Quick Meal: Tuna Melt

I love it when you can whip up a delicious meal from the random things you happen to have lying around the kitchen. I know that it can be difficult to make something from a recipe when there isn't much in the house. So, I am always in search of recipes that call for only a few basic ingredients. Here's one of them - the tuna melt sandwich.

Things you'll need:


1 hot oven (500F degrees)
1 flat pan or oven-safe dish
1 spatula
1 small mixing bowl
1 can opener

Ingredients:


Hamburger buns or sliced bread
1 tomato - sliced for sandwiches
1 tbs olive oil
1 can tuna
2-3 tbs mayonnaise
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper
oregano (optional)
1/4 cup diced celery (optional)
1 small onion diced (optional)
4 slices cheese (swiss, cheddar, montery jack - just about anything works)

Step 1:
Set the oven to broil. It should automatically set it to about 500F degrees.

Step 2:
Open the can on tuna and drain it.

Step 3:
Pour the tuna into the mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise.

Step 4:
Add the diced celery and onion to the tuna and mayonnaise in the mixing bowl.

Step 5:
Add the balsamic vinegar to the mixture and season with salt, pepper and oregano

Step 6:
Use the olive oil and grease the pan/dish that is going into the oven.

Step 7:
Place the pan with a couple slices of the bread into the oven and lightly toast it. Be careful! The temperature is high enough to burn this bread very quickly. You should only leave it in for 30 seconds to a minute (depending on which rack the pan is on). Just stand by and keep an eye on it. Remember to flip the bread so both sides get toasted. And be sure to only lightly toast one side, because this will be going back into the oven.

Step 8:
Remove the toasted bread from the oven and spoon a couple scoops of the tuna mixture onto each slice of bread (on the lightly toasted side), lay on a slice of tomato and finally, lay a slice of cheese on each half of the sandwich.

Step 9:
Return the sandwich to the oven long enough that the cheese melts. Once again, this shouldn't take too long so stand by.

Step 10:
Remove the sandwich from the oven and use the spatula to remove each half of the sandwich from the pan.

That's all there is to it!