Cheeseburgers, pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, wine and cheese: We are a cheese-loving nation, consuming an average of 33 pounds of cheese per person per year.

The International Dairy Foods Association estimates that there are more than 300 varieties of cheese sold in the U.S.

The most popular variety is mozzarella, weighing in at 10.7 pounds consumed per person per year (mostly atop pizza). In second place is Cheddar at 10 pounds per person, mostly on burgers and as a table cheese.

If you love mozzarella, try halloumi, also known as grilling cheese. Think of a more densely-textured mozzarella that doesn’t melt when heated.

Because the cheese keeps its shape when grilled, fried or otherwise cooked, it can be served in hot slices, in diced “croutons” and other delicious, chewy forms.

It is often shredded over casseroles and potatoes and enchiladas and crumbled onto salads.

As a snack, it can be enjoyed cold or room temperature with crackers or fruit.

[1] Grilled halloumi diced into a salad (photo © Simone Van Den Berg | Dreamstime).

Lazy Lasagna from Cucina Fresca, made
with spinach ravioli. Photo courtesy
Cucina Fresca.

Colleen C. of Seattle wrote to remind us of “easy lasagne” made by layering ravioli instead of making lasagne from scratch.

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F.
2. USE 3 boxes of frozen ravioli. While cheese ravioli is the easiest choice, think of the deeper flavors provided by spinach or meat ravioli.
3. PICK your favorite pasta sauce— a 26-ounce jar or homemade.
4. COOK the ravioli until almost done but still “al dente” (they’ll be going into the oven). Drain flat on paper towels. Don’t overlap—they’ll stick together.
5. POUR 1/3 of the pasta sauce into a 9×13 baking dish and begin to layer the ravioli, alternating ravioli layers with sauce and a spinkle of oregano, shredded basil and/or chopped parsley.
6. TOP with a layer of shredded or sliced mozzarella and some grated Parmesan cheese.
7. BAKE for 10 minutes until mozzarella is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes.
8. GARNISH with additional basil/oregano/parsley and serve.

Find more of our favorite pasta recipes.

• Don’t forget to use the chicken carcass to make a delicious stock. Use it for this classic Tortilla Soup recipe, or freeze it for future use.
• If you’re looking for some new chicken recipes, visit our Poultry Section. You’ll find everything from classic Coq Au Vin and Arroz Con Pollo to chicken tacos and smoked chicken burgers.
• Find more video tutorials in our Cooking Videos Section.

Regardless of how you enjoy your preserves, you’ll be enjoying more flavors of them if you are one of the five lucky winners to win Smucker’s newest preserves, the Orchard’s Finest line.

Orchard’s Finest preserves are real fruit sweetened with sugar, free of artificial colors and preservatives. Flavors include Coastal Valley Peach Apricot, Fall Harvest Cinnamon Apple, Michigan Red Tart Cherry, Northwest Triple Berry, Northwoods Blueberry and Pacific Mountain Strawberry.

Retail Value Of Prize: Approximately $24.00.

*To make a reduction sauce, add 1 cup preserves, 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the pan juices. Cook 30 seconds or until preserves are melted, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.

Win the new line of Orchard’s Preserves from
Smucker’s. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Jams, Jellies, Preserves & Peanut Butter Section and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, November 15th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!
• After you enter the Gourmet Giveaway, head over to Smuckers.com to enter the “Spreading Smucker’s Traditions” recipe contest. You could win $20,000 for a dream family reunion! Submit your recipe by December 10th. See details on the Smucker’s website.

The winner will enjoy three special
cheeses each month. Photo
courtesy EatWisconsinCheese.com.

Mandi Foods is giving one lucky winner a three-month subscription to its Cheese Of The Month Club.

Each month, the cheese buyers select three special cheeses for club members. You’ll have the opportunity to enjoy some of the world’s great cheeses—as well as realize what an enjoyable gift the Cheese Of The Month Club is.

Retail Value Of Prize: Approximately $75.00.

• To Enter This Gourmet Giveaway: Go to the box at the bottom of our Gourmet Cheese Section and click to enter your email address for the prize drawing. This contest closes on Monday, November 15th at noon, Eastern Time. Good luck!
• Even if you don’t win this prize, you can still take advantage of the fabulous cheeses on MandiFoods.com. NIBBLE readers will receive a 20% discount on cheese by entering the word “Nibble” at checkout (through November 30th).