Challah Cheddar Grilled Cheese

There's a time and place for everything. Classic recipes have their place and will always be popular, but sometimes...you need to amp up the volume! 

So, after our recent vacay, we came home around 10:30-11:00pm to an empty fridge except for a small block of sharp cheddar, 2 granny smith apples, 2 jalapenos on the verge of going bad, and stale Challah. Reality check immediate!

What to do? Make the most of what you have!
Be creative when you are stuck with only a few ingredients. 
Combine them! Use them in different ways, but...

Waste nothing, and boy...are we glad we didn't.  
You can try this on any bread, but Challah has a little sweetness that carmelizes when you sear it with butter.

Simply delish with a touch of sweet, heat and crunch. Perfect go-to snack after classes! Of course, if you just like things they way they have always been, check out The 70s Grilled Cheese Classic posted way back!

Equipment:

Non-skillet

Ingredients:

2 slices of Challah

Softened butter

Sharp cheddar cheese

Granny Smith Apple, cored &sliced horizontally

Jalapeno, thinly sliced

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands. 

2. Prep your cheese, apples, jalapeños. 

3. Spread butter on each slice of Challah. 

4. Heat your skillet with butter on MEDIUM to MEDIUM-HI heat. 

 **Remember: Golden brown crust, perfectly melted cheese requires a slow heat!

5. Layer cheese, jalapenos, and apples. 

6. Cover with second slice of bread. 

7. When cheese begins to melt and crust golden brown, flip it gently.

8. Brown the second side until heated through and oozing cheese! 

9. Dig in for a surprise!

What a find!

Raid The Fridge Pasta Salad

What do you do with all those ends of vegetables, herbs, half boxes of pasta, half empty bottles of salad dressing, chicken or cheese? You really hate to waste it or throw everything out, but then again, it's not enough for anything else, right? And if it just sits there, it'll get mushy, stale or turn colors and odors you never knew existed!

Well the easiest thing to do is to check your fridge at the end of every week, and take inventory.  Chop up all the leftovers and combine. Use up whatever you can before heading to the grocery store to restock with fresh items.

(Adapted Southern Living and an article they just featured on using 'leftovers'). 

Equipment:

Large saucepan

Mixing bowl

Ingredients:

Ends & pieces of any veggie you like, chopped:

-Peppers

-Cucumber

-Cherry tomatoes 

-Carrots

-Red onion or green onion

-Celery

-Mushrooms

Other "ends":

-cheeses

-feta

-leftover rotisserie chicken or extra chicken breast

-olives

-salad dressing

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands.

2. Boil 2-3 cups pasta unless you have leftovers from a separate meal.

3. Prep your veggies and herbs.

4. If you are boiling water, you can drop certain veggies (carrots, broccoli, snowless) in the pasta water for 1-2 minutes to "blanch" them, ie soften them.

4. Combine cooled pasta and veggies in a mixing bowl.

5. Add chopped herbs.

6. Add cheese and chicken.

7. Add your favorite, almost-gone, salad dressing.

8. Have it as a side, snack or meal!

Tropic Freeze

Right now Chicago feels like Spring will never come! And I keep thinking that a short while ago I was getting sunburned and having fresh fruit smoothies every day at a little stand called ' Kadushi'.

As I watched them churn out smoothie after smoothie in their Vitamix, I started memorizing the basics.  The following recipe is just one of hundreds of variations--use frozen fruits (as demo-ed in previous blogs) for creating a Tropic Freeze. 

If you are hitting the gym, add in your favorite protein powder. If you want "rich and silky", add 1/2 cup Greek yoghurt.

Equipment:

Nutri-Bullet, or heavy-duty blender

Ingredients:

1/2 banana

4-5 strawberries

1/2 ripe mango

4-5 chunks pineapple

1/2 cup o.j.

1/3 cup water

Handful ice cubes

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands. 

2. Prep the fruit or just pull it out of the freezer. 

3. Combine everything in blender cup. 

4. Pulse x 30 secs until smooth. 

5. Enjoy the sun!!

Gutted and Stuffed Portabellas

I'm a huge fan of the hit series 'The Walking Dead', and as a result of this addiction I received 'The Snacking Dead' cookbook for Christmas.  It's a parody, no doubt, but this book delivers in the 'Appetizers For An Apocalypse' section.

Since the Superbowl  is approaching rapidly, along with Oscars, I thought it best to look for tailgating ideas easy enough for college students to make.  Hopefully I'll get thru a few of these 'just in time' for the party!

If you have vegetarians in your midst, omit the bacon!

(Adapted from 'The Snacking Dead' cookbook)

Gutted Mushrooms with Bacon and Spinach

Equipment:

Mixing Bowl

Your hands and a death grip

Baking sheet

Ingredients:

6 strips of bacon (See 'Makin' Bacon' post)

1/2 red onion, chopped and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

20 portabello or button mushrooms, stems removed

1 (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1/2 cup cream cheese or use a flavored cheese, like Boursin or Garlic-Herb Spread

1/2 cup fontina, gouda, mild cheddar (whatever is in the fridge)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 cup breadcrumbs (optional)

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands, because you need to use them.

2. Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.

3. Prep mushrooms and clean caps with damp paper-towel.

4. In a skillet, fry the bacon (See 'Makin' Bacon' post) and drain on paper towels.  Remove the oil except for 1 tsp.

5. Sauté the onions until tender, approx 5 minutes on MEDIUM.

6. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.

7. Squeeze the spinach as dry as you possibly can. 

8. Crumble the bacon.

9. In a large mixing bowl, combine spinach, and all other ingredients. Mix well. Season to taste.

10. Fill each cap with a dome of filling and place on a baking sheet.

11. Spinkle with parmesan cheese.

12. Bake stuffed mushroom caps x 15 minutes until cheese is golden brown.

13. Place on a platter and impress your company. It really is that simple!