The Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich Ever

This is Pioneer Woman's favorite sandwich, and it is seriously awesome. I mean really, really, REALLY awesome. I'm not sure I can ever eat a plain grilled cheese again. It is THAT good! We tried it a few weeks ago and had it again for dinner last night, and I am drooling looking at the pictures as I post this. Try it, you'll love it! Unless you don't like green chiles, or tomatoes, or onions. In which case you won't love it. But if you do like them, you will love it, I promise! Have I convinced you yet?

PW's Favorite Sandwich (aka the best grilled cheese sandwich ever)

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard, to taste

1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise, to taste

1 whole Tomato

1 whole Red Onion, Small

2 slices Mild Cheddar

1 can (4 Oz.) Whole Green Chilies

2 slices Provolone

2 slices Rye Bread (I used my whole-wheat and it was great!)

Butter

First make the special sauce. Measure 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and mix them together in a small bowl, and then spread a very thin layer onto the inside of both pieces of bread. Now slice a nice ripe tomato. Thinly slice a red onion. Place two slices of tomato on one piece of bread and two slices of mild cheddar on the other slice. On top of the tomatoes place several slices of red onion followed by two slices of provolone. Open your can of whole green chilies and lay one or two slices on top of the provolone. Now very carefully put the two halves of the sandwich together. Spread a good amount of butter on top of the bread (or just generously butter the griddle, that's what I do becuase it's quicker. If you do it this way, don't forget to butter it again when you flip the sandwiches). Flip the sandwich over and repeat on the other side. Meanwhile, heat a skillet (non-stick is preferable here) over LOW heat. Place the sandwich in the skillet and cook it for at least 5 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for another couple of minutes, until golden brown. Remove to a cutting board and slice in half and eat. YUM! Makes 1 sandwich (obviously, I make 6).

BTW, here are some awesome pictures of the awesome bread my awesome hubby made the other night. Have you tried this bread yet? If not, you really must. The link is here.

Gourmet Veggie Pizza

Gourmet Veggie Pizza
1 15-inch pizza crust (I make my own using my whole-wheat bread recipe- one recipe makes about 3 crusts)
3/4 c. ranch dressing
2 tb. fresh minced garlic
2 c. (8 oz.) mozzerella cheese, grated
1 c. baby spinach leaves

4-5 large mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped (I didn't use this time since they aren't in season)
1/2 onion, chopped

1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 tb. parmesan cheese
1 tsp. basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning

Roll out crust and place on pizza stone or greased baking tray. Mix dressing and garlic, spread on crust. Place spinch leaves over sauce, then cover with cheese. Evenly spread on mushrooms, tomato, onion, and artichokes. Mix parmesan and herb of choice together, sprinkle over top of pizza. Bake in a pre-heated 425 oven for 12-15 inutes, until crust is browned and cheese is bubbly.

Pizza & Breadsticks, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, and Chili Rellenos!

Okay, I have to catch up before I post my more recent recipes. So sorry they are all clumped together. The above picture is some pizza and breadsticks I made with the 100% whole-wheat bread dough (recipe below a few posts). They were delicious! For the pizza, I used about 1/3 of the dough, rolled it into a 15" circle on my pizza stone, topped it with 1 c. sauce, 2 c. mozzerella, and toppings. I baked it for about 15 minutes at 425. The breadsticks I just rolled another 1/3 dough into a large rectangle, cut into strips with my pizza cutter, and brushed with butter/garlic salt/parmesan mixture and then baked until done. I used the other 1/3 dough to make a small loaf of bread.

This is the delish cake the kids made me for my birthday (with my supervision, of course). I got the recipe from my new favorite food blog, Smitten Kitchen. The recipe calls for rum, but you can just leave it out and it still turns out great! Oh, yeah, she hates the bright red cherry thing, so she didn't do that, but I like them so I added them back in.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Topping:

1/2 medium pineapple, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cored (I used 1 can pineapple slices)

3/4 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
Batter:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon dark rum

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice (saved from pineapple can)

2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake
Special equipment: A well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet. If you lack a cast-iron skillet of this size, make the caramel in a small pot and scrape it into the bottom of a similarly-sized cake pan. (I used a 9″ cake pan in the pictures above, do not use springform, it will leak!)
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Make topping: Cut pineapple crosswise into 3/8-inch-thick pieces. Melt butter in skillet. Add brown sugar and simmer over moderate heat, stirring, four minutes. Remove from heat. Arrange pineapple on top of sugar mixture in concentric circles, overlapping pieces slightly.
Make batter: Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in granulated sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and rum. Add half of flour mixture and beat on low speed just until blended. Beat in pineapple juice, then add remaining flour mixture, beating just until blended. (Batter may appear slightly curdled.) Spoon batter over pineapple topping and spread evenly. Bake cake in middle of oven until golden and a tester comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Let cake stand in skillet five minutes. Invert a plate over skillet and invert cake onto plate (keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together). Replace any pineapple stuck to bottom of skillet. Sprinkle rum over cake and cool on plate on a rack. Serve cake just warm or at room temperature.

Both Dustin and I love Mexican food, and we both agree that although we like tacos, enchiladas, and the likes, our very favorite is chile rellenos (stuffed green chiles). However, the varieties found at some restaurants (actually most of them around here) are sadly lacking. They most often consist of a smallish chile and some cheese wrapped in humongous amounts of an eggy batter, fried, and then soaked in red enchilada sauce until soggy. Yuck! Nothing like the lightly breaded, slightly crispy rellenos that really let the smoky flavor of fire-roasted chiles shine through. So we make our own. I adapted this recipe from Mrs. Grigg's Cookbook.

Chile Rellenos

10-15 large whole skinned fire-roasted Anaheim chiles (canned or fresh*)

colby-jack, cheddar, or jack cheese, sliced into strips about 1/4" by 3"

2 eggs

1/4 c. milk

flour

salt and pepper

vegetable oil, for frying

Heat oil (about 1" deep) in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Rinse seeds out of chiles, pat dry. Place one strip of cheese in each chile. Mix eggs and milk in one bowl, and flour with a little salt and pepper in another bowl. Dip each chile in egg mixture, then flour mixture, then egg again, and flour again. Slide carefully into hot oil. Fry about 4-5 at a time until golden, turn over and fry until golden on second side. Remove with tongs onto a plate lined with paper towels. Fry remaining chiles, eat and enjoy! I usually serve them with refried beans and either corn or spanish rice, along with some quesadillas for the kids.

*If you want to roast your own chiles, choose large straight ones. Using either a gas burner or a grill, roast the whole chiles over a hot fire until completely black, turning to roast all sides. Wrap chiles in a damp kitchen towel, and allow to steam for 10-15 minutes. Peel off black skin and remove top and seeds.

Roasted Squash Soup

I think I got this recipe from a Martha Stewart show. It is a good, easy, warm fall dinner.

Roasted Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash

8 sprigs thyme (or ground thyme)

salt and pepper

1 head garlic

1 tb. olive oil

3 c. chicken broth

Spray baking sheet liberally with oil. Cut squash in half, remove seeds. Spray cut sides with cooking spray, season with salt and pepper. Tuck 4 sprigs thyme in each cavity (if using ground, sprinkle on each half). Place cut sides down on baking sheet. Place garlic head on square of foil, Pour olive oil on and sprinkle with salt. Seal foil, place on baking sheet. Bake squash and garlic at 425 degrees for 40 minutes, or until squash is tender. Remove from oven, take out thyme sprigs, cool until can touch. Scoop flesh into blender, squeeze 4 cloves roasted garlic in (save rest for another use), add 1 c. chicken broth. Pulse until smooth. Pour into saucepan and add remaining broth. Stir and heat until heated through. Season with s & p if desired. Serve warm with crusty french bread.

Meatless Lasagna

As I started making my menu for this week on Sunday night, I realized I was at a loss for ideas, so Dustin said he'd make the menu. Usually this ends up being game meat ideas or pancakes, which I reject, but this time he had some great ideas. His menu was: Monday-Pork chops with applesauce and green beans, Tuesday-Chicken Divan and rice, Wednesday-Lasagna with french bread, Thursday-Scrambled eggs, bacon and hashbrowns, and Friday-Ribeye steaks (YUM!). My contributions this week- Saturday will be pizza night and Sunday we're having ham, scalloped potatoes and asparagus. Of course I'm still cooking it all, but it was nice not to have to think about the menu for once. Thanks, Dustin- great ideas! I always make my lasagna meatless- it's cheaper, there's already protein with all the cheeses, and I like it better! This time we tried whole wheat lasagna noodles, and it still turned out great! I served it with spaghetti squash (a la the Webster garden) and French bread.

Meatless Lasagna

12 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente and drained

15 oz. low-fat cottage cheese

4 c. shredded mozzerella, divided

1/2 c. parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1 tb. parsley

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 jar your favorite spaghetti sauce (I love roasted garlic)

While your pasta is cooking, mix cottage cheese, 2 c. mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, parsley and pepper in bowl. Spread 3/4 c. spaghetti sauce on bottom of 13 x 9 pan. Lay 4 lasagna noodles, overlapping, in pan. Spread on 1/2 of cheese mixture. Spread on 3/4 c. more of sauce. Layer 4 more noodles, remaining cheese mixture, and 3/4 c. sauce again. Top with last 4 noodles, remaining sauce, and last 2 c. of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving (this helps it set up so your lasagna isn't watery). Enjoy!

Variation for Spinach Lasagna: Sometimes I add a layer of baby spinach leaves on top of each cheese mixture layer- it adds extra nutrients and the kids hardly notice it's there!

Red Enchiladas

Okay, for those of you who are thinking "This looks weird", let me explain. This is a modified version of my grandpa Poppi's Red Enchilada recipe. When I was a kid it was made by layering fried corn tortillas, onions, red enchilada sauce, and cheese on individual plates, then they were baked in the oven on the plate and topped with a fried egg when they came out. I have made them this way, but the plates are really hot (especially to serve to kids), so I made it in a casserole dish. I also added cream of mushroom soup to the red sauce to tame the spiciness down for the kids. But of course, it still must be served with a fried egg on top (it really is yummy!). Tradition, TRADITION! I always serve Mexican food with refried beans and corn, if you aren't impressed with canned refried beans give these a shot, they are great (thanks to lard- no 98% fat-free here). They are La Costena brand, I get them at Albertson's by the real Mexican foods (not by the other refried beans). And as for the orange juice, when we got married Dustin informed me that meals have certain drinks that go with them, thus a meal is either a milk-meal or a juice-meal. Soup is a milk meal, Mexican's always a juice meal. Thus the juice.
Red Enchiladas
24 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
1 lg. can red enchilada sauce
1 sm. can cream of mushroom soup
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 lb. (4 cups) colby-jack or cheddar cheese, grated
eggs for frying
Heat about an inch of oil on medium heat in a small frying pan. Fry each tortilla about 5 seconds each side, drain on paper towels. Pour out extra oil, saute onions until soft. Mix red enchilada sauce, soup and onions in bowl (if you want the original flavor, leave out the soup). Spray 13 x 9 pan with cooking spray. Lay 6 tortillas on bottom of pan. Layer 1/4 of the sauce and 1 cup of the cheese on top. Continue with 3 more layers. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Fry enough eggs for everyone eating, serve each slice of enchiladas with a fried egg on top.