Creative Grilled Cheese

Sometimes you just don't have time to whip up a masterful dish for your kids.  Sometimes you just have to cobble something together that is easy and simple.  On the other hand, that does not mean that it has to be boring and forgetful.  It can be just as heart-warming and pleasing to the pallate as that 7-hour stew or the 5-cheese casserole.  And one of those meals that can do the trick is your good ole grilled cheese sandwhich!

The thing that takes this out of the ordinary is your leftovers.  Instead of just slapping a simple slice of cheese between two slices of bread, take a look in your pantry or fridge and see what might work in a sandwhich.

A quick pass through my fridge showed that I could add some cold cuts, olives (I'd crush or chop them up), onions or slices of pepperoni.  A trip to my pantry showed that I could make a tuna melt, or dip a finished sandwhich in some salsa.  See? Just a slight detour and the bland grilled cheese is now a bit of a culinary adventure. 

Now, here's how I make a grilled cheese, see if this might be helpful:

Grilled Cheese Sandwhich:

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (your choice)

2-4 slices of American cheese (I use pre-sliced)

Butter (or margarine)

fun fillings: cold cuts, olives, onions (sliced), capers, etc...

Directions:

Important! - be sure to have all of your ingredients ready to go before heating up the pan, things can get fast and furious when bread hits the heat.

1. Heat up a 8" frying pan with meadium hi heat
2. Butter one slice of bread on one side and place in pan (there should be medium sizzling right away, if not turn heat up a bit)
3. Place two of the slices of cheese on the bread in the pan so as to cover the bread completely.
4. Place any other ingredients you want on top of the cheese.
5. Place two more slices of cheese on top of the added ingredients
6. Butter one side of the remaining slice of bread and place the non-buttered side on top of the sandwhich.
7. Check the doneness of the slice of bread facing the pan by carefully lifting up the sandwhich with a spatula and peaking at it's underside.
8. If the bread is golden brown, it's time to flip the sandwhich (this can be tricky)
9. Flipping Process: place the spatula under the center sandwhich; lift approx. 2-3" above the pan; and quickly flip the sandwhich over with a quick turn of the wrist.
10. If the sandwhich is misaligned, you can simply push the contents over the bottom slice by using the spatula and your protected fingers.
11. Let the sandwhich fry for approx. 2-5 more minutes, checking doneness as you did previously.
12. When the sandwhich is done, take it off the pan and let it cool for approx. 5 minutes.
13. Cut sandwhich into slices and enjoy.

 And this is what it looks like in action: