grilled cheese with roasted red pepper and avocado

A good grilled cheese sandwich is a bit like life. It not always pretty, it can be messy, fall apart and be all over place, and sometimes the inner components don’t hold together well, but in the end with that first bite, everything comes together. The flavors meld, the messiness is forgotten and thus balance is created, as the inner components compliment and come together to create this beautiful satisfying sandwich.

I guess I’ve been thinking a lot about life lately, (I mean I’m comparing a grilled cheese sandwich to life) but it makes sense to me. Life is complicated. Life is messy, but when we reach out, take that risk, indulge in our passions, face our fears, create the unique, then we are really living, we’re tasting, we’re indulging..

So yes, this is a grilled cheese sandwich on Marin mama cook’s (aka, natural chef) blog! There are some of you that think a grilled cheese sandwich is not eating for health, but for me, eating for health is about eating in balance, enjoying the experience and foregoing the guilt. I’ve come to learn that food and life are about balance, sometimes you have to play by the rules, and sometimes you have to take risks, indulge and fully enjoy the richness of life and food. So I happily indulge in a good grilled cheese sandwich from time to time, and I’m giving you permission to do the same 😉

The kids and I love a good grilled cheese sandwich, and when I posted my grilled cheese and roasted broccoli sandwich the other night on my Instagram feed for National Grilled Cheese Day, I realized there’s a lot of you out there that love a good grilled cheese as well.Making a good grilled cheese sandwich is easy. All you need are 2 good slices of bread, your favorite cheese and a bit of butter. To make it unique, you can add to it what you wish, roasted broccoli, roasted red peppers, roasted asparagus, bacon, smashed avocado, sliced chicken or steak, sliced ripe tomatoes, the list goes on and on..

You don’t need a panini press to make a fancy grilled cheese either, all you need is a simple cast iron pan and a pan lid to create you’re own panini press. I’ll show you how to do that in the below post, so come on, let’s make a grilled cheese sandwich!

grilled cheese with roasted red pepper and avocado:

makes 1 sandwich

• 2 slices of your favorite bread
• thinly sliced Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, or your favorite melting cheese
• unsalted butter, softened – just enough to butter both slices of bread
• 1/2 of a roasted red pepper
• 1/2 of a ripe avocado

I love roasted red peppers, as they make a great addition to any sandwich, or scrambled eggs.  I have simple post on how to roast red peppers, but if you’re pressed for time, then feel free to use the jarred roasted red pepper.

Heat up your cast iron skillet, panini press or your favorite grilling pan over medium-low heat.

Spread the softened butter evenly on one side of each slice of bread.

Scoop out the avocado half and smash it, using a fork, onto the unbuttered side of the bread.

Put a few slices of cheese on the other unbuttered slice, and then top it with the roasted red peppers. Top the avocado half with the rest of the sliced cheese, so that it covers the whole slice of bread. The amount of cheese you add is really up to you. You don’t want to add too little cheese, because then you will just have some browned bread and a bit of melted cheese.

Put the sandwich together making sure that the buttered slices are on the outside!

Put the sandwich into the pre-heated skillet.

Now here’s Zoe’s simple trick to making a grilled cheese panini in a cast iron skillet! Just take the lid of a pan and press it down on the sandwich. This helps create a panini press. Pretty cool, right?

Check the sandwich after a few minutes, and when the bottom is browned, turn it over gently and cook the other side until the bread is browned and the cheese is melted.There you have it, that’s all it takes to make an awesome grilled cheese sandwich!

Pair this sandwich with your favorite soup or salad.  If you want to sneak some broccoli into your kids, try my grilled cheese with roasted broccoli! It’s amazing!

5 from 1 reviews

grilled cheese with roasted red pepper and avocado

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Making a good grilled cheese sandwich is easy. All you need are 2 good slices of bread, your favorite cheese and a bit of butter. To make it unique, you can add to it what you wish, roasted broccoli, roasted red peppers, roasted asparagus, bacon, smashed avocado, sliced chicken or steak, sliced ripe tomatoes, the list goes on and on..

Author: Marin mama cooks

Recipe type: grilled cheese

Cuisine: meatless meals

Serves: 1 sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of your favorite bread
• thinly sliced Gruyere cheese, cheddar cheese, or your favorite melting cheese
• unsalted butter, softened – just enough to butter both slices of bread
• ½ of a roasted red pepper
• ½ of a ripe avocado

Instructions

1. I have simple post on how to roast red peppers, but if you're pressed for time, then feel free to use the jarred roasted red pepper.
2. Heat up your cast iron skillet, panini press or your favorite grilling pan over medium-low heat.
3. Spread the softened butter evenly on one side of each slice of bread.
4. Scoop out the avocado half and smash it, using a fork, onto the unbuttered side of the bread.
5. Put a few slices of cheese on the other unbuttered slice, and then top it with the roasted red peppers.
6. Top the avocado half with the rest of the sliced cheese so that it covers the whole slice of bread.The amount of cheese you add is really up to you. You don't want to add too little cheese, because then you will just have some browned bread and a bit of melted cheese.
7. Put the sandwich together making sure that the buttered slices are on the outside!
8. Put the sandwich into the pre-heated skillet.
9. Now here’s Zoe’s simple trick to making a grilled cheese panini in a cast iron skillet! Just take the lid of a pan and press it down on the sandwich. This helps create a panini press. Pretty cool, right?
10. Check the sandwich after a few minutes, and when the bottom is browned, turn it over gently and cook the other side until the bread is browned and the cheese is melted.
11. There you have it, that's all it takes to make an awesome grilled cheese sandwich!

3.5.3208