Grown-Up Grilled Cheese: Avocado, Tomato and Bacon

I might be developing an avocado obsession. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

In searching the fridge for something for dinner, cheese stood out. I'm not sure why, but a grilled cheese sandwich just sounded so good. I still have some avocados left so I was trying to come up with a way to combine that with a grilled cheese sandwich. The classic with american cheese wouldn't do so I jazzed it up a bit with some mozzarella. It was still missing something though. It needed a little color so I thought tomatoes would be the perfect addition. And why not add some bacon? The salty, crunchiness would be a nice compliment to the smooth avocado. I threw it all on some multi-grain bread and grilled it up. End result = yum.

A Delightful Drink

I made my first smoothie today and I'm happy to report that it turned out to be pretty awesome. I had some strawberries that were starting to soften and thought I should use them up before they started to turn fuzzy and green. And since no one likes to eat a mushy strawberry, I decided I'm make my first smoothie with them. I also figured that my son would love one as a snack because he's never had one before. Well, he took about four sips before he got distracted with his Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Next thing I knew, smoothie was all over the table. I think we'll be banning trains from the kitchen...

So Simple Avocado Salad

It's avocado season! I don't usually buy them but every once in a while, I splurge and treat myself to the creamy, greeny goodness. I wait until the price goes down so I can get a few though. They can be so darn expensive!

I purchased some small ones at the grocery store yesterday to use specifically in a salad that I was cookin' up in my head. Avocados are excellent on their own, but I was feeling creative so I had to do something different with them. Since I'm big into the whole salad thing this summer, I was thinking of something light and simple to go with the warm weather.

How to Cut an Avocado

Cutting an avocado may seem like a daunting task but it's actually quite easy if you're careful and take your time. I used to not bother because I thought it was a big ordeal, but I've found such a simple way that it only takes a couple minutes. And believe me, those couple minutes are definitely worth it for the wonderful taste that an avocado brings.

When using avocados for any recipe, be sure to pick ones that are dark in color and are slightly soft to the touch. If they are hard or still very green, stick them in a paper bag for a couple days to ripen. An avocado that isn't ready yet will be bitter and won't have the creaminess that makes them so good.

Fun with Fajitas

Who doesn't love a good fajita now and then? Nobody, that's who! I dare you to find a person who hasn't enjoyed a yummy fajita at some point in their life. They're good with chicken or steak and you can even make them with just some veggies. I'm a fan of meat though so I definitely had to go that route. I've been craving some good fajitas for a bit now and decided to whip some up tonight. They are a fantastic dish that can turn a meal into a fun, little fiesta.

I'm one of those people who likes to use what they have on hand rather than go to the store to buy one or two specific items for just one meal. Well, usually. I guess there are exceptions to that rule, but this dinner was not one of them. Case in point: I didn't have any flank or skirt steak (which can get pretty expensive) so I improvised with some top round steak that I had in the freezer. It actually turned out to be really good and my son loved it! That's really what made this dinner worth it.

Doctor's Orders

I feel like I got in trouble today. My son had his 2 and a half year check-up earlier and everything was tip-top as usual. He's a great kid and we're so lucky that he's healthy and always gets the A+ from the doctor, but my husband and I were told that we need to do a couple things.

The first thing the doctor wants us to do involves milk. My son loves milk. No, that doesn't quite cut it...he LOVES it with a bazillion capital letters times a million. It's become his routine to have a little bit of chocolate milk when he wakes up, a little plain milk around naptime, and little more plain milk after dinner. Because he's been so picky with eating, the doctor wants us to cut milk down to 1 cup per day. I realize now, after it's been five hours since his appointment, that the doctor probably thinks we're giving him more than we actually are, but I'm willing to comply if it means he'll eat better. A kid can only eat so much pizza, waffles and fruit, right? The outcome of this little experiment remains to be seen, but I'm willing to bet that cutting out one glass of milk won't make much difference because, well, I do have a two year old after all!

Super Smashers!

I'm always looking for interesting ways to incorporate food into toddler form. This basically translates to, "I need ideas for food that my kid will eat." He's still in his picky phase so I thought I'd create something with potatoes that could easily be picked up by little fingers in a fun way. A long time ago, I saw a recipe somewhere for a potato appetizer with rosemary and sea salt. It looked fantastic. I have no idea where I saw this recipe and I don't know why it popped into my head yesterday, but I decided to base mine off of that. Rosemary is a very strong herb so I knew I wasn't going to use it in my version. I wanted something hearty and fun for a little kid so I went with the standard bacon and cheese combo. I added a little onion for flavor and substance and they turned out great. I loved them, my husband loved them, and my son loved them until the picky kid in him took over. At least I got him to take a few bites!

Smashed Potatoes

• 10 baby potatoes (red or gold)
• 3 slices bacon