Meatball Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

One Sunday SP made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. The meatball recipe he used yielded quite a bit of leftovers so I froze probably 5 or 6 meatballs for another time. While meal planning one week I decided I wanted to do something different with the meatballs and these meatball grilled cheese sandwiches were born.

I'm partial to good old American cheese but use whatever type of cheese you like. This is really more of a method than a recipe. Use your favorite meatball recipe or even buy some frozen if that's easier. I've added sauteed spinach to these as well and really enjoyed it (plus it makes me feel better to have something healthy thrown in there).

Meatball Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches

5-6 meatballs
Butter, for the bread
8 slices bread
Cheese (I like American, use whatever you like)
Extra marinara sauce for dipping

Slice the meatballs into thin discs so they'll lay flat on the bread.

Butter one side of each piece of bread. Flip the bread over so the butter side is down and lay two slices of cheese on each piece of bread. Top four of the slices with some of the sliced meatballs. Add a little extra sauce and then top each with one of the bread and cheese slices, butter side up.

Place the sandwiches on a griddle or large non-stick pan set over medium-low heat. Cook low and slow, allowing the bread to brown evenly and the cheese to start melting before flipping over to cook on the other side. Remove from the heat once both sides of the bread are golden brown and the cheese has melted. Allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting and serving with extra sauce for dipping.

Recipe Swap: Turkey Avocado BLT Sandwich

It's recipe swap time again. This month's theme was lunch and I was assigned a Turkey Avocado BLT Sandwich from Nichole over at Cookaholic Wife.

Like Nichole said in her write up, these are a super simple sandwich to make. There's nothing out of the ordinary here, just a good, basic sandwich.

I don't know about you but sometimes you need a reminder that there are other lunch options besides leftovers. It was great to make myself a nice, thick, hearty sandwich for lunch the day I made these. I could also see pairing half a sandwich with a nice bowl of soup.

Turkey Avocado BLT Sandwich
As seen on Cookaholic Wife

2 slices bread
mayonnaise
3-3 slices deli turkey
3 slices avocado
1 large lettuce leaf
2 thin slices tomato
2 strips bacon, cooked
salt and pepper

Toast the bread. Spread the mayonnaise on both sides of the bread. Layer on the turkey, avocado, lettuce, tomato and bacon. Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper. Put the sandwich together and cut in half to serve.

To see what other lunch recipes were made click on the links below.

Bacon, Brie, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato (BBLAT) Sandwiches

::Putting on my flame-retardant suit::

I'm not a fan of BLTs.

There, I said it. The simplicity just doesn't do it for me. I need more than bacon, lettuce and tomato to make a sandwich. In my mind, those are toppings. Add them to a burger or chicken sandwich and I'm a happy camper. But on their own, meh. SP, on the other hand, loves BLTs.

I think I've mentioned before that we always do a what's for dinner post on my cooking board and one night someone said they were having bacon, Brie, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwiches - a gourmet twist on a traditional BLT. It sounded heavenly and a good way to compromise on dinner.

These sandwiches were amazing. I loved the Brie and avocado - both added a great creaminess to the sandwich. I still think a nice piece of chicken would have made these perfect but they were still great without it. I left the Brie off SP's sandwich (although Baby Girl insisted on having some on hers) and when I couldn't finish my sandwich he ate the last few bites of mine and decided he liked it better. Score!

The recipe below is really just an ingredient list since we all know how to make a sandwich. I can't wait to make these again the next time SP asks for BLTs.

Bacon, Brie, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato Sandwiches
For two sandwiches

4 slices bread, toasted
Mayo
8 slices bacon, cooked to desired doneness
4oz Brie, sliced
2 Romaine leaves
1/2 avocado, sliced
4 slices tomato

Spread some mayo on all four slices of bread. Layer on the bacon, Brie, lettuce, avocado and tomato. Cut in half and serve.

Recipe Swap: Avocado and Cucumber Tartine

It's always fun to receive a new blog for the Blogger's Choice swaps. Obviously I'm familiar with Caroline's blog, The Barbee Housewife, since she's a member of my cooking board, but I haven't had a chance to really look through her blog. Since Caroline is relatively new to blogging I actually went through her entire blog to check out what she's made. I had a really hard time picking something to make - I actually made something for breakfast after seeing it on her blog, post to come soon - but in the end I needed something easy for lunch one day and this Avocado and Cucumber Tartine looked like it would fit the bill.

I bought a Portuguese roll from my supermarket the same day I made this for lunch, which I highly recommend. There's nothing like fresh-baked bread on a simple sandwich like this. Mincing the cucumber and mashing the avocado took about as long as my toaster oven took to toast the bread, which makes this a super fast lunch.

Holy yum, this is one amazing sandwich. Like cancel your lunch plans, go to the supermarket to purchase the ingredients and whip one up today amazing. You can't go wrong in my book when avocado is involved, but add a crispy baguette and tangy cucumber salad and you've got perfection on a plate. The creaminess of the avocado blended nicely with the tang from the rice vinegar and the nuttiness of the toasted sesame oil.

I'm already contemplating when I can make this sandwich again. So, so good. Thanks for sharing this one, Caroline!

Avocado and Cucumber Tartine
As seen on The Barbee Housewife, from Smitten Kitchen

1 6-inch baguette
1/2 cup cucumber, seeds removed, minced
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Salt and pepper
1 avocado, halved, pit removed
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

Cut bread in half lengthwise and toast.

While the bread is toasting, combine the cucumbers, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and salt in a small bowl. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes. Mash the avocado in a separate bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Once the bread is toasted, spread the mashed avocado on each baguette half. Top with the cucumber salad, making sure to drizzle the liquid on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.