Jan19

An assortment of tiny grilled cheese sandwiches

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I thought it would be fun to make a few different types of small grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. It’s just as easy to make a few different types as it is to make one. I also love making mini grilled cheese sandwiches to pair with slow-roasted tomato soup. They are perfect for dipping!

I used half of a seeded baguette, cut into 1/2-inch slices (I wish I had gone a little bit thinner), cheddar cheese, emmentaler cheese, apricot preserves, and some thinly sliced sausage.

I buttered one side of each slice of bread, then tried a few different combinations inside: cheddar and sausage, plain cheddar, emmentaler and apricot preserves, and emmentaler and sausage.

The emmentaler/apricot combination was the winner, in my opinion!

Jan19

Purple brussel sprouts!

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Aren’t these gorgeous? We found them at the farmer’s market.

After rinsing them, I cut a little bit more of the ends of than I normally would. This encourages some of the outer leaves to fall off, which get crispy and delicious in the oven.  I just tossed them with olive oil, black pepper, and kosher salt, then roasted them in a 400 degree F oven for 35 minutes. They were salty and delicious!  And no, I couldn’t taste any difference between the purple ones and the green ones.

Jan17

What to do with old eyeglasses and contact lenses?

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After getting LASIK on Friday, I immediately knew that I needed to find somewhere to donate all of my old supplies–glasses, unused contacts, unused contact cases, unopened solution. I usually hang onto things for weeks/months after I need them, just in case, but in this case, it really makes sense to donate everything as quickly as possible. Contacts and solution both expire, and even if I do need glasses down the road, I will definitely need a brand-new prescription.

Prescription glasses are easy. You can donate your gently worn (i.e., not broken or scratched) glasses at any Lenscrafters location. Partnered with OneSight, they run clinics in developing countries and distribute glasses to people who otherwise would not have access to them.

Contact lenses are a little bit harder to donate. You can usually return unopened boxes to the store, but I had two almost full but not unopened boxes. They’re about $30/each, so I was sure someone could use them, right? MADRE accepts contact lenses, glasses, etc., and distributes them to women in developing countries. They accept all sorts of other stuff as well (check out their wish list), but you have to ship the items to New York. I am going to ship my old contacts and glasses there later today!

Jan16

Sausage, artichoke, potato salad omelet

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Paco and I had a few people over to watch the epic 49ers/Saints game on Saturday (I am by no means  a football fan but this game was intense), and we have some leftover sausages, potato salad, and artichoke salad. To me, this sounded like the makings of a delicious omelet. You can use whatever you have in your fridge. Leftover grilled vegetables or fresh vegetables would be fine, and if you don’t have leftover sausage, you can just brown some regular breakfast sausage (or bacon/ham/pork product of your choice) and throw it in.

“Leftover” Omelet

5 eggs
1/4 c. milk
black pepper
cheddar cheese, grated
cooked linked sausage, diced
leftover potato salad (this one did not have a ton of mayo), with the big pieces broken up
leftover artichoke salad

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray or butter a loaf pan.
2. Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the milk, pepper, half of the cheese, the sausage, potato salad, and artichoke salad.
3. Pour the egg mixture into the loaf pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the mixture.

4. Bake for 25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.