Motherly Recipes: From the Kitchen of Anna {Pick-a-Top Open-Faced Sandwiches}

Each Easter, our family boils the eggs and dyes them pink, blue, green, yellow, orange and purple, decorates them with stickers, crayons or markers, takes some photos and places them back into the fridge so they don't spoil.

As a child, we boiled them, dyed them and then set them in our baskets; later we hid them in the yard and then let them lay in our Easter baskets until they were rotten; then we threw them out. But as an adult, I haven't wasted them; we eat them.

I try to be inventive with the boiled eggs, but still there are only so many ways to use a boiled egg. This year we actually ate our dyed eggs on Easter. The boys were strangely agreeable to this and loved the choices of toppings for their eggs.

Pick-a-Top Open-Faced {Egg} Sandwiches

• I made a basic egg salad with 6 boiled eggs using liberal amounts of mayo, mustard, chopped sweet and spicy pickles, salt and pepper.
• I toasted some fresh Austrian Pumpernickel from a local baker; in the oven with a little smear of butter.
• I sautéed onion, sweet peppers and mushrooms, separately.
• I chopped fresh chives from the pot outside my kitchen and some cherry tomatoes.
• I placed the egg salad on a large, thin piece of the toasted pumpernickel and served it with roasted asparagus and the choice of all of the above.

The boys piled it on and were excited to choose and to create their own meal.

This is a great way to use up any leftover meat, veggies or cheese. This would work well with tuna salad, leftover roast beef, ham, chicken, meatballs, melted cheese, hummus or any other combination you can think of.

Spinach, peppers {sweet or hot}, onions, tomatoes, asparagus, summer squash, carrots, fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme and sage and a variety of shredded cheeses are all tasty options for topping choices.

Choose your favorite fresh, hearty bread and the sky is the limit. You could add a pesto, tomato sauce or cream sauce too.

Kids love to create concoctions in the kitchen and at the table. Give them choices and it might surprise you what all they try. Plus these sandwiches look and taste sophisticated for the adult foodie types too.

For the roasted asparagus, wash and trim spears. Put foil on a cookie sheet and put spears on foil. Drizzle choice of oil on spears. I used Walnut Oil. Sprinkle with garlic, salt and pepper. Gently mix with fingers to ensure each spear is coated. Roast for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy! Over and out...

Anna

Comments

[Barbara Ball]

Sounds delicious! Makes me hungry for egg salad