I think we’ve all had this happen. The alarm sounds, and you fumble to turn off that danged “marimba” or “strum.” Your eyes slowly focus, and surprise! That was actually your third alarm. You apparently have turned off the first two without even waking up fully (That would make a great Xbox achievement, wouldn’t it?).

Forget about getting in the morning run, but I did have time to shower and eat breakfast. Thank goodness we had some of that chocolate zucchini bread left, and a mason jar full of yesterday’s coffee just waiting to be sipped cold. Dave was all over the breakfast and lunch prep (he bikes into work, so no showering until later). I am so glad he is around! What started off as being a little crazy ended up being just fine. We both headed off to work and treated ourselves to a pizza this evening.

I’m not really sure what had us so tired, except that we had a great weekend doing our usual crafty things. I worked hard to get ahead on some blog posts, since we have a couple of travel weekends coming up. Dave is working on a really cool new sewing project. We saw the Timbers’ big win over Toronto, and we watched some Firefly. Nothing seemed that crazy. I’m just going to chalk it up to the really cool blog projects I have in the queue. In fact, I’m going to post this on earlier than planned, because it was so good:

Yes, it is stacked – that’s actually three halves of sandwiches, so calm down! No jaw unhinging is required to consume this Apple Bacon Cheddar panini. Or is it a grilled cheese? I’m not sure it matters when you’re about to scarf down a bacon sandwich.

Here’s what you need for sandwiches for two:

• 1 Tbsp. Butter or flavorful oil (you can add more for side 2 if you like/need)
• Four slices of your favorite sandwich bread (I recommend one with a smaller crumb)
• 4 slices of cooked, thick-cut bacon
• 1/2 a tangy variety of apple, sliced at about 1/8 inch thickness
• Sliced medium cheddar cheese (we used Tillamook Medium Cheddar in this recipe!)
• Whole grain mustard, if you like (we like.)

On medium heat, melt the butter or allow the oil to heat. Construct the sandwiches with layers of cheese next to the bread slices, to “glue” the whole thing together. Besides that, the order is less important.

Carefully place the sandwiches into the hot butter/oil and allow to cook until golden brown on that side. With a spatula, carefully flip over to finish. The second side usually toasts much faster than the first, so keep an eye on it!