Our 25 Cheese-Stretchiest Recipes Ever

The month of February is coming to an end, and with it, our New Year's resolution to go easy on the cheese dies a melty, oozy death. Possibly by pizza. In honor of our collective decision to ditch these long-awaited plans, we rounded up some of our favorite recipes with cheese, from jalapeño poppers to grits soufflés to the most decadent grilled cheese sandwiches you will ever experience. Try out these cheese-tastic recipes for dinner tonight and rest assured, nobody who said they were going to go easy on the cheese ever does. 

Our 25 Cheese-Stretchiest Recipes Ever

Cheese And Bacon Okra Poppers Recipe

A recipe for Southern cheese-stuffed okra poppers

Ah, the Southern life. Whenever we feel the need for ultimate comfort recipes we turn to Southern Living Magazine's new Feel Good Food cookbook. These cheese-stuffed bacon-wrapped okra poppers sure sound like they'll make us feel good.

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How To Build A Newer, Better Grilled Cheese

Start here with the Blue Apple, recipe included

During the comfort food renaissance of the past few years, the lion’s share of attention has fallen to splashy, big-ticket items: groaning racks of barbecued ribs, crispy piles of fried chicken or rich slabs of pork belly. But over the past few years, the grilled cheese has come back into its own, albeit in a vastly evolved form. Read on.

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Artichoke With Baked Brie Sauce Recipe

Trick out your artichoke with a crunchy brie sauce

I’m not so sure this recipe is really Italian, having brie as a main accompaniment to the artichokes, but it turned out so well that I wanted to share it with you anyway. Rather than dip your artichoke leaves in butter, aioli or other sauce, bake a creamy-crunchy brie-spiked sauce right on top and let the goodness ooze all over. Sound like a plan?  

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Caramelized Onion And Prosciutto Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

A recipe for mac 'n cheese with crispy prosciutto

For some, it's just not Thanksgiving until a steaming casserole dish of homemade macaroni and cheese hits the table. I'm one of those people. We didn't always have mac and cheese on our Thanksgiving table until my "helpful suggestions" turned into "even more helpful making of the mac and cheese the day before." This year's recipe features caramelized onions and crispy prosciutto. 

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Classic Patty Melt Recipe

Patty melts meet your burger and sandwich needs

Our version of the classic patty melt features caramelized onions, which we quickly realized during our last Brooklyn test kitchen should rank up there with cheese on "burger requirements." Also along for the ride (don't worry, we tested it extensively, for hours) is thousand island dressing — a combination of ketchup, mayonnaise and chopped pickles or relish. 

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Spicy Mushroom Torta With Cheese Recipe

A spicy vegetarian sandwich recipe from Mexico

Tortas are quick and easy sandwiches made with bolillos. You can make them cold or grill the bread before stuffing. This grilled mushroom torta oozes creaminess, and the addition of long green chiles and tequila gives it just the right dimension of smokiness.

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Country Ham And Cheese Biscuit Bread

The best parts of Southern cooking in one bread

Imagine a biscuit already loaded with gooey cheese and salty country ham, and you get this all-in-one bread. Layering the dough in a loaf pan lets you get all that Southern goodness in every bite.

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Fried Goat Cheese Salad Recipe

Add pecan-fennel vinaigrette for your salad du jour

Warm goat cheese is definitely something to love. When pierced with a fork, fried goat cheese nuggets melt over greens and mingle with dressing. It's astounding. Plus, its pronounced "goaty" flavor is mellowed by a quick fry. It's a perfect pairing for peppery radish slices and sweet spring snap pea pods.

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Bacon Blue Cheese Burger Recipe

Caramelized onions make a blue cheese burger happy

One logical shortcut might be mixing blue cheese crumbles in with the ground beef, but we've found that too much of the cheese melts out and what's left behind is overly salty. The addition of cheese throughout also prevents the burger from cooking evenly, so we recommend topping your patty with a couple of slices of Saga Bleu, gorgonzola or roquefort instead.

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Farmer Cheese Pie Recipe

Hand-held pies for the cheese fan on the move

This makes a wonderful hors d’oeuvre or lunch pie and is especially good when paired with a cornmeal crust, as we have done here, though a butter or lard crust is an excellent choice, too. The filling puffs as it bakes and becomes a lovely light gold. If you cannot find farmer cheese, ricotta cheese or cottage cheese can be substituted.

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Blue Cheese Grits Soufflé Recipe

An easy brunch soufflé for the cheese grits fan

If you like cheese grits, you’re going to love cheese grits soufflé. The soufflé is both airy and chewy and the blue cheese gives the dish a pleasant, tangy flavor. This is a perfect side dish for the holidays and can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

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Baltimore Crab Pretzel Sticks Recipe

A recipe for crab pretzels, appetizer-style

Here's how proud the Baltimore area is of its crabmeat. Go ahead, look at the photo. Actually, mine don't do them justice — the real Baltimore crab pretzels are legit twisted stadium pretzels roughly the size of a dinner plate and positively coated with thick crab salad and shredded cheese. I use pre-made pizza dough to achieve very nearly the same results in an hour or less.

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Cheese-Stuffed Meatballs Recipe

A cheesy surprise in every meatball!

I love the look of surprise on my friends' faces when they cut into one of these gems and a lava floe of mozzarella ensues. These meatballs are fantastic doused in tomato sauce atop the pasta of your choice, but where they really shine is in a meatball sub. Isn't that a beautiful thought? 

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Roast Chicken And Grilled Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

A comforting twist on lasagna with roast chicken

We believe that lasagna is so much more than just noodles, sauce and cheese. It's a technique, a way of life and a devotion to the transformative properties of comfort food. When you combine the earthy, mellow flavor of eggplant with universally pleasing freshly roasted chicken in this way, the result is a dish that's perfect to feed a crowd.

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Philly Cheesesteak Jalapeño Poppers Recipe

The iconic Philly sandwich, now packing heat!

Combine classic Philadelphia cream cheese with shredded provolone for that authentic Philly cheesesteak taste with a melty-stretchy hit, all packed into one hot jalapeño popper. Not enough brotherly love for you? Fine, dip 'em in Cheez-Whiz. But you'd better Instagram it.

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Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich

The basic grilled cheese—with a toasty twist

Here at Food Republic we are obsessed with sandwiches, and each Tuesday we bring you our sandwich of the week. Some are from restaurants and chefs practicing what we like to call the art of the sandwich. And some, like this week's best basic grilled cheese, have been perfected in the Food Republic kitchen.

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Stuffed Shells Recipe

Shells: You can take your comfort food and stuff it

When was the last time you had stuffed shells? However long it's been, these are an awesome comfort food we're bringing back to the table. If you can't bear the thought of another frozen "lasagna" dinner, frozen canneloni, or frozen ravioli skillfully dropped into a pot of water until it floats to the top, stuffed shells just may be your redemption shot.

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How To Make Eggs Rothko

Williamsburg's Egg makes an artsy brunch dish

High-brow/low-brow fried egg-stuffed cheese toast named for an artist. Where do you find it? Everyone all together now...Williamsburg! Yes at Egg, North 5th go-to brunch spot for the fedora-topped, skinny jean-clad and denim-vested, Chef Ed Quish whips out platter after platter of Eggs Rothko, their signature dish. Learn how, step-by-step, after the jump.

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Macaroni and Brie with Crab Recipe

Mac and cheese, all dressed up for the party

Normally we cringe at the idea of a casserole, but any kind of macaroni and cheese is right up our alley. Better Homes and Gardens, famous for...well, better homes and gardens than yours, has a casserole book (aptly named The Ultimate Casseroles Book).

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Quesadillas "Benedict" Recipe

Just don't call them Mexican Eggs Benedict

Just because I eat these super-easy quesadillas benedict for dinner more often than breakfast doesn't mean they're not perfect for brunch. If anything, it should elevate them to the title of Ultimate Brunch. Simple, yet impressive to behold, if you can fry an egg and/or make a quesadilla, a tasty, photogenic brunch is right around the corner.

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Eggplant Parmesan Recipe

Eggplant Parmesan: The steak of Italian veggies

We've heard of far too many people who think they don't like eggplant. That's right, we're going so far as to say that everyone likes eggplant, they just don't know it yet. Smothering anything in melty cheese is a great first step, which is where this simple eggplant parmesan recipe comes into play.

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Jalapeño Cheddar Tater Tots Recipe

Mmm, cheese. Ready to not share your tots?

There are the tater tots of your elementary school days — crisp, perfectly uniform, totally boring — and then there are Jalapeño Cheddar Tater Tots, like New York City chef Marc Murphy makes at his restaurant Ditch Plains.

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Creamy Artichoke Lasagna Bake Recipe

Lasagna, meet artichokes. It's casserole time

Once you know how to make a lasagna, you can try out all sorts of variations. This creamy artichoke lasagna bake recipe is a perfect vegetarian winter dish when fresh veggies are scarce, subbing in frozen artichoke hearts and pine nuts for an earthier taste than your usual tomato-based lasagna.

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Chile Con Queso Recipe

A cheesy Tex-Mex staple that's perfect for dipping

Chile con queso is the epitome of Tex-Mex cuisine, with roots on both sides of the border. It’s both comforting and familiar. The original version, based on authentic recipes from Northern Mexico and West Texas, mainly uses fresh ingredients. Tortilla chips or warm flour tortillas are the perfect foil for this rich, creamy dip, but broccoli florets aren’t bad either.

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Simple Croque Monsieur Recipe

How to make a perfect croque monsieur in 4 steps

Béchamel, like bacon, makes everything better. So it's no wonder that the sandwich of ham and cheese smothered in béchamel sauce that the French call a Croque Monsieur is so damn delicious.

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