Easy Low Fat Texas Toast

      Last Friday was the first day of my kids’ Spring Break. Since it was Good Friday, I tried to stick to my Lola’s (Grandma) tradition of abstinence and fasting.  For lunch I promised my children they will have homemade Texas toast.  They were very excited because I haven’t been cooking their favorites since February.

      As usual, I preheated the oven and then assembled the Toasts.  What I was time to put the slices of bread, the oven wasn’t hot, not even lukewarm!  Lo and behold, the igniter was worn off.  With 4 pairs of eyes staring and waiting, started thinking what I’ll do with these pieces bread. Microwave?  Nah!  Then my grill pan came to the rescue.

Ingredients:

8 thick rolls or PanDeSal (Filipino rolls found in most Asian stores)
6 tbs “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” spread or your favorite butter substitute
1 cup shredded low fat cheese (I used Mexican blend on this one)
4 tbs. garlic powder or more

1. Preheat your grill pan in medium setting.
2. Slice the rolls in half.
3. Spread a thick layer of butter substitute on one side of the rolls and sprinkle some garlic powder.
4. Buttered side down put a few slices of rolls on the grill pan.
5. While the bottom part is grilling, spread another layer of butter on the top side and dust some garlic powder again. Cook for about 3 mins. Checking once for nice grill marks.
6. Flip toasts and sprinkle some grated cheese on the already grilled side.  Cook for another 3 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt.
7. Serve warm.

This method not only produced a crunchy crust and soft inside. It also gave those nice grill marks and deeper flavor.  Plus, it was done in half the time.

Tip:  This is perfect for stale bread too.