Comfort food with no cleanup? Sign me up.
I have to admit, I love that it’s getting darker earlier now that we’re almost through with September. It means that peak cozy season is almost here, and that’s my favorite time of the year.
Maybe I’m biased as an eternally sweaty person, but I love when the temperature goes down and stays down. Curling up with a good book and some tea is the ultimate way to spend a chilly fall evening. Of course, this also means it’s peak season for soups and stews, but I don’t always have time to stand over the stove. That’s when I turn to my fail-proof cozy fall meal: grilled cheese. But this one doesn’t require you to turn on the stove.
What is the $4 Walmart freezer find?
Enter the frozen-food love of my life: Lily’s Toaster Grills. Now, I have to admit that I walked right by these in the grocery store at least a dozen times before actually picking one up. The truth is that I was dubious that a toaster grilled cheese would taste good. The key part of the grilled cheese is the whole “grilling” part, ya know?
But as a food writer, my curiosity eventually got the better of me. I decided to try it out and see if it held a candle to a real buttery, crispy classic grilled cheese.
One of the key things that I didn’t realize at the grocery store is that you need to heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds before you put it in the toaster. This might seem like a weird way to start making a grilled cheese, but it’s actually pretty genius. It thaws the sandwich and also starts to soften the cheese. I transferred it to my toaster and set it to a five (my toaster settings max out at six). Mere minutes later, my sandwich popped up and was ready to eat.
How do the Lily’s Toaster Grills taste?
As I took my grilled cheese out of the toaster and cut it in half, I felt a little bit like Janice from Friends. All I could think was, “Oh. My. God!” I stared at it on my plate for a minute and couldn’t believe that it hadn’t been fried up in a pan. It looked and smelled like a fresh grilled cheese.
And guess what? It tasted like one too. The combination of the crispy, buttery bread and the melty American cheese made it feel like it had just come out of a skillet. There was no part of this sandwich that remained unthawed or cold. I thoroughly enjoyed it and started mentally meal planning for the earliest moment I could eat this alongside a cup of canned tomato soup for an easy weekday lunch.
Where can I buy Lily’s Toaster Grills?
I bought my Lily’s Toaster Grills at Walmart, where it cost $3.97 for a box of two. I’ve seen them similarly priced at Target, Jewel and Meijer as well, so I would check the frozen aisle at your local grocery store the next time you’re shopping to see if they’re in stock. And while I may be enjoying these now during cozy season, there’s no doubt that this will become a new go-to snack in my house, year round!
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