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Sandwich recipes to soothe the Autumn chill

Bacon grilled cheese

Ingredients

Makes 2 sandwiches

  • 4 slices honey oat bread
  • 2 tbsp butter, softened
  • Mozzarella cheese, sliced
  • 4 slices crisp-cooked bacon
  • 1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
  • 2 tomato slices
  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp. honey

Method

  • Butter one side of all the bread. On the unbuttered sides of 2 slices place cheese, bacon, avocado, and tomato. Combine mayonnaise and honey. Spread on unbuttered side of remaining 2 bread slices. Place mayonnaise side down on top of tomatoes.
  • In a pan, cook over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes, until toasted and cheese is melted, turning once.

Lamb pitas and yoghurt sauce

Makes 8 servings.

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 kg lamb stew meat (cut into pieces)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 ¼ tsp salt,
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp dried basil
  • 1 medium cucumber
  • 1 cup plain yoghurt
  • 8 pitas warmed
  • 4 plum tomatoes, sliced

Method

  • In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat; brown lamb in batches. Transfer lamb to a slow cooker, reserving drippings in the pan.
  • In the drippings, sauté onion over medium heat until tender, 4-6 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir 1 teaspoon salt, oregano and basil. Add to lamb. Cook, covered, on low until lamb is tender.
  • To serve, dice enough cucumber to measure 1 cup; thinly slice remaining cucumber. Combine diced cucumber with yoghurt and remaining salt. Fill pita with lamb mixture, tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and yoghurt mixture.

Freeze option: Freeze cooled lamb mixture in freezer containers. To use, move the mixtures into the fridge overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stir occasionally and add a little broth or water if necessary.

Golden crispy chicken sandwiches

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¼ cup honey mustard
  • 12 slices whole-grain bread
  • 1 cup baby spinach leaves
  • 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced
  • 12 slices Swiss cheese

Method

1. Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally, creating thin cutlets. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in centre. Remove to plate.

2. Whisk eggs, milk, nutmeg, and cinnamon together until well blended in a shallow dish. Spread mustard on 1 side of each bread slice; place mustard-side up on work surface. Layer 6 slices evenly with 1 piece of cheese, spinach, pear, chicken, and a second piece of cheese; top with remaining slices of bread (mustard-side down). Gently press together.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Using a wide spatula, carefully dip each sandwich into egg mixture, coating both sides. Place in hot pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, turning once, about 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips

1. If you prefer, bake the sandwiches in a 200°C/400 F oven until golden brown and crisp.

2. Add sliced ripe avocado, or crisp Granny smith apple for a delicious variation. Enjoy with honey mustard sauce.

References

Healthy recipes for the bachelor(ette)

They say men cook better than women, but that’s as debatable as deciding whether to leave Cape Town via the N1 or N2 on a Friday afternoon. And when you get home after a long and tedious drive in peak traffic, who has the energy left to prepare a wholesome meal?

But, what if we told you that nourishing doesn’t mean long hours of preparation? What if you can prepare a healthy meal in under 20 minutes?

Here are three quick and healthy recipes for you bachelors:

Grilled steak with a twist

By far one of the more popular choices in any guy’s fridge, a good steak will hardly be given a miss. And when prepared correctly, you may just shed a tear of joy.

Ingredients

  • 1 cored fresh pineapple (reserve any juice in container)
  • 1/4 cup pineapple or orange juice
  • 4 pieces steak or beef fillet (200g each)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 of each: green, red, and orange or yellow sweet pepper, sliced into 4 flat pieces
  • 2 tbsps packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tsps cornstarch
  • 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method

  1. Cut the pineapple into 8 rings, and pour the juice, along with the pineapple or orange juice, into a cup until a third full.
  2. Season your meat on all sides with salt and grill on medium-high. The pineapple rings and sweet pepper must now be coated with non-stick cooking spray and seasoned with salt.
  3. In a separate saucepan, whisk the juice that was set aside with ¼ cup water, brown sugar, olive oil, ginger, cornstarch, crushed red pepper, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Place these contents over a high heat until it boils and then let it simmer for a minute.
  4. Now grill the meat and pineapple slices for three minutes, covered. Turn the meat over and let it grill for another three minutes on the covered heat. When done, allow the beef and pineapple to rest for 5 minutes, during which time the peppers can be grilled.
  5. Add the dish to a plate and drizzle the pineapple glaze over the beef. Enjoy!

Power veggie sandwich

Okay, before we get into the finer details of this sandwich, preparation for this snack needs to start about 24 to 48 hours before fixing it. But fixing the actual sandwich shouldn’t take longer than five minutes.

Ingredients

  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 large ripe avocado
  • 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • Freshly ground salt and pepper
  • Bread
  • Toppings: Arugula, red onion, or spinach

Method

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, use a fork to smash a can of chickpeas until finely ground.
  2. Add a whole avocado to the mix and smash the avocado until it’s smooth, but keep a few chunky pieces. Add lemon juice and cranberries to the bowl and season with salt and pepper. When this process is complete, place the contents in the freezer for a day or two.
  3. When the yearning for your day-old spread is ready to be tamed, toast 2 slices of bread. Spread half of your day-old salad on the one slice and place the other slice on top and enjoy.
  4. This is quite a healthy meal and if the sugar content seems a bit much, reduce the amount of cranberries used the next time you prepare this meal. Wholegrain bread is recommended, but do keep in mind that different breads have different nutritional contents. As an alternative, the spread can be enjoyed on lettuce instead.

Sausage, polenta and marinated peppers

You’re revved and ready to cook up a huge meal. All you have in the freezer are sausages… no problem!

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsps fresh lime juice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for the grill
  • 2 tsps honey kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 8 small links Italian sausage (about 700g total)
  • 400g store-bought cooked polenta, sliced into thick rounds

Method

  1. On a medium-high temperature, bring the pan up to temperature and grill the sausages until charred and cooked through for 10-12 minutes.
  2. Whilst grilling, in a separate bowl, whisk the lime juice, oil, honey, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper until the honey dissolves. Now add the bell pepper and onion to the bowl and, in a 15-minute window, toss it occasionally.
  3. As the meal enters the last 5 minutes of preparation, add a bit of oil to your pot or pan and grill some polenta.
  4. Once that’s done, the meal is ready to be served.

References