grilled cheese egg-in-a-hole

Back in April (around National Grilled Cheese Day), I meant to post about my grilled cheese egg-in-hole, which clearly didn't happen. I got distracted.. For three months.

So here is the story. I could not decide between breakfast and lunch. Grilled cheeses are one of my favorite foods, because it is hard to mess up and so so satisfying. All you have to do is make sure the buttered bread is perfectly toasted and the oozy cheese covers the entire surface of the bread. Whenever I'm feeling a little breakfasty (definitely not a real word), a fried egg always hits the spot. So putting the two together just seemed to make the most sense. God, I love when I'm right. It was brunch perfection.

Grilled Cheese Egg-In-A-Hole
Yields one sandwich

INGREDIENTS
2 slices of bread
2-3 slices of cheese (I use cheddar)
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter (more or less depending on preference)
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat skillet on medium to medium high heat. Place 1 Tbsp butter into the pan with one slice of bread. 
2. Cut the slices of cheese into thirds and assemble around the slice of bread, making not cheesy square I the center of the bread. Cover with other slice of bread.
3. Cook until cheese is melty and bread is toasted to liking on the one side, about 2 minutes. 
4. Flip sandwich over and 1 Tbsp of butter to pan so the other side can get buttery and toasty. Cook for about 1 minute on this side. 
5. With a cookie cutter or small glass (with about 2 1/2-inch diameter), cut a circle in the center of the grilled cheese.
6. Crack the egg into the center of the hole. Add a little more butter before cracking the egg into the pan if not using a nonstick skillet or just want to be safe.
7. Cover and cook egg until set to liking.
8. Slide sandwich onto a plate. Add salt and pepper to taste. Eat and enjoy!

Mayo-Free Chicken Salad

Well, hello! I am back from my hiatus. Maybe. Kind of. I'll get back to you on this. My last post was in June, which is absolutely horrifying. I'm sorry, I suck. My goal is to try to update as much as I can but, you know, life happens-- some bad but mostly a lot of good stuff within the past few months.

So, you should know that I slipped off Paleo (a lot) lately. I went to NYC for a week and a half in July and it was pretty much downhill from there. BUT, I'm definitely back on my grind and ready to share some new creations. I'm attempting a Whole60-- 2 months of super strict Paleo. My first Whole30 was a breeze, but I also had a lot more time then. Being a full-time student with 2 jobs, I know that this will be undoubtedly more challenging. Good thing I'm up for it and ready to kick butt.

Even though it's super late and I have an early day tomorrow, I need to get this recipe posted-- or else it's very likely it may never get done. And right about now, I'm thankful for that spontaneous 4-hour face-plant into my pillow earlier this evening.

Mayo-Free Chicken Salad
Yields 2-3 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups chicken breast, roughly diced (do yourself a favor and buy a big, fat, whole rotisserie chicken and dissect the hell out of it)
2 1/2 Tbsp red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, diced (at least 1/2 cup)
2 tsp fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tsp lime juice, freshly squeezed (about 1/2 a lime)
1/4 tsp salt*
1/4 tsp ground black pepper*

*The rotisserie chicken I bought was already gushing with seasoned juices. The s+p I added was mostly to balance the avocado, lime, and onion. If the chicken you use is bland, you can add more seasonings accordingly based on your taste preference.

DIRECTIONS
1. Dump all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl. 
2. Gently toss everything together until all ingredients are incorporated well. I use a fork to toss so I can also mash a few of the avocado pieces. I prefer to keep most chicken and avocado pieces pretty chunky. I feel like it's better when you can still identify what you're eating.
3. Eat right away or store in an airtight container. 

I already prepared some of the chicken salad on top of a bed of broccoli slaw in a container for my lunch tomorrow. I may have also squeezed a little more lime juice on top of the whole shabang with a sprinkling of more cilantro. The extra lime juice will hopefully prevent the avocados from browning too much. And the cilantro just looked pretty. I eat with my eyes, obviously.

I can't wait for this chicken salad..salad. The more greens, the better. I've dolloped this chicken salad on spinach, romaine, arugula, kale.. that whole family (and extended family) of leafy greens. Though, I also enjoy the roughage of the broccoli slaw (very similar to cabbage). It adds a crunchier texture component and it also holds up well when you're putting it together the night before. FYI, not a fan of soggy greens.

I'll probably still be baking up some fat, fat, very fat treats (which I will of course try to share, as well). Let's face it, I can't stop. However, if you've ever considered eating Paleo, I encourage you to join me! You will be eating great, looking great, and feeling great. And isn't that what we all want?! Sleep on it.. as I will be resuming face-plant into pillow.