The Power of Parkay

Every (week)day, Pat and I eat the same thing for lunch.  Well, he's pretty picky, so his version is plain and dry.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's start over.

Every day, Pat and I eat turkey sandwiches for lunch.  My version has bread, turkey, provolone, and ranch.  His version has bread and turkey.  Isn't that exciting?!  Yeah, we don't really think so, either; however, cheap is as cheap does, and we are, if nothing else, cheap.

Needless to say, neither of us spends any time looking forward to lunch.  We just kind of eat it so we're not hungry anymore.  But get this: when we add one magic ingredient (okay, two magic ingredients, three if you count water) it becomes a pretty stinking good meal.  One of our favorites, actually.  Can you guess what it is?

 Yup!  It's spray butter buttery tasting liquid.  Yes, I'm sure it causes cancer, they test it on animals, and it single-handedly caused global warming.  It may or may not have been behind the levees breaking during Katrina.  But it tastes GOOD, it has zero calories, and I don't have to spread anything.  So we use it.  I just soak spray both sides of the bread and throw it in the frying pan to get a little toasty:

 Then I layer on 8 slices of turkey, a slice of provolone, and a generous amount of ranch, and stick it in the oven at 350ish until the cheese is melty (a very technical term, meaning not quite melted but much softer and warmer than its original cold and brittle state) and the bread is crispy-ish.

Before going in the oven.  Note: Aluminum Foil may also cause global warming, in addition to hating puppies.  But you also don't have to scrape the pan afterwards.  It's your choice.

 While the sandwiches are baking, I heat up some tomato soup(this is where the water comes in):

Dirty stove.  Judge not, lest you be judged.  Oh, and it's not quite as dirty as it looks; some of that is the paint scraping off.  Yes, I said paint. 

 Take out the sandwiches, cut into pretty wedges, and enjoy!

It tastes really, really good when you dip it.  But it's messy, so watch out for your white pants!

Here's the breakdown:
Cost per meal: $3.66
Calories per serving: 500(we each have 1 1/2 sandwiches)
Tastiness factor: 7/10-keep in mind here that I'm judging like they do in gymnastics, leaving room for a better than perfect dish.
Health factor: 6/10 (tons of sodium, but we use turkey breast, whole wheat bread, and we've gotta get some credit for the word "tomato", right?)

What do you think?  Do you use aluminum foil in lieu of elbow grease?  Do you risk spray butter?  Are you cheap enough to eat the same thing EVERY day?  Tell me it's not just us!

*Update: go check out the new page, Our Menu!  That's where I'll compile all our meal info.  Thanks!

-Kelli