Spinach makes a grilled cheese healthy right? I mean it trumps EVERYTHING right? It’s spinach. Well I’m going with yes – which makes this a healthy grilled cheese. Either way you are going to devour this sandwich. It’s sort of a must.
What I love about this grilled cheese:
It tastes a lot like spinach artichoke dip. YUM!
It’s crispy crunchy toasted bready goodness.
The gooey melty cheesy love.
That all of the above get smashed together into grilled cheese glory!
This is the epitome of adult grilled cheese right here.
We had these cheesers twice this week as I had no other plans for the artichoke and hate tossing food out. As you can imagine Logan had no objection. I even had a leftover one from photographing (as he wasn’t here to eat it), and I wrapped it in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge. When he came home and saw it – it was game over for that grilled cheese. He simply reheated it in the skillet slowly and nomed it down. Said it tasted just the same but the bread did get a little croutony on him. So hey leftover grilled cheese – who knew? Seriously, who would? Only Logan would reheat a leftover grilled cheese.
Our house has also been filled with Marvel and Lords of the Rings/Hobbit(s) this week as Logan has been home and on break from OSU. It’s been a geek-a-thon up in here. I don’t mind – somehow. It’s honestly just nice to have Logan sitting on the couch with me for a change. During the semester he works and goes to school full-time so there’s very little Logan home time. Chewy absolutely LOVES having him home too. Whole family together on the couch = happiest bunny ever as Chewy loooves to watch movies and football. So I guess he’s actually the happiest one out of all of us.
We finally put our tree away today. I’m always sad to see it go. Chewy will miss it too, he frequently napped next to the tree while it was up. For me, I just like the glow of the tree at night, and the way it makes the room feel warm and comforting. Now I feel like my living room is gigantic with it gone. So I guess there is a trade off. Still.
I also hate putting the tree away because that means I have to find a home for everything under the tree. Sometimes that’s easy, such as chocolate covered dried cherries. Oh well I’ll just eat those. Then there are the cookbooks. Where on earth am I going to put all of these cookbooks? I can’t go through them fast enough and I collect them at a rate in which I never will. For the record I am complaining about not having space for them, not that I have an abundance of them OR that I keep finding more of them in my possession. Just wanted to make that clear. THEY are not the issue, the lack of SPACE is the issue. Can cookbooks go in bathrooms, or is that weird? I’m running out of places guys!?!?!?
Well last night we finished The Return of the King and I have now just been informed we shall start The Hobbit (both of them) since we only watched part of the 1st one earlier this week. Peter Jackson would be proud. I’m sure he’d also love these grilled cheeses.
Some notes on this little spinach artichoke dip grilled cheese bisnasss: I opted not to butter my toast, because it gets a little too greasy for me that way, but feel free to butter your little heart out if that’s your grilled cheese way. And remember when you give them their flip in the pan they cook faster on the second round/side, so keep a watch on them. You don’t want to get too crazy with the heat either. The trick with grilled cheese is to let them take their time and get ooey and gooey and toasty. If your heat is too high your bread will toast before your cheese has a chance to melt. So if your medium is cranking out too much heat turn her down. It’s worth the wait for melty heaven.
Other variations for this cheeser would be to add sun-dried tomatoes to brighten the flavor or a little spicy honey mustard (like Logan loves to do) to give it more savoriness. Either/or are suuuuuper yummy! And if you are like me and make them twice back-to-back it’s a good way to switcher it up.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
- 5-6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 3 canned artichoke hearts, rinsed and chopped
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 4 slices of multi-grain bread
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1-2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat melt butter. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds. Add spinach and saute until spinach is wilted. Add chopped artichoke and cook until heated through, approximately 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and place ingredients into a small/medium bowl.
Wipe pan with cloth or paper towel removing any moisture and place back onto heat. Liberally spray skillet with cooking spray. While skillet reheats, add Greek yogurt/sour cream to spinach and artichoke mixture. Stir to combine, add salt and pepper to taste.
Place two slices of bread in reheated skillet. Sprinkle 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese on each slice followed by 1/4-1/2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese. Spread 1/2 the spinach artichoke mixture onto each slice, spreading evenly. Sprinkle remaining cheeses evenly on top of each sandwich. Place last two bread slices on top of respective sandwiches. Spray the top of the bread slices liberally with cooking spray.
Cook sandwiches for approximately 2-4 minutes or until bottom slices are nice and golden. Flip sandwich over and heat once again until golden and cheese is melty, this will most likely be faster so keep an eye on them. Serve immediately.
NOTES: To make vegan: Simply swap out dairy ingredients for their nondairy versions (I have not tried it with every swap at once though). You could also butter your bread instead of using cooking spray. This will impact the nutritional facts though if you are concerned.
