Mindy Sandwiches

So what are Mindy Sandwiches?

These are Mindy Sandwiches:

...and everyone in our family LOVES them.

Mindy Sandwiches came into my life thanks to my dear old college roommate, Mindy of course. This was from the days when six of us shared a 4-bedroom apartment in Madison. It was... cozy. None of us ate all that well and "real" meals were few and far between. But these sandwiches were soooo yum.

There's not really a recipe, per se, you just do the following:

For the meat, brown a hunk of ground beef (or turkey if that floats your boat). I use about 1.5 lbs for our family of 5, which also usually gives us leftovers. These sandwiches are great the next day or two reheated in the toaster oven. After the meat is browned, drain it and then stir in about 3/4 c. water and part of one of those Beef Stroganoff seasoning packets, like this one:

Now back in the day, I would use almost the whole packet. Nowadays I can't because of the high sodium content (bad ears). I maybe use 1/3 of a packet and then supplement with some onion and garlic powders. After that's mixed in well and heated through, turn off the heat and stir in about 3/4 c. of sour cream.

The best thing to use for the bread (not sodium wise, but delicious wise) is those Take-n-Bake type french baguettes you can usually get in your grocery store bakery. The kind that are 90% done but meant to be put in an oven for 10-15 mins to finish and brown up. I've had a hard time finding them in stores here in Colorado, so regular baguettes will work too, they just get a lot crispier since they're already fully baked. Slice the baguette lengthwise (I use 1.5 or 2 whole ones for our family) and then cut into whatever manageable size sandwiches for your people.

Spread the meat mixture onto both open sides of the baguette, open-faced sandwich style. Top with your favorite sliced-up veggies -- I use tomatoes and bell peppers. Then on top of that, sprinkle a bunch of shredded cheese -- mozzarella, colby-jack, cheddar, provolone, whatever you like. Bake in the oven at 375 or so (or whatever temp the directions ask on the Take n Bake baguettes) for 10-15 mins til the cheese is melted and the bread is toasty.