Pimento Cheese BLT Sandwich

I'll get to the recipe in a minute, but I wanted to first of all thank the many of you who sent texts, emails, and phone calls, encouraging me as a mother (and in my energy levels of pregnancy!).  It truly means so much, and I'm so blessed with a community of godly women who want to build me up and encourage me.  Thank you thank you thank you.  (And for the record, week 14 is thus far much better.  In fact, before 8 a.m. today, I had eaten breakfast, cleaned windows, baked banana bread, vacuumed the floors, scrubbed down one bathroom sink, and fed Jackson.  That's a record compared to how I've been all 1st trimester.)

Now, here's my inspiration for this delicious sandwich, inspired by Gilchrist, the local drug store eatery in town.

Check out that bad boy.   Yum-O!  (And made with fresh tomatoes from our garden, even better!)

Okay, so the recipe is from Southern Living's "Homestyle Cookbook," an excellent cookbook if you don't already own it. 

Spicy Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pimento Cheese

1 1/4 c mayo
1/2 (12 oz) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
2 tsp finely grated onion
2 tsp coarse grained Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
2 (10 oz) blocks sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

**Note, I use the whole jar of red bell peppers, but I'm not sure if my jar is 12 oz?  Also, I usually just use the 16 oz "bar" of Cheddar cheese.  It truly does taste best if you grate your own.  And I use just regular Dijon mustard.  I also omit the grated onion. And mine tastes just dandy.

1) Stir together first 5 ingredients until well blended; stir in cheese and black pepper to taste. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 4 days.

Southern Living has a lovely picture of the pimento cheese stuffed in celery stalks, and I have to say, it makes for a pretty presentation and tastes great.  The crispness of the celery buffers the slight spiciness of this recipe.

I, however, had some thick sliced bacon to use up, and some fresh tomatoes from our garden, so I opted for this beautiful and tasty sandwich above.

**Another note, can you believe I'm a pimento cheese lover of only about 2 years? Nabeel's pimento cheese won me over, and since then, I've been on the hunt (until now) for a good recipe!

Enjoy!