Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Sliders with Blue Cheese

I had a feeling when I was putting these together that they were going to to be incredible and boy was I right. How can you go wrong with this list of ingredients, I mean, really.

During the summer months I like to make up batches of recipes like this to have on hand for the roving bands of teenage boys that to seem appear from out of nowhere. Here’s something you may or may not know about teenage boys. They are always hungry. It really has very little to do with when they last ate. This fact has never ceased to amaze me. When they head towards the pantry late in the day I will say “don’t eat now, it will ruin your appetite for dinner” and they just laugh, knowingly, as if I’m off my rocker. There appears to be no such thing as ruining a teenage boy’s appetite.

The super simple grocery list – 3/4 pound turkey deli meat, thick-sliced bacon, slider rolls, Gorgonzola cheese, and Ranch dressing. The bottled variety of either light or regular Ranch will work just fine but I had some of the dry mix to use up which is why you see the milk and lowfat mayo here. You won’t need these items if you are using the bottled variety.

For instructions on an easy, clean way to cook up your bacon take a look here.

Crumble up about 1/2 cup of blue cheese. I used Gorgonzola because it is a bit milder than some of the other blue cheese varieties which is nice in this recipe.

Mix the Gorgonzola crumbles into 1 cup of Ranch dressing in a small mixing bowl.

Time to assemble the sliders. Place some of the turkey on the bottom half of the roll. Tear a slice of bacon in half and place it on top, crosswise. Top it off with a dollop of the Ranch/Gorgonzola sauce and the top half of the slider roll. After assembling all of the sliders, cover and refrigerate the remaining Ranch/Gorgonzola sauce for later.

Place the assembled sliders on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let them cool for just a couple of minutes until you can handle them easily.

These are great reheated in the microwave so you can just have them ready and waiting for lunch, an afternoon snack, or what seems to be very common around here, a midnight snack.

Serve them with some of the Ranch/Gorgonzola sauce on the side for dipping.

They will love ‘em. Promise.

Turkey, Bacon, Ranch Sliders with Blue Cheese

Yield: 12 sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 cup prepared light or regular Ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola or blue cheese
• 12 slider rolls
• 3/4 pound thin sliced deli turkey
• 12 pieces thick sliced bacon, cooked

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the Ranch dressing with the Gorgonzola crumbles in a small mixing bowl.

To assemble the sliders place some of the turkey on the bottom half of the roll. Tear a piece of bacon in half and place over the turkey, crosswise. Top with a dollop of the Ranch/Gorgonzola mixture and then cover with top of roll. Place assembled slider on a rimmed baking sheet and repeat process with remaining rolls.

Bake sliders for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve with remaining Ranch/Gorgonzola mixture on side for dipping.

Linked with love on Sunflower Supper Club’s Weekend Potluck.