The Cowboy Monte Cristo

All the Monte Cristo sandwiches I have eaten were dipped in a flour batter and then deep fried and served with raspberry jam. They were yummy, but I ran across this recipe that uses a simple egg batter, and it sounded delicious and way healthier. It is more like stuffed French Toast than the deep fried sandwiches I ran across at Bennegans.

It is cowboy style because we used beef and turkey instead of ham and turkey. It is really simple to make: just put together a sandwich with cheese, tomatoes, avocados, beef, turkey, and anything else that suits your fancy. Butter the inside of the bread, then dip it into 2 eggs that have been beaten with a little water. Pan fry it like French Toast, then snarf it down.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup and a Monsterous Grilled Cheese Sandwich

What is the best use of last Friday, which I had off? I thought and thought, and then invited 5 women over for lunch. Two accepted, one rejected, and two ignored the email completely. Then I got stood up by ALL FIVE! So I suppose I will have to do the eating of five women all by myself. Such is my life.... OK, OK. So little kids staying up all night crying might have played a part. The end result is that I ate with my hubilicious hubby instead of some girlfriends. My girlfriends, not his (just in case your eyebrow went up.)

First, chop up 1 cup of celery and shred 1 cup of carrots. Then lightly chop a can of mushrooms.
There. Most of the work is done. Put this in 2 quarts of chicken broth and simmer until the veges are tender. Meanwhile, cook a couple of chicken breasts in boiling water and steam 2 cups of wild rice. When the veges are tender, mix 1/4 C of butter with 1/4 C of flour and whisk it into the veges. Then whisk in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Then add 2 C of wild rice and the chopped chicken. That's it! We have a special place in our hearts for this soup because we had it at our wedding reception. And because it is yummy. And because it is easy. And because it is healthy if you pretend it doesn't have cream of mushroom soup, which I will.

Then it's time to make a sandwich. Anybody up for grilled cheese?

I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I decided to add some turkey. The book "Why We Eat More Than We Think" says that if we want to eat less, make a sandwich with less meat and cheese, but really load up on the veges, and you won't even miss the extra meat and/or cheese.

So I am using 2 deli slices of turkey and sauteing some green peppers and jalapenos. It took too long on the stove, so I had to finish the job in the microwave. I mean....five minutes!? Who has time like that...

And here is the sandwich as it is finishing grilling. Hurry up and finish already! I am hungry!

Oh, yeah. Come to big mama. Big mama reminds me of the song in Chicago "When You're Good to Mama" which will be my theme song when I have kids at home.

This sandwich is so big. Look at it! It is a tall as the soup bowl! I only ate 5 bites of soup and half the sandwich before I had to stop. Kevin says that next time, 1 jalapeno will be enough, and that 2 made it too hot. (He ate 1/4 of the sandwich when I just couldn't finish it.)

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

1 c celery, diced

1 c carrots, shredded

1/2 c. onions, chopped (or a small handful food storage onions)

1 t parsley flakes

1 t thyme

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 c butter

1/4 c flour

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 c cooked wild rice

2 c cooked chicken, cubed

Combine the ingredients through the garlic powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually add to the soup. Whisk in the cream of mushroom soup. Turn up the heat for a few minutes, until thickened. Add the rice and cubed chicken and serve.