Toaster Bag Cheese, Tomato and Fresh Basil Sandwich

It’s hard to beat a simple cheese toasty. Years ago I had an electric sandwich toaster which stopped working and I never replaced it. Afterwards I used the electric grill  to make grilled sandwiches and panini. About a year ago I came across these sturdy non-stick toaster bags from Lakeland which are so handy for making toasted sandwiches. All you do is, prepare your favorite cheese sandwich with some added tasty fillings, put the sandwich into the toaster bag and place into the toaster… a few minutes later your perfectly melted, golden brown cheese toasty is ready to enjoy.

Clean-up is a breeze, you only need wipe the inside and outside with a clean damp cloth or place them into the dishwasher.  Apparently each toaster bag lasts 500 uses. I have not counted how many times my toaster bags have been used, but over a year later they are still in good use and many toasties have been made. Lakeland says “Inferior imitations of the ‘snack bag’ will come and go… but Lakeland’s Toastabag-500 promises to outperform and outlast them all.”

I have not tried other toaster bags so I cannot compare, but I will be happy to replace them with the same product when I need too. Although not sure what happens after 500 uses… will up-date this post if I discover anything unusual!

Even though my fingers can stand a lot of heat, a toasted sandwich sent flying through the air painfully reminded me of how hot the material and escaping steam from the toaster bag is. Now I always stick the handle of a wooden spoon through the handles of the toaster bag and pull it from the toaster… so much safer this way.

You need a toaster with wide slots (most good brands will have this)  to accommodate these toasted sandwiches. I have found the standard white and brown loaf of bread fits snugly into the toaster bags, larger sliced breads may need cutting to size. If you have a wide slot toaster at your work place, take prepared sandwiches in a toaster bag and toast them at your convenience for a quick bite to eat. Handy for university students too, I know how they love to make something quick to eat with minimal clean-up afterwards. Do you like using toaster bags?

Toasted Cheese and Tomato Sandwich with Fresh Basil

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of fresh bread, white or brown
• butter/mayonnaise
• mature cheddar cheese, grated
• tomatoes, sliced
• sun-dried tomatoes
• fresh basil,
• fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to make: Lightly spread each slice of bread with butter or mayonnaise. Evenly scatter the grated cheese over one slice of bread and lay tomato slices on top. Using kitchen scissors, snip pieces of dried tomatoes and fresh basil over the tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Lay the second slice of bread on top and place the sandwich into a toaster bag. Push the toaster bag down into the toaster and set the timer for about two to two and a half minutes. When ready slide the toasted sandwich on to a cutting board. Cut into halves or quarters and serve immediately.

Note: Apologies for the non-existent blog post sent out yesterday. I got distracted and hit the publish button by mistake and once you hit that publish button there is no turning back. 🙂