Grilled cheeeeeese

One of my goals when I we decided to give up processed foods was to make all of our baked goods.  And I did come up with a delish bread recipe that takes about 2 minutes of prep work.  That being said, I haven't made a loaf of bread yet this summer.  


And it's all because of these guys.


Before I go on, I want to say that I am not paid to endorse Great Harvest Bread Company.  And even though I go there 2 times a week, they have no clue that I am a food blogger that occasionally obsesses over them.  But the reason that I continue to promote, gush, and rave about them is their bread is amazing.  And the fact that the lovely ladies at the counter remember to ask my minis how their new puppy is doing each week is an added bonus.  


I always buy honey wheat bread for my family.  (And I always let my minis have a free sample of the cinnamon roll bread).  But this week I decided to go crazy and try something new....the Dakota bread.


Oh My Goodness.  The Dakota bread is proof that God loves us and wants us to happily eat our whole grains.

I don't even know what all is in the Dakota bread, but I know that I trust my friends from Great Harvest and it is healthy.  And amazingly delish.


I decided to make grilled cheese with our Dakota bread.  In the past I have blogged about grilled cheese on the honey wheat bread, and I do believe I declared it the best school-lunch inspired meal ever.  Well, today I  am going to share yet another best-ever grilled cheese recipe.


Heids McGhee's Grilled Cheese

• bread 
• pesto
• spinach
• avocado
• cheese (I used muenster and goat)
• butter
• olive oil

When it comes to pesto, I am sort of a purist and make basil pesto.  (That being said, someone has suggested to me that I try kale pesto with my overabundance of garden kale.)  You can make (or buy, if you must) whatever pesto you prefer.

1.  Butter one side of each slice of bread.

2.  On the other side of each slice, slather on some pesto.

3.  Layer spinach leaves, avocado, and cheese on a slice of bread.

4.  Top with the remaining slice, butter side up.

5.  If you want to be really bad (and I was bad, but justified it by telling myself I did run 6 miles that morning), heat up a little olive oil in a pan.

6.  Grill your sandwich in the pan until each side is browned.

Slather with pesto.  Lick the knife.

Layer on spinach.  Lots of spinach.  It's good for you.  

(Next time I will also add artichoke).

Cheese.  Muenster for the McGhees.

Slices of avocado.  Save leftovers for guacamole.

Sprinkle some goat cheese.

Grill to perfection.

We ate our grilled cheese with zucchini chips and fresh pineapple.  And it was one of those meals where the food was so good that there was silence.  Well, mostly silent, except for my occasional outburst of "BAM! Mama makes some grilled cheese!"

Record Setting Veggies

Most of you probably know that I am an novice accomplished gardener.   And I always thought that I wanted to start gardening with the hopes of becoming a farmer.  But, after my first summer of gardening I realized that my true destiny is competition gardening.

That's right.  I am about to join the ranks of these guys.

Depending on how well you know me, you may or may not be surprised by my rapid ascent from novice to competition.  But, as they say, the proof is in the pudding.  Well, actually, in the zucchini, in this case.

With literally no special effort, I managed to grow this ginormous zucchini.  Impressive, eh?  I used the first half and made a batch of grilled veggies for grilled veggie sandwiches.  And then tonight, we made zucchini chips for dinner.  What are zucchini chips, you say?  Remember kale chips?  Remember broccoli chips?  Remember brussel sprout chips?  Remember sweet potato chips?

If you haven't realized it, Heids McGhee likes to coat veggies in oil and cook them at a high temperature and call them "chips"!  And if you actually try my recipes, you'll realize that all these veggie chips are pretty darn delish!

Zucchini Chips

• zucchini, sliced thin
• oil (I used part olive, part canola)
• seasoning salt (or sea salt, I used a combination of the two)

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  (I got impatient and cranked it up to 400F after 10 minutes).

2.  Slice the zucchini very thin.

3.  Toss with olive oil until zucchini is coated.

4.  Sprinkle with salt. 

5.  Arrange slices on a tin-foil lined cooking sheet.

6.  Bake until brown and crispy....probably about 15-25 minutes.

Slice your zucchini thin.

I just wanted to show you again how big this zucchini is.  Surely, she'd bring home a blue ribbon from the County Fair.

Arrange on a sheet.  Season with salt.

Cook until crispy.

Delish.  Even my tiny mini loved them.

Now, I've started thinking....what other award-winning veggie should I grow and use to make chips?