#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

Roasted Kale Pesto

I’m not 100% on the raw kale bandwagon. I feel like my age & blog means I’m supposed to like it, but I do not enjoy it raw. I think it is a texture thing – and maybe the amount of chewing required for something that doesn’t taste like, I don’t know, bacon. I’ll finely dice and cook it into soups or whatever.

It is a great choice for a woodsy tasting pesto! It won’t make you think you’re eating peak-of-summer-basil, but it is good, and you can feeeeel good about it. I first mixed it into gnocchi then I added some with penne to pack for a work lunch.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto

Roasted Kale Pesto

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale
olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons ricotta
1/4 cup toasted nuts
salt and pepper

Directions:

Roast the kale in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Add the kale into the food processor, with the garlic, parmesan, ricotta, nuts, salt & pepper.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto
Blend while streaming in olive oil.
Refrigerate until serving.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale PestoEnjoy!

Toss with hot pasta or add a dollop onto chicken or pork chops, or spread onto a panini! Yum! It doesn’t get perfectly smooth like basil pesto does, but it is really good. Throw in any fresh spinach you have or arugula.
The Three Bite Rule - Kale Pesto

#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.

Fall Fettuccine

Fettuccine with alfredo, sage, and butternut squash. This felt like a the dinner equivalent of warm socks and a cozy blanket on a brisk evening. I roasted the butternut squash and infused the sage into the alfredo sauce.  It was so fast, and SO addicting! Psssst. It was so fast also because I roasted the squash in advance, and used jarred alfredo sauce. Both made life easier and got dinner on the table ohh-so-fast.

The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine

Fall Fettuccine

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash, chopped into small cubes
2 cups alfredo sauce (use a jar, I won’t tell)
4-6 sage leaves (3 to cook in the sauce & 2-3 chopped)
1/2 pound of fettuccine pasta

Directions:

Roast the butternut squash in a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper at 400-degrees for 20 minutes, flipping once.
Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot for the pasta.
Warm the alfredo sauce in a large pot over low heat and drop in 1/2 the sage leaves. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring often, then remove the wilty sage.
The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine
Cook the fettuccine to al dente.
Drain the pasta and toss in the sauce.
Mix in the remaining chopped sage and the squash.
The Three Bite Rule - Fall Fettuccine
Enjoy!

This is such a great weeknight meal. I’d totally serve this to a dinner party, my toddler, or anyone. Somehow this week was brought to you by the herb sage. I love it in small amounts but feel like it has serious flavor. Here’s a good use if you bought some for Thanksgiving and need a very different feeling meal before or after turkey day!

#grilledcheeseplease Sweet Potato & Sage Grilled Cheese

The grilled cheese series continues! This grilled cheese has some legit Thanksgiving flavors. They’re healthy, cheap, and quite filling. Win. Win. Win. This is what you need on Black Friday! Forget that 3am shopping shenanigans. Mash up some of those leftover sweet potatoes, chop the sage from the stuffing, and pillage those cheese plate leftovers!

The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Grilled Cheese

Sweet Potato & Sage Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

2 slices sourdough bread
1/4 of a sweet potato, cooked and fork mashed
2 slices sharp white cheddar cheese
~3 leaves of sage, chopped chiffonade
2 teaspoons butter

Directions:

Assemble the ingredients and heat a large pan to medium-low heat with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Grilled Cheese
Layer the sandwich with a slice of bread, 1/2 the cheese, the sweet potato, and sage, then the rest of the cheese and the other slice of bread.
Spread a little butter on the bread and turn the sandwich into the pan. Cover and cook for ~3 minutes. Spread the remaining butter onto the other slice of the bread.
Flip and cook for another ~3 minutes.
The Three Bite Rule - Sweet Potato Grilled Cheese
I love the sweetness of the sweet potato with the sharp cheddar and the sourdough bread. My sage plant is going strong so this came locally!