Tomato and Cucumber Salad

A light and fresh salad of crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy pistachios tossed in a sweet creamy lemon dressing.

This is a delicious, fresh, light, and simple salad.  I had seen many variations of this salad on all sorts of blogs and had to try my own version.  It's great with just the tomatoes and cucumbers, but I wanted it to be a bit more filling so added pistachios (I also love the crunchy texture they add).  A simple lemon juice dressing was the obvious choice for this salad and since I added pistachios I also decided to add a little honey.  I love honey with pistachios.  I also had a little Garlic & Fine Herbs Boursin cheese left from something else I made so I added that to the mix too.  It made a delicious combination. I had this salad to accompany a snack platter for a light dinner and leftover salad made a great lunch.

This is a delicious, fresh, light, and simple salad. [Tweet this]

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

4 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, seeded and chopped
1 lemon, juice of
1 cup roasted pistachios
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp Boursin cheese (optional)
Salt to taste

First mix together the dressing.  Juice one lemon and to the juice add honey and Boursin.  Mix thoroughly.  Or you could use Honey Lemon Oregano Dressing.

Toss together the tomatoes, cucumbers, and pistachios.  Then toss everything in the dressing.  Add a little salt to taste and let sit for up to 1 hour for the flavors to meld. It can also be refrigerated for a day or two.  Beware though, after too long the pistachios lose their crunchiness (but I still enjoy the texture of them they just become kind of chewy).

Makes about 4 servings.

Enjoy.

Check out Honey Lemon Oregano Dressing, mentioned above, in:

Lamb Salad

For more light and fresh salads check out:

Greek Salad

Tropical Fruit Salad

Pigeon Pea Salad

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Cucumber Finger Sandwiches

Simple and delicious finger sandwiches made with cucumbers sandwiched between creamy cheese and soft bread.  An easy afternoon snack or an elegant party food.

I just recently became obsessed with cucumbers.  I used to hate them and now I love them (but I still won't eat them plain).  I started using cucumber slices to dip in hummus, then on pita sandwiches, and finally with bread and cheese.

Love #cucumbers? Try #CucumberFingerSandwiches  [Tweet this]

I've always heard of cucumber sandwiches in books and on TV.  People serve them as finger sandwiches for tea or at funerals.  I always thought it would be gross but one day I had a couple cucumbers in the fridge and half a loaf of homemade Light Wheat Bread on the counter and decided to put them together.  I added some Herb & Garlic Boursin cheese and wow.  I had delicious snack sandwiches for the afternoon.  I'm sure this would be great with any type of spreadable cheese and any soft bread (I think that homemade bread is more filling than store bought because it is generally more dense).  The main thing is they are simple and delicious and, if you cut them into nice shapes, fancy enough for a party.

Simple & delicious #snack: Cucumber #FingerSandwiches  [Tweet this]

Cucumber Finger Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Cucumber(s), sliced
Bread slices
Boursin cheese (any flavor)

Cut the crusts off the bread slices if you prefer.  Then spread one side with cheese.

Place cucumber slices on top of the cheese and top with another slice of bread (I spread cheese on the top slice of bread too).

Cut into wedges or any finger sized shape you like.  You could even use cookie cutters to make even more fun shapes.

Enjoy.

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Bacon Egg and Cheese Sandwich

A great breakfast sandwich on Potato Garlic Bread with bacon, egg, and creamy Boursin cheese.

I love bacon.  Growing up I rarely got to eat much bacon.  I grew up in a family of 6.  My mom would only occasionally cook bacon (only on rare weekends), and when it came to eating the bacon, being the youngest, I only got a few strips and always wanted more.  Now that I'm older, I cook the bacon and it's only me and my husband so there is plenty of bacon to go around.  Unfortunately, I care more about healthy eating now so I try not to make and eat bacon all the time but I still like to make it for breakfast on some weekends.  One sure way to get my husband out of bed on a Saturday or Sunday is to wake him with the smell of cooking bacon.

This is my most recent breakfast creation.  It isn't anything fancy, just a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with my own twist.  Along with bacon (we usually buy a 5 pound pack, of individually packaged 1 pound packs from Costco) we usually have some Boursin cheese in our freezer.  Boursin cheese is creamy and crumbly and very tasty on breads or crackers.  I had Potato Garlic Bread to use as the base of the sandwich and garlic and herb Boursin.  I blended the Boursin with a little mayonnaise in order to make it more easily spreadable.  Here is my basic recipe.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread, toasted
1/2 lb bacon
1 package Boursin cheese, any flavor
1-2 Tbsp mayonnaise
fried egg(s)

First cook the bacon.  I like to fry it in a cast iron  pan (over low temperature to keep the pieces flat).  I have noticed when they cook too high and fast they get all curled and are more difficult to put on a sandwich.  I usually fry them at a higher temperature when I don't care if they stay flat or not.  I also like to pour the grease out of the pan between each batch, I think that this helps keep the pieces from curling and it prevents splashes of hot grease. Lay cooked bacon on a napkin to absorb some of the grease.

Meanwhile, prepare the cheese.  Drop an, unwrapped, pack of Boursin into a food processor with the metal chopping blade.  Add the mayonnaise a little at a time while pulsing until cheese becomes smooth and easily spreadable.

Next, toast the bread and smear each piece with the cheese spread.  Layer on the bacon (the cheese helps the bacon adhere to the bread so that it doesn't fall off while eating), top with a fried egg, and finish with the final piece of bread.  This is enough for 2 sandwiches but you will have left over cheese spread to enjoy with more bread or crackers.  I do not like eggs so I just had a bacon and cheese sandwich and it was great.  Pair with fruit and milk or coffee for a complete meal.

Enjoy.

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