Brown Baggin' It: Sandwich Salads

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

So how’s the brown baggin’ going?  Have you come up with a variety of sandwiches or combinations that work for your kids?  You know, when we make sandwiches at our house, the favorite is ham and cheese.  Everyone’s happy when the bags of deli meat and cheese are fresh and ready.

But that’s not always the case.  There are times when we run out, when we forget to buy it—and occasionally we need a change from the same old, same old.  And that’s when sandwich salads come in really handy.

Made from leftovers, sandwich salads are an ideal way to prep for the following days’ lunches from an already prepared dinner.  And all it takes is throwing an extra chicken breast—or two—or even an extra bit of ham loaf into the main meal.  Fully cooked, there’s lunch just waiting to be made.  Sometimes all that’s needed is an idea of what to do with it. Kinda like those bits of leftovers [see Making the Most of Leftovers] we talked about several weeks ago—when you know what to make, the actual doing it much easier.

This week is dedicated to taking the guesswork out of leftover lunches.  With sandwich salads, you can make many tasty combinations that can be tucked into tortillas or pita pockets, scooped into a storage container with a side of green salad, or done up traditional-style—between two slices of your favorite bread. Really, the options are almost limit-less.

So here they are: 10 sandwich salad ideas to help get you packin’ lickety-split:

1.  Chicken Salad – start with diced cooked chicken, add mayo, finely minced celery, green pepper and several minced sweet pickles.

2.  Chicken Salad #2  - to diced chicken, add several dollops of plain yogurt and mix in a diced apple or several tablespoons of crushed pineapple.

3.  Chickpea Salad – drain a can of chickpeas and mash well with a fork. Add mayonnaise, garlic salt, parsley and a squeeze of lemon.

4.  Tofu Salad – drain one pound of tofu and crumble in a bowl. Add Adobo, garlic salt and parsley and a minced green or red pepper.  Add one squirt of mustard and several tablespoons of mayo. Mix well and serve.

5.  Ham Salad – to diced or ground ham, add finely minced celery, some dried parsley, a teaspoonful of horseradish sauce and several tablespoons of mayo.  Super with Swiss cheese.

6.  Egg Salad – Chop several hard-cooked eggs. Add finely chopped celery, scallions, a squirt of mustard and several spoonfuls of mayonnaise.  Season with salt, pepper and a bit of dill weed.

7.  Seafood Salad – to one drained can of tuna or crab meat, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, a handful of minced celery and grated carrot, several dollops of mayo, salt and pepper.

8.  Tuna Salad – to one vacuum package, add 1 teaspoon lemon juice, some finely minced celery and green pepper, 2 tablespoons of mayo and dried parsley.

9.  Cottage Cheese Salad – to 1 cup of cottage cheese, add minced celery, green pepper and grated carrot.  Season with Adobo and dried parsley.

10.  Fruit Salad - Here’s a super way to use up fruit past its prime: chop apples, pears, grapes—or any other fruit—add several dollops of vanilla or plain yogurt and several tablespoons of your favorite nuts, such as chopped walnuts or almonds.  A tablespoon or two of coconut makes a flavorful addition also.