I went to lunch last week with my mom and her friends. I forgot to pack Evie’s baby food, but since she is 13 months old its fine to give her small bites of big people food. So, I ordered her a grilled cheese. It was her first one and she LOVED it. However, I ended up eating half of it because it was so freakin‘ delicious. I don’t remember the last time I had one of those!
So, now I’m on a big grilled cheese kick, and I think I’ve figured out some important tricks to making the BEST GRILLED CHEESE.
1. I am a health nut, so white bread is typically banned from our home. But, I think the key to a good grilled cheese is keeping it simple. I found Healthy Life White Bread at our neighborhood grocery store. It isn’t loaded with garbage like high fructose corn syrup, and at only 35 calories per slice its pretty harmless.
2. Take two slices of bread and very lightly butter one side of each. If you spread on too much butter, it will burn and you won’t have the nicely toasted exterior that is so highly prized. I also put a little smear of butter on the opposite side of the bread because when it heats up it will help the cheese to melt.
3. Get good cheddar cheese. Please please please don’t use a pasteurized cheese product like Kraft Singles which contains random ingredients like sodium citrate, sodium phosphate and milk protein concentrate. Opt for REAL cheese instead. I’ve had great success with Sargento Natural Sharp Cheddar. It melts nicely and has a great flavor.
4. Heat up the pan. I think this is where true success lies! Heat the pan over medium heat for at least a few minutes before putting the sandwich in. You’ll know it is hot enough when you place the sandwich down and hear a hushed sizzle.
5. As soon as you lay the sandwich into the heated pan, put a lid on it. This traps heat and steam, which will help the cheese melt. Set a timer for one minute. When the timer goes off, flip the sandwich, put the lid back on the pan, and set the timer for 40 seconds.
Out comes a perfectly toasted, perfectly buttery, perfectly melted grilled cheese sandwich!!
Homemade Mothering is a movement that aims to simplify life and foster self-reliance while being kinder to our families and the planet. Its about encouraging people to get back to the basics when it comes to mothering and homekeeping. 
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Ah, but do you accompany with tomato soup, or à la carte?
Tomato soup for sure!!!
Surprisingly enough, it took me eating a GCS while working at camp [in college] to realize I liked tomato soup … can you tell I was a stubborn eater when I was younger?
=D
I LOVE grilled cheese. And it's fantastic with homemade bread. If you don't want to eat white bread (neither do I) a good compromise is to make your own bread using about 75% white and 25% whole wheat flour, so at least you get some nutrients in there. A homemade blend is perfect with grilled cheese and it's a real frugal luxury!
Without knowing it you are supporting another ND family! The Gentines (SarGENTo) were in my class and are such nice people from Wisconsin. They know cheese. 🙂