Name: Beck’s Favorite Cheese Toast
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 min
Ingredients: Sliced bread or baguette cut lengthwise; Salt; Pepper; Onion powder; Garlic powder; Sliced cheese (enough to layer generously over all the bread)

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aka slightly-fancy-yet-somehow-redneck cheese toast, and by that I mean YOU'RE WELCOME.

This definitely isn't an innovative recipe by any stretch of the imagination, and it takes all of 5 minutes to create. BUT, it's one that Beck has recently started loving, more day-in-the-boring-life type of stuff. What is it, though, about emotionally needing lots of carbs on weeks where you're feeling particularly bad about your shape/size? This could be just me, and I'm choosing to ignore it with cheese and bread.

This toast! Cheese toast was totally a thing in our house growing up. It's super quick and can vaguely present itself as part of a balanced meal with the addition of some fruit and veg, and kids like it which is kind of the main thing. I make this fully adult-friendly with good ingredients - bread that I love, fancy/sharp cheese, and some simple spices to boost the flavor. The key is to use a teensy bit more cheese than you think you need and broil juuuuuust until the cheese is about to burn for maximum browned cheese happiness.

That's why this is emotionally necessary. Browned cheese.

I always keep some kind of grainy bread in the freezer or fridge as part of my Good Parent kit, and I almost always have some local white bread on hand because I like it. #hypocrite Then it's any cheese you like; this is a super buttery white cheese that's actually called Buttercup (think Mozz meets Monterrey Jack meets mild cheddar) and a sharp Irish cheddar. Flavor comes from salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder, so basically we're making cheesy garlic bread from Pizza Hut but since we're doing it ourselves it's not as gross.

First! Turn the broiler to high and arrange the bread you're toasting on a baking sheet, then sprinkle the spices directly onto the bread. That's key here: spices on the bread means that the cheese melts into the spices and they cook a bit and taste better than if the spices were on top of the cheese. I realize this is a bit particular for cheese toast.

Then, layer cheese on the bread, as close to the edges as you can get because we're being particular here.

Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is browned in spots and the edges of the bread are toasty. Keep an eye on it! I check the bread every 90 seconds or so while it's toasting; the time will depend on how close your pan is to the broiler and how hot your oven gets.

You don't need anything besides coffee and some fruit to make this a perfect breakfast, or tea + a side salad for lunch? Not that Beck would dream of a salad, but cut up fruit and cherry tomatoes works for us some days.

Again, I realize that this is silly. What I love about it, though, is that it really takes no longer than making cereal or a bagel, and does feel slightly more filling than those things; like you actually cooked even though, again, 5 minutes tops to get this done.

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