Working Class Hero

This evening's title is apropos with my menu selection.  A sandwich affordable to one who works, and even for one who is unemployed!  It's that affordable!  I really did not think this would come to fruition, but with great time planning, turned out to be quite a success!  Before we explore the lifecycle of my meal, I would like to chat about my whereabouts earlier this evening.

I have actually not been any sort of volunteer, in any sort of capacity for eons.  Unless you count the time when I was 13 and a Volunteen at the local hospital....for about five minutes.  I had good intentions...but I found the entire experience to be menacing.  Point being...now that I have more free time, I signed up for the to volunteer for The Oregon Cat.  Please, please, please check out their site.
http://www.theoregoncat.org/
Every Thursday evening I go to the local PetSmart and hang out with these precious cats!  I clean out beds and cages, replenish food and water, but most importantly, I provide  them with human interaction.  This organization is amazing, and the director is one of the most motivated, dedicated and tenacious individuals I have met.  How she does all of this is way beyond my comprehension.  Anyway, take a moment to check it all out.  It is really worth your time.

I had hoped to post photos of the sweet nine little kitties, but, at the worst possible time, I turned out to be a scatterbrained, flake....so next week I will take and post photos!  There is a brother/sister pair named Hansel and Gretel.  Hansel sat on my lap and was pretty sassy when the others tried to get my attention.  Miles, has a personality like you wouldn't believe.  Much to my chagrin, my apartment has a two pet limit, and while I would love to adopt all nine of them, I can't. :-)

However, after I gave all nine of them wet food, and tripped ten billion times over them, and banged my head on the cages and spilled water all over the place I did realize they are quite some work.  I can only imagine the awkward performance, and entertainment I provided to PetSmart customers.  I seriously lack grace, and I am hardly petite.  I was lurching all over the cat room.  Thankfully none were squished by my Sasquatch feet!  :-)  At least cats are very forgiving...and after we all had a long talk, they agreed it would be OK if I were to return next week!

OK...shall we move onto food.  I came up with this meal plan last evening, with the great expectations that we would be having summer weather, bearing in mind that it is July....but rain??  Really??  Rain???  Haven't we had enough!?!

I decided to do a series on mini sandwiches.  They aren't particularly mini in the sense, but rather than use Italian bread or baguette, I purchased a pack of heat-and-serve Italian breadsticks for $2.99.  With twelve sticks to a bag, that's $.25 per sandwich for the bread part!  They make the ideal "roll" for a sandwich that is smaller.

I went with an Italian meat Hero, using prosciutto, Genoa salami and a spicy coppola.  Regrettably, there is no mortadella, which I would have loved to include..but I worked with what was available.  Again, any sort of meat to your taste could be used on this sandwich, which is why I enjoy its versatility!

Here are the ingredients for the sandwich, prior to its assemby.  Italian meats, onions, provolone cheese, a vinagrette of sherry vinegar, olive oil, oregano and pepper, which I ultimately tossed with the shredded lettuce.  And we don't want to forget the mayo/mustard mixture.

Keep in mind, the sandwich ingredients are so flexible.  You could add pepperoncini (which I just don't do), or even tomatoes (which I super-duper don't do).  One might question the legitimacy of a real sandwich sans tomatoes...I just cannot do raw tomatoes.  Getting back to the making of this sandwich...

We're sooo close to the sandwich construction.  While I am not a sandwich artist by trade, and highly doubt Subway will be beating my door down anytime soon with a job offer, I was rather delighted with the the final product.



Sandwich ready for plating!


Below is the final meal.  Complete with chips and leftover watermelon on the side.  And utterly ideal meal for one!  Not to mention, perfect for summer because it keeps your kitchen cool..but not as cool as this chef.  hahahaha.. Just kidding!  Total cost turns out to be around $2.50 with a majority of the expense coming from the meats/cheese.

 Before I retire, I would like to mention that Italian meats are so delish.  If you do purchse any to make Hero sandwiches, keep in mind they also are a great contribution to cheese platters if you find yourself in a situation in which you will be entertaining!  Here is a cheese platter I made for some guests back in early spring.  Such fun!!

We couldn't end this evening without a shout-out to the greatest dog on the planet, E.V.!  Here she is enjoying one of her bones.

"I'm living the dream...one bone at a time!"

Have a great evening and, as always, thank you for joining us both as we adventure through life, one meal at a time!