Gluten Free Turkey, Bacon, Swiss Cheese Melt

Hello, friends!

With Thanksgiving right around the corner here in the states, my family is already coming up with creative ideas for the turkey leftovers.

Honestly, why wait until Thanksgiving to enjoy delicious turkey tenderloin? Turkey made a wonderful, autumn dinner this weekend, and my kids loved using the leftover turkey to reinvent lunch the next day.

This gluten-free Turkey, Lettuce, Tomato, Bacon, and Swiss Cheese Melt (yes, half the fun is piling on all of the ingredients) was entirely my kids’ creation, so I’m handing it over to my daughter, Nicole, to explain the details of the sandwich making process.

Nicole here! I’m so excited to be sharing this recipe with you all. 🙂

Let’s start with the turkey. I’ve made turkey melts before with thin-sliced deli turkey, but you really can’t beat the taste of fresh, home cooked turkey tenderloin. Mom seasoned hers with salt and pepper and baked it in a beautiful sauce of white wine, chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, and green tarragon sprigs. Is your mouth watering yet?

Ok, let’s save some of that turkey for the sandwiches. We’ll also need to cook up bacon in a skillet. I used Oscar Mayer’s Select No Nitrite Bacon, and I’ll admit that I couldn’t stop myself from snacking on several strips of crispy bacon as I prepared the sandwiches.

First, we’ll need two slices of gluten-free sandwich bread. I love Udi’s as the bread is almost as light and fluffy as real white bread. Actually, I’ll take that back. It is real white bread, just sans wheat.

I spread one side of the slices with softened butter, and then let them grill in a pan with more butter to make those beautiful black grill lines. The bread ends up toasty on one side, and soft and chewy on the other.

Next, I prepared the special sauce. This is the secret ingredient that takes the sandwich to a whole new level. It’s really just an abridged version of Russian dressing: a little bit of mayonnaise and ketchup mixed in a bowl until pink and ready to spread on the bread slices. We like organic mayonnaise from Primal Kitchen.

Now we’ll need to return to our skillet. Take several pieces of turkey, layer them with bacon, and cover with strips of Swiss cheese. Cover the skillet and heat until the cheese is melted.

And finally, we’re ready to build the sandwich: a beautiful hot, turkey sandwich for cold autumn afternoons. Spread the slices with the special sauce; add fresh lettuce; stuff with the turkey, bacon, and melted cheese; and don’t forget the juicy, red tomatoes!

If you want to give your taste buds an added treat, make sure to pair this sandwich with healthy organic pickle slices.

You may not be able to go back to ordinary turkey sandwiches after taking your first bite of this ultimate gluten-free turkey melt.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Turkey, Bacon, Swiss Cheese Melt

 

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Author: The Gluten Free Homestead

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• For Turkey Tenderloin
• 1 tblsp. olive oil
• 2 (1½ pound) turkey tenderloins
• Salt and pepper
• 2 lbs. russet potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup gluten free chicken broth
• 2 tblsps. Bragg's Apple Cider vinegar
• 2 tblsps. chopped fresh tarragon leaves
• 2 tblsp. Bob's Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour
• 2 tblsp. butter
• 1 tsp. Gravy Master
• For Sandwich
• Left over turkey tenderloin
• Romaine lettuce
• Tomato, sliced
• Bacon, Oscar Mayer Selects
• Swiss cheese
• gluten free Udi’s Bread
• 1 tblsp. gluten free Ketchup
• 1 tblsp. gluten free Mayonnaise We like Primal Kitchen Mayo.
• 3 tblsp. Butter

Instructions

1. Directions for Turkey Tenderloin
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees ℉.
3. Place oil in a large baking dish. Season turkey tenderloins with salt and pepper and place in baking dish. Arrange potatoes around the turkey and toss to coat with oil. Season potatoes with salt and pepper. Sprinkle onions over potatoes.
4. Combine wine, broth, vinegar, and tarragon in a bowl. Then pour mixture over turkey and potatoes.
5. Bake about 50 minutes, Let turkey rest about 10 minutes and slice.
6. Meanwhile prepare gravy by whisking together 2 tablespoons of gluten free all purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of butter in a seperate sauce pan until the mixture is thick and smooth. Continue to stir and slowly brown the flour over a low heat for 5 minutes.
7. Then add 1 cup of the wine broth and 1 teaspoon of Gravy Master to boost the color and flavor. Whisk and simmer so that the gravy stays smooth while it thickens, about 2 minutes. Serve with the turkey and potatoes.
   
8. Directions for Sandwich
9. Special sauce: Mix ketchup and mayonnaise in a small bowl.
10. Grill: Melt butter in a grill pan. Place buttered bread on grill pan so that you get those distinctive grill marks on the outside, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
11. Next, for each sandwich, take several pieces of turkey, layer them with bacon, and cover with strips of Swiss cheese. Cover the skillet and heat until the cheese is melted.
12. Assemble: Spread sauce on the inside of each slice of bread. Top the first slice with lettuce, turkey-bacon-cheese melt, and tomato. Then cover with the second slice of grilled bread.

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