Grilled Cheese with Tomato, Avocado, Bacon, and Arugula

Did you know that April is National Grilled Cheese month? We’ve been celebrating this super fun holiday for a few weeks already.

Why? Grilled Cheese is all I’ve had time to cook lately! HA! And it is something that the whole family can agree on. Even our resident picky eater doesn’t mind a toasty, cheesy sandwich. Though he will opt for his without any extra special ingredient additions.

I have always had a soft spot for grilled cheese sandwiches. Growing up we had an unspoken tradition that Sunday lunch after church was grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup.

Back then our lunch was a simple grilled sandwich made with whole wheat bread and cheddar cheese and paired with a can of store bought tomato soup.

Now, with my own family, we regularly enjoy this old tradition, but I like to keep things interesting by trying different cheeses, like Jarlsberg USA, and breads. After all, it’s a great way to make food more fun for kids and expose them to new varieties of foods they already eat.

Serve up your grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade tomato soup and you’re sure to have a simple, delicious, and healthy meal fit for any day of the week.

Recipes for Homemade Tomato Soup:

Tomato Soup is perfect for pairing with a grilled cheese sandwich. Here are a few of our family’s favorite recipes:

• Cream of Tomato Soup
• Easy Florentine Tomato Soup
• Roasted Tomato Soup with Sweet Onion

For our newest grilled cheese experiment we took our inspiration from a classic BLT sandwich and one of our favorite burgers – the ABC Patty Melt from Flying Star Cafe here in New Mexico.

The result: Gooey melted Jarlsberg Cheese meets avocado, applewood bacon, arugula rather than lettuce, and sliced tomato. And of course, I couldn’t resist serving it with a bowl of Easy Florentine Tomato Soup (minus the pasta, plus a splash of cream).

Want to get creative in the kitchen with grilled cheese? Leave a comment and enter to win this fun Jarlsberg USA Grilled Cheese Kit Gift Basket.

Grilled Cheese with Tomato, Avocado, Bacon, and Arugula

Yield: 1 sandwich

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Because sandwiches are very much about personal preference, feel free to use this recipe more as a guideline. If you prefer more cheese or arugula, for example, go ahead and adapt the recipe according to your personal tastes.

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Ingredients

• 2 slices whole grain artisan bread
• softened butter
• 2 - 4 slices Jarlsberg Cheese Deli Fresh Slices
• 3 slices uncured applewood bacon, cooked until crispy
• a small handful of baby arugula leaves
• 2 - 3 slices tomato
• 2 - 3 slices avocado

Instructions

1. Butter one side only of the sliced bread according to your personal preference. On the non-buttered side of both of the slices of bread, place 1 -2 slices of cheese. (Add additional cheese if desired or if your bread slices are large)
2. Place the buttered bread cheese side up, butter side down on a griddle or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Cook until the bottom side of the bread is toasted and the cheese is melted. Turn down the heat on the stove, if necessary, to prevent over browning and/or burning of the bread.
3. Add the cooked bacon on top of the cheese on one slice of bread. On the other slice layer the arugula, tomato, and avocado on top of the melted cheese. Press both slices together. If the sandwich needs extra warming, cook for 1-2 minutes per side. Eat immediately and enjoy!

Notes

You can add the avocado, bacon, arugula and tomato to the sandwich before cooking if desired. I personally prefer my tomato, arugula and avocado uncooked so I add it in afterwards.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1777Total Fat: 151gSaturated Fat: 46gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 94gCholesterol: 176mgSodium: 1604mgCarbohydrates: 74gFiber: 42gSugar: 8gProtein: 53g

GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.

Did you make this?

I’d love it if you let me know what you think! Snap a photo and tag me on Instagram at @goodlifeeats with the hashtag #goodlifeeatsrecipes so I can see what you’re cooking up in your kitchen!

Giveaway Prize (1 winner):

• Lodge USA mini 6.5-inch skillet
• Boska Holland easy cheese grater and toastabags
• Grilled Cheese Please!: 50 Scrumptiously Cheesy Recipes, by Laura Werlin
• A selection of delectable, melt-able cheeses: Wedge and sliced Jarlsberg and Round of Woolwich Dairy triple crème goat brie and stick of goat mozzarella

Giveaway Value: $75

Thank you Jarlsberg USA for providing this giveaway!

Giveaway Requirements:

• Check out what Jarlsberg USA’s website and tell me what recipe or cheese you’d like to try.
  
• Contest ends May 2, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
• Contest open to US States only.
• Winner will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond before disqualified and a new winner chosen.

Optional Extra Entries:

An additional entry can be earned by doing the following, giving you a total of 4 entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.

1. Follow goodlifeeats and Jarlsberg USA on Twitter and ReTweet the following message: I just entered to win a @JarlsbergUSA Grilled Cheese Kit Gift Basket from @goodlifeeats http://wp.me/p14Uvo-2Ju #giveaway

2. Share your tip for the perfect grilled cheese on Jarlsberg USA’s blog post: Have You Mastered the Perfect Grilled Cheese?. Come back HERE and let me know you did, or I won’t be able to count an extra entry for you.

3. Pin this post on Pinterest.

 

I was compensated for my time and the giveaway fulfillment is provided by Jarlsberg USA, but all opinions and experiences with the product remain my own opinion.