Kale and Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

I don’t often make sandwiches. This became readily apparent to me when I noticed I don’t even have a sandwiches category here on the site! This is due to the fact that I usually try to stay away from bread all together. Carbs are my weakness and my enemy. Once I eat a slice of bread, next thing you know I will have shoved a whole box of girl scout cookies down my throat and eaten two bowls of cereal in a row. It’s messy. No one wants to see that. But I digress.

Last night I decided to actually make a grilled cheese sandwich. Shocking, I know. But this might just be the healthiest grilled cheese EVER. I served this along with the Tomato Poblano Soup that was paired with this recipe in this month’s Cooking Light. The soup went really well with the sandwiches, and since I thought the sandwiches were a little on the drier side, dumping them in the soup really helped out.

By the way — this version makes 2 sandwiches (one for Joe and one for me!) so just double the recipe if you have more people!

2 medium kale leaves, stems removed
1 t. canola oil
1 medium red onion, sliced
Salt & Pepper
1/2 t. red wine vinegar
4 slices multigrain bread
Cooking Spray
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c. grated white cheddar cheese

First, preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add the kale leaves, and remove the pot from the heat and let stand for about 3-4 minutes, or until the kale is bright green. Drain the pot and rinse the kale under cold water until the leaves have cooled, and then pat dry.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high and add the canola oil. Add the red onion, salt & pepper, and cook for 10 minutes or until the onion is tender and browned, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, stir in vinegar, and toss to coat.

Then, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat 1 side of each bread slice with cooking spray. Using 2 bread slices at a time, arrange bread in pan, sprayed side down. Cook for 1 minute or until bread begins to brown. Sprinkle a little parmesan on 1 bread slice, top with 1 kale leaf, some onions, and some cheddar cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slice. Transfer the sandwich to a baking sheet.

Repeat this procedure with your other sandwich. Bake the sandwiches at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

Like I said, these were kind of dry. Next time I will either add more cheese or use a mayo or something so that they go down easier without having to drown them in the soup.