Baked Potato Grilled Cheese

In my constant search for sandwich-inspiration, thank goodness for the Internet!

I recently found an epic list of different grilled cheese incarnations, henceforth to be referred to as The List, and after I wiped the drool off my chin, I faced the difficult decision of which one to make. The Baked Potato Grilled Cheese won out and I’m super excited to share my vision of it with you.

To create this sandwich edition of a baked potato with all the fixin’s, you will need:

-2 Large Baking Potatoes (Russets are good)

-Bacon

-Sharp cheddar cheese

-Sturdy sandwich bread

-Green onion

-Sour cream or crème fraîche

Prep :

1-Fry the bacon until crispy, then cut it into small bits.

2-Shred the potatoes and fry them up like hash browns (in the bacon grease, if that’s how you roll).

3-Slice the onion and grate the cheese.

4-Assemble the sandwich and insert some toothpicks to hold everything together.

Cooking:

I tried to grill them in the skillet like a regular grilled cheese, but the abundance of ingredients made it difficult for the sandwich to melt together and flipping it was basically impossible. So I did what one does when making stuffed baked potatoes: I baked them in the oven! They only needed 15 minutes total, but I rotated the pan at halftime so make sure they cooked evenly.

I served them immediately with a side of sour cream. So good! The onions were the unexpected star of this sandwich, as they added a nice spicy flavour and heat, while complimenting the bacon and the potatoes. This is a super-filling sandwich on its own, but I recommend adding a side salad to balance out the hot-mess of melted cheese and bacon grease.

It doesn’t have to be Grilled Cheese Month to enjoy this type of sandwich. If you’re feeling adventurous and creative, consult The List - and the blog! - for some excellent sandwich-spiration. 

Happy Grilling and Sandwich Eating!

The 9 Hour Beef Dip

It’s been over a year since I’ve started blogging about the beautiful world of sandwiches and this next creation wins the award for having the longest cooking-time – 9 hours!

This is all thanks to an amazing kitchen appliance: The Slow Cooker, or Crock-Pot, whichever name you prefer.

A must-have for any busy household!

My slow-cooker is on my Top 3 Best Kitchen Appliances List along with the coffeemaker and the Bosch Mixer. I've had one ever since I moved out on my own and needed to learn how to cook for myself. When my husband and I first moved in together, we each had a slow-cooker and sometimes, used both of them at the same time! It was hard to decide which one to take with us to France. His won out, being slightly bigger, so I sent mine home to my parents; there was no way I could give it away to a stranger after all the lovely meals it provided over the years.

Slow-cooker meals are nearly impossible to mess up and when life gets busy, as it always does, it makes cooking good, hearty meals practically effortless. What better thing is there than coming home after a busy day to a delicious smell wafting through the house and your dinner nearly ready? 

The 9 Hour Beef Dip is my first slow-cooker sandwich creation and I was thrilled with how it turned out. After roasting the beef all day, it only took ten minutes to assemble and even less time to wolf down!

Quick prep for some slow cooking!

You will need:

1 Small beef roast

1 ½ Tsp each of thyme and rosemary

3 Garlic cloves, minced

2 Cups beef broth

2 Tsp teriyaki sauce

1 Small onion, chopped

Red and green bell peppers, one of each

Edam cheese

Baguette-style loaf of bread

Small bowls or ramekins for the dipping sauce

Prep:

1-Work backwards 9 hours from when you want to eat and get your roast in early.

2-Mix all the spices together and sprinkle on your roast, covering it entirely.

3-Place roast in the slow-cooker and cover with chopped onions and beef broth.

4-Cover with the lid and cook on low for 9 hours

5-No peeking! It’ll smell amazing and you’ll be tempted to lift the lid but according to my Fix-It and Forget It Cookbook, “every time you take the lid off, the cooker loses steam…and it takes 20 minutes to regain lost steam and temperature.” Just relax and let it do its thing uninterrupted.

Gorgeous colours and softened just enough.

Sandwich Assembly:

1-About 10 minutes before you take the meat out, sauté the peppers in some olive until soft.

2-Remove the roast from the slow-cooker and carefully cut it into thin slices.

3-Slice the bread loaf and arrange beef slices, peppers and cheese inside.

4-Ladle some of the beef juice into the small bowls/ramekins for dipping.

5-Serve warm and enjoy!

Quick and easy sandwich assembly.

A note about dipping technique:

Submerge the sandwich into the dipping sauce as far as you can. The bread acts like a sponge and absorbs the tasty liquid, which softens the crust ever so slightly. The result is a tasty, hearty,savory, effortlessly made, beef dip sandwich.

Definitely worth every hour of waiting!

   

The 9 Hour Beef Dip