A Couple of Awards and Grilled Egg and Cheese Sandwiches

I haven't posted here since Tuesday! I'm thinking this is the longest I've gone without updating since I dreamed up "Krista's Kitchen" last October. I've been away from home participating in the Relay for Life, planning a class reunion, cheering on my nephew in a parade, and catching up with my family. In my absence, something exciting has happened...I have received my first two awards! I'm so excited! This blog has never received an award and now, all of the sudden, I've got two. Let me show you.

First, from Heidi at Tried and True Cooking with Heidi comes the Extraordinary and Awesome Blogger Award.



I am so flattered! Thanks, Heidi! Heidi's blog is also extraordinary and awesome. She's got tons of delicious recipes, especially for busy moms like me.

Then tonight, after 24 technology free hours, I looked at my blog and found a comment from Carole of Hey Mom, What's for Dinner Tonight? awarding me the Premio Meme Award:



If you haven't visited Carole's blog, or should I say blogs...she also writes about home decorating, travel, and photography...you should check them out. She's amazingly multi-talented! With the Premio Meme Award comes a small assignment. I'm supposed to describe 7 of my personality traits, so here goes:

1. I'm super friendly and outgoing. My mom says, "You never met a stranger." It's true. I love people. Love meeting new people. And I possess the "gift of gab". Maybe to a fault. Some might even say I talk excessively. Hey, maybe I just have a lot to say, right?

2. I'm impatient. I don't like to wait. I don't like to repeat myself. I really admire those of you who possess patience. As a mommy, patience is an important skill. I'm working on it.

3. I'm funny. Or at least I can be. Or maybe I just think that I am. I definitely laugh at myself. But I don't have a quick wit. I'm jealous of those people that always have the perfect one-liner or come back. That's not me. I do love to laugh and make other people laugh.

4. I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and I tend to make everything into a "production".

5. I'm adventurous. I will swing on vines and wade through quick sand (okay, maybe not quick sand) if the opportunity presents itself. I love hiking and exploring. Going to new places and trying new things. I rarely order the same thing twice off of a menu.

6. I like organization. Neat rooms. I make lists. I update my planner frequently. Write meal plans....

7. I'm a perpetual optimist. I try to see the best in everyone and every situation. I also believe that 90% of the stuff we worry about never happens (if we use a little common sense and normal precaution) and the other 10% that actually happens is the stuff we never saw coming and is beyond our control. I'm pretty sure that crisis cannot be prevented by worry. Consequently, I'm not a worrier. Plus, I'm a woman of faith. This counteracts my Type A delusions that I can control everything.

So there you have it! 2 awards (Thanks, ladies!) and 7 things about me. I need to pass these awards on, and I will, later this week. Now on to a little cooking...

I didn't actually cook this today. I took these pictures last week. However, if I were home, we probably would've eaten these today. After staying up late and getting up early for the last few days, I was finishing my laps in the Relay for Life around 3 a.m. this morning. Now I'm beat. You can bet I didn't feel like cooking today. Enter the egg and cheese sandwich:



This is one of my go-to sandwiches. I almost always have the ingredients on hand. Bread, egg, cheese, and butter. When I can't think of what to make or the pantry is getting bare or I just need a little comfort food, this is it. It works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When I was in high school, my dad made these for me before school in the mornings. Now I make them for my family. You can change it up by using different types of cheese (sharp white cheddar, provolone, fontina...the possibilities are limitless) or throwing in a veggie (asparagus, onion, a little tomato and basil) or meat (ham, bacon, or sausage). You can change the bread (wheat, sourdough, multigrain...) or even add a sauce (hollandaise). Pictured above in it's "purest" (ha ha processed American cheese, bleached out white bread) form: Fried egg, American single, buttered white bread. Any way you have it... it's delicious!

Heat a skillet with butter or oil, then break an egg for each sandwich onto the surface. I fry mine to over-easy status. I like the yolk dripping out of the sandwich onto my plate and then sopping it up with my bread. Classy, right?



When the eggs are cooked to your satisfaction, place a piece of buttered bread on the skillet, buttered side down (you know, just in case you don't know how to grill a sandwich already), and top with the egg. Put the cheese atop the egg and then another piece of buttered bread.



Grill until the cheese is melted and the bread is golden brown. That's it!



Oh. Before I go, I want to give a shout out to my wonderful husband. You may notice the recipe categories in my sidebar (beef, chicken, appetizers, soup, etc.) I spent some time last week updating my tags so that I'd be ready to organize my posts into the appropriate categories. My husband (technical wizard that he is) did the rest.(Thanks, honey!) Now you can just click on "beef", for example and all of those recipes in that category should show up on your screen. Pretty cool! Hopefully recipes will be a little easier for ya'll to access now. I love efficiency!

Now I'm off to work on the meal plan. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend!