I just haven’t been able to resist buying baguettes lately. My kids love the different toppings I’ve been putting on them. And obviously what better time to stuff yourself silly with baguette than when they’re on sale. Two for the price of one is so worth it.

I made this for breakfast last Sunday and again for lunch this week on my kids’ request. Simply lay strips of cheddar cheese slices along the length of the baguette and top off with a strip of streaky bacon. Pop them into the oven toaster for about 8-10 minutes.

I tell ya, the smell of bacon crackling in my oven toaster first thing in the morning is heavenly. I rarely buy streaky bacon but the bits of fat in it really do add a great sizzle of flavor.

If you’re making these as hor d’oeuvres for a party, you can cut the baguette into shorter lengths and stick a fancy toothpick in the center.

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When I was pregnant with my two older kids, I used to run across the road from where I worked and order my favorite sandwich from Oliver’s Super Sandwiches during lunchtime.

I tell you, I’m such a sucker for their very substantial sandwiches crammed with fresh veggies and meat that I’ve always wanted to replicate them at home. But of course, not quite to the extent that they pile up theirs sky high.

Cramming a club sandwich into one mouthful to be quite a challenge, even more so for the kids. So I have my homemade club sandwiches less bulky, hence less likely to unhinge anyone’s jaw .

I just toast 3 slices of bread (white for now, till I can somehow convince my kids to like wholemeal). Butter the bread lightly.

Then I start layering one slice of ham, then sliced cucumbers, the second slice of bread, one slice of cheese, then sliced tomatoes, and finish off with the last slice of bread.

Stick a toothpick right through the center to hold all the layers together. Slice the club sandwich diagonally with a sharp, serrated knife and it’s all ready to go into a lunchbox or a growling tummy. Sweet !

We haven’t had pizza in a while. At one stage, the kids were eating too much cheese and they were starting to turn pudgy, so we really had to lay off. Cheese isn’t all bad and the kids do love pizza. So I decided to do a pizza on as a baguette topping for Skye’s lunchbox.

What you need are just a few simple ingredients.

• a baguette, cut into foot-long lengths, then split down the middle
• pasta sauce
• frankfurters, sliced
• grated mozzarella cheese
• grated cheddar cheese

I first ‘butter’ the pasta sauce on the baguette slice spreading it rather thick. I use Prego as it’s already flavored with herbs and mushrooms and whatever else. I don’t have to add anything to it.

Next I roughly distribute the round slices of franks all over the open-faced baguette and top off with a generous sprinkle of mozzarella and cheddar.

Because we were going to have to bake these in batches anyways, I decided to use my toaster oven. Shove in about 4 slices for about 8-10 minutes till the cheese is melted.

My kids say this tastes like ‘the real thing’. I say it beats the thin crust pizza because it’s slightly thicker (so it’s more filling for someone like me with a skyhigh metabolic rate) and oh so crispy on the outside.

On occasion, I also like to have a variety of other toppings on my baguette. You can get more interesting ideas for baguette toppings here.

I wouldn’t usually think of buying a baguette (or French loaf, as some call it). But if I happen to see them, I’m always be tempted to buy one or two.

Last weekend, they were on sale - two for the price of one, so I didn’t think twice.

With two baguettes starring at me, I had to get creative pretty quick. The kids and I were having it as a full meal for lunch.

So I thought I’d add a little variety so they could choose what toppings they wanted.

I cut up the baguette slantwise into inch-think slices and threw them into my oven toaster for 3 minutes while I readied four different toppings to go with it.

Naturally I had to have my coconut jam (or kaya) spread (top). I also made some plain ones with just butter (bottom) which smells and tastes really good.

Then I also made some with tuna topping - plain tuna with mayonnaise (right) and spicy chilly tuna (left). Tuna on toast is something else ;).

A couple of quick tips here. Baguettes are easiest to cut when they’re fresh. Use a super-sharp bread knife if you want the pieces to keep their shape.

If your knife is not sharp enough, you end up having to press harder against the bread in order to saw through it, causing the pieces to get squished out of shape.

Misshapen pieces don’t look half as nice, aren’t as flat and offer less surface area for you to work with. So you may find you have less space to lay out your toppings.

Baguette toasts are great for a quick snack, or even a main meal if you add a fairly substantial topping.

After tasting the toasty from Juice Works, I decided to make my own. Actually this is so easy to make I can’t understand why they can’t do better.

First off, make a sandwich with a slice of ham, a slice of cheese, and tomatoes and onions thinly sliced. Of course, it helps that I have my handy-dandy electric toasty maker (or whatchamacallit) which toasts two sandwiches at a time.

Closing the cover of the toasty maker squishes the two slices of bread together. A few minutes later and voila, I get two golden brown toasties. Notice how appetizingly puffy my toasties are compared to the soggy, colorless ones in my last post. And these are piping hot too .

When I say piping hot, I mean scalding temperature-hot especially with the melted cheese and tomato in there. So I make a couple of incisions with a knife on both sides to let the steam escape first.

I usually get a bit impatient waiting for it to cool down a little. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into this beautiful toasty that’s crunchy outside and a cheesy-melty-gooey on the inside. Yum.

Makes a hearty breakfast or a light lunch. Have I made you hungry yet ?