mozzarella grilled cheese & marinara sauce

Wow! These are so easy and so good!  Martha posted about these several years ago: Mozzarella Grilled Cheese & Marinara sauce.

I made them for the kids one day and wondered WHY I hadn't ever thought of this before. It is so delicious and so easy!  I serve them with chips or a baked french fry. Last time I served them with a cream cheese corn recipe and oh my goodness.  These are perfect for a snack or a meal.

Ingredients
1 package sliced mozzarella cheese
1 loaf of bread (I used my usual honey wheat)
butter or butter spread
2-3 tbl olive oil
1 jar marinara or pizza sauce

1.  Heat large skillet or pan. Then add olive oil to coat the bottom.
2.  Open jar and heat up pizza sauce in saucepan.
3.  Butter your bread on one side.
4. Place buttered bread in pan.
5. Top bread with cheese.
6.  Add second piece of bread (butter side up).
7.  Cook until a light golden brown on one side, then flip.  Should only take a couple of minutes per sandwich.

I can fit 3 sandwiches in my pan at once.  Once the sandwiches are done, ladel the sauce into a small dipping bowl. Cut your sandwiches in half.  Then enjoy dipping your mozzarella goodness into the sauce.

Fall Trail Mix

I am always looking for a something sweet and somewhat healthy snack for my family.  I came across a Scarecrow Crunch recipe that looked perfect!  By half of it being gone today, I'd say it was a hit.

Ingredients
1 box Honey Nut Chex
1 bag Candy Corn Mix
1 bags of mini pretzels
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups mini graham crackers

In a very large bowl, combine 1/2 box of Honey Nut Chex, entire bag of Candy Corn Mix, 1/2 bag of mini pretzels, 1 cup chocolate chips, 2 cups mini graham crackers.  Stir to combine.

I put my mix in a big glass jar and put it on the kitchen counter.  I included a fun scooper to help with portion control and who doesn't like to use a little scooper?

As the jar empties, I will add more of everything as needed.

Here is the original pin:

black bean tacos

I am a bean fan. I like all kinds: black, northern, butter, pinto, kidney. Half of my family loves black beans.. the other 2, well, not so much.

I have made these twice for dinner now and each time they are delicious!  I am all about easy and fast and this recipe definitely fits both.  I tweaked the recipe and it is below.

Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Makes 12 tacos (serves 6)Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Can black beans, drained
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dried cilantro
6 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 avocado, sliced
Pinch of salt and pepper
12 corn tortillas
Hot sauce
Salsa
Sour cream

Directions:
1) In a medium bowl, combine beans, cilantro, and spices. Add a pinch of salt and lightly mash all of the ingredients together. Grate your cheese or open the packaged grated cheese and have it ready as well.

2) In a large, non-stick skillet or cast iron skillet, add a few tablespoons of oil and heat over medium-high heat.

3) Add two to three corn tortilla at a time depending how big your pan is. Spring tortilla with cheese then top with a couple of spoons full of bean mixture.  Add avocado.  

4) Using a spatula, carefully fold the tortilla over so it forms a shell. Press down lightly on the tortilla so it holds its shape.  Do to each tortilla in the pan. 

5) Cook each taco for about 2-3 minutes per side until they are nicely browned and crispy.

6) When flipping the taco to cook on the other side, use a spatula and flip the taco toward the fold so the filling doesn’t fall out.

7) Serve tacos with toppings like hot sauce, salsa, avocados, and sour cream.

Note: Corn tortillas are resilent to heat. Don’t worry about burning them. They are very flexible. Just be sure to cook them on each side long enough to get them really crispy.

ahhh....

Pinterest... how I love the.  Since I discovered the web back in my early college days, I have used it as a tool for ideas.  I have shopped, found recipes, found crafts, found house plans, found cars, just about everything.  I hated always having to sort through all the links to find exactly what I had typed in the search box.  Now, pinterest makes that easy. It does all the sorting for me and I can go right to what I am searching for.

The one thing about this site is that everyone pins but does everyone do? It is hard to know what really works or tastes good.  I pin and do a lot.  I plan to post here so that you can know what works and what might not.  Pinterest and I get along great...