Grilled Brie and Apple Sandwiches

Serves 2

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup apple cider, or apple juice
4 slices sourdough bread
1 small Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
2 oz brie cheese, thinly sliced

1. Spray a large, nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Place pan over medium-high heat and add onions. Sauté until soft and golden brown, adding cider as needed to prevent burning. (For realsies, listen to this instruction! Mine got a little burnt!)

2. Lay 2 slices of bread on a clean surface and divide apple slices, Brie and
caramelized onions among them. Cover each with a second piece of bread. Spray skillet again and set over medium heat. Grill sandwiches until cheese melts and bread browns. (I had to cover the skillet to get the brie to melt. Grilling these sandwiches just isn't enough heat to melt brie.) Cut into halves and serve hot.

Served with a salad (using leftover dressing from this recipe.)

Results: Ohhhhh...it looks so good, doesn't it? I really, really wanted to like this sandwich more than I actually did. I love brie. I love caramelized onions. I like apples. And sourdough bread. Forget about it! But...alas...this sandwich was merely mediocre. Both Chris and I were a little disappointed. It didn't taste bad in any way, it just didn't WOW me the way I expected it to. :-( Boo for me!

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Serves 1 (ingredients per sandwich)

1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken, warm
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1/2 tablespoon light mayo (optional)
1 tablespoon carrot, grated
1 tablespoon celery, sliced
1 tablespoon green or red onion, sliced or diced
1 tablespoon reduced-fat blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese, grated
Butter flavored cooking spray

1. Mix the chicken, hot sauce, mayo, carrot, celery and onion in a small bowl.

2. Spray one side of each bread slice with cooking spray. Assemble sandwich with chicken mixture and cheeses and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted,
about 2-3 minutes per side.

Served with steak fries.

Results: This was a really great way to get the taste of chicken wings without all the fat. My recipe above is a lower-fat version of the original, which you can get to from the link below. I don't think my version was missing anything. These were good, but definitely only something I'd be in the mood for every once in awhile. Chris thought they were too spicy, but I did not.

Recipe from Closet Cooking.

Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Spinach Pesto (makes about 3/4 cup)
1 cup baby spinach (packed)
1/4 cup fresh herbs (I used basil and parsley)
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon walnut pieces, toasted
1/4 cup reduced-fat feta cheese
1/2 lemon, zest & juice
salt & pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth

1. Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend. Add olive oil and chicken broth, process until smooth.

Spinach Pesto Grilled Cheese Sandwich
(ingredients per sandwich)

2 tablespoons Spinach Pesto (above)
2 tablespoons gruyere cheese (grated)
2 slices bread
Butter flavored cooking spray

1. Spray one side of each slice of bread with cooking spray. Put one slice of bread, sprayed side down (DUH!) in skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle cheese and drizzle pesto over bread, top with other slice of bread. Cook until golden brown on each side.

Served with strawberry & spinach salad

Results: I found this recipe on Closet Cooking and it looked AMAZING. Seriously. Click on over (I'll wait...) and see for yourself. But I knew that would NEVER work with my diet...er...lifestyle change, (since Weight Watchers isn't actually a "diet", even though this "non-diet" has helped me lose 24 lbs in the last four months!) I had to try this sandwich, so I had to change the ingredients up.

Oh my freaking GOOD! What a great twist on a great sandwich! This pesto is awesome and added so much to a grilled cheese sandwich. Now, my "lighter" version was delicious, but if you aren't watching your weight, you should seriously try the Closet Cooking version. All that cheese! All that olive oily goodness pesto sauce! Yum!

Recipe from Closet Cooking.

Royal Canadian Club Sandwich

8 oz Canadian-style bacon
4 oz cheddar or colby cheese, grated
4 tsp Dijon mustard
8 slices rye bread
4 dill pickles, thinly sliced

1. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. While bacon is still in pan, but already browned, sprinkle cheese over bacon. Cook 1 minute to melt cheese; remove from heat.

2. Spread four slices of bread with mustard. Divide cheese-covered bacon and pickles among bread. Top with remaining bread slices and serve immediately.

Served with fresh strawberries

Results: Um...really? Based on reviews of this recipe, I was expecting to be totally, completely WOW'd. But, um...not really. It's just a sandwich. There was nothing spectacular about it.

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Philly Cheese Steaks

Serves 4

1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 pound raw lean flank steak, cut into thin slices
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
4 whole-grain hamburger rolls
1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Coat a large, nonstick skillet with olive oil cooking spray and set pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add onion, mushrooms and sugar and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove onion and mushrooms from pan; set aside.

3. Add steak to skillet and sauté until browned and cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and cook until liquid is absorbed.

4. Slice rolls in half. Divide steak evenly between rolls and top with onion/mushroom mixture and cheese. Wrap in foil, transfer to oven and bake until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.

Served with steak fries and fresh strawberries.

Results: These were sooooo delicious! Writing this post makes me want them for dinner tonight, but damn it...we're having pork chops instead. The original recipe didn't have the mushrooms, but they are a definite must! I was skeptical of what the sugar was going to do, but it really gave the onions a nice sweetness. These were so good! In case it's not obvious, I really liked these. I liked them so much that I didn't even care if the boys ate them or not. Which they did not. Heathens.

BBQ Chicken & Tangy Coleslaw Sandwiches

Serves 4

1 1/2 cup green cabbage, finely shredded
3 Tbsp reduced-fat sour cream
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
2 cup Chicken breast without skin, roasted, shredded (I used a store bought rotisserie chicken)
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
4 whole wheat rolls

1. Combine the cabbage, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 10 minutes for the flavors to develop or until ready to use, up to 6 hours.

2. Meanwhile, combine the chicken and barbecue sauce in a medium nonstick saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 4 minutes.

3. Slice the rolls horizontally almost all the way through; spread open. Place the warm chicken mixture then the coleslaw on the bottoms of the rolls. Serve while warm.

Results: Wow! We have been having some awesome luck with sandwich night at our house, and these were no exception. These have the added bonus of being extremely easy! I prepped everything early in the day, and all I had to do was heat up the chicken before dinner. Will definitely work these into the sandwich night rotation!

Pork Pitas with Chutney Sauce

Serves 4
Prep Time: 4 minutes, Cooking Time: 15 minutes

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, split in half lengthwise, almost all the way through
1 teaspoon smoked hot paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons fruit chutney (I used Mango)
4 whole wheat pita breads, warmed
2 cups baby arugula

1. Spray grill with nonstick spray. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Sprinkle pork with paprika and salt. Place in grill pan and cook until done, about 7 minutes on each side.

2. Meanwhile, to make sauce, stir together yogurt and chutney in a small bowl; set aside.

3. Halve pita breads; fill each half evenly with pork and arugula. Drizzle with sauce and serve at once.

Results: Hmmmmm...I'm not sure how I feel about this recipe. By itself, the chutney sauce was good. The pork was good. But together, this recipe just seemed weird to me. Maybe it was the texture of the whole wheat pitas. I'm not sure, but I just wasn't a fan of this. The boys HATED this. Chris, on the other hand, thought this was delicious.

Pepper Steak and Watercress Sandwiches

Serves 4
Prep time: 1 minute (seriously), Cooking Time: 6-8 minutes (steak fries add 20 minutes)

2 (1/4-pound) filet mignon steaks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
4 whole grain rolls, split and toasted
1 cup watercress sprigs*

*Note: if you don't want to buy watercress, you can substitute any other lettuce. I did buy it, and I've been using the leftovers (because there are a lot) to add to sandwiches the rest of the week.

1. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook until medium, 3-4 minutes on each side. Transfer to cutting board and let stand 3 minutes. Slice steaks into 3/4-inch slices. (Note: you could obviously cook these on the grill too.)

2. Meanwhile, stir together yogurt and horseradish in small bowl.

3. Spread cut sides of rolls evenly with yogurt mixture. Fill rolls evenly with steak and watercress.

Served with steak fries.

Results: Delicious and soooooo easy to make! The yogurt spread was yummy too. I added chopped chives to it because I had some that weren't going to last much longer. I will say this is not nearly enough meat for four sandwiches though! I bought two (4-oz) filets and used them for two sandwiches (the boys didn't eat these.) So, these are great for dinner guests, but make sure to buy one filet per person. My only complaint about an otherwise perfect recipe!

Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Paninis

Serves 2
Prep Time: 18 minutes, Cook Time: 6 minutes

1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/8 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
4 oz Italian bread, cut into four slices
2 oz whole milk mozzarella cheese, fresh, thinly sliced
1 cup basil leaves
1 medium plum tomatoes, cut into eight thin slices
olive oil cooking spray
1 clove garlic, peeled and cut in half

1. Preheat grill.

2. In a small bowl, stir together vinegar, oil, oregano, salt and pepper until blended. Brush mixture onto 1 side of each slice of bread. To make each sandwich, layer 1/2 of cheese over brushed side of bread and then top with 4 tomato slices and 1/2 cup of basil. Top with another slice of bread, brushed side down and then coat sandwich with cooking spray. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

3. Grill, lightly pressing with a spatula from time to time, until bread is toasted
and cheese melts, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (I found it easier to flip the sandwiches off the grill.) Rub grilled bread with garlic clove.

Served with Chive Parmesan Chips

Results: Mmmmmmmm...these are so wonderful. I love Caprese salad, so this is a fantastic sandwich. I've made these before, and I'll make them again. One of my favorites!