Monday, February 13, 2012

Cold Sunday, Warm Soup and Sandwiches!

I think it is safe to say that I have gotten about as far away from the low carb diet as I possibly can. First came my travel schedule (which didn't prove to be much of an issue... until Nashville) and then Super Bowl Sunday and now this past weekend, it was cold. Okay, maybe I was just looking for excuses to not diet, but as I've always said, "I don't believe in diets. Life is too short to not be eating the things that you love." I still believe that but let's just say that I am still trying to be mindful of my eating habits. Oh well... moving on...

Like I said: it was cold yesterday. Nothing in my mind sounds better on a cold day than a nice piping hot bowl of soup. Couple that with my outstanding panini's and you've got a recipe for a great Sunday dinner that comes together in no time.

Let's start with this wonderful soup recipe I saw/found. For those of you who know me, you know that when my TV isn't on something sports related, it is usually on Food Network. Yesterday morning was no different. I was taking in my first viewing of a show called Pioneer Woman (I know... enough with the jokes). I knew a little bit about this show because I read a bit about it on my friend Debi's blog. With this in mind, I made a mental note to check out the blog post show if I came across any recipes that sounded good. Indeed that is exactly what happened when I saw the Pioneer Woman making Cheese and Corn Chowder. As I looked at Debi's blog, I found that the Pioneer Woman herself had a blog where I could find the recipe for this tasty soup. Needless to say, I went to her site, found and printed the recipe. Since this recipe belongs to Ree Drumond (The Pioneer Woman) I will not repost it on my blog. If you want to make it, you can find it HERE. And I suggest you do make it. It has corn, bacon, cheese, half and half, chicken stock, onion and 3 kinds of bell peppers. It is great for a cold night!

Now, for a recipe I CAN give you in clear conscience: Cheesy Apple Bacon Panini. I made this to accompany the Pioneer Woman's soup and I sure was glad I did. It made a great accompaniment to the soup since there is cheese and bacon in both. Here goes...

Cheesy Apple Bacon Panini

4 Slices of Whole Wheet Bread
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese (anything will do, I like cheddar though)
1/4 Cup Melted Butter
2 Tbsp Apple Butter
6 Slices of Bacon
1 Granny Smith Apple

Plug in and warm your panini press. Cook bacon as you like it (I like it crispy). While the bacon is cooking, slice the apples thinly (about 1/8 of an inch if you can). Once the bacon is cooked and cooled, the sandwiches are ready to assemble.
Spread the apple butter on both sides of the bread. Sprinkle cheese on one of the bread slices, then a layer of apples, then the bacon, then sprinkle more cheese and place the top slice of bread on top. Do the same with the second sandwich. Then brush both sides of the sandwich with the melted butter and place on the panini press and close for 2-3 minutes. Serve hot with the soup! Enjoy!

If you don't have a panini press, you can use any pan you want and place on medium high heat on your stove. Use another pan covered in foil to press the paninis while they cook.

That's all I've got for today. Later!

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