THE SCOOP. My family really enjoys breakfast sandwiches. They're tasty, filling, fast, and portable. They can also be really expensive! Those yummy, pre-made sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits (think Jimmy Dean or Bob Evans) are tiny and run around $3.99, and that's on sale, for a package of four at a mid price range grocery store. For a family of four, one sandwich per person per day would cost $28.00 per week. Yikes! Since we really like them, I decided to make up a batch and check out the cost to make them at home. I was very happy with the results! My finished sandwiches were larger than the pre-made variety and were much less expensive. In addition, the sandwiches were simple to make, took very little time, froze nicely, and cooked up great in the microwave. Two thumbs up!
FIRST STEPS FIRST. GET THE INGREDIENTS. Because of their normally excellent prices for the ingredients I would need, I purchased the ingredients to make my sandwiches at our local Aldi food store during my next regular grocery shopping trip. I bought three rolls of sausage, five bags of muffins, two packages of cheese, and three dozen eggs. My total cost for my ingredients was $17.48. (Note, this isn't the final cost for the 30 sandwiches I made in total since I had leftover sausage, cheese, and eggs, which were used in other meals. The total cost for the sandwiches is listed below.) For the sandwiches, here's the breakdown per ingredient:
Roll of sausage: $1.89. Cut into 11 slices: $.17/each.
English Muffins: $1.00. 6 muffins: $.17/each.
American Cheese: $1.77. 24 slices: $.07/each.
Large Eggs: $1.09. 12 eggs: $.09/each.
NOW WE'RE COOKIN'. Once home, I prepared my kitchen to cook and assemble the sandwiches, noting the time I got started. I pulled out two cookie sheets, a skillet, and a spatula. I cut apart my muffins and placed them on the cookie sheets. Next, I cut my sausage rolls into eleven slices. Then I heated my skillet, placed my sausage slices in to cook, slapped on the lid, and turned my attention to placing the cheese on the muffins designated to have that ingredient. Mid way through the cheese placement, I flipped my sausage over in the skillet. When the sausage was finished cooking, I placed a slice on the muffins determined to have that ingredient. I poured the excess grease out of the skillet, retaining just enough to fry my eggs. Then I cracked open five eggs at a time into the skillet. Once they'd begun to cook nicely, I pierced each of the yolks so they could cook thoroughly. When they were done, I placed one fried egg on each sandwich that was to have an egg. I finished up by placing a muffin lid on each one and carefully sliding them into a fold over sandwich bag. When this was completed, I pulled out five gallon size freezer bags, wrote on each bag the type of sandwich and the date, and slid those sandwiches into the freezer bag. I then placed each bag into the freezer where they could be easily seen and accessed by hungry family members hunting down breakfast. When I was all done I had five different varieties consisting of six sandwiches each for a total of 30 sandwiches. Cool! Noting my finishing time, I found the entire process had taken me just under 45 minutes.
LET'S EAT! To cook the sandwiches, one simply needs to place the sandwich on a plate, cover, and cook on high for a minute or so. Cool a bit and consume!
THE BOTTOM LINE. HOW MUCH DID IT COST? So, how much did this endeavor end up costing? Here's the breakdown:
Sausage muffin: $.34/each. $2.04/six sandwiches.
Sausage & egg muffin: $.43/each. $2.58/six sandwiches.
Egg muffin: $.26/each. $1.56/six sandwiches.
Egg & Cheese muffin: $.33/each. $1.98/six sandwiches.
Sausage, egg, & Cheese muffin: $.50/each. $3.00/six sandwiches.
My grand total to make all 30 sandwiches was $11.76. ($11.16 for the ingredients and $.60 for the sandwich bags. The energy use was minimal.)
FINAL VERDICT. So, was it worth my time? Yep. Do I now make sandwiches quite often? You betcha!
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