As a parent of young children, I’ll admit that grilled cheese is a pretty regular part of our lunch rotation. Haven’t had a chance to get groceries this week? Grilled cheese. Need something to dip in your bowl of tomato soup? Grilled cheese. Having a bad day? Grilled cheese. I know there are many other “kid foods” that could also be useful in these scenarios, but grilled cheese is also an easy way to add some creativity to an otherwise boring kid lunch. In addition to cheese and bread, you can add fruit, veggies, about a million different kinds of cheese, prosciutto or mortadella and even spreads, like jam or mustard! The possibilities are endless. Call me crazy, but I’m here for it. Last year? Year of the sour dough. This year? Year of the grilled cheese.

This particular recipe is inspired by this Cranberry Pepper Spread from Saltspring Kitchen we tried at the end of this year. Man oh man. Delish! I don’t see this variety on their website anymore, but I’m sure Peach Pepper Spread or Raspberry and Habanero Spread would substitute quite nicely. You could even use a sour cherry jam from the grocery store (or skip the jam altogether if it’s stressing you out). Let me know what substitutions YOU make, and comment below!

Recipe

Jammy Apple Cheddar Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

2 slices of light rye bread
2 tbsp butter
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced, variety of your choice (I used gala)
Old cheddar cheese, sliced (you’ll just need enough slices to cover your bread)
Jam of Choice (would definitely recommend this one)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat a medium skillet over medium-low. Add 1 tbsp of butter and melt.
Once butter is melted, add onions and stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly cook onions, stirring and checking, until caramelized and soft, about 10 minutes.
While onions are cooking, use remaining butter to butter one side of each slice of bread. When onions finish cooking, remove them from the pan and set aside. Add the slices of bread to the pan, butter side down, side-by-side.
Thinly Layer cheese on top of each slice of bread. Top with an even layer of the apples on one slice, and an even layer of the onions on the other side.
Use a flipper to check the underside of the bread every few minutes to keep it from burning. When cheese starts to get melty, add a few dollops of the jam to the top layer of both bread slices.
Use a flipper to carefully flip the bread with the onion layer to make a sandwich with the other slice. Use your flipper to push it together, and when toasted nicely, remove from heat.
Serve immediately!