Alpine Garden Sandwich

We always get a large turkey for Thanksgiving.  This year we had a 23.5 lb. bird.  This always ensures plenty of leftover turkey for some of our favorite meals.  Other than making a turkey (dark meat) and stuffing sandwich, this has to be one of my favorite sandwiches using the white meat.

I first tasted this sandwich on my first day of work at an international accounting firm when a co-worker took me to lunch to meet some of "the girls" in the office.  We went to The Healthy Food Place restaurant and she ordered this sandwich for me, telling me it would be the most amazing sandwich I would ever taste.  Had I known what was in it I would have never ordered it for myself, for I was only 18 yrs. old and still a PB&J on white bread kind of girl.  But I was willing to try anything and loved this sandwich from the first bite.  Of course, I then made some for my family and we make these sandwiches following Thanksgiving every year.

The assembly begins with 7-grain bread.  Any whole grain bread can be substituted.

Both slices get spread with mayonnaise.  As you can see, I like to spread it a little thicker on the slice that will become the bottom of the sandwich.  It's just one of my weird quirks.

Next I place a double layer of fresh baby spinach leaves on one slice of bread.

I top that with the rings of one thin slice of red onion.

The onion is followed by the sliced turkey breast.

Then, I add Swiss cheese.  I know it doesn't have any holes in it, you'll just have to trust me that the cheese pictured is Swiss.

The final layer is alfalfa sprouts!  This is a generous amount.  You may want to skip this layer, but the flavor of the sprouts is a key ingredient in this sandwich.  One time I was making one of these sandwiches for my son and forgot the sprouts.  He took a couple of bites before I realized my omission.  I took it back and added the sprouts.  He said it made a huge difference in the flavor because the sprouts really added something special to it.  On that first day I ate this healthy treat, knowing that there were alfalfa sprouts in it would have kept me from ordering it.  I'm so glad I didn't have a choice!

The last step is to place the other piece of bread on top, mayo side down, cut it and consume.

I suppose a little leftover cranberries added couldn't hurt, but we've decided not to mess with an already terrific turkey sandwich!  Enjoy!