Italian Style Grilled Cheese

One of my boys had spring break this past week, and even though Austin and I had a long list of things to tackle on the ranch, we tried to fill his days with adventures. We took trips off the ranch with friends, had movie nights, worked on projects around the house, and I even took a trapeze class with him. (Video evidence below!)

But on the last day, I had him invite a friend over and sent them both off with Austin to just hang around while he worked on a project. At first I caught myself wondering: what will they do? Will they be bored? And then I stopped myself. It’s okay to be bored.

There’s been this fun thing going around lately where people are sharing photos of themselves from the 1990s, younger faces, big smiles, not a screen in sight. It’s nostalgic and sweet, but it’s also a little bit of a reminder that it doesn’t have to be just a throwback. Kids can still live that way, at least some of the time. Boredom has a way of sparking something.

Throughout the day Austin sent me photos: the boys climbing a hill, scrambling up a tree, discovering an old cart and rolling it down the slope. Simple, unplanned, completely theirs. We weren’t entertaining them. They were entertaining themselves. By the end of the day they came home worn out and happy.

That kind of day, kids loose on the land with nothing but time and each other, felt like the right way to close out the week before turning our attention to the garden. My oldest friend and neighbor Katie Rose and I have been stealing mornings phone calls together to make a plan, and we were finally ready to get our hands dirty.

The first thing we always plant, the thing I look forward to most, is tomatoes. With Austin and the neighbors pitching in to prep the soil and the kids right there beside us, we got the tomatoes in the ground. There is something about planting tomatoes that always feels like the real start of spring to me, more than any date on the calendar. 🍅

And speaking of tomatoes, they found their way into the kitchen this week too. I kept coming back to this Italian Style Grilled Cheese, and I have to say it earned two thumbs up from everyone who tried it. I have always loved a good grilled cheese, but this one takes it somewhere else entirely. It is gooey and crunchy, and when you dip it into the tomato sauce, well, there is really nothing else to say except yes please and I’ll have another.

ACTIVE TIME: 15 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 15 minutes

SERVINGS: 2 sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pieces of sandwich bread

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup of panko

• 6 to 8 ounces of low-moisture mozzarella cheese, cut into thin slices

• 4 cups of vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons of milk

• 1 teaspoon of salt

• A handful of basil leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Place mozzarella cheese on one side of the sandwich bread. Add a couple of basil leaves. Top with a little more mozzarella cheese, then add the top slice of bread. Press down the sandwich so the bread sticks to the cheese. Cut the crusts off the bread. Repeat with the remaining bread and cheese.

2. In a large cast iron or heavy duty pot, heat the vegetable oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. On one plate, beat the eggs. Add the milk and mix well.

4. On another plate, combine the panko and salt.

5. Place the sandwiches, one at a time, in the egg mixture. Carefully turn each sandwich so the whole surface is coated. Once fully covered, lay the sandwich in the panko mixture and coat thoroughly.

6. Once the oil is heated to 350 degrees, carefully place the sandwich in the oil. I like to use metal tongs and a metal spatula to place and turn the sandwich with control.

7. Fry each sandwich for 45 to 60 seconds per side, or until golden brown.

8. Remove the sandwich and lay it on a paper towel to cool.

9. Enjoy with a tomato dipping sauce, pasta sauce, or on its own.

RANCH TABLE SEASONING

This seasoning has been a staple in my kitchen for as long as I can remember. We shake it onto eggs in the morning, rub it into steaks before they hit the grill, and dust it over vegetables straight from the garden. It is one of those things that just makes everything taste a little extra. Stock up, because once you have it in your pantry you will find yourself reaching for it every single day! And if you are looking for a gift that people will actually use, this is it.

Try the Seasoning Here!