Monte Cristos

This Monte Cristo recipe came from my mother in law, via my sister in law, Melissa.  A long time ago, we had a bunch of leftover ham and turkey and I had no idea what to do with it.  Melissa said, "make Monte Cristos"!  I had no idea what she was talking about.  Yes, I had heard of Monte Cristos but I had never made them or had them at anyone's houses.  The Monte Cristos I was familiar with are the deep fried calorie bombs I get at Bennigans once in a while. 

This recipe is not deep fried.  It gets its crunch from rice crispies.  Given that, it is way healthier than the Bennigans version and I think it is just as good.  This is one of those recipes that I forget about, then one of the girls will ask for it or I will buy ham and turkey and remember that some swiss cheese and english muffin bread could make this into a great sandwich. 

Monte Cristos
1 loaf English Muffin bread
ham (I use 2 deli slices per sandwich or 1 thicker slice from a home baked ham)
turkey (I use 2 deli slices per sandwich or 1 thicker slice from a home roasted turkey)
swiss cheese (2 slices per sandwich)
4 egg whites (for 5-6 sandwiches) (you can buy egg whites in a carton, or just use regular egg whites)
1/2 c. milk
1 T. powdered sugar
2 c. Rice Crispies, slightly crushed (or more, if you like a lot of coating)

Lay out the bread on the counter, then top each slice with a piece of swiss cheese. Top half with the turkey and the other half with the ham, like this:

Make the two halves into sandwiches.

Beat the egg whites with the milk and powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.  Place the crushed rice krispies in another shallow bowl.  Taking one sandwich at a time, dip them first in the egg/milk mixture, being careful not to get them too wet, as they will fall apart and/or take forever to cook.  Coat each sandwich thorougly with the rice krispies.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the eggs are set and the rice krispies start to brown. 

I like these served with strawberry or rasperry jam and sour cream for dipping, but they are also great all by themselves. 

I always make the whole loaf of english muffin bread, which has 10-12 slices.  We don't eat that much in one sitting, but these reheat great in the oven and microwave and are even good cold in a pinch.