Monte Cristo Sandwiches and Potato Pancakes

The Monte Cristo Sandwiches are a classic repeat for this house! Sweet but with a wonderful complement of meats and cheeses, they are DELICIOUS! The Potato Pancakes were a new recipe I found on "Recipes of a Cheapskate." We have TONS of leftover mashed potatoes from our good old chicken fried chicken with gravy, corn and mashed potatoes dinner yesterday... so I decided to use some of them up. Yes, I said mashed potatoes. I was skeptical too but they turned out DELICIOUS! Put a little bit of salsa on top and I liked them even better than the Monte Cristos! SUPER easy to make too! The pictures are not mine. I give full credit to "Recipes of a Cheapskate!"

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICHES

2 eggs
1/4 c. maple syrup
4 slices of bread
cream cheese
2-3 slices deli black forest ham
2-3 slices deli turkey
2 slices Swiss cheese
powdered sugar
Raspberry Jam (or any jam you like)

Mix eggs and maple syrup together with a fork and pour in a shallow dish. Dip the bread in the egg (make sure the bread is well-covered with the egg mixture) and cook on a griddle or in a frying pan (as if you were making French toast). Spread a good amount of cream cheese on half of the toasts. On the same toasts, add half of the ham and turkey and a slice of Swiss cheese. Top each sandwich with the remaining toasts. Turn the griddle to a low heat and add the sandwiches. Warm each sandwich until cheese is melted. Remove from heat and sprinkle each sandwich with powdered sugar. Cut into halves or fourths and serve with raspberry jam.

POTATO PANCAKES
From Recipes of a Cheapskate

• 1 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup flour
• chopped, cooked bacon
• seasonings of choice (salt, pepper, seasoned salt, garlic, etc.)
• onion (optional, I use onion powder)

Mix together the eggs, flour, seasonings, and bacon. Add the potatoes and mix well. Make your patties and cook in a little bit of the bacon grease, or oil, until crisp on each side. Drain on a paper towel.