Some foodies may turn up their noses, but say hello to my new lunch buddy! It’s a sandwich maker, which apparently have been around for decades. My wife introduced me to them originally in college, but we had to throw it away a few years ago because the cord was fraying and I thought it was a fire hazard. A few weeks ago I saw one on sale at Wal-mart for $9 and picked one up. I can’t find it online, but here is a close example. There is even a Hello Kitty version.
If you’re not familiar with them, they are similar to George Foreman grills. Plug them in, throw in two slices of bread and some filling, and in 3-5 minutes you have a hot, toasted sandwich. They’re non-stick, and you can clean it with a damp paper towel. It’s so compact (and cheap) that you can leave one at work and just bring it to the office kitchen when you use it. (You might even make a few new friends…)
For an easy and cheap lunch, simply bring a bag with bread, meat, cheese, or veggies. Here are several recipe ideas:
- Classic grilled cheese
- Ham and swiss, or turkey and swiss
- Roast beef and cheddar
- Tuna melt
- Cheesesteak – bring leftover steak, sliced thin and add cheese and peppers.
- Veggie – Add any of following to cheese: tomatoes, mushrooms
- Pizza pocket – Mozzarella cheese, pepperoni or salami, and bit of leftover pasta sauce.
- Italian Margherita – Basil, fresh mozzarella, tomato.
- Breakfast – Make an egg omelet w/ fixings on one side, make waffle mix or toast bread on the other.
Hot, melty, and delicious! Perfect for cold days. Throw in a $1 can of soup.
To reduce fat, you can cut down on the cheese to what is needed to keep the sandwich together. Shredded cheese seems to work better than slices in my opinion. Or pack some veggies like carrots and broccoli, or fresh fruit to round things out.
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I bet you can find these at thrift stores and garage sales too, if you are too cheap to buy one new.
I personally use something similar called a griddler. It’s like a Foreman grill on steroids. It can do almost everything.
The only downsides are that it is a little bulky (not a problem for me since I work at home but might be difficult to bring to an office) and it is a little pricey (I got mine as a birthday present two years ago).
I use it almost everyday to make my lunches from toasted sandwiches to grilled meats. In fact just writing this is making me hungry….
I had one of these in college too. Made pizzas, muffins, tons of stuff. They were great!
As for the non-stick, well, your mileage may vary. I was practically submersing the thing by the time I threw it out 🙂
I’ve added you to my blogroll, btw. Could you add me?
Oh, one last thing. FIRST!! I’ve always wanted to say that! 🙂
Recently bought Sanyo rice cooker,not inexpensive at 94.00 but I eat brown rice 4-6 times each week. Store cooked rice 3-4 days or longer. Like rice and Campbells chunky chilli grilled steak, 1.50 at local Wal-Mart 19oz can. Can eat two meals for about 1.60 each.
I will be the sandwich maker bouncer. Anyone knocks on the Foreman or the sandwich maker, they have to answer to me.
Its the only way many of us survived college.
I like the idea of bringing it to work. I am going to add this to my ‘to buy’ list. Anything that makes lunch more exciting and make me less apt to buy lunch out is a smart purchase!
Teflon scares me. I’m guessing you get a healthy dose in every bite.
Nice! I’ve seen a lot of similar products (panini, George Foreman, etc…), but this looks super simple for work & home.
I’ve been using sandwich pressers since I was 10 years old. My favorite was pepperoni pizza (pepperoni slices with mozzarella, little bit of pasta sauce)
One thing you have to be careful of is catching the cord in the back hinges! I did this in college, and the cord was split in half and caused sparks. Fuse went out thank god.
That price sure beats $8 sandwiches @ Cosi!
Actually, I regularly find cans of Progresso soup for around $1 per can when on sale and stock up. Minestrone is my favorite.
$1 soup?!? Eww.
I like something a bit more substantial.
DintyMoore stew is more up my alley but expensive. Something like almost $4 a can.
In response to Jim — do you know how may restaurants use teflon skillets and similar? You might want to eat at home for the rest of your life.
You also have to watch for stuff oozing out the sides. You always have to leave some space in the pockets for when the food expands.
My parents used to use these for me as a kid… I’m only mid 20’s… They put apple sauce in the sandwich.. So it was almost like a hot apple pie sorta.. Diff twist, but it tasted good!
TomL: Regarding Teflon skillets at restaurants, I would imagine that most of them probably don’t use anything with “non-stick” coating. Not necessarily because they don’t want to poison their customers, but because it wouldn’t hold up to heavy commercial use.
I would imagine stainless steel and cast iron are more typically used.
I would recommend using pie filling, white bread and confectioners sugar (sprinkled after cooking) to make some pies. We ate like kings in college because of this thing.
I have been using one for about 5 years. I have found that the best one (for me) was a flat panini press as opposed the to the one with lines. I tend to let eveyone at work use it and find the flat one much easier to clean esp. since not everyone at work remembers that their mum doesn’t work their too.
Also it is more versatile in that you can cook other foods on there…I have used it for bacon and eggs a couple of times!!
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OK, what happened to the iron skillet that was so going to replace everything pots and pans?! I actually like this idea though I’m sure most people will eat grilled sandwich for like a month then vow to never touch it again for another 6 months. It’s like you bought all the right stuff for making good garden salad, but those right stuff made only 1-2 right salads that actually resemble anything from your favorite restaurant.
I still use a cooking spray on my grills. The coat will wear off after a while if you’re not careful or ruin it with harsh scrubs.
I understand your need to lower all of you operating costs to survive in this market, but is the cost or cuase effect for eating unhealthy food in the present time worked into you low cost scheme. Are you saving now to pay for large medical expenses later? You can not fool you body. Feed it garbage and it will fight back.
Ian says he likes the Griddler, and I agree. I used to have a Foreman, and I got rid of it because it was too darn hard to clean! yes, supposedely with a paper towel – key word “supposedly” – too much of a pain. What I like about the Griddler is the sides/grill pieces/ what ever you call them pop off and you can put them in the dishwasher. (Maybe the Foreman does that now. The version I had a few years ago, that wasn’t available). I use the Griddler much more than I used the Foreman, especially in winter when it gets dark so early and I can’t use my grill outside cause I can’t see
“leave one at work and just bring it to the office kitchen when you use it…You might even make a few new friends”
DISGUSTING! Call me a germaphobe but do you know where your co-workers food and hands have been? Sorry but I don’t mix food with work.
Not to mention the toxic qualities of non-stick.
My wife and I also have a Griddler and it is one of our most used appliances.
Sandwiches, sausage, grilled chicken and pork, bacon and other things go on it.
If it died it would be replaced immediately.
It is a great appliance that will save you money because it really helps to make great meals fast.
In response to TomL,
I doubt many restaurants use Teflon anymore. I worked in a major restaurant in the 80’s as a saute chef and we went through expensive Teflon skillets every three weeks. We never scrubbed them with anything harsh, always a rag and soap and water. Where do you think that Teflon went? In our customers….
I still will eat in restaurants, but try to minimize anything with Teflon. Now I use only cast iron skillets and pans.
they also make a sandwich maker press for camping thats pretty sweet. loaf a bread, some hearty canned soup or whatever you want
I am a huge fan of these sandwich makers! Someone from my old job brought one of these into the kitchen and I would make a sandwich with roast beef and cheddar. The bread got sealed together and it was so gooey and delicious! I would dip it in ketchup and it tasted like a cheeseburger. Very cheap and yummy lunch….now that I’m no longer there, I need to get one for myself!
for me, when deciding on appliances like this, it’s not just about cost. sure, this is cheap – but it’s another piece of equipment that i have to maintain and find space for on my counter or in a cabinet.
you can make great hot sandwiches in a toaster oven (which is MUCH more universal in its uses) or with a frying pan and a flat, metal stockpot lid.
You know what’s really good? Grilled Peanut (or Almond) butter and Jelly sandwiches. Those sandwich makers work really well for them too!
I stole your idea. Was at walmart last night and got the $9 durabrand sandwich press, and a pound and a half of roast beef, cheese slices, bread, non-stick spray, and a spatchula. i can’t wait to try it. When I was a kid my mom had a sandwich press and we used it a lot. only thing I don’t like about the $9 unit is no on/off switch, you have to unplug it from the wall. thanks for the great idea!