When I flipped this sandwich out of the frying pan and onto Will’s plate, I instantly smiled. Do you see it? The simple, unmistakable shape was clear as day. Instead of shooting a photo of the most perfect sandwich in the batch, I went with the one with the perfect little unexpected heart.

Here, you can see it better in this one:

That perfect little unexpected heart is a lot like a mother’s love. You carry a child for nine and a half months. Of course you are supposed to love them, it’s expected. But loving that little seed in your belly is like talking to an imaginary friend. You know the baby is there and real. But before anyone can see or touch that baby, it’s intangible. It’s confusing and uncertain. Really, it’s an abstract thing – loving something, someone, whom you don’t know and who you’ve never met. It’s complicated. Then one day they are born. And you are expected to love them right away, instantly. You can’t help but wonder if you really can love someone whom you only know as the alien jabs in your belly. So, when you have that swell of emotion when the baby first cries, that pop of relief that they really have arrived safely, it is unexpected.

This evening after dinner, I curled onto the couch next to Will. He scurried his little warm body close to me and laid down in front of me. I put my arms around him and hugged him close, while his short hair tickled my nose. “I love you, Mommy,” he whispered.

Simple, unexpected, heart swelling. What more can a mom ask for?

As for the sandwich, well, I can’t wait to make another one. It was sweet and sharp and crispy all at once. Absolutely, positively delish. And yes – this is totally kid-approved.

French Toasted Apple Grilled Cheese
serves 4

8 slices bread (I use a low-cal oatmeal bread that is thinly sliced)
2 tbsp apple butter, divided
4 ounces of sliced extra-sharp cheddar (I used a block of cheddar and cut enough slices to cover the bread)
1 egg, beaten well

Spread 1/2 tbsp of apple butter on one side of a slice of bread. Repeat until you have four slices with apple butter on them. Place cheddar slices on each of the apple buttered slices of bread. Top with remaining slices of bread.

Heat a large skillet on the stove, with the heat set to just below medium.

Pour the beaten egg onto a plate. When the skillet is hot, dredge each sandwich in the egg (on both sides of the bread) and place onto the skillet. Remember, you want to dredge, not drench. Cook, flipping once, until bread is browned on both sides.

Serve immediately.

In my single days, a mainstay of my cooking was stir fry. It is just so easy. Chop up a few veggies, toss it in a pan with a little oil and stir, stir, stir until the vegetables are done, then add sauce and serve over rice. If you are feeling particularly ambitious, you might add a hint of meat too, but it’s certainly not required. It’s high on taste, low on fat and calories and just good eating …

However, over the past few years, I have stopped making stir fries as often. Why? I really don’t know. Maybe I’ve been too seduced by other meals I have learned to make or maybe the chop, chop, chop just didn’t seem as fun anymore …

The other day though, when I was considering what I could possibly whip up with the sparse contents of my fridge, I decided to make a stir fry. By cutting all of the veggies into bite-sized portions before cooking, this meal becomes super easy to eat alone or with kids. Once finished, it can be just dished up and served, no further cutting required.

The sauce is a star in this dish. The nuances of cinnamon and allspice give the soy and garlic-based sauce a depth of warm flavor. It reminds me ever so slightly of a Moroccan chicken dish I make about once a year. Ever. So. Slightly.

So how’d the kids like it? Well, when I heated up leftovers the next day, they demanded more … I’d say it was a home run here.

Garlic Soy Stir Fry
serves 4

If you choose to add the meat, be sure to use a tender steak. For this, I used meaty trimmings from a filet rump roast I recently cut down into steaks.  As a result, the meat was tender, buttery and perfect.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow onion
1 large carrot
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
5-6 ounces of beef, chopped into bite sized pieces

First, prep the vegetables. remove the stem and seed the peppers. Discard the waste. Then dice into small-ish pieces, about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch. Next, peel the onion and discard the peel. Dice the onion into about a 1/2 inch dice. Finally, peel the exterior of the carrot. Discard peelings. Then, use the peeler to cut the carrot into strips. Pile the strips and run a knife through them to cut them down into smaller pieces.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over just under medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the vegetables. Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, allspice and cinnamon. Add to the skillet and stir to combine. Add the beef to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes until it’s browned on all sides and the sauce is slightly reduced.

Remove from heat.

To serve: Place rice in a bowl and make a well in the center. Top with stir fry. Serve. A simple iceberg lettuce salad with carrot shards with soy-ginger dressing would make a great accompaniment.

See the image above? That’s the macaroni and cheese that I grew up on. It was artificially flavored, dyed and full of preservatives – and yummy as can be. I cannot tell you how many times that was my quick dinner before swim practice or an easy lunch when I was home alone from school. And I loved every single bite (hey, I still buy the stuff on occation . . . what can I say? I have a soft spot for the unnatural goodness).

When I heard about Kevin at Seriously Good and Cookiecrumb from I’m Mad And I Eat having a little mac and cheese off, I was intrigued. And then I was psyched. Mac and cheese?!? My FAVORITE!!! But life got the best of me and I didn’t finish this post in time (since all the hoopla was happening yesterday). Nonetheless, this was a great dish that I had to share.

This isn’t your traditional mac and cheese though. For one, I really wanted cheese tortellini, so I used that instead of macaroni. And the sauce is a three cheese variation of alfredo sauce . . . it is lower fat than a traditional alfredo sauce though. I definitely recommend my cheese combination of Dubliner, Asiago and Romano – YUM. (For the record, I really, really, really LOVE cheese . . . like really.)

So ultimately, this means that I can also continue my legacy of having never made traditional macaroni and cheese. (Geez, there is a lot of ‘traditional’ in this post . . .) I’ve never made it and I don’t intend to anytime soon. Kraft (and Annie’s Natural . . . yum, that stuff is great and FORTUNATELY is more natural) do a great job of it already.

Three Cheese Sauce
serves 4

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup of three cheeses (I used equal parts of Dubliner, Asaigo and Romano, definitely recommend this combination)
salt and pepper to taste
dash paprika

You are going to need a medium skillet and a sturdy spoon to stir with. First, combine butter and evaporated milk in a medium skillet over medium heat.

Stir constantly until butter melts and mixture begins to get all bubbly. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for about 6 minutes, continuing to stir frequently, until mixture thickens slightly.

Remove from heat and stir in cheeses, salt, pepper and paprika until it’s well combined into a yummy sauce.

Ta-da!

Serve over pasta of your choice – 8 ounces of pasta will yield 4 servings.

Directly following dinner Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving dinner), I started making turkey stock with my leftover carcass from the turkey. After letting the stock cool all the way, I skimmed the fat from the top and seperated the broth into freezer bags for later use. I also reserved four cups of it to make some soup today.

Winter time is soup time. The cool weather and warm soup go hand-in-hand. I’ve been stressing trying to think of some delicious soup recipes to make so I can take some to work but ultimately this was a “hmm, what do I have leftover to use?” sort of recipe. It came together so well that I figured it would be a great thing to share for WHB.

One of the herbs used in this soup is sage, one of the few herbs that has a flavor that intensifies with drying. Go figure. But I still like fresh herbs over dried, and had leftovers from Thanksgiving. One interesting thing I learned recently about sage is that research has shown that sage may indeed improve short term memory and could aid in improved quality of life for alzheimers patients (it might help counteract the causes of memory loss).

Back to the soup. This is a great for those nights were you want something filling that won’t bog you down. It’s also great for a quick and easy lunch to take to work and heat up.

4 cups turkey stock (or stock of your choice)
1 19 oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup baby portabella mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large shallot (or two small-medium), sliced
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 generous tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingrediants in a large saucepan and stir together.

Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and let sit 15-20 minutes, stirring once in a while.