Croque Monsieur with Roasted Turkey

I mean, like seriously, this Croque Monsieur is one of the most amazing sandwiches I have ever tasted.

This Croque Monsieur with Roasted Turkey is amaze-balls!

I have really been doing well with this whole weight loss journey thing. I have made adjustments to my day-to-day eating and exercise habits; I have worked out on days that I don’t want to; and I have stayed away from sugar. I don’t step on the scale often because I have tried to makes these lifestyle changes without resulting in a number. I want to eat good and exercise to feel good and so I an be good to my family and myself. I think we can all agree that you are limited with what you can do when your physically not fit. Now, with all of that good stuff that I have been trying to do for myself, I still love some good food that doesn’t serve justice to my new lifestyle changes.

I have eye-balled and contemplating whether I should make this sandwich or not. Why? I mean…LOOK AT IT!!! It is dangerous. Like seriously dangerous. It has toasted white bread, Gruyere cheese, bechamel sauce, ham (traditionally), and fried eggs. I looked up the caloric intake of this sandwich and let’s just say you will need about two days to work off this one sandwich and eat nothing but veggies, fruit, and nuts to offset this sandwich. It is so worth it and I actually condone eating dishes like this from time to time.

Traditionally, this sandwich is made with ham instead of roasted turkey. My husband doesn’t eat pork at all and I don’t eat it that much. Therefore, I purchased a 30 ounce turkey tenderloin and roasted it myself. You won’t need all of that meat for this dish but it is a great option to bake chicken, turkey, and grill some cheap steaks to keep for salads, sandwiches, and wraps. I have started to start this idea in my household because I have better control of what is in my meat (somewhat at least). I used the turkey tenderloin for these sandwiches and have plenty leftover for different dishes throughout the week. Another alteration that I made to this classic French dish was instead of using country bread, I used thick Texas Toast. This sandwich is so…..I can’t even think of the words to describe it. You will just have to make it and discover it for yourself.

Now I know how the French are about their recipes and how serious they are about cooking. If you are a French cook who finds this altered recipe offensive to the art of cooking, allow me to say. “Thank you for the blueprint but I will take it from here”.

* Bechamel Sauce Recipe adapted from Food Network Magazine