The Exploration of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I have recently become a fan of the simple joy of a grilled cheese sandwich.  My husband and children love the tradition cheddar grilled cheese and quite often make them for lunches on the weekend or even for a snack, they are growing and all!  As good as those are they aren't really my thing.  I recently posted my brie and apple grilled cheese, which was spectacular by the way, and the hunt for other amazing recipes involving cheese and bread started to take place.  After doing some painstaking research...hehe, here are a few for you all to try and enjoy.

Special thanks to Jen Scott of Jenscottmedia.com for being my photographer.

The Cheddar, Candied Bacon and Jalapeno Grilled Cheese:  Used a croissant for this but any good bread would do just fine.

What you'll need:  aged cheddar sliced, pickled jalapeno's and three slices candied bacon.

Assembly:  croissant, slices of aged cheddar, pickled jalapeno's, candied bacon, more slices of aged cheddar, butter both sides of the croissant and cook.

Candied bacon:  1/4 cup brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of chili powder, mix together well, dredge bacon through brown sugar mixture and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  I will admit that I put my bacon on a cookie sheet lined with foil.  The brown sugar mixture is for 8 slices of bacon.

The Dessert Grilled Cheese:

What you'll need:  pound cake, brie, fig spread, fresh rosemary

Assembly:  take one piece of pound cake (thickness is up to you), spread fig on the cake, place pieces of brie on top of fig and then top with other piece of pound cake.

Cooking:  this one is a bit different because you will heat your pan, place a slab of butter in pan and let it start to melt and get bubbly. While the butter is doing it's thing chop rosemary, amount is up to you.  When butter is good and bubbly throw in the chopped rosemary and wait until it starts to release it's wonderful fragrance. Once this happens place your pound cake sandwich in the butter and flip so the other side can also get this yummy goodness soaked into it.  Then cook just like a regular grilled cheese.

Both of these sandwiches were insanely good and easy to make.  Enjoy! Kristen

Cookie Dough Eggrolls

No, this isn't healthy but it is ridiculously good!  I have now made these three times and they are a perfect dessert to make quickly if you want to impress guests.  Kristen

What you'll need:  eggroll wrappers
                              pre-made cookie dough (I used Nestle Tollhouse)
                              canola oil (you will need 2 inches in your pan)

Place wrappers on surface, take a tablespoon of dough and place in the middle of the wrapper, fold wrapper following the directions on the package. Heat oil until bubbly, place one eggroll in oil and cook for about 10 seconds per side.  Place cooked eggroll on paper towel to get excess oil off and then serve with ice cream and toppings.

Brie and apple grilled cheese

Lately this little sandwich has become a staple in this house.  We are super busy and for some reason all these ingredients are always on hand.  Play around with your grilled cheese sandwiches, they are super versatile and always yummy!  Kristen

What you'll need: bread (your choice)
                             thinly sliced brie
                             thinly sliced apple or pear
                             butter for grilling

Grilled Fish Tacos w/Creamy Chipotle Sauce

I have been in search for the perfect fish taco recipe for three years now and I FINALLY found it!!!  The rub for the fish is spectacular and incredibly easy to make and the chipotle sauce adds a flavor I never realized was missing from fish tacos.  Super yummy and very easy I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!  Kristen

Rub for Fish: 1t garlic powder and paprika, 1/2t cayenne powder, 1/2t cumin and 1/2t dried oregano, sea salt to taste. This rub worked on five tilapia fillets.

Chipotle Sauce: 1/2c mayo, 1/3c plain Greek yogurt, 1/2t oregano, 1/4t each of cumin and dill, 1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce plus 1+t sauce, sea salt to taste.  Throw all these together in a mixer until creamy.  Sauce can be adjusted easily to be hotter.

Bacon Blue Cheese Burgers

Day two of amazing weather and the grill is back in full force!!  Made these killer burgers with tons of garlic mixed into the meat, my pesto aioli, uncured bacon and good blue cheese........YUMMY!
Enjoy!

Cooking on the grill

Sunday was an absolutely perfect day here in Spokane.  They don't happen often so you have to jump on them while you can!  Cj asked for her favorite dinner, awesome news because it can be cooked entirely on the grill and keep the kitchen nice and cool.  So, without further blogger nonsense here was our menu:

• Grilled chicken sandwiches with balsamic, pesto aioli
• Finger potatoes with olive oil and sea salt
• Grilled corn on the cob
• Grilled blue, black and strawberries over ice cream

Let's start with the chicken sandwiches: these are actually really simple.  Chicken breasts slathered in the balsamic pesto aioli and grilled to perfection, small ciabatta rolls (also slathered in balsamic pesto aioli) and grilled, top the chicken with Swiss cheese and let it get good and melty, top with uncured bacon, tomato and fresh basil......yummy!

Finger potatoes are always easy and always a hit.  Wash the potatoes and then toss them in olive oil and sea salt.  Place them in a foil pouch and let them cook, indirect heat please, for 10 minutes before you put the chicken on and then the entire time the chicken is cooking.

Corn on the cob, everyone has their own way of cooking it.  Have fun and experiment!

Dessert: after washing everything cut up the strawberries into smaller pieces and place in a homemade foil container, add as many blue and blackberries as you wish and grill away until bubbly.  Let sit for about 10 minutes to cool and then serve over vanilla ice cream.  I have made this with every possible variation of berry and each time it has been a HUGE hit!

Enjoy!

Roasted Broccoli

This house has become addicted to roasted broccoli! So incredibly simple and good that you will never want broccoli any other way!

What you need: broccoli cut up however you like it, olive oil, garlic (use or don't use, your choice), sea salt. Toss all together to coat broccoli and then place on a lined cookie sheet and put into a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Yummy!