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Grilled Cheese & Guacamole

My aunt/godmother tells me this story of the first time I met her now-husband, my uncle John. I was 5, and we were out to dinner somewhere. I ordered a grilled cheese, which was always my favorite. He asked me if I liked it, and apparently I responded, with complete sincerity and gravity, “I love grilled cheese so much, if I didn’t have it at least once a week, I would die.”

Let me tell you, ain’t nobody better get between me and some cheese. I don’t play around. As a tween, the first thing I learned how to make on my own was Kraft macaroni and cheese, and the second was a perfect grilled cheese. I don’t think you can expand much on a perfect grilled cheese — Bunny bread, Kraft singles, and Country Crock — but you can have other perfect grilled cheeses.

See, to me, fancy grilled cheese — like the $10 ones you can get at locavore foodie restaurants — are really good, but they’re pretty much a different food altogether. I will very much enjoy a fancy grilled cheese, but if I’m craving a perfect classic grilled cheese, a fancy one just won’t fill that craving. I feel the same way about delivery pizza versus gourmet pizza. That’s why it’s perfectly acceptable to go out to Pizzeria Toro for gourmet pizza and to order from Papa John’s for delivery pizza all in the span of a couple days — they’re totally different meals.

I didn’t have much in the fridge last week, and I was super hungry for dinner. We had had this delicious Country loaf from Bread & Butter with butter and raspberry jam for breakfast:

Mmm… it was so delicious and still warm! So with the second half of the loaf, I decided to make a grilled cheese for dinner. And then I remembered that I had seen this on Pinterest. Seemed like a no-brainer.

The major difference between my Grilled Cheese & Guacamole and the one on Cooking Stoned is that mine is not as pretty. This is not surprising to me. The other thing I did was dice my tomatoes and mix them into my guacamole instead of having slices of tomato. I just don’t like raw tomatoes all that much. It would be good either way. An important part of the process that I learned from Cooking Stoned, is to broil or toast the bread with cheese first so that the cheese gets all melty.

(I don’t know why there’s only one piece of bread in that picture. I cooked both slices that way. Whatever.) Ooey gooey deliciousness:

Talk about a grown-up grilled cheese. OMG YOU SHOULD ADD BACON. I’m going to do that next time.

Here’s a recipe. I didn’t really use amounts because sandwiches are one of those things where you should just put however much you want to on the bread.

Guacamole Grilled Cheese Sandwich adapted from Cooking Stoned

2 slices of bread
guacamole
handful of grape tomatoes or a few slices of a regular tomato
cheddar slices
butter
(onion and/or cilantro might be a good idea, but I didn’t use those)

Prepare the guacamole. (I use an avocado, lime juice, and Wildtree guacamole seasoning. You could also purchase prepared guac.) Dice the tomato and stir into the guacamole. Set aside.

Arrange slices of cheddar cheese on the surface of both slices of bread. Broil or toast until the cheese is melted and the bread is slightly crispy.

Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a pan over medium heat. Transfer a slice of cheesy bread to the pan, spread on a whole bunch of guacamole, and then sandwich the other slice of cheesy bread on top. Flip the sandwich when the bread is golden brown, only a couple minutes on each side.

ENJOY IT.

Linking Up With:

Funday Monday from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Market Yourself Monday from Sumo’s Sweet Stuff
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Anything and Everything Blog Hop from My Thrifty Chic
Time to Sparkle from Love Grows Wild, Inside BruCrew Life, The Recipe Critic, and The Gunny Sack
Link Party Wednesday from Lil’ Luna
Create It Thursday from Lamberts Lately
All Things Pretty from Sparkles and a Stove and My Fashion Forward Blog
Link Party Thursday from Somewhat Simple

Tags: Avocado, bread, Cheddar cheese, Grilled cheese, Guacamole, tomato, Vegeterian

Comments 5 Comments
Categories Food, Main Dishes, Vegetarian
Author Alyson

So-Called Pizza Puffs

21 Jan

So-called? Yes, so-called. Because I’m not sure these puffs deserve the name of “pizza.” They certainly didn’t taste like pizza. They tasted kind of like little bread muffins. Which I guess is what they are.

On principle, I don’t believe in taking a healthy recipe and making it healthy. I don’t think that ever turns out well. I’d rather just eat a small amount of the unhealthy thing every now and then. I don’t need to stuff myself full of bland fat-free mac-and-cheese or one-point Weight Watchers “desserts.” And don’t EVEN get me started on frozen yogurt, because I can’t tell you how angry I am that I can’t find a dang ice cream store anymore while there’s bland frozen yogurt bars on every street corner. All those exciting neon colors are false advertising, in my opinion.

I guess my issue is that I’m terrible at denying myself anything, but I’m pretty fantastic at portion control, IMHO. I guess most people have the opposite problem. But since I don’t, I’m going to continue buying the Double Stuf Oreos, but only eat 2 (okay, 3) after dinner tonight. I’ve never been the person who accidentally eats the whole bag.

The point here is that this recipe is way too healthy to be called Pizza Puffs. Puffs, sure, no problem. But pizza? You can barely taste the cheese, it’s whole wheat, AND there’s vegetables in it. That’s 3 things that would never be true about any pizza I’d eat.

So why I am sharing it? Well for one, I’m not arrogant enough to believe that everyone thinks the same way I do, and I imagine many people might appreciate this recipe. But also, I think my poor reaction to this recipe was one of expectations. I was expecting pizza, and upon not tasting pizza, I was mightily disappointed. But if they were called Whole Wheat Puffs with Marinara Dipping Sauce, then I think I’d be pretty happy.

So go ahead and make this recipe. They’re great for a snack or for serving at a party. They’re also great on the side of an Italian meal. Maybe I’ll make them again. Or maybe I’ll make real Pizza Puffs.

Whole Wheat Pizza Puffs adapted from Cooking With My Kid

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup lowfat or skim milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1 cup broccoli
1/2 marinara sauce, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.

Blanch the broccoli: Boil for about 2 minutes and then remove and immediately place in a bowl of ice water for 20-30 seconds. Remove from water. Chop finely. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder. Whisk in the milk and beaten egg. Stir in the mozzarella and broccoli. Let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir the batter and divide among the mini-muffin cups. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

Linking up with:

YOLO Mondays from Still Being Molly and Lipgloss and Crayons
Monday Meet Ups from Covered in Grace
Made by you Monday from Skip to my Lou
Make Something Monday from Sarahndipities
Time for a Party from Fine Craft Guild

Tags: bread, Broccoli, Healthy, Marinara sauce, pizza, Vegetarian, whole wheat

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Appetizers & Side Dishes
Author Alyson

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

20 Jun

Before I headed to my Grandma’s for Memorial Day weekend, I baked a couple loaves of chocolate chip zucchini bread. I toted them all the way to Asheville while we lunched and shopped downtown and the bread waited in the stifling hot car, and then the rest of the way to Hendersonville where the BF and I joined my family. By “my family,” by the way, I mean about 17 people. I just knew Grandma and my dad would love this bread, and I was so pleased to have thought about bringing such a delicious gift with me. As we left on Monday, I noticed my chocolate chip zucchini bread, on the counter, still whole and wrapped in my tasteful packaging of tin foil and a Ziploc bag. And damn if I was going to leave that loaf behind for a bunch of ungrateful relatives — none of those 17 people could even bother to taste my bread? Psh. So I took it home with me and enjoyed it myself for the rest of the week.

That afternoon I got a call from my mother, who got a call from Grandma, because she was upset. She knew no one else had tasted that bread, and apparently she was planning on enjoying it herself for the rest of the week, starting that day when she returned home from church. Too bad, Grandma. I got it.

Because I am a wonderful granddaughter, when she returned this weekend for my nephew’s 4th birthday party, I prepared another batch. I brought a mini loaf for her and a mini loaf for my dad. Both of them were so excited they each tried to keep both loaves for themselves. I intervened and decreed they each receive just one loaf. That was only Saturday, so I’ll give them a couple more days, but when I call, they better have enjoyed them.

Make this, and find out for yourself why people will fight over it. This batch will make 2 regular loaves or, in my case, 3 mini loaves plus 3 muffins.

First I set the oven to 325 F and greased and floured the pans: two loaf pans or 3 mini pans and a few paper-lined muffins. Then I set up the food processor and grated 2 1/2 zucchinis, until I got 2 cups grated zucchini.

In a large bowl, I beat 3 eggs with the hand mixer until they were a light yellow color and frothy. Then I mixed in 1 cup vegetable oil and 2 cups sugar. I stirred in the grated zucchini and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

In another bowl, I whisked to combine 3 cups all-purpose flour, 3 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and about 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Once they were well mixed, I slowly stirred the flour mixture into the egg mixture.