Golden Apple Chedder Melt

I loved nights when my mom was too tired to cook. This didn't mean I had to fend for myself. I don't think I ever had to put a meal together until I left home. My mom was the meal maven and cranked out three meals a day for our family . . . every single day. No school lunches. No frozen dinners. No eating out. It was all Mom.

So I knew that on nights when Mom didn't want to cook, dinner would be all snacks! Popcorn (air popped of course), apple slices, grapes if they were in season, and sharp cheddar cheese.  Mmmmmmmmm.

When I needed a break from the salty popcorn, I switched to fruit, layering the cheese on the apple and alternating bites with grapes. I know I sound annal. I'm not. I just know the best way to each popcorn, cheese, and fruit. Trust my method on this one.

Fast forward - now my kids' favorite dinner, beside Kraft Mac and Cheese (they had one time on someone's birthday and the memory of it's fake, gooey, goodness still haunts them), is popcorn, fruit and cheese. I don't know if it's because I dance around the kitchen with glee when I'm making it or the fact that they just really like apples and cheese. Whatever the reason, I find myself serving this almost every week.

However, when you're low on cheese and out of butter for popcorn. This meal just can't be done.

So as I sat in front of my fridge last week looking at all the things I should be eating that are on the verge of going bad. A common posture.

I pulled out some sandwich thins - round pieces of bread that are a cross between a bagel, pita, and whole grain bread. At only 100 calories and clean eating approved, I thought they were a little expensive but worth it for my husband's lunches. My HUSBAND's lunches, not my kids. I always go cheap when it comes to the little guys since they don't appreciate the good stuff.

It had been a couple weeks since I began hoarding my sandwich thins. I hadn't used them yet cause I didn't have anything really good to fill them with. Peanut butter just seemed too low brow for these fancy little breads.

While my husband was at work, all the kids were home, and I was craving cheese and apples but didn't have enough cheddar to share with the brood, I stared at those sandwich thins and declared, "Today is the day!"

It's incredible to me how long it's taken to put this this sandwich together. Not that it's time consuming to make. I love apples and cheddar. Bread it good too. Why did it take me so long to put them together? Why is it that nothing good comes out of my kitchen until it almost goes bad?

The bit of broiled cheddar along with the tender Jonagold apple is taken to new heights with a good slathering of grainy mustard. The chewy sandwich thin made the perfect tender yet hearty bread for this low profile treat. The perfect warm, sweet, and savory snack one rainy afternoon during spring break.

And can you believe my kids actually appreciated it (hold the mustard).

Golden Apple Cheddar Melt

This sandwich is so easy it doesn't seem right to call this a recipe. Here are the assembly directions!

1. Turn your oven on Broil and set your rack all the way up.

2. Grate some cheddar. You don't need all that much and whatever you don't use you can store in a baggie for salads, eggs, or more sandwiches.

3. Slather one side of the sandwich thin with grainy mustard. Okay, fine! If you don't have sandwich thins you can use whole grain bread or one side of a bagel. But really, the sandwich thin makes a big difference. Sprinkle cheese on both sides. Place on baking sheet and slide into the oven on the top rack for about 1 MINUTE! That's not long. I watch my constantly so the cheese melts but the bread doesn't burn.

4. Remove from heat, layer on thin Jonagold apple slices. You can use any tender sweet apple. A crack of pepper if you want and that's it! Eat up in less than 5 minutes!