Today, I’m participating in Kitchen PLAY’s “30 Days of Grilled Cheese” event, sponsored by Land O Lakes Deli Cheese! The challenge is to create my own recipe using Land O Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend Deli Cheese.
We love grilled cheese sandwiches in my house, but I wanted to come up with something more substantial for a quick weeknight dinner. Since I’m into make-ahead meals, I thought that the Italian cheese would go great with my homemade meatballs. I freeze sauce and meatballs in labeled containers in a portion size that suits my family. You can easily defrost the meatballs in the microwave and make these sandwiches within 30 minutes and pair it with a tossed salad or Tomato Soup!
Here’s the tutorial!
For each sandwich, butter two pieces of Italian bread.
Heat the meatballs and slice them into ½-inch slices.
In a grill pan or skillet over medium-low heat, place one slice of bread (buttered side down). Arrange the sliced meatballs on top.
Place one slice of Land O Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend deli cheese on top.
Place the other slice of bread on top (buttered side up).
Brown on both sides.
If the cheese isn’t melted when the bread is browned, place the sandwich on a sheet pan in a 350°F oven for several minutes.
Watch carefully, so the buttered bread doesn’t burn.
Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients for one sandwich
- 2 slices of Italian bread
- butter
- 2 meatballs, sliced (use recipe below)
- 1 slice of Land O Lakes 4 Cheese Italian Blend deli cheese
Directions
- Heat grill pan or skillet on medium-low heat
- Spread 2 slices of bread with butter.
- Place one slice of bread (butter side down) in the pan.
- Top with sliced meatballs, cheese, and bread (butter side up).
- Lightly brown sandwich on both sides. If the cheese isn’t melted, place on a sheet pan in 350°F oven for several minutes until melted. Watch carefully, so the buttered bread doesn’t burn.
Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2/3 cup onion, diced
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (28 oz. cans) ground peeled tomatoes
- 12 oz. can tomato paste
- 2¾ cups water
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Meatballs
- 1½ lbs. ground beef (85% lean)
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black ground pepper
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mix all of the meatball ingredients together.
- Use ¼ cup of the meatball mixture to form a round meatball. Place all of the meatballs on a sheet pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
- While the meatballs are cooking, heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and stir occasionally until translucent. Add the garlic and stir for one minute.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the ground tomatoes, tomato paste, water, oregano, ground pepper, sugar, and pepper flakes. Stir well until smooth.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 1½ hours. Stir occasionally and lower the heat slightly if the sauce sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Freeze
Be sure to cool the sauce and meatballs (in labeled containers) in the refrigerator before you freeze them. They freeze well for 3 months and can be defrosted easily in the microwave.
More about Land O Lakes Cheese
Land O Lakes® 4 Cheese Italian Blend
Land O Lakes® 4 Cheese Italian Blend is the best combination of the most flavorful Italian cheeses—Asiago, Parmesan and Romano—blended with the creamy goodness of Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese. Add this delicious cheese to everything from favorite dishes to lunchbox sandwiches or burgers hot off the grill. The creamy, decadent taste truly makes each dish an everyday masterpiece. The Land O’Lakes Test Kitchens have developed recipes and tips that highlight the wide range of uses for this cheese. Find recipes, photos and tips on the Taste of Italy product inspiration page at http://www.landolakes.com/4CheeseItalianBlend.
Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese
Only one deli cheese can be America’s favorite, and it’s Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese. Land O’Lakes uses only high-quality ingredients to make a smooth, fresh-tasting, delicious cheese, every time you slice it. The melt-in-your-mouth creaminess makes grilled cheese, burgers, sandwiches and snacks irresistible. Available in white or yellow, and in 2% milk and 30% less sodium varieties, it’s sliced fresh at the deli just how you like it. It’s no wonder that when people want the best in deli cheese, they ask for the hands-down favorite, Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese.
DISTRIBUTION:
Currently, Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese is available at
a wide variety of grocery retailers and independent delis, primarily in the East Coast.
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE:
$5.99 to $6.49 per pound, varies by market
STORAGE:
Visit www.landolakes.com to view the full deli cheese selection.
Pin a Meal. Give a meal.
Throughout April until May 1, Land O’Lakes will donate $1 to Feeding America every time someone pins or repins a Land O’Lakes recipe on Pinterest. That’s eight meals for a hungry family when you pin a recipe—and eight more every time anyone else repins it. Giving goes viral. Find your favorite Grilled Cheese recipe to pin on landolakes.com.
*Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Land O’Lakes as part of the Kitchen Play Sidecar series. All opinions given are my own.
Looks delicious. I love this idea for a hearty meatball and grilled cheese sandwich. Stumbled!
I LOVE grilled cheese and your meatballs look mighty tasty. What a great combo!
This would be a winner winner in our home!!
Oh my. That looks so good. I love the the 4 cheese Italian blend. So good in so many different recipes!