Ok, well, the title warned you! You now enter this post at your own risk! : )  

    My husband's Belgian family celebrates and mourns with ham buns. A wedding, baby shower, anniversary, birthday, funeral - all involve "ham buns". This food item is EXACTLY what is sounds like. A bun. With ham.

     The bun is simply buttered, filled with a piece of ham, and that's it! It seems basic, but somehow it tastes like a dream! I dunno. 

      Last year, my husband's Uncle passed away, and at the funeral luncheon we had, of course, ham buns. Adam's uncle specifically requested double ham on his ham buns though (extra delicious!), and my girls really enjoyed them. I was surprised by this because my girls have not eaten a sandwich in at least 5 years!  I think the fact that the options were were limited, they gave the buns a try. Well, after the luncheon there were leftovers, and the wonderful women running the meal packed up lots of food for us to take home. 

     We had at least 2 dozen ham buns that Adam took to work and the girls took to school over the next week! When they ran out, the girls asked if I could make them the buns. We are mostly a gluten-free family because I eat mainly paleo, and Caleb is fully gluten-free, so it’s easier for us all to eat similar. Plus, I told the girls, making the delicious buns that the ham was nestled in takes too much time to make. So, that was that.   

    Well then, didn’t a neighbour come over one day not too long after with some rolls she'd made with her aunt that day. They were so good......so, so, so good! Belgian funeral good.

    I commented on how I don't usually make bread or buns because I hate waiting for it to rise. Yes, I'm occasionally impatient! Anywho, she told me that these particular rolls only took about an hour to make, and I thought - what? For Real? I thought she was pulling my leg, and was trying to make them sound easier than they were. Well, the next day she came over with the recipe for me to see, and promised that they only took an hour. So, I said, “well, let’s make them right now!”.
 
    And we did. And it was scary easy, and scary fast how we produced big, soft and fluffy rolls in an hour.
 
   If you’re not organized (or your kitchen isn’t), I could see this taking an hour and 15 minutes. Or if you got distracted while making these, perhaps it would take an hour and 30 minutes. But getting distracted while making these will be impossible because you’ll be so focused on the warm, delicious goodness you’ll have in an hour, you’ll just hone in and get ‘er done!

     So, here it is! My neighbours' aunt's recipe for "bread buns" as she called them, or "dangerously quick and simple buns" as I call them! 

Dangerously Quick & Simple Buns (or dump pan buns!) 


Ingredients

• 3 3/4 - 4 1/4 Cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 Cup white sugar
• 1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast (it HAS to be instant, or rapid rise yeast!)
• 1 1/2 Tsp salt
• 3/4 Cup water
• 1/4 Cup butter or lard
• 2/3 Cup buttermilk (add a Tbsp of lemon juice to milk and allow to curdle)
• Extra butter or lard for bun tops

​Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together 3 ¾ cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt, set aside
2. To a medium, microwave safe bowl or medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, add water and butter/or lard and warm until the butter has gotten soft and the water is warm. Remove from heat
3. Add the buttermilk to the water/fat mixture and stir to combine
4. Pour water/fat/milk mixture into dry ingredients and begin to mix with a wooden spoon (if you have a stand mixer you can use it. I don’t have one though, so, yup!).
5. Once the mixture is combined, use your hands to knead the dough for 3-4 minutes. Don’t exhaust yourself, but invest! It’ll be worth it!  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic while adding additional flour if needed. The dough should be a perfect balance of slightly sticky, but very manageable
6. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and let it rest 5 minutes
7. Now go ahead and preheat your oven to 180-200 degrees (some ovens won’t go below 200, so 180 is the goal, but up to 200 is fine) Grease with butter or lard a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, and dust lightly with flour
8. Lightly flour the surface you’ll be working on, and plop that dough onto it. Shape the dough into an evenly level square, about 9 by 9-inches
9. Cut into 16 equal (but not perfect, don’t worry!) portions. Shape dough into 15 balls by pulling down the corners of the dough, and pinching them together at the bottom so you have a nice, round top. Use the extra dough to add to smaller buns as needed, and place shaped dough portions into prepared baking dish
10. Get your hands a little wet with water and brush the tops of the buns with your damp hands. This is so they don't dry while rising in oven!
11. Transfer pan to the oven, close the oven, and then turn oven off!  Allow the buns to rise 20 minutes (don't open oven door!!!)
12.  After the 20 minutes, remove buns from the oven, and turn oven back on to 375 degrees. Just let the risen buns sit on the counter while the oven warms up
13. Once the oven is hot, place the buns back into the oven and cook for 14 - 16 minutes until tops are gloriously golden brown!
14. Remove buns from the oven and using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the buns with butter or lard. If you don’t have a pastry brush, just hold a lump of butter or lard and gently rub on the tops of the buns. This is an important step! It keeps the tops of the buns from drying out and getting hard. This gives the buns that super soft top that makes you swoon! 

    
     It's honestly a really simple process to go from some humble ingredients to amazing, fluffy buns! 

   
​     This is my Keziah who especially loves these delicious buns! She can hardly wait for them to cool a bit so she can devour one!

      Can I just highlight some recipes for buns from the past.....specifically, from my book by Dr. Chase from 1884? 

      I love looking through this old book when I'm thinking up a recipe because why re-invent the wheel, right? Well, sometimes the wheel needs some rounding out! This recipe below for "Buns, Better Than bakers" is a multi-day event! You'd start the water, sugar and yeast the night before you planned to make these rolls ("hooray for rapid rise yeast" shouts all the modern women!) : )  

​      Anyway, it's a gem of a recipe, anyway! 

    Ok, I had to share one more recipe from Dr. Chase's book because......yuk. I mean, I might still try making it because it sounds so strange, but, yuk! It's called "Pork Cake", so, I think we can just right away agree (based on the name) that this is a recipe that maybe won't suit many peoples tastes...?  I think it could be a breakfast style cake? Read the whole recipe, especially the last part about what you use to check for doneness. It's brilly-bobs (as my sister would say. Translation: brilliant)

      It is amazing, isn't it?! 

      Anyway, this post seems too long? Sorry about that. 

      I'll just get outta here then! Have a great weekend! It's a long weekend here in Ontario because Family Day is on Monday (also in Alberta and Saskatchewan!), and we have family visiting (how fitting!), and I'm excited! 

       
xoxo

    Hello!

    Ever seen the baked ham & cheese sandwiches before? I have been seeing them on the world-wide-web for a long, long time, but just never got around to making them!

    Well, now I've gone and made them, and there's no going back! 

    So, hey, if you're going to a potluck and know the hosts, and know that you could use their oven once at the event....these make the best bring to a potluck food! 

   All the recipes I found called for Worcestershire sauce, which I've never owned and wasn't about to purchase, as well as poppy seeds. I suppose I could have gotten those, but it didn't seem essential. Oh, and you're supposed to use "King's Hawaiian Rolls", which if you live outside of Canada, you should apparently be able to find. Here in Canada? No such thing as this King and his rolls from Hawaii! : )  

   Let's be real though, this crazy delicious hot baked sandwich recipe isn't exactly rocket science, and there is lots of leeway! For instance, you can use whatever thin sliced meat you'd like & whatever kind of cheese, though a strong, sharp, or spicy cheese is the best (in my opinion)! 

Baked Meat & Cheese Sandwiches
​
Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• Mustard & Mayonnaise (optional)
• 12 mini sandwich rolls
• Thin sliced meat (at least 12 pieces)
• Sliced cheese (at least 24 pieces)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Prepare a baking pan with tin foil or parchment paper. Choose a pan that will fit the buns snuggly. If you don't have a pan to do that, make a false side using tin foil (as I did in the top right photo in the college below)
3. Put the butter, dijon mustard and brown sugar into a medium sized saucepan and warm up, stirring occasionally
4. While that mixture is warming, separate your buns, tops from bottoms (you don't need to separate each bun from each other), and place the bottoms into the pan
5. Now, top the bottoms (haha, that sounds weird!) with some mayonnaise (if using), then place half the cheese slices onto the bread
6. Place the meat slices onto the buns, making sure each bun has some meat, then top with remaining cheese
7. Spread or squirt some mustard (if using) onto the insides of the tops halves of the buns, then place the tops of the buns onto your giant assembled sandwich!
8. Pour the melted butter/mustard/sugar mixture onto the buns, trying to get it on every bun
9. Cover in tin foil and bake in pre-heated oven for 15 minutes, then remove foil & bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and crispy! Yummy!!
10. Slice sandwiches apart and serve! 

​

    These sandwiches are really simple to put together, but the results are faaab-u-lous! Seriously, you end up with a warm & soft sandwich, but with perfect crunchy tops and edges, as well as the crazy delicious taste from the butter/mustard/sugar mixture......mmmmmmmm......
 

   These fantastic sandwiches with a nice soup would be a perfectly delightful lunch with guests! Wouldn't you want to be invited to someones house with these?!?

   So, send this recipe to someone, and then super casual invite yourself over for a meal, then randomly mention how you soooo enjoy warm, baked sandwiches....and offer to bring the soup yourself  : )   

    I'm signing off now, it's family movie night and we're watching the 1930's production of "Peter Pan" and putting a dent into the Halloween candy we got last weekend! Hazaa!

   Have a great weekend!

​xo 
   

   Ya know what makes a great party? No, it's not the friends, or the conversation.
   It's the dip.

   Ok, I am kidding, but for realz, a great dip makes an awesome party awesomer! : )  Awesomer may not be a real word, but it is in my house with a 5 & 6 year old, and it describes this dip!

   First up....I took crappy photos of said dip. Thumbs down. I was (happily) busy getting ready for my birthday party, and only stopped briefly to take a few pictures. The starting point for this recipe can be found here, at mom4real and her photo of the dip gives it a little more justice. 

    "Buffalo Chicken" refers to hot wings, btw. When I was young, I really and truly believed that these "buffalo wings" that I heard grown-ups talking about were some sort of genetic mutation specialty food....buffalo with wings? Yikes! Well, let me put your mind at rest, according to the internet (where all pieces of information are true-haha), Buffalo wings got their name from their originated location, Buffalo, New York. I read this enlightening piece of information here, on todayifoundout.com. I know I went, "ohhhh, Buffalo, New York!" when I found out. I knew as an adult the wings weren't part of a buffalo, but my brain blanked beyond that and never thought of the New York city! Duh. 

   Typically, Buffalo wings are served with blue cheese dressing, and other Buffalo chicken dip recipes use blue cheese, but I can't. I loooves me some cheese, but blue cheese? Nope. Can't do it. Anyway, ranch is equally as popular now for chicken wing eaters, and well, there's no rules when it comes to wing eating or dip making!   

   Anywho, the real surprise twist here is what we did with the leftovers....oh good golly, it was gooooooood. 

​   But first, the dip!

Buffalo Chicken Crock Pot Dip
Adapted from mom4real

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce 
• 1 Package of (dry) ranch dip mix (I found this hiding on the highest shelf in the bottled salad dressing isle, fyi!) : )  
• 4- 170g cans of Chunk White Chicken (this about 2-12.5 ounce cans for my American friends). You could also use cut-up rotisserie chicken 
• 2- 8 oz bars of room temperature cream cheese, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese (an older, or sharper cheese is great, but any cheese will do!)
• A slow cooker (I used  3 quart)
• Corn chips, crackers, veggie sticks, whatever you want to have to dip into this! 

Method: 

1. Pour the hot sauce into the slow cooker, then empty the contents of the ranch dip mix into the hot sauce and stir to combine
2. Now empty the cans of chicken into the pot and stir to combine
3. Place the cream cheese and shredded cheese into the pot, and stir until everything is covered in hot sauce
4. Place the lid on the crock pot, turn to low and allow the mixture to melt and come together, depending on how hot your crock pot runs (they really are all different!), this melting can take 2-4 hours. Mine is sufficiently melty in about 2 hours
5. Serve with whatever your heart desires! I think corn chips are the bees knees, but some people prefer bread (cut up baguette, for instance), pita chips, crackers or veggie sticks

    Well now, you can see the pic below ruining the surprise of what we did with the leftovers! We made it into the most fantastic grilled cheese sandwich ever!!! I guess if you're not a grilled cheese lover this won't be that appealing to you, but let me tell you, this treat day dinner was right up my alley!  

   We buttered some fresh bread, then prepared the sandwich by loading it with leftover dip, an extra splash of Frank's Hot Sauce, a drizzle of ranch dressing, and a little extra grated cheese. 

   This sandwich could be replicated without making the dip too. Simple empty the contents of a can of chunk chicken into a bowl. Mix in some Frank's, ranch dressing, and a little cream cheese (if you have any). Mix up well! Then, butter 2 pieces of bread and put some shredded cheese on the non-buttered side of one piece, top with some of the filling, add a little more cheese, then finish with the second piece of bread (butter side up. Then grill to melty perfection! 

    Let's talk about my Jekyll & Hyde thing I've got going here, shall we? 

   On Monday I started my new Health & Fitness page. So....where does cheese laden dip and buttered smothered grilled cheese fit into this? 

   I eat Paleo....80%-90% of the time. Paleo is a whole foods lifestyle with lots of fresh veggies and fruits, meat, nuts and seeds, and avoiding things like grains, (refined) sugar, and dairy. But I am (at heart) a food lover. A lover of ALL food!

   So, 5-6 days a week I eat strictly Paleo, but the 1-2 days a week I don't eat Paleo, my "treat day(s)", I don't worry about what I eat! Sounds crazy? Maybe. But it works for me, it keeps me on track, really. If I looked into the endless future, knowing I would never again enjoy a grilled cheese, a or a bowlful of Maynard's gummy candies.....I would be so sad. So very, very sad.

   I love healthy food, and I love how I feel when I create something delicious with it, and how I feel knowing my body is being well fuelled. But, taking a break mentally from good eating re-charges me to keep eating healthy! 

   So, to ya'll going, "whaaaaat?" to the seemingly random recipes I post, this is the "why" to your "what". : ) 

   Happy Friday everyone! Please leave a comment if you stop by here, or share this recipe with someone you know would love it, or make it for your next party so that you'll be the most awesome person ever! Awesomer.


​xoxo       

   Anywhooo, a regular fluffernutter sandwich is fantastic, but I decided one day to spread some butter on the outside of it and fry 'er up (grilled cheese style).....oohhhhh man! Yum-o!

Fluffer Nutter Grilled Delight

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of bread (regular, gluten free, or sprouted-it matters not!)
• Peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)
• Marshmallow fluff
• Butter

I obviously can't list exact amounts of the ingredients because it's a bit preference based! I also feel like you would be shocked and horrified at the amount of p.b, fluff, and butter I use.....whomp whomp  :)

Method:

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat
2. While the pan is warming, spread peanut butter onto one piece of bread, and marshmallow fluff onto the other
3. Now put that sandwich together, and spread butter onto the outside of the bread and place into the pan to fry
4. Because fluff is so smooshy on it's own, you don't really need it to "melt", you're just looking to warm up the insides, but more importantly, to fry up the outsides. If you're heat is too low, it'll take too long for the bread to grill, and the peanut butter and mallow-fluff will come melting out, leaving a mess in your pan, and your sandwich very empty. Thumbs down. 
5. Once grilled and perfect, devour! 

   So, in case you needed another crazy-delishous, totally bad for you, definitely not anything but a dessert sandwich, check out this one (pictured below).  
   What the-? Am I right? That bad boy is peanut butter, Nutella, and marshmallows turned into a sandwich, buttered and fried, then dusted with icing sugar. Mmmm, I haven't had this one in a while. I think I'll whip one up on my next treat day!  

   Alright, well, that about sums 'er up. 
   How's the spring going for everyone? Our gardens are coming up happy, although some bossy tiger lilies have taken over a portion of one of my gardens. And that's after they were completely trampled and squashed last year by our chickens who found those plants particularly comfortable and would get cozy and barge right into them, scratch at them, push them down, and turn them into a lovely sitting spot. Perhaps this is the tiger lilies revenge? They may be like the flowers in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; you know, talking and being sassy and what-not? We just saw a local High-School's production of the show this past weekend, so I was thinking of my lilies while I watched that scene! 
   Anyway, after last week of wearing tank tops and having back-sweat while driving, we go to today where the kids asked to wear hats, mitts, and scarves to school because it's so cold! Oh, Canada...so tricky. 
   Well, I should be off, many a task to complete today, and only so many hours to complete them in!  
   

   April 1st!!!
   Today is April Fool's Day, but today also marks the beginning of Autism Awareness Month! 
   I have been woefully negligent of my blog lately....my life is suddenly very busy! I always like to keep busy, and that often included working away at the blog, but lately I've been for realz busy, and haven't had any time to sit and blog! Thumbs down emoji.
   Anyway, I really, really, really plan/hope to at least get some autism posts up every Thursday of this month (Thursdays are/were my usual day to chat and share about raising a boy with autism), because I want to keep making more and more people aware of autism and what it is, what it looks like & how to 'handle' it.
   Anyway, I'm way off base from french toast right now! 
   French toast! A delicious meal idea made better by turning it into a "monte carlo" type french toast. A monte carlo is when you make a meat and cheese sandwich (with mayo and mustard), then dip it into an egg and milk mixture, and fry it until it's golden and delightful. This breakfast version has nut butter and banana made into a sandwich, dipped in an egg and milk mixture, then fried with a sprinkle of cinnamon, then you eat it with syrup, as you would any french toast!  

Banana & Nut Butter French Toast

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of bread (we've used 'regular' bread, sprouted grain breads, and gluten free breads, all work well)
• Nut butter (any kind!)
• Banana, one will do, but you really only need 1/2-3/4 (I've also made this with thiny sliced apple too, and that is mmm mmm good!)
• 1 egg
• 1-2 Tbsp milk
• Cinnamon
• Grease for the pan

Method:

1. Heat pan/griddle on medium heat
2. Assemble your sandwich by putting your nut butter on both pieces of bread, then slices your banana and arranging them onto one of the pieces. Then slap the other piece of bread on top-obviously you want the nut butter facing in to the banana. I'm not sure I had to say that...but just in case....
3. Now, whisk your egg and milk in a bowl that you can fit the sandwich into (it doesn't have to fit completely, but enough room to move the sandwich around and get it well coated)
4. Place the prepared sandwich into the egg and milk mixture, being sure to flip the sandwich and get all of the bread soaked. When we use sprouted grain bread, it helps to prick the sandwich with a fork to get it to absorb the egg & milk mixture better
5. Add some grease (butter or coconut oil taste the nicest) to the warmed pan and allow it to melt
6. Carefully take the soaked sandwich out of the egg/milk mixture (depending on the bread you used it can get soggy and hard to lift out) and place onto the hot griddle
7. Sprinkle some cinnamon onto the side of the sandwich facing up, and leave the sandwich to fry and get nice and golden
8. Flip the sandwich once the first side is looking good (just lift a corner to check), and sprinkle this new side with some cinnamon
9. If your sandwich looks nice and toasty, but the nut butter hasn't melted to your liking, just place a lid on the pan, and turn off the heat. Let the sandwich sit and melt for a minute or two
10. Put your deee-lish masterpiece onto a place and drizzle (or drown!) with syrup!
11. Hazaa! 

   So, as I mentioned in the ingredients list, this super-filling monte carlo style french toast can be adapted a few ways. We've used peanut butter, cashew butter, & almond butter. We've also used sprouted grain bread, 'regular' bread, and gluten free bread. And one of my favourite variations is to use thinly sliced apples in place of the banana. So good. 
   I have, incidentally, never made an actual monte carlo sandwich, but perhaps I will some time. It seems like it would be very yummy! 
   Alright, well, that's it! 

   I literally cannot believe that I have been writing this blog for a whole year (technically a whole year tomorrow the 18th, but geez)!
   This year has been an up and down one, and parts of it have been chronicled here! 
   On the first day I decided to start the blog I put up 6 posts! Haha, I remember my sister saying something about being a little ambitious, and I just thought, "I dunno! I just had a bunch of things I wanted to post! I used up an entire weeks worth of ideas in one day! Fail. :)   
   Anyway, I wanted to take today to highlight some of my favourite recipes, DIY and life hack ideas, and some of my posts about autism. 
   I hope you take the time to click through and enjoy bits and pieces of what I enjoy! 
   ...But first, I want to give you a little history here on a bushel & a peck! Not history about me, but the term itself! Because I know you were dying to know! ;) 
   Well, a real bushel & a peck are dry measurements in agriculture. There's a pint, quart, gallon, peck, and a bushel. 
   But the real reason people know the phrase, "I love you, a bushel & a peck" is from a song written for the musical "Guys & Dolls".
   Back in 1950 the song was recorded by many artists, and the song was already so well known before the musical even opened that they moved the number from the second act to the first. 
   In the context of the show, "A Bushel and a Peck" is the intro to the Hot Box, a night club in which the headliner is Miss Adelaide. 
   Doris Day (among many others) recorded a version of this song, but she changed the lyrics a bit to remove some of the more direct references from the show and to clean it up for 1950's radio.
   And there you have it! If you've never seen Guys & Dolls, you should, it's a good show!
   Now, onto my favourite and most popular posts (p.s., just click on the green titles to go to that recipe!)!   

   This pie....oh this pie!!!
   It is honestly just the tastiest thing you'll ever eat! The homemade graham crust, the chocolate in the form of semi-sweet chips and chocolate bars of your choice, and gooey mallows....drool.... 

   When my sister invented this evil little sandwich I loved her so much! :)  
   Inside of that lovely, grilled and icing sugar dusted bread is peanut butter, Nutella, and marshmallows. Oh my goodness gracious, it is too good to be true.

   This project felt long in coming, but I was so glad when it was finished as it gave me the extra cupboard space I needed, and it was so unique and fit my house perfectly! Hazaa! 

   Just do this and thank me later. :)  

   I never thought these slightly strange looking cookie would be so popular, but it just shows you can't judge a book (or a cookie) by it's cover! 
   The Huffington Post even had this cookie in one of it's online articles, making this ugly, humble cookie my most viewed recipe EVER with over 20,000 views! 

   This easy-peasy recipe has been pinned on Pinterest more times than I thought it ever would be. It may be paleo, but it's crazy simple to make, has all regular pantry staple ingredients, and you can't beat a crock pot meal that's ready for you  at super time! 

   I love this post because it was all Caleb! His answers to my questions, and "hearing" what he thought about different things. It shows how sweet, and strange, and fantastic he is.

   This post was the first I ever did on autism. It was inspired by the fact that he was getting a Terrific Kid award at school for empathy. I still admire how he sees the world through very empathetic eyes, and I try to practice empathy whenever possible. 

   I am always amazed by this recipe, and how often it is viewed and pinned on Pinterest. 
  It literally was a recipe of. "oh crap! People are coming over! What do I have!", but I think that kind of recipe hits home for a lot of people! It is simple, but tasty. Win/Win!  

   This dessert is a layer of brownie, a layer of mallow fluff, and a chocolate peanut-butter Rice Krispie layer! What? I know! 

   I wanted to pick my all time favourite post, but I couldn't! In fact, my little Dory (from Nemo)-like brain was actually going through the blog and going, "oh yeah....I forgot about that....". Whomp whomp. Memory fail.
   Suffice it to say that writing this blog has (so far) been a blast. I have enjoyed being more experimental in the kitchen, getting some of my thoughts out of my brain, and knowing people like a few of the recipes and articles is a great big cherry on this Sunday! 
   I'm still writing this blog, fear not. I have been toying with the idea of buying my domain (instead of having it hosted by Weebly), and maybe changing my design too....but we'll see. I'm not a big fan of change! 
   So (insert cheesy music, and hear my voice all teary like I'm winning an Oscar), to all those who read here regularly, or just now and again; to those from Pinterest and Foodgawker who share recipes and ideas (hint hint-feel free to follow or 'heart' me!), and to my Mom, who almost never remembers to read my blog, merci beaucoup!  :)  
   I know, I'm a cheeky bugger. Here's to another year! Woot woot! (I love you Mom)

xoxo

Amy-Lyn 

   Well, I'm back. Not from any special holiday or anything, but we last minute decided to go visit family this past Monday, and I thought I would take a week off from my blogging obsession. It was strange, and difficult to be honest! I've grown accustomed to waking up early, having my cup-o'-coffee, and working away at the blog. I felt a smidge lost not doing it, but I survived! 
   Anywhoooo.....this summer has not been that hot, but I still like to use the BBQ as much as possible. Making grilled cheese is a favourite, and I would rather BBQ it than have pans to wash any day!   

BBQ'd Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bread (for 2 sandwiches)
  
• Butter
  
• Shredded cheese (a nice sharp kind is delightful)
• Extras (optional): cooked bacon, sliced lunch meats, sliced roasted chicken, onion, tomato, avocado-the possibilities are endless! Check these out!  

Method:

1. Preheat grill on medium-ish until hot.
   
2. Lay out all your bread on a large cutting board or plate, and butter each piece (picture 1 below). Be sure to butter all the way out to the edge so that it all gets crispy. Then put two pieces butter side together.
3. Sprinkle some cheese onto the bread (which should be facing you, non-buttered side up like picture 2).
4. Add any extras you plan to use, then sprinkle some more cheese on top of that.
5. Clean the hot grill grates really well. Get all the carbon off the surface by using a good brush or scraper. If you haven't got a scraper, wad up some aluminum foil and scrub the grates. 
6. Carefully take the top piece of bread (the one with everything on it), and place it on the grill. Then take the second piece of bread from that sandwich, and place it on top of it's partner on the grill, butter side up.
7. Close the lid, but don't go a'wandrin'! Give them about 2 minutes before you take a look at the bottoms. You want the bread a nice colour before you flip it. 
8. Flip and grill the other side. If the bread is toasty, but the cheese isn't sufficiently melted, place a piece of tin foil on it, turn the BBQ off and close the lid for a minute or two until it's melted.
   
9. Remove from BBQ, slice, and serve! 

   Well, that's it for today!!! I hope everyone has a great day! It's raining here, but I'm not too worried. My gardens will be happy, and the kids and I can have some indoor fun/lazy p.j. day! 

   So, I have a thing for grilled sandwiches. Incase you didn't notice....

   Our wonderful neighbour gave me a lot of produce this summer, and I tried to put it all to good use. 

   One thing he gave me a lot of was tomatoes, and basil (well, and cucumbers, but they are not in this sandwich!)

    Basil, tomato and mozzarella cheese are a flavour favourite of mine, known as a caprese salad (typically this salad is just seasoned with olive oil and salt). To me, making this 'salad' into a grilled cheese only seemed natural, basically because it has cheese already! Oh boy... 

Caprese Grilled Cheese (for 2)

4 slices of bread (a really good, firm bread, like sourdough, works well)
Butter for the bread
Tomato Slices as thick of thin as you like 'em.
Bocconcini cheese medallions (or regular mozzarella works too)
A hand-full of fresh basil
Garlic (optional-but so good, you'll want to)

Heat a large frying pan to medium heat.

Butter one side each of the slices of bread.

Chop up your basil however you do it. If you've never used fresh basil, fear not. It is forgiving. Just don't use the stems, fyi.  

Now assemble your sandwich!

My BIG grilled cheese tip (when adding other yummies besides cheese), is to layer your cheese! If you don't layer, you won't have enough "cheese glue" as I call it, and your masterpiece will slide apart! 

So, I do something like 
Bread
Cheese
Tomato
Cheese
Basil
Cheese 
Bread

Lots -o- glue! 

So, assemble (with buttered sides of bread facing out).
Put into hot pan, and toast. If the bread is toasting too fast and the cheese isn't melting yet, turn the heat down, and put a lid on the pan to give that cheese some good quality melting time!

Once sufficiently melted and toasty (should take 10-15 minutes, less if you used regular mozzarella and not the bocconcini), remove from pan.

The BEST part (though I said it was optional), it that when that bad boy comes out of the pan, if you have used a "firm" bread, take a fresh peeled clove of garlic, and rub it onto the toasty outside on the sandwich. Trust me....do it. 

If you didn't use a firm bread, you will just smoosh your bread, so, don't rub the garlic on.  Don't worry, it still tastes yummy without it.

Amy-Lyn 

   Oh boy.    

A few years ago my brilliant (read-evil!) sister created this recipe. 

   If you love Nutella, peanut butter, and marshmallows, and have them in your pantry on a semi-regular basis....then, well, this recipe will change your life.

    Dessert grilled sandwich (for 2):

Butter
4 slices of bread
Nutella (enough for the sandwich, and for eating a spoon full of it while they cook)
Peanut Butter (for amount, see note with Nutella)
2 large (or a handful of small) mallows
Icing sugar (optional, but it's so good)


Heat a large frying pan to med-high
Butter one side each of bread
Spread Nutella on one (un-buttered side) of a slice of bread
Spread peanut butter on the other slice of bread (on the un-buttered side).
If using big mallows, cut in half, and stick to either Nutella or the p.b.
If using minis, just stick 'em in.

Put sammies in the warmed pan.
Allow to toast and warm, but if it takes too long, the p.b. and Nutella melts out. So, be sure your pan is hot enough to get these bad boys golden without it taking forever.

Remove from pan, and dust with icing sugar (if using)
  

Now eat it! 

It's good, you won't regret it. 


Amy-Lyn 

   I wanted grilled cheese for lunch. But I wasn't exactly in the mood for plain-jane grilled cheese. So, I opened my fridge, and I had an idea....based on the random things I had.

    I had a tomato. I had some medallion slices of bocconcini cheese (and also a random amount of cheese I had shredded the night before). I had red onion. And I had pepperoni.

    It was meant to be.   

Pizza Grilled Cheese (for 2)

 4 slices of bread
Butter for bread
4 slices of tomato
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
2 bocconcini medallions
Approx. 1/4 cup shredded cheese (I had a mozzarella and cheddar mix)
10-12 slices pepperoni 

Heat large skillet on medium heat

Butter one side each of the 4 slices of bread

Divide ingredients among the 2 sandwiches, and assemble them with buttered sides of bread facing out (tip: add cheese first, and in between each of the other ingredients, add cheese so that it all melts and sticks together. If you don't, you'll just find that the sandwich slides apart for lack of cheese "glue"). 

Put the sandwich on the frying pan, and let warm slowly while toasting (it took about 20 minutes to be "just right" for me). If you do it quick, the cheese won't melt sufficiently, especially the bocconcini.  

  I ate mine as is, but my husband dipped his in caesar dressing (as he would pizza).  

    This was a good grilled cheese. Goo-ood! 

    Have you ever made a "special" grilled cheese? Don't be a hog, share the recipe! 


Amy-Lyn