If you buy a corned beef brisket and cook it yourself, you’ll save a ton of money. But I didn’t want to go to the trouble this year, even though I wanted just a bit, which is why I made these Reuben sandwiches, using sliced corned beef from the deli. (Which is not cheap!) But hey, Saint Patrick’s Day only comes once a year so I “splurged” a bit for this.
I was able to get the sandwiches and chips in right at $10 but that was with some serious “sale” shopping. Safeway has their deli corned beef on sale for $7.99 a pound, and when it’s thinly sliced, there’s a lot of pieces. I’m using 3/4 pound, which will be plenty for 4. Typically I would make my own Thousand Island dressing but King Soopers had their store brand on sale for 99 cents a bottle so I’m using that instead. You can use any type of bread you want but sourdough, rye and pumpernickel are especially good. I prefer pumpernickel but sourdough is what was on sale so that’s what I’m using. And there was quite a bit of difference between sliced and block cheese so of course I’m slicing my own. A lot of Reuben sandwiches use sauerkraut but we’re using fresh cabbage and green onions to change things up a bit, and cabbage is at a really good price at the supermarkets right now. If you want, you could also use canned corned beef but I personally haven’t tried that. If you do make a big corned beef meal, use the leftovers for this.
*Even if you don’t get the exact sale prices I do, you should be able to make this for $15 or less. And if you don’t like corned beef, sub pastrami, turkey or even ham.
SPICY CORNED BEEF REUBENS –
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10-12 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. $9.23
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound green cabbage, finely shredded or thinly sliced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup Thousand Island dressing
- 3 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 8 slices sourdough bread (or pumpernickel or rye)
- 4 slices Monterrey Jack or Swiss cheese
- 3/4 pound thinly sliced (cooked) corned beef
Directions:
Saute cabbage and green onions in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes or until cabbage is wilted. Remove from heat and stir in dressing.
Spread mustard evenly on 1 side of 4 bread slices. Layer evenly with cheese slices, corned beef, and cabbage mixture. Top with remaining bread slices.
Cook sandwiches on a lightly greased griddle or skillet 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
You can easily open a bag of chips as a side or make your own. I bought a 10 pound bag of potatoes for $1.99 so I’m making my own. Using a mandolin to slice the potatoes is the easiest way to get super thin slices, but you don’t have to have one to make these. You do want to slice them as thin as possible though. This recipe actually came from a 1985 edition of Gourmet Magazine.
OVEN-FRIED POTATO CHIPS –
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 for approx. 77 cents
Ingredients:
- 4 small potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 stick butter (1/4 cup), melted
- Coarse salt
Directions:
Pat potatoes dry with paper towel and arrange in 1 layer on 2 (buttered or using non-stick cooking spray,) cookie sheets. Brush potatoes with melted butter and bake in preheated 500 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.