Grown-Up Grilled Cheese

We love grilled cheese here in One Artsy Mama land.

Part of that is due to the fact that a certain little 3-year-old I know is becoming a ridiculously difficult eater and one of the two foods he'll almost always agree to eat is a grilled cheese sandwich.

Part of it is because I've loved it myself ever since I was his age.

We all know it's easier to fix the same thing for everyone {moms, can I get an 'amen!'} but I have to admit that I can get just a little tired of the same old thing for lunch.

Sooo...when I saw this recipe for a Tomato Basil Grilled Cheese Sandwich on Pinterest {yes, I love me some Pinterest!}, I was intrigued.  It's perfect for so many reasons!

1. It uses basil.  You may remember that I planted some herbs this summer...put them in cute little pots and made signs for them.  I've made great use of the rosemary, the mint, and even the lavender, but the basil was eluding me.  I hadn't used a bit of it yet, but I had plenty of it, nice and fresh and ready to dazzle my grilled cheese with its flavor!

2. It uses tomatoes.  I'm not the only one who planted some things this year...remember Little Crafter's veggie garden?  Red and green peppers, and tomatoes.  Lots of tomatoes.  He picks them faster than we can eat them.  Right now I have about ten in the kitchen and three grape tomatoes sitting here next to the computer from when Little Crafter ran inside with them proudly clutched in his hands.  So anything that calls for fresh tomatoes is a good thing.

{This pic is from when we planted the garden...you should see the massive beasts the tomato plants have turned into!}

3. It uses provolone cheese: my favorite!

Three great reasons why I was excited to try this grown up version of a well-loved sandwich.

Here's the recipe, from The Cook Mobile.

TOMATO-BASIL GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Ingredients:

2 bread slices
2 slices of provolone cheese
fresh basil leaves
stramato or other type of tomato, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
butter

Directions:

Butter one side of each slice of bread.  On unbuttered side of one slice, layer one slice of cheese, basil leaves, and tomato.  Season with a dash of salt and pepper.  Top with another slice of provolone and finish with the other slice of bread.  Place in pan or on griddle and toast until lightly browned and cheese is melted.



The original recipe calls for french bread, which is probably quite tasty...I just used plain old white sandwich bread because it's what I already had laying around for Little Crafter's sandwiches.  It also says to lightly drizzle balsamic vinegar and olive oil over the tomatoes.  Again, I didn't have any, but I didn't think anything was lacking without it.  It's a very tasty twist on a classic favorite; grilled cheese all grown up!

Enjoy!

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