This was another happy accident recipe that I made up as I went a few weeks ago at dinner. I was sitting down doing homework with the kids when I realised it was 4.45pm and that meant I had about 15 minutes to get something sorted for dinner (we eat early around 5-5.30pm most nights). After kicking myself that a) I don’t meal plan and b) I don’t own a slow cooker and c) I should have been more organised I opened the fridge and grabbed the chicken thinking to myself “why the hell do I have to think of something EVERY BLOODY NIGHT FOR DINNER?!” and then “what can I do with this?”. I changed the mindset to a mystery box mindset and had a quick look around the fridge. Basil. Tick. Proscuitto. Tick. And some shitty old grated mozzarella. Tick. How could I cook it fast?
And then! An epiphany rae! I would cook that chicken in the sandwich press! I WOULD AND NO ONE COULD STOP ME. And what do you know? It worked? I had dinner on the table about 230 minutes later and I even had PRAISE. Smug times friends, smug times. Thought I best share with you.
Sandwich Press Chicken (feeds 4)
2 chicken breasts (cut in half and pounded flat)
Mozzarella
Basil leaves
Proscuitto (about 1-2 pieces per chicken breast)
1. Take each chicken breast and cut in half (giving you 4 pieces in total). Whack your sambo press on now so it’s hot and ready in a few minutes time (clean off old bits of cheese if it’s anything like mine)
2. Grab some baking/greaseproof paper and place chicken breast in and fold the paper on top. Pound that chicken taking out your frustrations on how you have to cook dinner every night.
3. Tear some basil leaves off (about 3 per piece of chicken) cut the mozzarella if you have the fancy kind, if it’s grated just grab the bag and separate your slices of proscuitto ready for assembly.
4. Place the basil leaves on the chicken breast
5. Then the mozzarella (not too much as it will all ooze out)
6. Then drape the proscuitto over the top. You can wrap it the whole way around the chicken if you have a bit (or are just making it for 1-2 people)
7. Peel the chicken away from the paper and place onto the hot sandwich press and close that lid
8. It will sizzle and steam away and instantly smell good! It takes about 3-4 minutes to cook that chicken through and get some colour on the proscuitto (if you made them thinner, it will take less time, thicker, more time)
9. Don’t worry about all those juices either – it’s chicken and cheese
10. And voila! In under 5 mins cooking you have dinner! Or lunch! Why yes I do believe all those exclamation points necessary
11. Serve with a simple salad or whatever it is you can be bovvered to come up with. It’s tasty, moist and it has to be a little healthier because you cooked it all in no oil or fat whatsoever (which totally makes the fat from the cheese OK)
Not bad is it? I was stoked with the result and have been whipping them up for an easy lunch for 1 if I am home alone and I can be bovvered. You could prep them ahead of time and leave them in the fridge ready to go too.
You can use the sandwich press for all kinds of cheat cooking – I’ve seen it around the traps and know that it’s particularly good for Quesadillas.
What do you reckon?
Cooked anything other than toasted sambos on the sandwich press?
You are a rare gem Beth 🙂 love your stuff. Lizxx
Why thank you Liz! *tips hat*
I cook your gozleme on our sandwich press all the time. And bacon, bacon, bacon – cause everything is good with bacon or prosciutto (it was bacon that turned me back to a meat eater after years as a vego!). Also do ham and cheese toasties with a cracked egg (which cooks obviously!) in the sandwich press and asparagus and once I even put corn kernels in it as I wanted them charred and couldn’t be bothered turning the BBQ on! Am a big fan of sandwich press dinners!
See this a whole new world opening up before me…BACON of course!
Pancakes! We always use it for making pancakes (although we have flat top and bottom base). So quick and easy and perfectly thin 🙂
Fabulous!
Same. It’s the bomb for pancakes!!
Holy snapping $#@! Beth – I think you just changed my life! Imma making this TONIGHT! I also like to run a 5-5.30 dinner, but alas the husbando doesn’t arrive home until 7ish most nights. Hmph.
PS Epiphany Rae. Snort!
I know right? And it’s a THING. So many people cooking SO MANY THINGS ON THE SAMBO PRESS! Who knew?! Not me.
A sandwich press is the best way to cook bacon. When your eggs are almost cooked, bung the bacon on and it is done in about 30 seconds. We cook all sorts of meat in ours, sausages, chicken, steak. It’s not so great for meat with the bone still in though. In fact, ours hardly ever gets used for actual sandwiches.
So interesting!
I toast mini frozen spring rolls in mine – instant snack with sweet chili sauce. But you have to wedge it open a little (mine has a built in support) otherwise the insides ooze out as they cook.
I’ll be trying the chicken – and also pancakes. thanks Beth!
Wow – great trick! Thanks for the tips
Wow ! I am impressed with that thinking. I will have to give this a go
Good luck – works a treat! Maybe try cooking it in the greaseproof paper for extra hassle fee cleaning…I will try that next time as someone suggested it in the comments. Happy cooking!
I went to a ‘posh’ dinner, where the hostess cooked salmon fillets in one of those george forman type cookers/sando makers, and it was brilliant.
I’m going to give fish a crack!
Beth you are a genius! What a brilliant idea. I cook chicken nuggets in the sandwich press but never thought of fancy chicken breast!
x
Fancy chicken…hop to it Lisa!
Yum! I love my sandwich press! It is flat top and bottom, adjustable thickness. I use it for pancakes/pikelets, eggs, bacon – does AWESOME bacon, zucchini fritters etc. most the time with the top up. Will try chicken next!
I think I need a double flat press…so many ideas that I had no idea about!
YES, I love my sandwich press. I cook chicken or fish, seasoned & wrapped in foil. As others have mentioned bacon & prosciutto. Halloumi cheese, hash browns & when I need something in a hurry for the lunch box pikelets. I just don’t shut the lid down on these.
Thanks Natalie – so many great tips. I need to break into this brave new world!
My mouth is watering! Now that I have a tween who has declared herself a vego, I have to come up with not one, but TWO quick meals every night. This recipe (and technique) will come in handy.
Think of the veggies you could do too!
What an awesome idea ,wish I had thought of that!!very clever and so quick love it ,I hate being the one that has to think of what to cook for dinner EVERY night…thank you Beth xx
It’s VERY boring. Thanks Lisa…enjoy!
Sandwich press is great! I’ve been using mine to cook fish evenly for about 2 years now, comes out perfect every time (so does steak and chicken). Another handy tip is to use baking paper on the sandwich press, then you don’t have to clean it afterwards.
Perfect! So many great tips thanks Jaylene 🙂
I cant believe I hadnt thought to use the sandwich maker before esp as I am such a lazy cook. Seriously this is going to make dinners after many late after sports practices so much easier. Starting tonight!
Good luck – hope it all goes well!
You, my dear, are a GENIUS! I love this! Dinner is sorted for tomorrow night. Love your work. x
Excellent! Hope it worked out OK x
I will forgive you for using the MOIST ( that is a horrid, spew inducing word) because this looks great!
We too roll a 5-5.30om dinner. Babies need to eat so we may as well all eat. I call it grandpa o’clock but it works for us 🙂
APologies…we eat then every night and I love it!
I do quesadillas in the press as well as meat and sandwiches.
So many great ideas in the comments of this post – thanks Jo!
OMG – that looks scrum-diddly-umptious
and frickin’ easy!
<3 your work Beth
Wow! You are a marvel Beth! Can’t wait to try it here!
Great Sue – enjoy!
Absolutely genius idea!!
Good luck with your future cooking!
This is a game changer!!! I too hate the fact that dinner needs to be cooked every night. Why?!! So annoying lol.
The WORST! Hope this helps a little 🙂
Brilliant.
Thermomix my arse, I’m going to rock the sambo press.
Ha!
i got the cuisinart griddler and the waffle plates for my birthday. Next to thermie, it is the most used appliance in our kitchen. Mmmmm waffles…. https://www.cuisinart.com/parts/grills/gr-4n.html
Mmmmmmm waffles…
I am opening a new web page googling sandwich press dinners right now because this is an Oprah light bulb moment! Genius!
I think a whole new world is about to open up before you!
I use it to feed the hooligans quick smart. Crumbed fish or little foil pouches and my frozen veg patties. Fed in 10 mins!
Heating frozen wraps so I can fill for my lunch, chicken (breast, nuggets, stuffed, anything) and sausages. Anything I couldn’t be bothered firing up the BBQ or oven for!
Great tips Marn – thanks 🙂
Sheer genius!!!!!! x
Not bad hey?!
I read this before lunch and cranked it out in 15 minutes for dinner! I cooked three bits of chicken, thinking the two adults and the 5 year old would have one each, and the 10 month old would eat a few little bits of mine and then some bread and cream cheese. 5 year old declared it “delicious” and the 10 month old ate probably 3/4 of mine. Success!
That’s fantastic!
Best way to reheat pizza, just prop the top up so it’s not touching the top of the pizza. The bottom goes all crispy.
I never have left over pizza…too greedy 🙁
I love my sandwich press, I have cooked chicken skewers, sausages, steak, and let me tell you,…. You can crisp up the skin on a piece of salmon, too, just place it between some baking paper and in a few minutes, crispy salmon fillet and a quick salad….Sensational
I am definitely going to give fish a go as well as the baking paper – thanks Michelle 🙂
We reheat pizza too and the teens cook party pies in it rather than heating up the oven to cook a small amount.
Who knew?! Great!
I have a very sad story to tell. We didn’t bring any of our stuff over with us, we bought everything in Dubai. Sadly, they don’t sell sandwich presses here (that I’ve seen) only jaffle makers. I miss my sandwich press. It’s sitting in my friend’s house.
You really are a clever clogs! x
That IS sad. I need to send you one…
Time to enter MKR and roll out the sandwich maker meals and laugh maniacally at their time limits. Or the new recipe book …. One hundred sandwich maker recipes by Babymac. Oh yeah! I’m going to be giving it a try. Sounds very yummo.
Ha! Can you imagine?
We cook a lot in the sandwich press. It’s such a wonderful device but can get very dirty and greasy. We have found that if we have baking paper folded in half in the press, it saves a lot of cleaning. It also means we don’t have to use butter or spray. Sandwiches even get brown without butter on the outside, when wrapped in baking paper.
Yes the clean up was a bastard…will use baking paper next time for sure!
Man I wish I had read this BEFORE we got kicked out of our house for a week. Could a grabbed the Sambo maker and had a night off from the deep fried goodness that is the pub. Reckon the kids would eat these too. Inspired for the shift home tomorrow. X
Happy press cooking Lisa!
LOVE THIS reminder, I few years ago we renovated the kitchen – so I used the sandwich press for everything, fried eggs, yes chicken (but not as yummy as your idea), pancakes etc. Then with the thrill of the new kitchen I forgot about the ‘press’ – back out it comes…maybe someone else might be inspired to cook the dinner. Here’s hoping! x
Happy cooking 🙂
Say what? What a revelation!
Viva la sandwich press!
230 minutes later?