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Happy Post: Grilled Cheese

 

If there is one thing we probably all have in common is a great love for grilled cheese. No matter how you slice it this toasted sandwich oozing with your favorite cheese is one of the most treasured comfort foods of all times. It ties with my other favorite fall comfort food: Pumpkin Pie. That’s another story…

Whether you are vegan, dairy loving, gluten free, low carb, high fat or a low fat person I bet you have a favorite grilled cheese in your recipe box. You should also pack one in your lunch box. Just sayin’

 

Bacon and cheddar grilled cheese recipe

 

I recently shot these photos of grilled cheese for a client. Tempting huh! I like the pool of cheese. And of course the bacon.

You can use gluten free or whole wheat based breads. Regular or turkey bacon and low fat or regular cheese. The choice is yours. Isn’t it amazing how simple something so amazing can be!

 

Grilled mozzarella with cherry tomatoes, herbs and olive bread

 

For my low carb lifestyle I always go open-faced. I also love veggies in mine. My kids and hubs on the other hand love 2 pieces of bread. Spreads are good too. All is good.

Very, very good.

 

Grilled cheese on artisan olive bread and cherry tomatoes

 

We often pack grilled cheese in our lunch boxes. They offer a nice balance of healthy fat, protein and whole grain carbs. Besides they taste amazing and my kids will be sure to come home with an empty lunch boxes!

 

Apple pie grilled cheese and egg battered sandwich

 

Above we have a combination of sweet apples, toasted nuts and sharp cheddar are heavenly in my Apple Pie Grilled Cheese, how about an egg battered version for extra protein?

Here’s a French toasty Strawberry Mozzarella combo? Sweet meets savory.

 

Homemade grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella and strawberries

 

Pumpkin Ricotta is charming too…..especially with a powdered sugar bat stenciled on top.

 

Grilled cheese with ricotta cheese and pumpkin puree: Halloween french toast

 

No matter how you slice it I bet you have a favorite to share. A grilled sandwich that you can’t wait to get home to after a long day at work or play.

 

Bacon and cheddar grilled cheese recipe

 

Not only is today a Happy Post but also another great idea for those of you joining us for Project Lunch Box. We are in week 3 of a 30 day challenge to pack meals at home. Whether you pack a lunch box for yourself, your spouse or your kids it is a great habit to get into. This practice helps you save money, eat much better for you foods and stay in shape too.

You can still link up your blogs to show your support of home packed meals.

Graphic for Happy Post on MarlaMeridith.com blog

As with all of my Happy Posts we want to see your favorite grilled cheese creations. I will feature some of my favorites from your submissions in the next few weeks.



Be sure to add the Happy Post badge or a link back to this post in yours if you join in this link-up party.

 

400 Best Sandwiches Cookbook by Alison Lewis

Graphic with pink fleur de lis for MarlaMeridith.com

 

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for your entries and congrats to Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious.

To honor sandwiches of all sorts…grilled cheese and way beyond I am thrilled to host a giveaway of my great pal Alison Lewis’s book 400 Best Sandwich Recipes. She publishes the awesome blog Ingredients Inc. If you don’t know her blog yet then you must go check it out. In her book she has recipes for everything….from stunning wraps to burgers, classic sandwiches, light and healthy selections, condiments and of course grilled cheese! You will want to make each and every one!

You can find a sandwich for anyone and any occasion in this book, I mean with 400 to choose from you are always in luck. If you would like to purchase a book now you can over at Amazon.com.

How to Enter

Leave some comments….tell me what your favorite kind of sandwich is. You have until Wednesday, October 12th, 12 midnight PST to enter this giveaway. One winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond or a new winner will be selected. Open to residents of the USA.

To earn additional entries, leave a separate comment for each of the steps listed below. If you don’t leave separate comments for each step, we will not be able to include them.

  1. Tell me about your all time favorite sandwich recipe or about the best one you have ever had.
  2. Add the MarlaMeridith.com, Project Lunch Box or Happy Post Badge into your sidebar or somewhere on your blog
  3. Tweet this giveaway, being sure to include my Twitter handle (@MarlaMeridith). Here’s a sample tweet you could use or make up your own: {giveaway} Love Sandwiches? So do we! @MarlaMeridith has a “400 Sandwiches Recipe” cookbook by @alisonlewis http://su.pr/1R06Od
  4. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Twitter
  5. Follow @alisonlewis on Twitter
  6. Sign up for my Email or RSS feeds
  7. Stumble this post & follow me @familyfresh on StumbleUpon
  8. Add a link to this post on your blog.
  9. Follow @MarlaMeridith on Instagram
  10. Follow Marla Meridith on Pinterest

*Be sure to stay in touch with MarlaMeridith.com and Ingredients Inc. on Facebook too.

Pink, green and turquoise Project Lunch Box badge

Special Note: Steve Jobs

As I sit here surrounded by Apple technology (iPod, MacBook Air, gigantic MacBook Pro, iPhone, etc) I can’t help but reflect.

Time stood still when I heard the news (via Twiitter) about Steve Jobs passing this week. We lost an amazingly creative mind. A man that contributed more to our society than most ever will. He touched our world and all of our lives with a magical genius. My children will grow up reaping the benefits of his creations and understanding this wonderful mans gifts. Blessings to the family he leaves behind. I hope he finds great peace and continues to share from above. He will always be remembered.

Grilled Cheese Recipe Links

Tidy Mom

This post has been included in TidyMom’s I’m Lovin it Fridays

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~ Marla Meridith

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164 thoughts on “Happy Post: Grilled Cheese

    1. Oh Averie, did you just bring back memories!! Those were the days. Guilt free, high calorie, late night, easy living. A flashback through food 🙂

  1. soooo many favs so naming a few—-BLT but only when veggies are fresh from the garden (summer sandwich), colby jack grilled cheese with a burger and bacon inside (fall sandwich), grilled burger with pepper jack cheese (spring sandwich), peanut butter with a side bowl of chili (winter sandwich)

  2. My favorite sandwich is a panini my hubby makes – mozzarella, pesto and black olives grilled on a panini press with sourdough bread. Dipped in pizza sauce… absolutely delectable!

    1. Emma, glad my photos made you crave something you would not ordinarily want. Making grilled cheese for breakfast for your hubs? I love your thinking!

  3. Mmm, how good to those sandwiches look?! Even at 6:30am… grilled cheese would make a good breakfast, right?

    Favorite sandwich – not going to lie, I think fluffernutters still win! Ha. But if we’re talking cheese, I love paninis!

    1. Liz, my mom’s all time favorite sandwich is a fluffernutter. She had them throughout her whole pregnancy with me. To think I have never had one….hmmmm.
      Paninis are an amazing way to enjoy grilled cheese!

  4. Grilled cheese is definitely one of my go-to comfort foods (and really, as far as comfort foods go…I’d say it’s the lesser of many evils…especially with a nice slice of tomato inside!). And yeah…that pool of cheese is crazy awesome.

    Thanks so much for featuring my recipe, love! Made my Saturday. 🙂

    1. Joanne, I could feature your recipes every day of the week. Girl, you are a rockstar in the kitchen. For reals 🙂 I agree, as comfort food goes you can go as healthy or decadent as you want with these toasty sandwiches.

  5. O~M~Gee~zee on these grilled cheese sandwiches!
    Only you could make a grilled cheese look THAT good!
    Funny thing~
    Yesterday I was scanning Facebook and happened to see the words “grilled cheese” posted by you.
    Greg was working late.
    An hour or so later I was calling him to stop by the store @ 8:00 and pick up everything for a grilled cheese and tomato soup!
    We’re having it again tonight! 😉
    Happy Day Sweet~pea!
    Hugs to you~
    xo

  6. Oh I love a good sandwich. I bought a panini press last year and have made some scrumptious combinations on it. Bree with green apple, arugula, and honey was great. Really good ham with sharp white cheddar, carmelized onions, and fig jam. YUM!

  7. I’ve yet to make a “grilled cheese” recipe I found that uses 2 slices of breadcrumb-covered slices of eggplant as the “bread” of grilled cheese…I have a feeling it’ll be pretty darn good, though.

    1. Alyssa, that is my kind of thinking. A great substitute to heavier breads. I would actually enjoy that concept over a salad. Think I need to cook something like this up over here.

    1. M. The Goat cheese fig combo is a favorite over here too. I have been smitten by everything figs lately. Will be including some in my post tomorrow 🙂

  8. One of my fav sandwiches was from the cafe at Borders in Alaska (thats now closed) tuna and provolone panini. I don’t know what made theirs sooo delicious, maybe the bread…? But very, very good. ;o)

    1. Bree….sounds like we need to find out what made that panini so extra fabulous. I would love that with some steamy tomato soup 🙂

  9. my favorite sandwich is a triple cbs as my hubs and I like to call it. It is a cheesey asiago cread with grilled chicken breast seasoned with creolo and more cheese on the chicken.

    delish

  10. I love anything with melted cheese on it. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been making open faced sandwiches (first in the oven, later in the toaster oven), with melted cheese being the crowning glory. These days, the go-to is cheese and ham on a toasted English Muffin–again, open-faced.

    Your sandwiches look so tasty!

  11. My husband and I love to make paninis ~ our go-to combo is turkey, cheddar, bacon, tomatoes and olives!

  12. Oh my goodness look at all that cheesy goodness. I am craving a classic grilled cheese with colby longhorn and a big bowl soup! That would be the perfect lunch today. Thanks for inviting me to join your link up – I posted a grilled mac and cheese – but I totally understand if its not what you were looking for and don’t want to include it. 🙂

  13. One of my favorite recipes is for a grilled cheese: sourdough bread, provolone cheese, kalamata olive tapanade, fresh basil and tomato. It’s heavenly. The recipe came either from Cooking Light or Bon Appetit magazine.

  14. My favorite sandwich is the “Spanglish” sandwich. BLT with a fried egg. From the movie Spanglish. Yum!

  15. All of these varieties look so fantastic, that strawberry grilled cheese certainly caught my eye!!!! YUM 🙂

    French Dip, miss going into almost any Diner back East and getting a great French Dip, with french fries and brown gravy 🙂

  16. Love me some grill cheese. I seriously eat one with my son like every other day. It is a pregnancy craving of mine! Love the pictures and what a great giveaway! I will link up my basil coated prosciutto grill cheese here in a second!

    1. @Belle, I also craved grilled cheese and mac n’ cheese throughout both of my pregnancies. As a matter of fact you could often find me in the kitchen at 2am starving and whipping up a grilled cheese sandwich! Thanks so much for adding you link to my round up 🙂

  17. The best sandwich I have ever had was when I was in Ireland during college- grilled chicken with provolone cheese, and an amazing spinach artichoke spread on ciabatta from a local pub. mmmm

  18. No need to enter me in the giveaway because I already have Alison’s wonderful book! Your grilled cheese sandwiches are making me crave comfort food, Marla. I think I will need to come up with another grilled cheese sandwich creation this week.

  19. Love all things grilled cheese! I have a Skinny Italian grilled cheese I make, but my all time favorite is all the food groups wrapped up in a grilled cheese (just posted)!

  20. My favorite sandwich: multigrain bread, creamy havarti, black pepper turkey breast and prosciutto wrapped asparagus. I read it somewhere in a magazine years ago and my hubby and I turn to it often when we’re not in the mood to cook or need a portable dinner!

  21. Although your grilled cheese pics had my mouth watering, a BLT with avocado is still hands down my favorite sandwich!

  22. I think of all foods, yogurt with granola and a simple sandwich are tied for BEST FOOD EVER. After reading this post though, I think sandwiches with oozy, melty cheese might be taking the lead. 🙂

  23. I love to mix it up with sandwiches, but I have a soft spot for a jambon-beurre on baguette bought from any shop in northern France. I know it sounds simple, but good French ham, great french Butter on a crisp, fresh baguette is just right. It also reminds me of my childhood.

  24. Wow, that has to be the most delicious, mouthwatering, lovely picture of a grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever seen! Great post, Marla. My tummy is literally rumbling for this and also my favorite sandwich, a classic grilled chicken with tons of veggies and honey mustard. Mmm!

  25. My kids love grilled cheese and tomato (I make it on whole grain bread 😉 and serve it with tomato soup, pure childhood comfort food. Love all the photos of oozing cheese.

  26. My favorite sandwich – warm, toasted sourdough, turkey, green chiles, avocado, and provolone cheese melted on top of everything. MMMM!

  27. Favorite sandwich was the grilled cheese with tomato my husband first made me when we were dating. I thought a grilled cheese sandwich was just grilled cheese, but he proved me wrong 🙂

  28. My fav sandwich is ciabatta bread with a smidgen of mustard, thinly sliced ham and then load it up with a whole lot of CHEESE!!!!!

  29. I remember when you first posted the apple pie grilled cheese, it looked amazing then and it looks amazing now. If you ever get the chance visit the American Grilled Cheese Kitchen in San Francisco. It’s amazing!

  30. Wow do these sandwiches look fantastic. Would love to have this cookbook. We are celebrating our first anniversary today and have our first give away. Come over and check it out. We are so excited.

  31. My favorite sandwich is a simple panini with prosciutto, sun dried tomatoes, pesto and brie. 🙂 I made this for brunch every once in a while.

    amy [at] utry [dot] it

  32. Favourite sandwich? Well it’s hard to beat the classic grilled cheese or BLT, but the Monte Cristo sandwich definitely has some oomph to it!