How many of you need a Thanksgiving detox, like I do? Just to avoid being misleading, this delicious sandwich isn’t going to work for that. Oh well.
I love the traditional Thanksgiving foods. I really do. But right now I don’t want to have anything to do with them. After two big family dinners on Thursday and Friday, I’m ready to move on to healthier pastures. Although I was singing a different tune the other night when I enjoyed some of my mother-in-law’s leftover pumpkin pie.
Truth be told, today’s lunch will probably involve lettuce or yogurt or anything that resembles rabbit food. These sandwiches are quite the opposite, but I couldn’t hold off sharing them with you.
This sandwich all started when I wanted to make my Italian Meat Sauce… for like the 50th time. I made a huge batch the weekend before Thanksgiving and froze portions of it to enjoy as leftovers. Who wants to be in the kitchen after days of cooking? 😉
I got creative with the leftover meat sauce and turned a plain grilled cheese sandwich into this Italian awesomeness. It’s like a grilled cheese meets sloppy joe meets Italian food. My husband says it’s not at all like a sloppy joe, but instead more like a grilled cheese with the tomato soup built into it (plus meat). Eh, the analogy doesn’t matter. The important thing is that tomato soup is usually boring and this is a much tastier alternative. The result is this delicious sandwich that I’m begging you to try. Yes, I’m begging… I don’t usually do that but I don’t want you to miss out on this awesomeness.
A heads up… this sandwich is a little messy. I know that won’t deter to you though. 😉 Just have plenty of napkins handy. It’s also a pretty good idea to avoid eating it super hot right out of the pan. If you wait a minute or two it’ll hang together better without just dumping melted cheese and sauce all over your lap.
Oh man, that sauce. (Or as I like to say it with my slight New York accent… sawce. Yes, I added that to the spell check dictionary.) That ooey gooey melty cheese. That buttery bread. I’m seriously wishing that I had this in front of me again right now. Not only does it beat the pants off of a salad, it’s just literally one of the best sandwiches that I’ve ever made.
Italian Meat Grilled Cheese Recipe
(Makes 2 sandwiches)
Ingredients:
- 4 slices of bread (I used Italian bread.)
- butter
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 4 to 5 tablespoons Italian Meat Sauce
- 4 slices of provolone cheese
Directions:
- Prepare a medium skillet over Low heat.
- For each sandwich, do the following:
- Place 1 slice of bread on your working surface.
- Lay down 1 slice of provolone cheese. If you have little bread, cut off the part of the cheese that hangs over the side of the bread and place it next to the bigger piece. If you have bigger bread than you have provolone slices, don’t worry that it doesn’t go to the edge.
- Sprinkle about 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top of the provolone cheese, creating a sort of nest in the middle.
- Spoon a heaping 2 tablespoons of Italian meat sauce into the center of the nest. (See picture above.)
- Place another slice of provolone cheese on top. Again, cut the part that hangs off if you need to and place it on top.
- Place the other slice of bread on top of everything.
- Add a little pad of butter into the middle of the hot skillet. Use as much or as little butter as you like for your grilled cheese sandwiches. (Putting it into the pan is easier and faster than spreading the butter on the bread directly.)
- Place the prepared sandwich into the frying pan and cook it until the bread is slightly browned and the cheese is melting.
- Carefully lift the sandwich and add a little more butter to the hot pan.
- Flip the sandwich over into the hot pan, letting it cook until the other side of the bread is slightly browned too.
Source: Tina’s Chic Corner
Here are some other ideal Italian dishes.
Mmmmmmmm. Delicious!!!
🙂
What a perfect use for meat sauce! Like an Italian sloppy joe!
Yes, exactly! Thanks so much, Karly. 🙂