Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches Done Cheaper

My husband fell in love with these hot ham and cheese sandwiches at a friends party several years ago.  I looked the recipe up on line and we tried a few different versions until we found the one he liked best.  To view the recipe I use, click here.  I have made them several times since then but don’t make them often because they are so expensive.  They decided to have sandwiches and desserts at church after the singing on Sunday night.  I decided I wanted to do something besides buy bread and lunch meat.  I thought of these but really didn’t need to spend that much money this week.  So I decided to see how they would do if I bought all my ingredients at Aldi.  Of course I already had the seasonings, so I didn’t have to buy them this time.  The recipe calls for 2 packages of King’s Hawaiian Rolls, 1 pound of shaved Virginia Ham, 24 slices of Swiss cheese and 1 1/2 sticks of butter.  I purchased the Aldi version of these items much cheaper, the Hawaiian Rolls were $1.79 each, Black Forest Ham $3.19, 11 slices of Swiss cheese for $1.99 and the butter was $3.29 for 4 sticks for a total cost of $11.98.  That makes 24 small sandwiches, so they are about 50 cents each.

Just for a comparison, I looked the prices up on Kroger.com, the rolls were $3.99 each and the private label were $1.99, the only Virginia ham was in the deli and it was $10.79/lb, their private brand black forest ham was $6.99/lb, the Sargento brand of Swiss cheese was $3.29 for 11 slices and  the private brand was $2.79 for 8 slices, Land O’ Lakes butter is $4.59 and the private brand is $3.29.  So if you bought all brand name items the cost would be $27.07 ($1.13 each) and private label would be $20.57 (82 cents each).  Some of this cost could be lower if you searched for sales and were able to find some of the items at lower prices, but I am comparing the differences in just walking in and purchasing all the items in one trip.  Aldi saved $8.59 (32 cents each) over the private brand and $15.09 (63 cents each) over the brand name items.  So even though it cost more than I prefer to spend on a single dish, there was a significant amount of money saved by shopping at Aldi versus Kroger.

Cut the rolls in half and place the bottom halves on a large pan.  Spread half the ham across the bread, cover with half of the cheese slices and then repeat layers.

Once you have placed 2 layers of ham and cheese on the rolls, cover with the top half of the rolls.

Melt the butter, the recipe calls for using a sauce pan for this, of course, I use the microwave.  I put the butter in a glass bowl and heated it for 30 seconds before I started making the rolls and allowed to sit in the microwave until I had them assembled.  The butter was very soft at this point, I heated it for another 20 seconds until it was melted.

I quickly stirred in the spices, mustard and sauce.

Then immediately spooned over the sandwiches making sure to cover them evenly.  If you wait too long the butter will congeal and it will not spread evenly over all the rolls.

There will be some butter mixture in the bottom of the pan, don’t worry about this, the bread will soak most of it up.  Then sprinkle poppy seeds over the top and cover with foil and place in the refrigerator at least 3 hours or overnight.

I usually fix mine the night before and then all I have to do is pop them in the oven about 30 minutes before I am ready to serve.  Cook on 350 degrees for 20 minutes with the foil on and then 5-10 more without the foil.  Cut them apart following the lines of the rolls.  I forgot to get a picture when I took them out of the oven at church, but they were a hit and all were eaten.  We did not notice any difference in the taste of using the Aldi products, the only thing I noticed was that the packages of rolls seemed slightly smaller, but not enough to really matter.  All in all, I think the cheaper version worked out well.

Hot Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

Ingredients

2 packages of 12 count Hawaiian Rolls

1 pound thin ham – I prefer Black Forest

22 slices Swiss cheese

1½ sticks butter

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons dried minced onions

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Cut the Hawaiian Rolls in half, set the top half aside and place the bottom half in a large pan.  Cover the rolls with half the ham slices, then half the cheese slices and repeat the layers again.  Cover with the tops of the rolls.  Melt butter and add in mustard, sauce and onions stirring to combine.  Spoon over the sandwiches making sure to cover all the sandwiches and sprinkle with the poppy seeds.  Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator at least 3 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to bake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the covered pan in the oven for 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese has finished melting.  Cut the sandwiches apart.  Serve warm or at room temperature.   Makes 24 mini sandwiches.

If you try them leave a comment and let me know how it went.  Do you have a favorite meal you figured out how to make cheaper?

Here are a couple other inexpensive meals you might like – Simple Tuna Salad and Pancakes Made You Way.

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