Tomato Jam in Grilled Cheese

While I don’t believe there is a perfect grilled cheese, this one is delightful. It is special and has all the gooeyness with flavorful tomatoes that are soft but juicy. Cut some bread, go wild or classic with the cheeses, and make a double batch of tomatoes to put them on everything.

Tomato Jam in Grilled Cheese
Ingredients: (for 2 sandwiches)

1 1/2 cups (~1/2 a pint) cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Sprinkle of thyme & kosher salt
1 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
4 slices of bread
lots of cheese

Directions:
Warm a small skillet to medium and add in the olive oil and tomatoes to cook for about 5 minutes until the tomatoes start bursting.
Reduce to low/medium low and add in the brown sugar, vinegar, and garlic to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Sprinkle in the thyme, salt, and pepper.
Remove from the heat and let it cool. (I let most of the liquid evaporate but remove earlier if you want it more wet. Optional: drizzle in a touch of truffle oil if you wish.)

Assemble the grilled cheese with cheese on each side of the bread and a scoop of tomato jam in the middle. Griddle it and cover to melt the cheese. (Restaurant tip: put butter in the pan and mayo on the outside of the bread!)

Give it a minute to rest before slicing so you don’t lose all the cheese!
Enjoy!

It is so good. The tomato jam is bright and a little sweet like a summer one would be while we’re in the depths of winter. I love the tomato jam on quiche or on an English muffin for breakfast. It would be great on pizza or stirred into rice or pasta. The uses are endless.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Meatballs

These are tried and true flavors in our house so they became meatballs! They’re balanced and not overwhelming in the bacon or ranch flavors.

We had them with mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts. The big guy discovered as mastery in pealing and is ready for anything with a peal-able skin.

Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Meatballs
Ingredients:

16 oz ground chicken
1 egg
~2-3 strips of bacon, cooked, chopped and fully cooled
2 teaspoons ranch powder
1 garlic clove, minced/1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt & pepper
oil for frying

Directions:
Preheat a large skillet to low-medium heat.
Mix together the ground chicken, egg, bacon, ranch, garlic, breadcrumbs, and salt & pepper.

Raise the temperature for the skillet to medium and add vegetable oil.
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
Form into balls and gently pan fry for about 3 minutes on each side.
Keep warm in the oven to finish cooking, check that the internal temperature gets to >165 degrees.

Enjoy!

We liked this meal. With 3 items it usually is safe to assume the kids will like 2 out of 3, which is good enough. The little girl always likes meatballs so she was into those the most. The big guy was the one who asked for brussels sprouts and he made the mashed potatoes so those two were his fav!

January 2024 Recap

January is really that long. We did a lot – some get togethers, date night dinners, our guy turned 9 and had fun celebrations. Basketball and dance class has rounded out this month!

In the kitchen, I made a honey cinnamon chai latte for a nice afternoon treat!

This French Onion Burrito was brought to you by the color brown, but was warm and filling without being too heavy.

We had some Loaded Snack Mix with some really interesting additions. Make it for game-day!

Lastly, this beloved Greek Dip got a little revamp from the original circa 2012!

The Big Kid:
He had such a fun birthday. He had pizza, a basketball cake, and presents with the family. Then the next day he met a few friends. I was surprised it wasn’t into having a full party. He had such a nice group. Basketball has been fun – he scored! We are having a great time reading Harry Potter – we’re onto #2.

The Little One:
She went to a few birthdays and is eager for hers (ahem – in August), and to lose a tooth. She loves snow but is sometimes an indoor cat – if it means not having to get out of jammies.

For February – I’m ready for the snacker bowl and we have a little getaway for February vacation!

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I bought a book from a local-to-work bookstore!
More meatless meals: tacos with meatless mix was a hit.
sandwiches and salads: sausage subs with peppers and onions
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: We had a date night to Citizen Crust and looooved crispy cauliflower app and a Roman pizza with pineapple and Korean BBQ sauce!
redo photos – this Greek dip was from 2012!
what I’m reading: I read Did You Hear About Kitty Karr and ended up loving it – I had heard it compared to Evelyn Hugo (nothing compares) so I was judgy to start. Then I read Tom Lake and loved the storytelling style. I read The Chateau which made me want to go to France – minus the murder. For bookclub, we read We All Want Impossible Things and I was so-so on this one.

Greek Dip with Some Assembly Required

{originally published in 2012 and updated in 2024}

This is the easiest dip ever – no cooking involved…some assembly required. This one is a great alternative to not-as-exciting hummus. It would also be cute on cucumbers as little single bite servings!

Greek Hummus Dip
Ingredients: (serves ~4)

4 oz hummus
2 oz feta
1/2 English cucumber
2/3 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tbs Italian salad dressing
2 tsp Creamy Caesar Dressing

Directions:
Spread hummus onto a plate
Drizzle with Caesar dressing. Then sprinkle feta on top.
Chop cucumbers and tomatoes and toss with dressing.
Spoon (don’t pour) on top of the hummus
Serve with pita, pita chips, wheat thins, or your favorite crackers
Enjoy!

It is a nice alternative to other dips. It is light but filling. I’ve made the topping and assembled on-site when it was time to eat so I can attest to how portable it is.

Cost Breakdown

Hummus: $3.50
Feta $1.99
Cucumber $0.75 (English cuke $2.00)
2 plum tomatoes $1.00
Wheat thins $3.00
Total = $11.49 (for the dip & dippers to serve 6-8 for <$2.00) That’s even using an English cuke which is totally worth it not to have to peel it!

Loaded Snack Mix

I loved this not-your-average-chex-mix. I’m a fan of the traditional but this one was such a great combination. There are lots of ways to customize this and the chips are great at the end – or popcorn would be too!

Loaded Snack Mix
Ingredients: (for ~10 servings)

3 cups chex cereal
1 cup white cheddar Cheez It
1 cup Goldfish
1 cup peanuts
1 cup corn nuts
1 cup corn chips
1/2 cup butter
1 packet ranch seasoning (~3 tablespoons powder mix)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Mix together the cereal, cheez its, goldfish, peanuts and corn nuts – do not add the corn chips yet.

Melt the butter and mix in the ranch powder, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic powder.
Mix into the snack mix and stir well to coat.
Spread onto a baking sheet (line with parchment for easy clean up!).

Bake for 45 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add in the chips and stir.
Let cool and enjoy!

This is very addicting and was just the right quantity. Ranch gives this a flavorful punch but not so specifically ranch flavored. We snacked on it at our family party and had some the following days but it wasn’t the hugest amount that we got too tired of it. Swap the crunchy items with any you love (and are OK with having leftover) – lots of mixes have pretzels but my fam seems to pick around those. Any ratios work totaling 8 cups, or double it.