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Gourmet Grilled Cheese Ideas

By Michelle Myers 19 Comments

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There’s something comforting and homey about eating a childhood favorite food as an adult. That feeling of nostalgia for simpler days is always brought back to me when I eat a grilled cheese sandwich. I remember Summertime lunches and even dinners, when Dad was out of town, where my sister and I enjoyed our gooey, melted cheese sandwiches and carrot sticks while we told my mom about our days and neighborhood adventures.

Those special times of lingering over a simple sandwich are back in my life again as my family has a new weeknight favorite meal: the Gourmet Grilled Cheese Bar! I put out a variety of fruits, veggies, cheeses, sauces, and tasty, minimally processed, preservative free Oscar Mayer Selects Natural meat. I’m excited to share our family’s favorite creations with you and hopefully inspire your family to try their hand at making their own gourmet grilled cheese!

That grilled cheese sandwich you loved as a kid is ready for a grown up, gourmet makeover. These ideas add vegetables, fruit, and exciting spreads to make an exciting family dinner. Perfect for gameday, parties, or even a movie night at home, use your creativity to jazz up dinner! #OscarMayerNatural #sponsored

Ever wonder what the difference is between an okay sandwich and a fabulous one? The secret to making the perfect grilled cheese is timing. Cooking on a lower heat, for a slightly longer amount of time, results in a sandwich that is well toasted on the outside with exquisitely melted cheese on the inside. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, add your sandwich, let cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and repeat. I like using a bakery style Italian bread because of the firm crusts that crunch up nicely in the melted butter, almost like a crouton. (For more on my family’s devotion to croutons, check out our homemade ones.)

Here are the Gourmet Grilled Cheese inventions my family loves the most:

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

This is my personal favorite: Oscar Mayer Selects Natural turkey, gouda cheese, thin sliced pears, and seedless raspberry preserves. Spread the jam on two pieces of bread, then layer the cheese, meat, and pears, top with the remaining slice of bread. This is such a perfect combination of sweet & savory and the pear slices add a crunch that is a lovely compliment to the sandwich.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

My daughter, Ainsley, loves ham and cheese sandwiches and green apples, so she was excited to combine her choices in this sandwich. I added a dijon mustard to her swiss cheese, Applewood Smoked Ham, and apple slices, layered it all together, and deliciousness was born! Providing my family quality, minimally processed cold cuts from Oscar Mayer Selects Natural means that we don’t have to give up adding protein to our gourmet grilled cheese bar!

Gourmet Grilled CheeseNext up, my hubs favorite version: sliced red onion, spinach leaves, tomato, provolone cheese, Oscar Mayer Selects Natural turkey slices, and garlic mayonnaise(Add 3 cloves of well mashed garlic to 1 T. mayo, if you’re not a garlic fanatic, reduce the amt. of cloves used). Spread the mayo on each slice of bread, layer the veggies, meat, and cheese and grill to perfection! These hearty Italian flavors combine for a true gourmet experience and I love the delicious taste, along with no artificial ingredients, in the Oscar Mayer Natural Select turkey, it really makes the sandwich.

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

This classic version is my youngest daughter’s creation. Gouda, provolone, and cheddar combined with ripe tomatoes and Applewood Smoked Ham are a flavorful favorite and as close as you’ll get to the sandwich from childhood. Adding a few strips of cooked bacon takes things to the next level, if you can keep your kids from eating it before grilled cheese time!

Our easy Homemade Tomato Soup is the best compliment to your Gourmet Grilled Cheese Bar and an excellent way to round out a meal.

Do you have a favorite way to make grilled cheese? Any other ideas for a Gourmet Grilled Cheese bar? I’d love to hear all about them, be sure to share them in the comments below!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

 

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Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: dinner, food, fruit, ham, lunch, Meal Plan, Recipe, turkey

About Michelle Myers

Michelle Myers is mom to four kiddos ranging from elementary thru high school, each with strong opinions and a flair for the dramatic. In other words, they're a lot like her. Former educator and lover of learning, she divides her time between carpool and Starbucks by reading voraciously and giving TED talks to herself at red lights. A Floridian for almost 40 years, Michelle loves the beach, making people laugh, and date nights with her hubby of 25 years...and yeas, they clearly married at age 7.
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Comments

  1. CourtneyLynne says

    February 22, 2016 at 10:00 pm

    Ooooo what a yummy grilled cheese. Hubby is all
    About the grilled cheese sandwiches lol

    Reply
  2. Jen says

    February 20, 2016 at 2:32 am

    MMM. The one with the apples has me really interested. Especially since it makes the grilled cheese healthier but I love apples in chicken sandwiches so I’m sure I would like them in a grilled cheese. with ham. I’m hungry now!

    Reply
  3. Koninika says

    February 19, 2016 at 6:51 pm

    Such great ideas for grilled cheese, for kids and adults! Love the different combinations for the sandwiches. I also liked how you made it personal by having a personal touch connecting the recipes with your life!

    Reply
  4. Heather says

    February 19, 2016 at 3:57 pm

    I love grilled cheese! We often make them at my house. When I was younger, my mom would fry up ham, and then put it in the grilled cheese – it was to die for. These all look delicious!

    Reply
  5. Pam says

    February 19, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    I love grilled cheese! I normally don’t add anything to it but I’m thinking I should try out gourmet grilled cheese next time! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  6. Lesley says

    February 19, 2016 at 1:15 pm

    Well I know what we’re having for lunch today 😉

    Reply
  7. Stacey says

    February 19, 2016 at 1:03 pm

    I love, love, love gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches. There is something yummy and nostalgic about taking a childhood classic and upping the ante a bit. My favorite is the Oscar Mayer Selects Natural turkey, gouda cheese, and thin sliced pears. Ne preserves for me. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Debra says

    February 19, 2016 at 12:32 pm

    I love grilled cheese! It is my favorite meal! I love it with bacon and guac! So delicious!

    Reply
  9. OurFamilyWorld says

    February 19, 2016 at 11:01 am

    I am suddenly craving for a good grilled cheese sandwich after seeing this. I also love adding apples into my sandwich.

    Reply
  10. Kendra says

    February 19, 2016 at 3:32 am

    Grilled cheese are my favorite!!! I seriously could eat them all the time (my husband makes fun of me for it) great ideas for mixing it up a bit!

    Reply
  11. michele says

    February 19, 2016 at 12:09 am

    I love that your daughter came up with the green apple in a grilled cheese! Simply BRILLIANT!

    Reply
  12. Beeb Ashcroft says

    February 18, 2016 at 9:22 pm

    Both my husband and I have very fond memories over just a simple sandwich. We both love grilled cheese because our mothers would make them when it began getting cold outside and always made it a special occasion.

    Reply
  13. Deb- It's me, debcb! says

    February 18, 2016 at 6:09 pm

    I love grilled cheese. Love it. These are all great ideas.

    Reply
  14. Rebecca K. Sampson says

    February 18, 2016 at 6:04 pm

    I only tried combining apples and cheese recently and boy was it amazing! I am so sad I missed out on this most of my life. Great post, I loved the food styling. That’s something I definitely want to improve upon.

    Be the author of your own story,
    Rebecca Kelsey Sampson

    Reply
  15. jill conyers says

    February 18, 2016 at 5:59 pm

    My husband and daughter would love this. It’s fun to make different kinds of grilled cheese with specialty cheeses.

    Reply
  16. Yanique says

    February 18, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    My kids love cold cuts especially for school lunch. We usually use Oscar Mayers. You really can’t ever go wrong with Oscar Mayers!

    Reply
  17. Robin Rue (@massholemommy) says

    February 18, 2016 at 9:29 am

    Those are all so fancy! I make a buffalo chicken grilled cheese sandwich sometimes and it usually goes over well with my family!

    Reply

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