One of my favorite fall dinners are grilled sandwiches and these ones do not disappoint. I think the key to this one is the super sandwich machine that easily recreates a Panera sandwich feel. That combined with “fancy” bread make these sandwiches a winner every time! I used to have a george foreman grill and that was great, but when it broke I knew it was time to go bigger and better. I went to our local thrift store and immediately had my choice of about 30 different grill machines in almost as many sizes. We opted for a Hamilton Beach one only because it is about 18″ wide and 10″ deep. Serious sandwich making power!
Since we had so many Thanksgiving leftovers this recipe was the perfect way to repurpose those yummy foods into a new format. I am having a little bit of a love affair with cream cheese these days (especially the whipped kind) and so it was a no brainer that it was going to make an appearance here too. The first thing you need to do is prepare your bread. I spread a layer of cream cheese on the bottom and a layer of cranberry sauce on the top. I layered some turkey on top of the cream cheese and then topped it with the other piece of bread. You could definitely add more fillings (I was going to add stuffing, but we ate it all already) like veggies or cheeses or anything your heart desires, I just wanted these ones to be universally appealing, you know those little mouths are picky! Get your grill hot and ready and then stick you sandwich in there and shut the lid. Now you wait…
It only takes about 5 minutes in the grill to get the bread smushed down and crunchy and the insides warmed up and gooey. All that’s left to do at this point is gobble (hahaha) it up and relive those delicious Thanksgiving flavors all over again!!
Chimichangas and Burritos are a huge hit around our house. It used to be that I would cook up a big pot of beans and make burrtio kits, assembling a pint of cooked pintos, a bag of shredded cheese, precooked taco meat, and a package of tortillas. I would freeze this kit for later use in the month when we’d have a burrtio bar or chimichangas for lunch or dinner.