BBQ Ranch Sandwiches

This recipe was presented by the director of the cooking classes I attend. My husband and son really liked this recipe. At least 3 times while we were eating, my husband said, "This is a keeper". This recipe could feed four but the men wanted a little more than their one sandwich, so they split the last one.

Servings: 4 sandwiches

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 7 minutes

Ingredients:

1 10-oz. (12-inch) Italian bread shell (thin crust Boboli)Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

6 slices packaged ready-to-serve cooked bacon
1 1/2 cups shredded lettuce
2 Tbsp. finely chopped sweet onion
1 Tbsp. bottled ranch salad dressing
1 medium tomato, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 F. Place bread shell on baking sheet, bottom side up. Spray bread shell with nonstick cooking spray. With pizza cutter, cut bread in half. Sprinkle cheese over both halves of bread. Combine chicken and barbeque sauce. Top one bread half with chicken mixture and bacon slices.

Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cheese is melted and bacon is crisp. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl combine lettuce, onion,

and ranch salad dressing.

To serve, cut each half into quarters to make 8 wedges. Spoon lettuce mixture on top each wedge with chicken. Top with tomato slice. Invert remaining wedges over toppings.

Hint: I used chicken that I had cooked another day, so it came out of my fridge. When I cooked it in the oven, the chicken side had not warmed up as much as I would have liked, but the cheese was melted and getting toasty, so it had to come out. Next time I will put the chicken mixture in the microwave for a minute to "warm" it before putting it on the bread and baking it.