THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS LINKY PARTY #83 (Favorite Cheeseburger) & My ULTIMATE Cheeseburger

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #83

(FAVORITE CHEESEBURGER)

My Favorite Kraft Singles Cheeseburger with Homemade Burger Sauce

I have found my ULTIMATE Cheeseburger and I am in love with this burger sauce, I do not think there will ever be another cheeseburger in my home. We will be making these again today for our Memorial Day BBQ. They are delicious.

If you would like the recipe please click over to this post, I just made this recipe/post last week.

Homemade Cheeseburger

This week's theme is: FAVORITE CHEESEBURGERS

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

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This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

June 4 - Breakfast Breads (Donuts, Coffee Cakes, Muffins & More)

June 11 - MAN'ly Meals for Father's Day

June 18 - International Foods

June 25 - Summer Berry Recipes (anything with berries)

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.

This week's theme is: FAVORITE CHEESEBURGER 
Please only link recipes with our them!

S.O.S.

Enjoy this recipe ONLY day on MOMS CRAZY COOKING!

Flour Tortilla (BBQ Sauce - Chicken Pizza)

Making a quick pizza from a flour tortilla and the left-over shredded chicken I have from making a whole chicken in the crock pot... life couldn't be better.

This can be made for lunch, dinner or just an after-school snack. Which talking about after-school, my kids only have 7 days left of school! I am doing the happy dance. My little boy will be moving on up to 8th grade and my girls will be graduating High School! WHOOT!! WHOOT!!

Flour Tortilla (BBQ Sauce - Chicken Pizza)
created by Tina Hudgens

2 flour tortillas
1/4 cup BBQ Sauce
1 cup shredded chicken
1/2 cup shredded cheese (whatever kind you wish)

Heat oven to 400. Spread BBQ sauce on the tortilla and then layer with toppings (feel free to add extra toppings if you wish). Cook for about 10 minutes and then slice & serve.

Whole Chicken in Crock Pot

Here is another great chicken recipe. One can never have too many fresh whole chicken recipes for the crock-pot. This is my second one to post. We also love Jamie Oliver's Perfect Roast Chicken and I've pinned, oh, only about 5 more whole chicken recipes I'd love to make. And the shredded chicken in the freezer is so convenient, I LOVE that too. Tomorrow I will be sharing a quick easy BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe using a Flour Tortilla.

This shredded chicken is amazing! Who doesn't love fresh shredded chicken?

Here is the simple easy way to stick all of this in the crock-pot before work and arrive home to a nice ready-made meal with lots of left-overs and a great way to make Homemade Chicken Broth. My Target sells these whole chickens for around $4 bucks each, that's a steel.

Whole Chicken in Crock-Pot
recipe created by Tina Hudgens (that's me!)

1 small whole chicken salt and fresh ground pepper (use less than 2 tsp of salt)
3 small handfuls of fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano) finely chopped, or use dry herbs
1 to 2 apples (any kind.. I love to use them when they are almost too soft to eat... no waste)
1 to 2 carrot sticks
1 onion, diced
4 tbsp Herb de Provence (rub on outside of chicken with a little bit of olive oil)

Wash chicken inside and out and pat dry. Rub the cavity with salt. Carefully separate the skin from the breast meat and sprinkle with salt. Drizzle the outside with a bit of olive oil and the fresh or dry herbs. I used mostly dried herbs for this and then used the fresh herbs to make the chicken stock. 

Put a layer of onions on the bottom of the crock-pot and then put the chicken on top. Stuff the bird with cut up apples, carrots and the rest of the onion. Pull the skin forward making sure the flesh isn't exposed. Place the lid on the crock-pot and cook on low for about 8 hours (some crock pots may take less or more time).

Here is the simple recipe I use for making Homemade Chicken Stock

Creamy Noodles: SECRET RECIPE CLUB

SECRET RECIPE CLUB

Creamy Noodles

It's time for the Secret Recipe Club; Group C! This is my 13th post for the Secret Recipe Club and I am still having a great time. Each and every month I look forward to receiving my assignment and reading through the blog cover to cover (if possible).

When I am sent my blog assignment, I always jump right over and check it out. Of course, I start pinning everything that I would LOVE to make. I saw many great recipes on this blog (and yes I pinned them all). So, even though I am only making one here today to feature I am sure I will be making a few more in the months to come. My secret blog this month is Kate's Kitchen.

We paired up these noodles with my favorite chicken recipe of all time.

Mozzarella Chicken

Creamy Noodles

recipe adapted by me, found over at Kate's Kitchen,
originally from Gooseberry Patch 5-ingredient Family Favorites

8 oz package noodles (any shape)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
2-1/2 tsp dry salad dressing mix (original recipe was for Italian, but we used Ranch)

Cook noodles according to package directions, then drain. (reserve about 1/4 cup of the hot cooking water). Melt butter in a saucepan, until melted. Add in the dry dressing and mix well. Pour the noodles back into their cooking pan and add a few tbsp of the hot water to help them not stick together.  Add in the butter sauce, then the cheese and lastly the half and half. Stir together and serve hot. A simple yet delicious way to serve buttered noodles.

Here is a list of my past Secret Recipe Club recipes:

• Blueberry Muffins (Gluten-Free)
• Bean Roll-Up (extra post)
• Cucumber Salad
• Raspberry & Nutella Pizza (extra post)
• Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie 
• Frozen Breakfast Burritos
• Pink Pearl Applesauce (crock-pot)
• Peanut Butter Marshmallow Cake (extra post)
• Cake Mix Cinnamon Chip Brownies
• Sweet and Smokey Roasted Cauliflower
• Cheesy Bacon Ranch Dip
• Trail Mix Cookies

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS #82 (BBQ SAUCE or GRILL RECIPES) & Monterrey Turkey Pasta

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #82

(BBQ SAUCE & GRILL RECIPES)

Monterrey Turkey Pasta

What a unique way to use BBQ sauce!

This recipe is so easy to throw together on a busy weeknight, when time is limited and you want a hardy meal; hoepfully you have some fresh chicken or turkey stored in the freezer.

Monterrey Turkey (or Chicken) Pasta

adapted by me, but original idea found at Mommy's Menu

2 cups shredded turkey - precooked (or the original recipe calls for chicken)
1 box favorite pasta noodles (penne or macaroni work well)
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and jack cheese
6 to 12 slices bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled (check out my new oven method of cooking bacon)

I store shredded turkey and chicken in the freezer for easy recipes just like this. Cook the pasta to your liking.

Bacon in the oven. This is such an easy way to cook bacon. Lay out all the bacon onto parchment paper or foil on a cooking sheet. Cook the bacon at 400 degrees for about 17 minutes. This is a great way to make bacon for recipes, but it does change the texture a little for just eating it. We perfer skillet if we are just eating the bacon plain, but for recipes that call for bacon this method is perfect.

Once your turkey or chicken is ready, and your noodles and bacon are cooked you are ready to assemble. Spray the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish. Lay in the cooked noodles first, then the cooked turkey (or chicken), spread over the meat the BBQ sauce, bacon and top with the grated cheese.

Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey. Serve and enjoy!

This week's theme is: BBQ SAUCE or GRILL RECIPES

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

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This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

May 28 - Share your favorite Cheeseburger Recipe

June 4 - Breakfast Breads (Donuts, Coffee Cakes, Muffins & More)

June 11 - MAN'ly Meals for Father's Day

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.
This week's theme is: BBQ SAUCE or GRILL RECIPES
Please only link recipes with our theme!
This week's theme is: BBQ SAUCE or GRILL RECIPES 
Please only link recipes with our theme!

Homemade Cheeseburger with Kraft American Singles

Wow! Kraft Singles has won my heart over again! I've been using this delicious cheese as far back as I can remember and now I am repeating the tradition with my own kids.

We love a classic grill cheese sandwich with Kraft singles or a Homemade Cheeseburger just isn't the same without it. We all love DOUBLE cheese, I don't know if I've ever had a Grill Cheese or a Homemade Cheeseburger with just one slice of cheese, I always add TWO slices of the delicious Kraft American Singles. This past weekend we heated up the BBQ and made this awesome homemade burger sauce and WOW-WOW-WOW! I think this will become a regular to our weekly menu, and this homemade burger beats a fast-food burger any day of the week.

Homemade Cheeseburger
recipe created by me: Tina Hudgens
(makes about 4 to 6 hamburgers)

2 lbs favorite ground beef, well chilled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 tsp of worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 to 2 tsp seasoning salt
1 egg

8 to 12 slices Kraft American Singles (we like DOUBLE cheese)
Favorite Hamburger Buns
Iceberg Lettuce
Fresh Tomato Slices

Homemade Burger Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp Sweet Honey Catalina Dressing
4 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp onion (grated on a microplane grater)
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp chili powder

Mix together ground beef, Kosher salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, seasoning salt and egg. Form hamburger meat into even balls and flatten into nice size hamburger patties. 

Combine all of the burger sauce ingredients; stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to use. This sauce is out-of-this-world delicious.

Place season burger patties on a heated barbeque and grill to your liking, cooking until cooked all the way through. Add DOUBLE slices of Kraft American Cheese and cook a minute or two longer until cheese is melted.

To assemble your Homemade Cheeseburger, spread a thick layer of sauce on each bun, add on the lettuce and tomato along with your cheeseburger, stack it all together and bite in. YUM!

"As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program,

I received a coupon for free Kraft Singles and a stipend."

Frozen Breakfast Sandwich

My girls are always on the go, coming and going and barely leaving time to get them selves ready. Now don't get me wrong, they are CUTE and can turn some heads, but let me tell you this is their Senior Year of High School and sweatshirts with jeans is the norm and since they shower at night, they get up about 12 minutes before they have to run out the door. Needless to say breakfast in our house has to be quick and fast and something I can just hand them on the way out the door. They are in LOVE with the Frozen Breakfast Burritos I've already posted and so I decided to give this recipe a try. Although this is not a quick throw in the microwave meal, it is still easy to eat on the go.

Frozen Breakfast Sandwich
recipe found at Macheesmo

1 dozen eggs
salt & pepper to taste
12 english muffins (white, wheat or even gluten free)
12 slices of your favorite cheese (Kraft singles work well)
12 slices of canadian bacon or ham

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray or I find using the silicone muffin tins works even better. Crack an egg into each muffin tin, it's your choice to break the yolk or leave it in the middle to bake. My girls like it broke, the pictures above show both ways. Sprinkle with salt, pepper or your favorite seasoning, we like Grandma's Salt. Bake the eggs in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Next seperate all of your english muffins and lay them on a cookie sheet. Toast them up in the oven for about 10 minutes. You can do this on the bottom shelf of the oven so it's all cooking at the same time.

It's time to assemble, to make the sandwich you need 2 slices of English Muffin, 1 egg, 1 slice of cheese and 1 slice of meat. Put it all toegther and then lay flat on a cookie sheet to freeze. I like to freeze these for about an hour, this will let all the moisture out and get them ready to wrap in foil.

After about and hour or so, take them all out and they are ready to wrap up in foil. I individually wrap each one and then store all of them in a ziploc bag.

Now when you are ready to eat. These do NOT work well in a microwave. They taste okay and it's hard to get them heated all the way through and they get a little soft. But the oven works wonderful. Preheat the oven to 350 and then cook for about 25 minutes.

ULTIMATE CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE RECIPE - Grill Cheese Sandwich

Did you see all the Grill Cheese Sandwich recipes? I had no idea there could be so many combinations. I've had grill cheese twice this week and two more recipes are on my menu for this upcoming week! YUM!

I am excited today to announce the winner, voted on by you the readers and bloggers. This is our ninth month of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE; and it just keeps getting better and better! If you missed the post or if you are new here make sure you go back and check them out... we have 84 AMAZING Grill Cheese Sandwich Recipes from the challenge last week!

The Ultimate recipe is chosen from the blog that received the most traffic/most clicks from the linky party. Did you know that our little challenge received over 31,750 hits in one week, and by the month end we should hit at least 60,000 just like last month? That's wonderful and many bloggers who participate say that their challenge recipes are there most popular posts. If you want more details about this challenge or joining this challenge for next month read all about it here. Next month we will be baking and blogging about the ULTIMATE FRUIT SMOOTHIE. Please come join us!

Now, let's announce the May WINNER of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE.

The Ultimate GRILL CHEESE SANDWICH Recipe

Egg-in-a-Hole Grilled Cheese

Chocolate, Chocolate and More

Thank you, Chocolate, Chocolate and More for finding this recipe over at A Cozy Kitchen. We'd like to thank you for sharing your recipe with the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE. You deserve a big round of applause and you are entitled to the ULTIMATE CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE BUTTON, please feel free to grab it below if you wish and post it proudly on your blog.

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/p/crazy-cooking-challenge.html"><img src=" http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/CrazyCookingChallengeButtonVotedUltimateRecipe-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a><br /> </body>

Also a BIG THANK YOU to the bloggers who participated in the challenge!

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS #81 (EGG RECIPES) and Bacon, Potato & Egg Casserole

THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky Party #81

(EGG RECIPES: Egg Casseroles, Egg Dishes, Egg Appetizers)

Bacon, Potato & Egg Casserole

I made this for my sister-in-laws brunch baby shower and then again this weekend.

Bacon, Potato & Egg Casserole

adapted by me, but found at The Kitchn which was adapted from a recipe from Not Your Mother's Casseroles cookbook

4 to 6 slices thick bacon, cooked and diced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 yellow bell pepper, cleaned out and diced
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp salt, divided
8 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp fresh-cracked black pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag (32 oz) frozen diced potatoes, unthawed

Heat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Pre-cut the bacon into small pieces and the add the bacon to a large skillet and turn the heat on to medium. Cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until it is crisp. Add the onion, yellow bell pepper, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1 tsp of salt, and cook over medium heat until all the vegetables are soft — about 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly and whisk in the milk. Whisk in the remaining teaspoon of salt, and the black pepper. Stir in the cheese, frozen potatoes, and the bacon and vegetables from the skillet. (Don't worry; the frozen potatoes cook just fine!) Pour the whole mixture into the prepared baking dish. (At this point the casserole can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)

When you are ready to bake the casserole, bake for 40 minutes, or until the eggs are firm and the top is slightly golden. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean.

This week's theme is: EGG RECIPES

Please only link recipes with our theme!

If you are a regular to THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS Linky party, then link-up we're excited to see what you made this week. If you are new, please just follow our simple rules, so that everyone can enjoy the linky party! If you forget to follow the theme, your post will be deleted. Please don't feel hurt, just come back and link up a recipe that follows the theme. Thanks a million, we look forward to blogging with you!

Please Grab Our Button!!!

<a href=" http://momscrazycooking.blogspot.com/search/label/THIS%20WEEKS%20CRAVINGS" target="_blank "><img src="http://i1112.photobucket.com/albums/k498/Hudgens6/Buttons/ThisWeeksCravingsButton.jpg" /></a>

This Week's Cravings Upcoming Linky "THEMES"

Here is a complete list of the past and what's coming up next on THIS WEEK'S CRAVINGS!

May 21 - Memorial Day BBQ (BBQ Sauce & Grill Recipes)

May 28 - Share your favorite Cheeseburger Recipe

June 4 - Breakfast Breads (Donuts, Coffee Cakes, Muffins & More)

June 11 0 MAN'ly Meals for Father's Day

Your hostess for this party are: Tina from MOMS CRAZY COOKING, Nicole from The Daily Dish and Kristi from Veggie Converter. We host this theme linky party every Monday (and the party stays open all week long)! We hope to inspire you to make something with our theme or get an old post notice by linking it up to the linky party below. 

The LINKY PARTY is opened ALL Week!

PLEASE do not link more then 3 recipes per week.
This week's theme is: EGG RECIPES
Please only link recipes with our theme!

This week's theme is: EGG RECIPES
Please only link recipes with our theme!

Pineapple Strawberry Spa Water

This is so simple! So easy! And so refreshing! Every time I opened my refrigerator to this instead of plain ole' water, my heart sings. I think I will be making up another batch of this water for tomorrow's Mother's Day Celebration - Pool Side with my kids!

Pineapple Strawberry Spa Water
recipe found at Spa Water Blog

1 Cored Organic Pineapple
1 (large) carton Strawberries
fresh mint leaves or slices of cucumbers
Ice and water

Wash and slice fruit. Layer ice, fruit and mint leaves in a large beverage server or pitcher to store in your refrigerator. Fill beverage server with water. Serve water in wine glasses and garnish with a slice of pineapple.

Snickers Brownies

We are on the hunt for the OH MY brownie, the ONE & ONLY brownie that we will make for all time. The WOW we gotta have this brownie and well in the process we get to taste some pretty AMAZING brownies. Here is an over the top Snickers Brownie (I only wish my pictures came out a little better). And it's not so much my picture taking skills, the brownie just wouldn't stand up. I actually wasn't going to post this recipe at all, but you see the brownie was SO GOOD! We couldn't stop eating it despite the way it looked. So, enjoy and please share if you have made this or will make this delicious brownie. We'd love to see if your brownie stood up better then ours.

Snickers Brownies
recipe found at Jasey's Crazy Daisy, originally from How Sweet It Is

Brownie Layer
1 box favorite brownie mix
1/4 cup hot fudge topping, unheated, straight from the jar

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions for 9 x 13 pan, adding 1/4 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, unheated and straight from the jar to the batter. Cool completely.

Nougat Layer
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 (7oz) jars Marshmallow Creme
1/4 cup peanut butter (we used chunky peanut butter)
1-1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 tsp vanilla

Caramel Layer
1 (17 oz) jar of caramel

Candy Bar Topping
1-1/4 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cups peanut butter

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and evaporated milk, stirring until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Add in the marshmallow creme, peanut butter, and vanilla stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts. Pour evenly over cooled brownies. Use a spatula to help spread the mixture. It's best to stick in the freezer for about 15 minutes, to help it cool completely.

Scoop caramel topping into a saucepan and heat over low heat until caramel is soft and easy to stir. Pour the caramel over the nougat layer. Make sure to pour it evenly across the nougat covering as much of the surface as you can. This makes it easier to spread the caramel with a spatula. Let cool again by sticking it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth. Pour over nougat layer and cool completely at room temperature.

Big Mac (copy cat recipe)

Who LOVES Big Macs ? I do! I do! In fact I grew up eating them and I can still remember the day when I was quite young (maybe 10 years old or so), that I was a BIG girl and I got to order my own Big Mac instead of just having a bite of my dad's hamburger. AH, those were the days! Now with calories (and turning 40) Big Macs are just not on my diet list AT ALL! (and besides now that I know what "good beef" tastes like, the Big Mac is just not all the appetizing anymore). But, since I do THE the hamburger still, I decided to re-create my own at home and I am SO HAPPY I did. I just LOVE LOVE this recipe and I see now that I can make them at home and they are just as delicious.

Big Mac (copy cat recipe)
adapted by me, but recipe found at Serious Eats
sauce recipe updated 5-13-2012; found at Well Shut the Front Door

(makes about 4 hamburgers)

1 to 2 lbs favorite ground beef, well chilled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 slices American cheese (we like DOUBLE cheese)
1/4 cup finely minced onion (we don't like onions, so leave them out if you wish)
1 whole Wonderbread brand hamburger bun, plus 1 bottom bun
1 egg white
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
4 dill pickle slices (we leave out the pickles too... but that's how we order it at Mc D's)
4 tomato slices (this is NOT on a Big Mac, but we like it)

Burger Sauce
1-1/2 tbsp mayonnaise
1-1/2 tsp sweet pickle relish
1 tsp yellow mustard
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp marmite, vegemite or Maggi seasoning
1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Mix together ground beef, salt & pepper. Form hamburger meat into even balls and flatten into 4-inch patties using wet hands against a cutting board, they need to be very thin for the Big Mac. Scrape patties up with thin spatula and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Refrigerate until ready to use.

(SKIP if you don't like onions... like me) Place minced onion on a double layer of paper towels on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 10 minutes on low power until mostly dehydrated but not browned. Set aside.

Combine all of the burger sauce ingredients; stir to combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

Place burger patties on a heated heavy-bottomed 10-inch stainless steel or cast iron skillet over high heat until lightly smoking. (or bbq if you wish) Add patties and cook without moving until first side is crusty and browned. Scrape up patties with a stiff spatula and flip. When ready, top each patty with a slice of cheese. Continue cooking until cooked through, about 1 minute longer and cheese is melted.

While burger is cooking: Preheat toaster oven or broiler to high. Use one finger to spread a very thin layer of egg white over the top of the top bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place under broiler for 30 seconds until set. Set aside. Use a sharp, thin knife to cut off the very bottom of the bottom bun half, creating a single circular piece of bread with cut surfaces on both sides. Next toast the cut bun and bottom bun, under broiler until light golden brown. Set aside until ready to assemble.

To assemble the BIG MAC: Spread half of sauce on each bun. If using onions, divide dehydrated onions evenly between bottom and center buns and top with lettuce. Place 2 pickle slices on each (or skip pickles like us) and add a tomato instead. Transfer burger patty one to bottom bun and one to middle bun. Place top bun on top of center, then stack center bun on top of bottom. Serve immediately.

Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich and CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE

CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE #9 - Grill Cheese Sandwich

Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich

WOW! This is my 500th POST!!!

Before I start into the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE, I want to annouce that this here is my 500th POST. Who would of thought, just a little less then 2 years ago I would have started this blog and continued it for this long, LOVING every minute. I want to thank you ALL, for reading, commenting, baking and cooking along with me. For everyone who has tried my recipes, THANK YOU! And for all your words of encouragement along the way. It means the world to me! I am BLESSED! :-)

Yep, here we go, it's that time again. Time for another challenge. This month we are makng GRILL CHEESE SANDWICHES, if you enjoyed these as a kid, then lets go down memory lane or if you still LOVE them as an adult (like me) then look at all these amazing creations below. This CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE is still as exciting as it was the first month, if you haven't heard of this yet, then you MUST READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Wondering what the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE is? Want to join the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE? If so, we'd love to have you. Just click on the button above or the tab and fill out the form. You will then be sent an email with all the details. Only participants of the CRAZY COOKING CHALLENGE will be able to have their recipes linked-up, so if you missed this month please come join us for next month when we will be searching for the ULTIMATE Smoothie.

I LOVE grill cheese sandwiches and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. I know, could it get any better. I had countless amounts of this combo growing up and my kids have had countless amounts of these also. But, I have to admit I have NEVER EVER made any other kind of Grill Cheese Sandwich. It's always been 2 slices of white bread (YUM) and 2 slices of Kraft American Cheese (from the package), this is the ONLY way I make it and this is the ONLY way I like it. If you try and put cheddar or any other kind it's just not the same. Then I had this challenge come up and I could not make just this ole' fashion Grill Cheese, so I went a searchin'.

I found this Grilled Mozzarella Sandich over at Sarah's Cucina Bella and since it originally came from Martha Stewart, I thought I must give it a try (and secretly I LOVE mozzarella cheese and have never in my wildest dreams thought of making a grill cheese from it). The recipe was simple, things you should all have at home, no fancy cheeses and YOU CUT OFF THE CRUST, any kid would love this. I know my little boy hates crust. This sandwich reminds me a little of a Monte Cristo Sandwich (which is one of our favorite's of all time), but with just all cheese inside. It did not diappoint me and my kids loved it too.

Grilled Mozzarella Sandwich
recipe found at Sarah's Cucina Bella
originally from Martha Stewart

(makes 5 sandwiches)

5 to 10 slices fresh mozzarella (add 1 to 2 slices per sandwich)
10 slices White Bread (thick or thin), but CUT THE CRUST OFF!
2 large eggs
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/2 tsp dried basil, or 1 tsp fresh basil, torn into small pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
a dash of nutmeg
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp butter

In a medium skillet, heat half of the olive oil and half of the butter. Combine eggs, half and half (or cream), basil, kosher salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Beat together until well mixed. Keep the whisk handy, as you will want to remix later.

Place the one slice mozzarella between two slices of bread and dip into the egg mixture. Next place it in the skillet. Let each sandwich brown on both sides. Serve Hot.

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GRILLED MOZZARELLA SANDWICH