Grilled Cheese with Maple Glazed Bacon

Maple bacon just wasn’t good enough, the bacon needed to to be glazed in maple syrup. Annnnd the grilled cheese needed to be cooked in the pan from the bacon. Of course.
The Three Bite Rule - Maple Bacon Grilled Cheese

Grilled Cheese with Maple Glazed Bacon

Ingredients: (for 1 sandwich)

2 slices of bacon, sliced in half
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 slices sourdough or oatmeal bread
2 slices of American cheese
~1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Pan fry the bacon until crisp then drain on paper towel. Brush each side with maple syrup.
The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Cheese with Maple Glazed Bacon
Drain most of the bacon out of the pan. Keep the pan on medium heat.
While bacon cools, assemble the sandwich with cheese, bacon, then more cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Grilled Cheese with Maple Glazed Bacon
Pan fry the sandwich for ~3-4 minutes on each side. Carefully flip over and cook the other side. Cover to ensure all the cheese melts.

This is the ultimate breakfast grilled cheese. That’s a thing, no?

Cuban Sliders

Cuban sliders were the perfect answer to some leftover pulled pork! This was leftover from the new Blue Ribbon BBQ location near our house for my birthday! It was so good with BBQ sauce but for leftover pork, transforming it is the best. Pork is just too easy to do that with! Some went into quesadillas, some have become tacos in the past, on pizza, in a panini, and the list goes on.
The Three Bite Rule - Cuban Sliders

Cuban Sliders

Ingredients:

~1 cup pulled pork
2 slider rolls
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
~6-8 pickle chips
3 tablespoons yellow mustard (I mixed yellow mustard and & sweet golden mustard BBQ sauce)
(sliced ham would make this a true cuban)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Warm the pork through.
Slice the buns, spread mustard onto the top and bottom. Layer the pickles then the pork onto the rolls.
The Three Bite Rule - Cuban Sliders
Sprinkle the cheese on and pop them into the oven for ~5 minutes until the cheese melts.
The Three Bite Rule - Cuban Sliders
Serve and enjoy!
The Three Bite Rule - Cuban Sliders
These were so good! The mustard and pickles took it from barbecue to a Cuban sandwich. These would be fun cut into smaller pieces if using bigger, oblong rolls as an appetizer.

Caprese Sliders

These little veggie sliders are so fun for an app or as lunch. They’d be great for a vegetarian option to build-your-own-slider bar. I can see these going quickly a a party as a filling appetizer or on a lunch spread. Little sliders are perfect alongside a few soups!

The Three Bite Rule - Caprese Slider
Swap the pesto for basil leaves, or mix the pesto with a touch of mayo for a lighter flavor. I love pesto all the time, so I went full out, on each side of the bread. The tomatoes could be roasted in advance to speed it up even further. I only made a few so I popped my tomatoes into the toaster oven and melted the mozzarella in there too.

Caprese Sliders (for 2 sliders)

Ingredients:

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 slider rolls, or dinner rolls
2 tablespoons basil pesto
1 fresh mozzarella ball

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Add the tomatoes and vinegar to a baking dish with a sprinkle of salt & pepper, and roast for 5-10 minutes until they split.
Slice the mozzarella and slider rolls.
The Three Bite Rule - Caprese Slider

Spread the pesto onto the inside tops and bottoms of each rolls.
Spoon the tomatoes onto each roll and top with a slice of mozzarella onto each.
Bake for 5 minutes until melty.
The Three Bite Rule - Caprese Slider
Add the top roll and enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Caprese Slider

#grilledcheeseplease Grilled Cheese Lorraine

#grilledcheeseplease series comes to a close with an inspiration of flavors from what’s usually quiche! Quiche Lorraine with bacon, swiss, gruyere, and thyme seemed like perfect flavors for a grilled cheese!

The Three Bite Rule - Lorraine Grilled Cheese
Grilled Cheese Lorraine

Ingredients:

2 slices wheat bread
3 strips bacon
3 slices gruyere
2 sprigs thyme
1/4 cup shredded swiss
2 teaspoons butter

Directions:

In a large pan, fry the bacon. Then drain onto paper towel.
Assemble on top of one slice of bread with cheese, bacon, thyme, other cheese, and close with the bread.
The Three Bite Rule - Lorraine Grilled CheeseBring the pan from the bacon to medium heat.
Spread 1/2 of the butter onto the bread and lay into the hot pan. Cook for 4 minutes. Spread the rest of the butter onto the other slice of bread. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes.
Slice & enjoy!

I loved the thyme in this sandwich! The 2 cheeses were great. Now I’m thinking the “lorraine” flavors need to become risotto!
The Three Bite Rule - Lorraine Grilled Cheese

#grilledcheeseplease Pancetta & Cheddah in Truffle Butter

More #grilledcheeseplease continues! I was inspired by a pear-picking-party back in October. My bestie made a grilled cheese with tellagio cheese, pancetta, pear, and truffle butter. Ohh yeah. I made a variation with what happened I had around: pancetta; 2 cheeses; and truffle oil into butter.

The Three Bite Rule - Pancetta & Truffle Butter Grilled Cheese

Pancetta & Cheddar Grilled Cheese in Truffle Butter

Ingredients:

2 slices of French bread
3 tablespoons diced pancetta
1-2 slices white cheddar
1-2 slices gouda (not smoked gouda)
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon truffle oil

Directions:

Pan fry the diced pancetta until crisp, then drain on paper towel.
Slice the french bread into thick slices.
Assemble the grilled cheese with cheese, pancetta, and more cheese.
The Three Bite Rule - Pancetta & Truffle Butter Grilled Cheese
Whip the butter and truffle oil together and spread half onto the outside, and lay into a medium pan or a griddle on medium heat. Cook for 4 minutes.
Spread the rest of the truffle oil onto the top half.
Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Slice & enjoy!

The Three Bite Rule - Pancetta & Truffle Butter Grilled Cheese
This grilled cheese is a testament to a few ingredients packing tons of flavor. This isn’t as dainty a grilled cheese as it appears! I’ll be back after Thanksgiving with the opposite of turkey…in case you need that.