Because I didn’t have enough ways to make grilled cheese

Glow in the dark Jack (and pattern!) found here

I pulled out my trusty Halloween cookbook yesterday, and thought I’d try to involve #2 in the dinner making process, so I let her pick what to make for dinner.  After (repeatedly) saying no to dessert recipes (“But, why can’t we have chocolate whoopee pie spiders for dinner?”), she settled on “Toasted Cheese Jack O’ Lantern Sandwiches.”  Really?  All of the crazy ideas in this book, and she wants grilled cheese?

But, hey, I asked for her help! 

The interested thing about this spooky sandwich recipe is that you toast the grilled cheese in the oven!  First time for everything.  It does make sense, since cutting holes in the top piece of bread would make it pretty messy if I flipped it in a frying pan the way I usually do!

Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread butter on one side of four bread slices.

Place bread slices, butter side down, onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Top each with one slice of cheese.  (I used Tillamook Cheddar, house fave)

Cut out shapes from 4 additional slices of bread.  

Place on top of cheese.  Butter tops of bread with faces.

Bake 10 to 12 mins or until cheese is melted.

I served the sandwiches with Campbell’s Tomato Soup, made with milk, the only brand/way all four girls will eat tomato soup…which leads me to the question, is it me?  Did I somehow encourage this narrow vision of what food should be?  How is it that even my 4 year old can tell the difference between Campbell’s canned, and Trader Joe’s boxed tomato soup?

Anyway, the verdict is:

Four thumbs up!

I was a little surprised; after all, the toasted sandwiches came out much crunchier than the usual grilled.  However, one moment made all of that careful cutting of shapes out of the bread worth it:  when #4 sat down at the table and saw the Jack O’ Lantern face smiling on her plate, she giggled!