Recipes from the Newspaper
Look, we all know that I'm a harried and poorly organized working mother. More important, we all know that I am very, very lazy. I know I should plan menus and create grocery lists based on them and then follow through and cook the aforeplanned meals. Maybe I'm too scatterbrained, maybe I'm too tired. Maybe I'm just very, very lazy. At any rate, I am always searching for the mystical Holy Trinity: Meals that are fast, healthy, and delicious, preferably with as little, you know, effort in planning as possible. What with the, you know, lazy.
My local newspaper, Newsday, runs a weekly menu and recipes. I've written this plan off in the past as being too difficult to adjust to my family's special requirements (for those of you tuning in, there are food allergies and sensitivities in my family, not to mention the pickiness). And besides, my experience with recipes in mass-market publications is that they tend toward the complex, the exotic, the bland, or the gut-bustingly heavy, and sometimes more than one at a time. Nonetheless I figured I'd give it an actual go this week, starting tonight.
On the menu for today? Chunky vegetable-barley soup with grilled cheese and apple sandwiches.
First, the soup. I followed the recipe to a tee, and found it light but filling. This is what canned vegetable soup tries to be, and I've just never known it before.
The real epiphany here, though, were the sandwiches. I made an egg-based loaf of whole wheat bread in the machine earlier in the day, since excellent sandwiches begin with really great bread. The recipe tells you to brush olive oil lightly onto the bread, then layer one slice with shredded cheddar cheese; top with thinly-sliced apple, then the other slice of bread, and grill. Be sure to flip 'em over so both sides get nicely golden-brown.
These sandwiches are amazing. My only mistake was in using Kraft 2% Cheddar, which turns out to be a bit dry for this application. I'd have preferred a somewhat gooier, meltier texture. However, this is definitely going to become a family standard around here: Fast! Healthy! Delicious! And also pretty! What more can a lazy girl ask?
Do you share recipes? I, too, have a lazy streak, and a husband who is picky (iest?) However, even he will eat grilled cheese, apples, bread and vegetable soup...well, we'll see about the soup.
Posted by Robin | December 15, 2004 02:28 PMThanks~
Well, there are some funny legalities about copyright law and recipes. Newsday does post its daily recipes online, but I didn't link it because the archives are closed and for-pay.
However, if you happen to be a 7-days-a-week Newsday subscriber, you're entitled to a free premium subscription of their website... and that includes full search of their recipe archives. :)
Posted by Andrea | December 16, 2004 02:59 PMI really wish the thought of grilled cheese sandwiches with apple slices had occurred to me, as it sounds wonderful. I could definitely see different variations of the sandwich, with different types of bread (cheddar and apple and sourdough?) or even with, say, pear and brie. It even makes me ponder goat cheese (my cheese of choice in recent months) with tomato slices on grilled pumpernickel. Mmm.
I think the main thing is it's gotten me thinking past the standard grilled cheese.
Posted by michelle | December 16, 2004 03:55 PMPear and brie on sourdough...
Posted by Andrea | December 16, 2004 04:15 PMApple and cheddar and mustard on pumpernickel...
Goat cheese and tomato on olive bread...
Manchego and thin slices of ham and manchego on farm bread...
Jalapeno jack and honey-mustard and apple on honey-wheat bread...
Cheddar and havarti on sourdough with thinly sliced fresh tomato. That's my favorite.
Posted by Kat | December 17, 2004 09:13 AM