I am a big foodie (if y’all don’t know by now) so my passion is not limited to cooking at home. We like to explore new restaurants and cuisines all the time! Each time we are at a restaurant enjoying a meal I catch myself saying, “Umm I think I can make that at home!”
Most weekdays as a wife and a mother I’m running errands and finishing chores. Lunch can easily turn into a snack on the go or you have to fight the urge of picking up a sandwich on the way to school pick up time. I try to deal with these issues with leftover dinners but often I try to whip up something simple and easy for myself, which is delicious, too.
I have a favorite lunch spot that offers a pick two menu where you pick any two items of your choice and mine always happens to be a half sandwich and a salad. This is my favorite and easiest way to brighten up lunch, be it weekdays or even weekends with family. It’s the grilled pimento cheese with a fresh salad.
In order to make things easy for myself I always have some salad greens, tomatoes and a favorite salad dressing on hand. You cannot go wrong with any of the fresh locally grown greens and juicy tomatoes. The market offers different kind of vinaigrettes too.
For my Lunch Special of Grilled Pimento Cheese Sandwich with Fresh Salad you will need:
- 1 slice of multigrain or whole wheat bread
- 1 spoon full of pimento cheese (Jill Holden’s of Paradise Gardens at the CFM is really yummy)
- Salad greens of any kind (mine came from Elliott Grows at the CFM)
- 1 chopped tomato (We have many beautiful varieties at the CFM)
- 5-6 olives sliced (Sprouts has good organic ones)
- Salad dressing (Texas Olive Ranch has great options but for this one – I used olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette)
- A little grass fed butter to spread
Instructions:
- Heat a griddle, cut your slice of bread into two and spread some butter on each side.
- Place butter side down, spread your pimento cheese and press the other piece of bread on top.
- Flip over and in a minute and press down a little with flat spoon.
- I always keep my heat on medium-low as it makes it crisp but not burnt.
- In a little bowl mix all your greens, tomato, olives, the dressing and toss.
This yummy lunch took me 5 minutes to make, start to finish. I always make a list of items that I’m going to make during the week and divide my shopping list between the farmers market and the store. It’s always a good idea to have some dishes in mind before purchasing any produce to avoid waste. I hope you’ll enjoy this “pick two” item from my menu and I will see you at the market!!
By Neha Pant