DIY Grilled Cheese Bar #SundaySupper #Sleepover

Today the Sunday Supper tastemakers are sharing Sleepover Foods. Think about the best eats for a group of friends who will be with you from dinner through late night snacks all the way till the morning. Marion of Life Tastes Good is our host this week.

All the Sleepover Eats...

Breakfast

• Bacon Jam Recipe by Life Tastes Good
• Baked Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwiches by Food Lust People Love
• Breakfast Strata with Bacon and Date by Caroline’s Cooking
• Broccoli Breakfast Bake by Cricket’s Confections
• Classic Buttermilk Pancakes by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Burrito by Brunch-n-Bites
• Julia’s Mushroom Quiche – Quiche aux Champignons by An Appealing Plan
• Nutty Sweet Potato Waffles by Wholistic Woman
• Overnight Green Chile Breakfast Burritos by Cooking On The Ranch
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Cereal Treat Bars by Crazed Mom
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pancakes by Books n’ Cooks
• Pumpkin French Toast Casserole by Moore or Less Cooking
• Swedish Pancakes with Brown Sugar Bananas by Bottom Left of the Mitten
• Waffle Fruit Kabobs by Home Sweet Homestead

Desserts

• 2-Minute Quick Fudge by Sunday Supper Movement
• Classic Oatmeal Cookies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Heavenly Oreo Dessert by Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Peach Slab Pie by Pies and Plots

Snacks

• BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders by Mindy’s Cooking Obsession
• Better Than Anything Chex Mix by Fantastical Sharing of Recipes
• Caramel Corn by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Cobb Salad Dip by Food Done Light
• DIY Grilled Cheese Bar by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Fluffernutter Puff Pastry Turnovers by The Weekend Gourmet
• Make-It-Yourself Caramel Apple Bar by The Freshman Cook
• Maple Fish Party Mix by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Midnight Chicken Nuggets by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• S’mores Snack Mix by Positively Stacey

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board. Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

So...

Do I win the 'worst mommy' award if I admit that my boys have never been to a sleepover?!?! Never. Ever. Not one.

I mean, we have gone on overnight road trips with friends and countless camping trips with other families. So, does that count? The point of a sleepover is to have fun with friends for a hefty block of time, right?

So, on our trips with friends, we do crafts...

We cook...

We hike...

And we lounge on the couch and watch movies...

I think it counts. I'm just gonna say it counts. Anyway, I love hosting 'bars' for group meals. You know S'mores Bars, Taco Bars, Bloody Mary Bars.

It takes all the last minute assembly of a dish off the host or hostess and anything that is less work for me, lets me enjoy the party even more. Here's how I host an easy sleepover dinner...

DIY Grilled Cheese Bar

First, grilled cheese is not all about the cheese. You think that grilled cheese is about the cheese and that's certainly important, but there are a lot of elements needed to inspire grilled cheese creativity. And, yes, I did actually buy that cheese (pictured above) because it had my name on it!

As I wrote: I like to inspire creativity in my food bars. So I provide a variety of ingredients for guests! At this DIY Grilled Cheese Bar, I gave them everything from nasturium blossoms to prosciutto and radish flowers to dandelion pesto. I pickled onions, made blackberry jam, and crisped sage leaves. 

I offered six different kinds of cheese and four different kinds of bread.

Here are some grilled cheese basics to get you started...

Choose a hardy bread. Breads with dense crumb stand up better on the grill. 

Use thin slices of cheese in multiple layers. While thick slices of cheese are great to grab off the cutting board, thinner slices melt more easily. 

It's all about the extras. Well, it’s a balance, I suppose. But lots of extras add personality and intrigue to the sandwiches. Just make sure that there is a balance of extras plus cheese so that it all melts together into gooey deliciousness.

To cook the sandwiches, keep your heat low and melt slowly. Turning up the heat too high results in burnt bread and unmelted cheese.

What do you think? How do you make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich?!