive, of course.  I slept in until 11 am, a feat that has not yet occurred in 2010, and then spent some quality time catching up with my DVR.  After getting up to speed on The Real Housewives of NYC, Project Runway, The Big Bang Theory, and even some Bullrun, I decided it was time to start my day.  It was also 3 pm by this point.  BTW, if I were reading this blog entry out loud, I feel like Avenue Q’s “There is Life Outside Your Apartment” would start playing right about now…

Out I went into the real (rainy) world – I started at Hobby Lobby since I can never manage to get to that place when it is actually open and picked up some baskets I needed, some candles, and other goods.  From there, it was on to Target to pick up some essentials and the mandatory non-essentials. I stopped by a few other places and ended up coming home with lots of goodies. I spent a little while putting things away and then settled on the sofa again to watch some of America’s Best Dance Crew and some Father of the Bride that I’d DVR’d earlier. Important stuff, clearly.

Then it was on to a mandatory cleaning spree – just the important things though, I had work to get to. So I vacuumed under the sofa and changed out the shower liner (Can you tell I was avoiding work?) and even folded my socks. I never fold socks. I do not understand the point of folding socks.

So, after ALL of that, I was ready to at least look at my computer… and peruse blogs.  I found something magical though!  No, my budget work had not magically completed itself (if only!), but thekitchn.com (one of my favorite websites) is/was celebrating lunch week and had a bunch of posts related to weekday lunches, drinking at lunch, and salads and sandwiches.  Of course, I had to look through them and I think I found some great recipes.  I am debating running to the grocery store this morning to pick up supplies for some of these or giving in to my TacoDeli craving.  I’ll probably give in to the TacoDeli craving and end up eating one of these for dinner, but I thought I would share my favorites:

• I’ve never heard of a “Mozzacado” sandwich, but I would Facebook-friend whoever thought of this.
• The basil-goat cheese-artichoke sandwich listing here should come as no surprise to you all.
• This cheese sandwich looks a little iffy to me, but I am kind of curious to try it.  It looks like one that walks the fine-it’s-weird-but-it’s-awesome/awful-line.
• And c’mon, cheese plus apples?  Sign. Me. Up.
• No explanation needed.

They also have a giant section on grilled cheese sandwiches – now, if you really know me, you know that I make the world’s best grilled cheese sandwiches (I credit the Ved method for my unbelievable skill).  TheKitchn links to a list of grilled cheese recipes AOL has up on their site (which still exists, I guess?) and there was one on there that looked pretty good to me:

Grilled Spinach and Goat Cheese Croissant

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion (about 1/2 pound), finely chopped
10 ounces spinach, stemmed, rinsed, drained and patted dry (leave a few droplets of water clinging to the leaves)
2 ounces prosciutto, chopped (optional)
3 ounces fresh goat cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
4 croissants, cut in half
2 ounces aged goat cheese, such as Midnight Moon, coarsely grated (or use Gruyere or Emmentaler)

Directions
Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are limp but not brown, about 7 minutes. Add the spinach, cover, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until wilted. (If there’s a lot of liquid, increase the heat to high and boil it away. You don’t want a watery filling.) Add the prosciutto (if using), and fresh goat cheese and stir until cheese is melted and the prosciutto is warmed through, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a dish and let it cool slightly. Wipe the skillet with a paper towel, but do not wash it.

To assemble: Distribute the spinach mixture evenly over the 4 bottom halves of the croissants, followed by the grated cheese and pepper to taste. Cover with the 4 croissant tops.

Brush the grill rack with oil and preheat the grill to medium. Put the sandwiches on the grill, flat side down, being careful how you place the croissants, and press lightly with a spatula to compress the filling. Cover, and cook for 3 minutes, or until the undersides are golden brown. Uncover, and turn the sandwiches with a spatula, pressing firmly to flatten them slightly. Cover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, or until the undersides are golden brown and the grated cheese has melted completely. Let the sandwiches cool slightly before serving.

That’s also one that I’ll definitely be trying soon.  I also found a great recipe for homemade and healthy calzones.  I realize a calzone is not really a sandwich, but it kind of fits the theme.  Right?  Maybe?  Sorta?  Eh, it’s my blog, I’ll do what I want.

Okay, it’s probably time to start Sunday now so I can avoid doing real work a little bit longer.  🙂  Happy weekend, everybody!