Mike's Lunches

My husband has a job where he's often out on jobsites and driving around all day. This means I can't just send him with the ol' leftovers to re-heat in the break room like I used to do. So the alternatives are packing a cold lunch every day, going out every day or a little mix of both. While he does still go out from time to time, we really try to stick with lunches from home as much as possible. It's healthier and cheaper. I guess we'll just go with cheaper though because any time I try to throw in that 'h' word it severely turns him off...

Sandwiches

Sandwiches can be a little tricky when you're sending them for lunch almost every day. Deli meat only lasts about a week in the refrigerator, and bread tastes the best if you are buying/making it fresh every day. Well, that would absolutely decimate our grocery budget because that means we'd be buying meat every week and bread every day! Sales wouldn't be very likely... Not to mention that my 15-yr-old would be helping himself to the meat all week long which means I'd have to buy at least twice as much! The fix-all solution to these problems? My freezer, of course! By freezing pre-made sandwiches, you can still buy in bulk when you find a good deal, and you've got a quick and easy lunch at your fingertips every day.

Meat: I can usually find deli meat on a semi-decent sale about once a month- but not always. When I do find a good sale, I buy at least enough for that month. When I can't find it on sale, then I make my own. Thinly sliced roast from Sunday dinner makes a fantastic sandwich as well as grilled chicken, thinly sliced steak, and even pre-cooked bacon. All of these can be cooked ahead of time and assembled into indivual sandwiches- which can be frozen for later enjoyment. Just be sure to leave off any mustard, mayo or any other dressings as well as any vegetables.

Bread: By slicing bread and assembling into sandwiches immediately after purchase or baking, you'll be preserving the fresh taste and texture of your favorite bread. Just make sure you're using freezer quality wrapping before you freeze. Pictured below is several sandwiches I put together on Saturday after picking up my Ciabatta bread I'd ordered with my Bountiful Basket this week. This is some of Mike's favorite bread, so I dedicated four of the five loaves just to his sandwiches. We were able to get 3 huge sandwiches out of each loaf of bread. If I were making the sandwiches for myself it would be at least 5 sandwiches per loaf.

When you are ready to pack a sandwich into your lunch, open the frozen sandwich and spread some mayo, mustard or whatever other condiments you'd like. Also add some tomatoes and lettuce at this point if you'd like, or pack them pre-sliced into your lunchbox and add them to your sandwich when you're ready to eat.

Some other great lunch ideas that don't need to be re-heated:

Taco Pizza

Flat Bread Sandwiches

Tuna Salad

Cold Pizza