Caramelized Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich

A while ago, when inspired the the idea of an apple pie with cheddar cheese, I created the caramelized apple and cheddar omelette which was an amazing combination of sweet and savoury. While I was enjoying it, I thought that grilled cheese sandwiches are also a good vehicle for the sweet and savoury combination and that I would have to try a caramelized apple grilled cheese sandwich. For all intents and purposes this is essentially an apple pie grilled cheese sandwich and how can you go wrong with sweet apples covered in warm melted ooey, gooey cheese? The caramelized apple grilled cheese sandwich turned out just as well as I had hoped, which is to say that it is addictively good and I have already made it more than a few times! The warm caramel coated apples with a hint of cinnamon go so well with the strong, melted cheddar cheese and the toasted crispy and buttery bread wraps t all up perfectly. Make sure to spoon any caramel sauce left in the pan after cooking the apple into the sandwich before closing it off and grilling it up.

Caramelized Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwich
(makes 1 sandwich)
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 dash of cinnamon
1 apple (peeled, cored and sliced)
2 thick slices of good cheddar cheese
2 slices of good bread
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan.
2. Add the sugar and cinnamon and cook until bubbly.
3. Add the apples and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.
4. Assemble sandwich and grill until golden brown on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Source
http://www.closetcooking.com/



Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas with Swiss Chard Pesto

It has been my experience that most things that make good taco filling also make good quesadilla filling and so whenever I make tacos I try to make sure that there are some leftovers to make quesadillas. I mean, you really cannot go wrong taking an already tasty filling and covering it with ooey gooey melted cheese, placing it in a tortilla and grilling it until it is golden brown and crispy! It was with this in mind that I made these sweet potato and black bean quesadillas with swiss chard pesto with the leftovers from the tacos. I kept things nice and simple and filled the quesadillas with the chipotle roasted sweet potato and black beans along with some of the swiss chard salsa and of course, plenty of cheese. As is sometimes the case, these sweet potato and black bean quesadillas with swiss chard pesto turned out to be even better than the tacos that inspired them!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quesadillas with Swiss Chard Pesto
Chipotle roasted sweet potatoes with seasoned black beans with a spicy swiss chard pesto smothered in ooey gooey melted cheese all grilled in a tortilla until it is lightly toasted and golden brown and crispy.

Servings: makes 1 serving
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
1 (10 inch) tortilla
1/2 cup cheddar, shredded
1/4 cup chipotle roasted sweet potatoes and chipotle black beans
1 tablespoon swiss chard pesto
Directions
1.Place the tortilla in the pan, sprinkle half of the cheese over half of the tortilla, then top with the chipotle roasted sweet potatoes and chipotle black beans, swiss chard pesto and the remaining cheese.
2.Fold the tortilla in half coving the filling and cook until the quesadilla is golden brown on both sides and the cheese is melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.
3.Serve garnished with more salsa, sesame seeds and herbs.

Source
http://www.closetcooking.com/