BBQ Rib-Patty Sandwhich Meal

This is definitely off my "fast food at home" menu. Pre-packaged foods cooked at home are certainly not as healthy as a genuine home-cooked meal, but there are times when things like frozen entrees come in handy and other times when you are just craving that cheap corporate processed junk food. This idea is also a cheaper, probably more healthy substitute to the rib patty sandwich put out by America's favorite fast-food chain on occasion.

Start with the On-Cor BBQ Rib Pork Patty frozen entree and heat according to package instructions. Nuke the sucker or toss it in the oven. Simple enough. Once they are heated through, it's only a matter of assembling the sandwiches, but here is where we will execute with a little creativity.

You could just use some hamburger buns, but I bought some oblong-shaped buns that fit the rectangular patty a little better. They were basically oversized hot-dog buns that were available at my supermarket bakery. Cut them open and lay them down open side up. Be careful not to split in two separate pieces though.

Next we are going to lay in a slice or two of cheese. Lay flat down over both halves so that the cheese will help strengthen the roll and wrap around the fillings when we close the sandwich up at the end. I have used provolone in the past, but today I went with some baby-Swiss. It was a good choice. Whatever you choose, it should be something a bit pungent in order to cut the sweetness and play with the smokiness of the BBQ sauce.

Go ahead and lay in one of those pork patties. The hotter the better so the cheese gets a little melty action. Lay it down on the "bottom" half/side of the roll so that we can close the other half against it in just another second here.

But first we are going to top it with a dill pickle "stacker." A flat-sliced strip of pickle ideal for sandwich making. Laying in a thin dill spear could work as a substitute too. Top that with some very finely chopped onion, and then sliced black olives. Finally, close the roll in around all that goodness.

As you can see, we took it a few steps further than the average BBQ rib patty sandwich, so you may prefer to eat and serve with the closed side down like a hot dog, rather than the bottom side down like you would a regular sandwich. It will help catch the toppings and sauce. You may also wish to serve a little sauce on the side for dunking, but be warned, it's a little messy either way.

You could just eat and serve the sandwich of course, but why not make it a meal? There is plenty of sauce left over in the tray even if you have drowned your sandwiches into a super-sloppy mess. You could use that sauce for dunking french fries perhaps, the ubiquitous fast-food side dish and traditional accompaniment. Instead, I chose to make up a batch of some instant mashed potatoes instead, and used that extra sauce as a gravy to drizzle over them. I also cut back on the butter when whipping them up, reserving a few fat calories for a dollop of sour cream instead on each bowl served.

Round out the meal with either a small garden salad, or my preference today, a blend of frozen veggies heated through. The broccoli, cauliflower, carrot blend is my favorite lately, smeared with just a little butter and topped with a slice of American cheese. Microwave or toss in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese down over the veggies. A little splash of that BBQ sauce couldn't hurt either to tie it all together, or maybe just a dash of salt and some cracked black pepper.

So there we have it. A simple to prepare lunch or dinner made from items that are easily kept stored in your freezer and pantry. A good meal plan for items that you can keep on hand for a long time in case you have trouble getting to the store frequently. A fast-food meal with home-cooked feel.

Here is your shopping list:

For the sandwiches you will need an On-Cor BBQ Pork Rib Patty frozen entree, rolls, Swiss cheese, onion, pickle stackers and sliced black olives.

To complete the meal as planned you will need instant mashed potatoes, frozen veggie blend, American cheese, and butter.