The food of the gods..and broke college students

You know when you have those two sad slices of bread left at the bottom of the bag, and no one in your suite seems to be eating them, and if you don’t make toast tonight tomorrow they’ll be stale pieces of petrified wood? Bwog is here with two solutions to turn them into a tasty, delicious dinner to keep you from letting your bread go to waste!

Garlic White Bean Spread 

Ingredients

  • Bread — Steal from Ferris to save extra $!
  • White beans — one can
  • Rosemary, thyme, sage — a generous sprinkling of each, crushed
  • Garlic — 2 cloves
  • Parsley — 1/4 cup, chopped
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Sour cream, cream cheese, or greek yogurt — a few spoonfuls to taste

I make this with home with hard beans from scratch (raw beans? Unsure of the terminology but I really don’t like the phrase raw beans), but that’s super time consuming so feel free to go with canned Great Northern or Navy beans.

Pour a little olive oil in a pan on low and toss in the garlic, minced. Again, if you’re a garlicky person, add more! If you’re not a garlicky person, please don’t make this recipe, because garlic is in the title.

Let the garlic sizzle until it’s aromatic but not too toasty. Pour in the beans and let some of the liquid cook down. Add the chopped herbs and salt and pepper.

I like to mash the beans within the pan as if you were making refried beans, because I can continue cooking them down until they reach a thicker consistency. If you don’t have a masher, you can throw them in a blender or food processor and add your creamy element: sour cream, greek yogurt, and cream cheese all work well, as well as Parmesan cheese. Spread on bread, drizzle with olive oil, and enjoy! This is also a great dip for pita chips and crackers.


Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese

Ingredients

  • Bread!
  • A solid hunk of cheddar cheese — the sharper, the better! If you don’t have cheddar, then gouda or any smoked cheese also works!
  • Butter — a few tablespoons
  • Half of an onion or a shallot, sliced
  • Apple — thinly sliced

Begin with sauteeing onions on a low setting with a little bit of butter and salt and pepper. You can also throw in a little bit of sage to make things more interesting! You have to let the onions take their time— if you’re impatient and turn up the heat, you’ll end up with crunchy charred ones instead of the juicy golden brown ones we are aiming for.
Once the onions are soft and translucent, begin assembling your sandwich in the same pan. For the crunchiest bread slices, spread butter on both sides before you add it to the pan. Layer it generously with cheese and apples, and add the onions from the same pan. Cook until golden brown on each side, flipping, and waiting until the cheese is completely melted. Slice with a serrated knife to get the most satisfying cheese pull ever.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons