Fried Chicken BLT Grilled Cheese

The Surgeon General ordered me to post this warning before the rest of this blog: This sandwich is SEVERELY bad for your cholesterol, triglycerides, waist line, thigh size, cellulite fighting efforts, and everything else you might be worried and/or vain about.

Oh, but it is so good.

I mean, look at that. Look at it. Who comes up with stuff like this? KFC ain't got nothing on John and me. (The chicken came from Lee's Famous Recipe, fyi.) This sandwich was largely John's idea, so I give him credit. In all honesty, I was reluctant to make the thing. I value my figure. I'm supposed to be getting in shape for a wedding! 

A bit about assembly - place mayo on one bread piece, and then cheese slices on the other piece. Set bacon on top of cheese, stick chicken to mayo. Then add tomatoes, lettuce. Try to keep the lettuce away from the heat. Look at them towering out of the fry pan! Sheesh. Was not easy to flip, but I got her done.

 I used the same pan I made the bacon in to fry the sandwiches. Dumped most of the grease out, and then wiped it down. This is a very fried sandwich, no? Fried chicken, fried bacon... Technically the grilled cheese is a type of fried sandwich. I didn't butter the outsides of my bread, but instead placed the butter slab straight into the pan. Oh, yeeeeaaaaaah. You know you want some!

I swear, I sweat grease afterward. At least no one will wonder why I've gained weight.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Katie, where have you been?? Or so I like to think people think. Reader's could be thinking 'Oh look, another blog entry from that woman that likes to talk about what she occasionally cooks/bakes. How nice. Pffft.'

Truth can be so painful.

I've been busy, okay? I've got a wedding to plan (September of next year, y'all), and, for those of you who don't know, I have another hobby which I'm obsessed with, writing fiction. I'm sure there are some people rolling their eyes about now, but I've been PUBLISHED. And that's kinda like a big deal, m'kay? A new story of mine will be released soon in The Realm Beyond #5, titled 'Ugly Roses'. Buy a copy! Buy one for your Mom! Your Dad! Your dog! It's Sci-fi! That's right, I write SCI-FI. And Fantasy. And Horror. My coolness factor just climbed by like, 3 massive points.

So, who here has had pumpkin something-or-other mixed with chocolate before? In the foodie world, this is a popular combination. Really big last year. Why? Because its AWESOME. Pumpkin hot, pumpkin cold, pumpkin mixed with chocolate just one day old!

This is a quick bread recipe, adapted from Taste of Home. The recipe on TOH seemed a bit lacking to me, as if it wouldn't come out pumpkin pie-y like it should. Called for cinnamon only in the spices, and no brown sugar. A pumpkin pie uses so much more. So much more!

So, I left the original amount of cinnamon, but also added some nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. (There are those who say you don't need cinnamon or nutmeg when you use pumpkin pie spice. Me no care. Me no listen to anyone, anyway.) Gave it a very nice spice kick, and the brown sugar adds that caramel flavor that underlies a good pumpkin pie.

A beautiful, sweet and spicy combination. Maybe next time I'll add pecans?