A Healthy Kind of Grilled Cheese Kids Will Love Because They Can Make It Themselves

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A Plain Sheet of Matzoh Awaits Some Kitchen Creativity

 iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Passover ended last week.  Yet there are still more than a few boxes of matzah left over at our house.  What's a good Jewish mother to do?

Don't worry, I'm not going to save it for next year -- yes, people I know really do that (not me), LOL.  Instead, I decided to rise to the challenge of somehow combining this matzoh surplus with the cheese that Tillamook sent me for tasting and review on this blog.

Tillamook Kosher Medium Cheddar Cheese
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

The Tillamook variety I received was the Kosher Medium Cheddar Cheese.  Though they produce a range of dairy products, this is the only one that the Oregon company makes that is certified kosher.   

This particular cheese is made with a vegetable-based rennet which also makes it acceptable to vegetarians but it is not considered vegan because it contains milk.  An added product plus, health wise, is that this cheddar is made with milk from cows that were not treated with the artificial growth hormone rBST.

A Scene from the Tillamook Loaf Love Tour

Photo Courtesy of Tillamook Cheese

Inspired by the grilled cheese competition Tillamook sponsored during their recent Loaf Love Tour, I cooked up my own version of the classic sandwich in my own kitchen at home.  For sure,  you don't have to be kosher or even Jewish to enjoy this new twist on an old family favorite.  Good thing, too, that matzoh is widely available in many supermarkets nationwide and usually can be found in the kosher or ethnic section year-round.
Grated Tillamook Kosher Cheese
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

The beauty of the rendition I came up with is four-fold.  First, it only requires two ingredients: a loaf of Tillamook's Kosher Medium Chedar Cheese (which you will need to grate) and a box of matzah.  Even better, this is so easy and quick to cook in just 30 seconds that even a child can make his own sandwich as long as he knows how to use the microwave safely.  It's also really good tasting and crunchy which really seems to appeal to kids.  Best of all, this Mommy Blog Expert concoction is healthier than traditional grilled cheese because no fat or grease is used in the preparation.

MommyBlogExpert's Matzoh Grilled Cheese
Serve open face (as pictured) or top with a second piece of plain Matzoh
iPhone Photo by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

All my kids love this fun way to eat grilled cheese which I made plain for them. But this would also be good with raw sliced tomatoes or sauteed vegetables of your choice on top when you pop it into the micro.  With four teens at my house, I've found that this is an ideal quick and healthy snack that they can whip up for themselves any time of the day or night whenever they get the munchies.

My oldest triplet -- who also made an off the charts macaroni and cheese with some of the cheese we received, sums up our family's experience well.  "Tillamook is the best cheddar cheese I've ever tasted.  I also love it because there are so many ways kids can use it to make a snack or meal for ourselves that is both delicious and healthy."
My Daughter's Delectable Tillamook Mac & Cheese
iPhone by Janis Brett Elspas, MommyBlogExpert.com

Now that your mouth is watering from this all this blog talk about fun ways for kids to cook with cheese, please leave a comment and share your own favorite way to use cheddar in a meal or snack.

FTC Disclosure: Tillamook sent us their scrumptious cheese to facilitate our family's taste and review project.  I did not receive any payment or other compensation related to this post.   See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.