Listen, it’s a new year, new me, and I’m going full on woo-woo with the power of positivity. See this grilled-cheese sandwich? It’s not the sad grilled cheese of your childhood, with sticky slices of American slapped between pieces of butter-drenched bread. No, this is the kind of sandwich you make to celebrate the fact that you have no crying children (unlike the downstairs neighbors in your duplex), or obligations to cook for anyone but yourself. Want to eat a grilled cheese every night? Go right ahead, boo. If you put lots of greens in it and stick veggies on the side, it’s practically healthy.
Ingredients:
- Literally whatever the fuck you want, but pictured here are the following:
Grilled Cheese Sandwich:
- Olive-oil bread
- bacon (for those who aren’t yet ready to deprive themselves of all that is delicious in this world)
- smoked gruyere cheese, sliced thin on a grater
- shaved slices of Honeycrisp apples — the undeniably sweetest and most delicious apple — and yes, you read that correctly, apple slices in a grilled-cheese sandwich
- a small handful of fresh spinach
- butter
Green Bean Salad:
- fresh-cut green beans
- sprinkle of feta cheese
- handful of cranberries
- handful of almonds
- drizzle of olive oil
Instructions:
Cook bacon to your liking, which any sane person knows is crispy, and then blot with a paper towel. Set aside. Heat skillet on medium high for a couple of minutes before adding lightly buttered bread. Layer the bread with ingredients, starting and ending with the cheese. Cook on each side for approximately five minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden-brown.
Steam the green beans for approximately 10 minutes or boil quickly for two minutes, then rinse in cold water. Let beans dry on a paper towel, then toss them with the rest of the ingredients. Pretend that this meal is hearty and will keep you full. I recommend a second dinner of broccoli quiche around 9 p.m.
Kelly Andrews is a poet who plans to stick around Pittsburgh indefinitely. You can find more sad, healthy (and funny) meals on her blog sadhealthymeals.wordpress.com.
