Forty for 40: #3 - Family Dinners...Bread + Cheese + Your Pantry = Easy, Delicious "Gourmet" Grilled Cheese

I know the time is fleeting for us to have sit down family dinners on a regular basis. Heck, (most)Ms, Ts, Ws, THs are already shot right now and it's not even due to the kids' schedules! It's only going to get worse.  But, I do love to cook, so I'm taking advantage of the times we do get to sit down together.  Here's how we threw together a fun night of cooking together...

A Ctown culinary favorite is Melt Bar and Grilled, which married outrageous combinations in grilled cheese sandwiches and great craft brews.  It's packed every lunch and dinner.  Why? Because they take the basic, American favorite and give it spectacular grown-up twists! I DARE you to find someone who doesn't LOVE grilled cheese!

So, I was struggling to find something for dinner last week because it was a "use all the frozen leftovers" week and frankly, we were sick of soup.  (Man, did I make A LOT of soup this winter!!) I bought a really fresh loaf of tuscany bread and some apricot preserves at Whole Foods earlier in the day and it served as the inspiration for GOURMET GRILLED CHEESE night!  So simple and sooooo good!

Here's what we dug out of the cupboards and fridge. Everybody picked their own ingredients!

Mom's Sandwich

Some of the basics from our pantry and fridge.
I love the cheese variety pack from
Costco! It's perfect for any kind of sandwich
and has a wonderful variety.

*inspired by my favorite brie party recipe*
-sliced brie cheese
-apricot preserves
-balsamic vinegar

Slice the brie into bite size slices and place on one of the bread pieces.  Spread apricot preserves on the other slice and drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the apricots.  Put sandwich together and grill.  A pleasant surprise was the caramelization of the vinegar on the outside of the bread. YUMMY!!!!


Dad's Sandwich
*simple yet tasty*
-Sweet Red Pepper Jelly
-Cheddar and Gouda slices




Sweet Pea's Sandwich
*my veggie loving girl*
-mashed avocado
-sliced cherry tomatoes
-bacon
-sliced gouda
My little girl CANNOT get enough avocado! I love it!!!



Monkey's Sandwich
*inspired by the classic*
-bacon
-tomato
-swiss

Clearly not as completely outrageous as "The Parmageddon", but a step up from American cheese and tomato soup.  Open your cupboards, think about your favorite taste combos and fire up the frying pan!

Pin It