GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

Tag: comfort food

Bacon Wrapped Grilled Cheese Recipe – GF Video
The best grilled cheese recipe I’ve ever made. Inspired by a BuzzFeed video, I had to make our version of this grilled cheese. It tastes wow.

Childhood memory of slices of process american cheese, unwrapped from the plastic, laid on top of white bread, and put in the toaster oven. I’m thinking processed slices of cheese like that were made for grilled cheese. I did not move on to grilled cheese recipes that used two pieces of bread for awhile. Then in college I discovered you could add ingredients into the grilled cheese. First came tomatoes.

That sandwich was in the dorm cafeteria at college. Friday was chili and grilled cheese. Its still a great Friday sandwich now.

Some thoughts on this Grilled Cheese Recipe

I made this and it was instantly my favorite sandwich recipe. You can’t eat this everyday, but you can make it in about 10 minutes. Plus it smells great in the kitchen while making it. And the dogs become very attentive during the whole process, not leaving the kitchen.

I found that square bread did better, as did thicker bread. Probably the best bread would be a thick potato bread, but I couldn’t find any, so we went with a sturdy white bread and cut it into a square.

For cheese I used a grocery store sharp cheddar. You can argue all day about the best cheese to use in a grilled cheese sandwich, but to keep it simple, we used cheddar. I have seen recipes where they grate the cheese over the bread, I used slices. Works for me.

The bread was not buttered or oiled. The bacon takes care of that plenty well. What was surprising was the bacon grilled cheese was not very greasy. You do not have to completely cover the bread with the bacon wrapping. You do have to hold the sandwich on its side to cook the side bacon. Important.

Thanks to BuzzFeed for the inspiration.
Bacon Wrapped Grilled Cheese Recipe – GF Video

Author: Eric Rochow

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 1 sandwich

A grilled cheese recipe better than any other I have found.
Ingredients

2 slices thick white bread

4 slices cheddar cheese

6 slices bacon
Instructions

Square off the bread slices

Insert the cheese between the bread

Wrap bacon slices around the bread. Wrap one direction, then turn sandwich 90 degrees and wrap again.

Cook in a fry pan on medium heat, use tongs to hold the sandwich on its sides to cook bacon wrapped there.

Crisper bacon yields a better sandwich.
3.3.3077
June 22, 2015
Coconut Banana Bread Recipe – GF Cooks Video

Not your bland banana bread recipe, this one has a few twists to make banana bread stand on its own. Too often, banana bread is this dense wet slice of cake that is overpriced in the artisanal cafe. Not this one. Watch the video, the recipe is below.

Banana bread brings up those memories of being raised in the Midwest. You came home from school and your mom had made banana bread. You carved off a big slice and life was good.
My aim here was to make a banana bread that wasn’t like that kind of dense stuff that they sell in coffee shops now. I put in a couple of twists that I’ve been thinking about for a while: first I added whole wheat flour, which I think adds a different flavor definitely in a little bit better structure I think. And I added coconut which I happen to love – if you’re not a big coconut band that’s okay this banana bread recipe taste great without coconut.

Source your bananas from the discount rack at your grocery store. Somewhere in the produce section in the far corner is probably a rack of vegetables and fruits that have been discounted because they might have some dents or they might be a little brown or have some spots on them, but they’re perfectly edible. And they’re super cheap! I got this bunch of bananas for $.69 which is a beautiful thing.

If you want a higher loaf you should use a slightly smaller loaf pan. There is a standard loaf pan which is 9″ x 5″, but there’s also one that they sell that just slightly narrower 8.5″ x 4.5″ (buy here) and that’ll make this pop up a bit more. You could also amp up the baking soda, but the careful if you add too much baking soda it starts to have kind of a chemical taste to it.
What are your banana bread recipe favorites any suggestions you have any thoughts about the recipe or just your memories of banana bread let me know in the comments below thanks.

Coconut Banana Bread Recipe

4 super ripe bananas – ok to use less than super ripe

1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup sweetened coconut

1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter

1 egg, scrambled

1/4 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Add in the wet ingredients, be careful with the butter, its better if its cool, don’t want to burn anyone.

Pour into a buttered or oiled loaf pan, I like butter better for this one.

Bake in a 350F oven for about an hour, the sides may smell toasted before the center is done.

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January 13, 2015
Truck Stop Meatloaf Recipe with Potato Chips

Ah, meatloaf — it brings back memories of a cross-country road trip, getting lost, and finding a diner that served the best home-cooked meals. The meatloaf was delicious, moist and smooth, but the waitress was salty. I asked her what was in it, she made a crack about lost college kids. In a hushed tone she said “potato chips” then she gave us pie on the house.

You don’t have to get lost to find this truck-stop style meatloaf. This recipe does not call for salt or oil since potato chips already have the perfect balance and just the right amount of starch which gives this meatloaf a very moist, smooth texture. I prefer plain low-salt potato chips, but you can explore the many varieties that are available. Cool Ranch anyone?

You’ll Need:
1 lb ground chuck or sirloin
1 lb ground turkey
2 sweet Italian sausages or 1/4 lb ground pork
3/4 cup crushed plain potato chips, low salt
1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
1 cup onion, minced
1 cup celery, minced
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp each dried ingredient: rosemary, thyme, basil, black pepper
2 tbsp dried mustard
1 eggs
1 large and 1 medium size bowl
1 paper bag
a low baking dish
oven thermometer

The Sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tsp powdered onion
1 tsp dried mustard
1/2 Liquid Smoke (optional)

Make the Sauce
The sauce is important, it makes a tangy seal that keeps in moisture as the meatloaf bakes. In a small bowl mix ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, powdered onion, and dried mustard. Liquid smoke is optional but it gives this meatloaf an extra kick.

Mix It Up
In a measuring cup, crush and pack in enough potato chips to yield 3/4 cup, then pour everything into a paper bag. With the bottom of a glass or the palm of your hand, pound the potato chips further to remove excess oil (warning: the bag will be soaked with oil). Pour crushed chips and all dried ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

The key to a smooth meatloaf is to not overwork everything. I find that mixing with my hands instead of a food processor give me the right texture. Remove sausage from the casing (or use ground pork), add all ground meats, minced ingredients, and egg into a large bowl and mix well. Add all dry ingredients and mix again. Here’s how I do it: plunge both hands into the bowl and squeeze every thing through your fingers, turn everything over in the bowl and repeat until everything is smooth and evenly distributed. Let it rest for 15 minutes.

Bake It
Preheat the oven to 375°. In a low baking dish form a loaf into a low, rounded rectangle — roughly 2″ deep. The edges will further round off as it cooks. Use the back of a spoon to generously smooth the sauce over the top, but coat the sides lightly. Bake the meatloaf for an hour and 10 minutes. Use an oven thermometer to check if the center has reached 165°. Remove from the oven and let the it sit for 5 minutes.

If you want a more caramelized meatloaf, stick it in the broiler for three minutes, but watch it closely to make sure that it doesn’t burn. Serve it hot with gravy, more ketchup, or cocktail sauce… turn off the TV and enjoy every bite, but try to leave some for sandwiches tomorrow.

January 12, 2012
Toad In A Hole Recipe in a Outdoor Cast Iron Dutch Oven – GF Video
A Toad In A Hole recipe cooked outdoors, how cool is that? Watch the video and read on for the recipe and thoughts.

Here’s an Toad In A Hole recipe from the UK that we cook in our cast iron dutch oven outdoors. You can cook this in your kitchen, but its more fun to use this using fireplace cooking, outdoor cooking, or campfire cooking. Perfect for those urban homesteaders who want to take their cast iron outside, build a fire, and cook comfort food. We were introduced to this dish by our friends Barbara and Chris ( who are English ) and visited us at our CT house. Chris made this for us one day. Toad in a Hole is supposed to be for dinner, but I think its great for breakfast, especially after a night out imbiding.

I changed this up a bit from the standard by adding cheddar cheese, which seemed perfectly acceptable seeing that Cheddar Cheese is from England, and cheese tastes good with eggs already, so why not mix them into the recipe?

I make this recipe in a dutch oven, and its super fun to bake the Toad In A Hole outdoors. In the cooking video, we used charcoal to heat the cast iron dutch oven, but you can make this in a fireplace or in a campfire as well.

Want to bake Banana Bread the same way? Watch our video here.

Buy a Dutch Oven here, and an chimney charcoal starter. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but I earn a commission from. Thx!
Toad In A Hole Recipe in a Outdoor Cast Iron Dutch Oven – GF Video

Recipe Type: Dinner

Cuisine: English

Author: Eric Rochow

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: [url:1][img:1]

Making Toad In A Hole in a Dutch Oven outdoors is really fun. Go make this and let me know how it came out.
Ingredients

4 sausages sliced in two and then halved. I used sweet italian sausage from our local butcher, but most any sausage you like will work.

1 cup of flour – all purpose works fine, but use what you’ve got.

1 tablespoon coarse salt

Herbs of your choice, rosemary, chives, oregano, tarragon, whatever you have and like, chopped coarsely

1 cup milk

3 eggs – i’m a big fan of local eggs, so try to get some, help out your local farmers.

2 – 3 tablespoons of good mustard, brown, spicy, deli – whatever you like.

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions

Fire: This recipe takes about a chimney starter full of charcoal. we used about 10 charcoal briquettes on the bottom of the cast iron to start the cooking. if you are cooking this in a fireplace or campfire, be careful not to get the dutch oven too hot.

Take the sausages that have been cut in half and then sliced open lengthways and put them in the dutch oven to brown.

While the sausaged are browning, take the other charcoal or wood coals and pile some on the lid of the dutch oven to preheat it.

Beat the 3 eggs together, then to it the flour and salt and milk and herbs.

When the sausages are browned on both sides, pour the egg batter mixture into the dutch oven and cover.

Place more coals on top of the dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes. If it smells like it is burning, open the cover and check. you may have to move the dutch oven to a cooler part of the fire, or remove some briquettes.

The dish is done when the batter is yellow with brown patches, you will know when its done. It will smell great.
Notes

Use a chimney starter to start the charcoal briquettes. You can also use chunk charcoal, but the square ones are easier.

3.5.3208
October 3, 2011