Smoked Salmon Mini Flatbread Sandwiches

Smoked salmon atop a warm feta spread with lettuce and red onions on miniature naan bread.

Smoked salmon is delicious.  It's tender, smokey, slightly salty, fishy (in a good way), and a good source of omega-3s (if wild caught).  Many are used to having it with bagels and cream cheese which makes a wonderful breakfast or brunch (who am I kidding lunch and dinner as well).  I love it that way too, but I didn't have any bagels on hand.  No matter smoked salmon is very versatile.  It's great with salads, in soups, and with just bread or crackers.  I had these mini naan breads and decided to top them with smoked salmon and these sandwiches were the awesome results.  They were light but filling and very flavorful.

Delicious and versatile smoked salmon.  [Tweet this]

Smoked Salmon Mini Flatbread Sandwiches

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup feta crumbles
Mini naan breads (or any kind of flatbread)
Lettuce
Smoked salmon slices
Red onion slices
Lemon wedges (optional)

Mix together the cream cheese and feta.  Spread about 1/4 cup of the mixture on each flatbread you are using and place on a baking sheet.  Place on the top rack in the oven and broil the cheese covered bread for about 5-10 minutes until cheese is slightly melted and brown around the edges (this should also help soften the bread).

Remove the bread from the oven and top with lettuce, salmon, and red onions.  Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over all.

Fold and eat like a taco.  I served these sandwiches with a cucumber and tomato salad.

Enjoy.

For more recipes to pair with this sandwich check out:

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Greek Salsa        -

Simple Carrot and Cucumber Salad

Linked to:  Pretty Pintastic, Bestof the Weekend, J&J, Lou Lou Girls, Whimsy, Wake Up, Tickle My Tastebuds full Plate, Freedom

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Blue Cheese Alfredo

Whole wheat pasta tossed in a creamy, cheesy, blue cheese sauce studded with pistachios.

I had some blue cheese dip/dressing in my freezer that I finally got around to thawing.  It was in there longer than it probably should have been but it tasted fine the sour cream just got soupy, not what you want for a dip.  I didn't want to throw it away so I tried to thicken it by adding a pack of cream cheese.  That didn't work to thicken it but it sure tasted great so I decided to transform it into something different.  You could make this with regular blue cheese dip (that hasn't gone soupy) just add more white wine, or pasta water, to thin the sauce to the consistency you prefer.

That is when I decided to make an alfredo sauce from it.  My husband made the suggestion to add some pistachios to the sauce too.  I was very doubtful about his suggestion I thought they would get soggy and gross but he assured me it would be good (he has traveled to Italy and I haven't so I followed his suggestion).  Boy, I'm glad I did they were delicious.  They softened a bit in the sauce, but they were not soggy, and they were delicious adding some extra texture and protein to the meal.  I only used 1/4 cup of pistachios in this recipe but I would recommend more (I apologized to my husband for doubting him).

Blue Cheese Alfredo

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups blue cheese dip
1 8oz pack cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup pistachios
Whole wheat pasta
basil
cracked pepper

In a large saute pan, saute the garlic, in the oil, until soft and fragrant.  Pour in the white wine and reduce by half.

Meanwhile, mix the blue cheese dip and the cream cheese until well blended and then add it to the garlic and wine sauce.  Add the pistachios and let simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency.

While the sauce is thickening cook the pasta al dente.  I used whole wheat spaghetti but you could use fettuccine of any pasta of your choice.  Add the drained pasta to the sauce and remove from the heat.  Cover and let sit for a few minutes.  Toss well before serving.

Makes 4 servings.  Garnish with fresh cracked pepper and basil.  Great with broccoli on the side.

Enjoy.

Linked to:  Merry Monday, Two Cup, Lou Lou Girls, Teach Me, Brag About it, Tasty Tues, Wonderful Wed, Whimsy Wed, Yuck Stops Here, Full Plate, Cook Craft Share. Eat Create Party, Freedom Friday, Pretty Pintastic, Best of the Weekend, Share it Sunday, See ya in the Gumbo, Much Ado


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Warm Blue Cheese Spinach Dip

A warm creamy dip made with cream cheese, blue cheese and spinach.  Great party dip for breads and chips.

I love all kinds of party dips, especially the warm cheesy kinds.  I am also picky.  I don't like to dip tortilla chips in cream cheese based dips I prefer bread.  I hate it when I go to a restaurant and order spinach artichoke dip and it is served with chips.  I believe any warm cheese dip (made with a cream cheese base) should be served with bread.  Leave the tortilla chips for queso and salsa.

So when I had fresh bread and more blue cheese than I knew what to do with; I made a dip.  There were not a lot of blue cheese dip recipes that weren't for dressing or vegetable dips.   So I made up this one.  I used cream cheese as the base and added blue cheese for the flavor and then I added some spinach to make me feel healthier.  I have to say this was awesome.  The blue cheese adds another layer of flavor that makes a regular spinach dip taste so much better.  I highly recommend this recipe and the next time I have a party or need to bring something to a party this will be it.

Ingredients:

1 package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parmasean
1 cup cooked spinach (I used boiled from frozen spinach)
1 tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
crumbled bacon, optional (I just had some leftover from breakfast and added it)

Stir all of the ingredients together until well combined.  Scrape into an oven proof baking dish and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with thin slices of your favorite bread and enjoy.

Linked to:  Retro Repin

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Stuffed French Toast Bread Pudding

Bread pudding lightly sweetened with maple syrup with cream cheese and raisins.  Great breakfast.

What to do with sandwich bread that didn't turn out as soft and fluffy as preferred?  French toast is always an option, but an even better one is bread pudding.  I wanted my bread pudding to be more of a breakfast instead of a dessert so I didn't sweeten it as much as usual.  I added some cream cheese to the mix to make it reminiscent of stuffed french toast and that was a great idea.  The cream cheese added a bit of cheesiness to the pudding with out being overwhelming and cut the sweetness a bit.  I planned on eating this for breakfast all week, but as I was putting the dish in the refrigerator it slipped from my grasp to shatter on my kitchen floor (I really need a rubber floor in my kitchen, anything that gets dropped shatters).  I said some very un-ladylike words and had to throw it all away.  At least I had one serving and it was great.  When I get over the pain of my loss maybe I will try to make this again.

Ingerdients:
Slightly modified from Better Homes cookbook

5 cups of bread pieces (I used a dense multigrain)
4 eggs
2 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese, softened (1/2 pack)
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.  Cut or tear the bread into large chunks and set aside in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix the cream cheese, eggs, milk, vanilla, orange zest, cinnamon and maple syrup.  Pour the liquid over the bread and toss to coat every piece with liquid.  Let sit for a few minutes so the bread absorbs some of the liquid.  Then, spoon into a buttered casserole dish while layering in the raisins.  Press down on the bread so that it is packed tightly into the dish and pour over the rest of the liquid.  Allow the casserole to sit for about 10 minutes until much of the liquid is absorbed, then cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake for about 10 minutes longer to form a brown crust (pudding should be set so that a knife inserted in the center comes out clean).  Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 servings.  Serve with bacon and orange wedges (from the orange that was zested).  Enjoy, and try not to drop it.

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Baked Sardine Rangoons

Dumplings stuffed with a cream cheese and sardine mixture, baked until crisp.

I came across the idea of baked rangoons from Tracy's Culinary Adventures blog.  Once I saw this recipe I was hooked, I had to try them.  I like crab but it can be expensive and difficult to obtain so I used something I already had in my pantry, sardines.  Not only are sardines easy to obtain and inexpensive they contain good omega 3 fatty acids.  I keep cream cheese in my freezer so the only thing I needed to make these delicious snacks was wonton wrappers.  I searched and searched in my local store and could not find any so I resorted to making them.  I found an easy recipe on KitchenSimplicity.com and set about making wonton wrappers.  While the ingredient list was very simple the process of rolling them out and stacking them was a bit more difficult.  If I can ever find pre-made wrappers I don't think I will make them by hand again.  It would probably work better if I had more space, but I have a small kitchen with very limited counter/tabletop space.  It was worth the effort but it was time consuming.

Ingredients:

Wonton wrappers
1 pack cream cheese, softened
1 single serving can sardines (filets)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the sardines and cream cheese together until thoroughly combined (I used a food processor).  Place about 1 tablespoon of cream cheese mixture onto half of a wonton wrapper.  Fold the other half of the wrapper over the cheese and seal by pressing down.  I used a little egg brushed along the  edges to help create the seal.  Lay out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and bake at 400F until golden and crisp (about 12-15 minutes).  Flip half way through cooking for even browning.  Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.  I made about 12 rangoons and had plenty of cream cheese left over but if you have more wrappers it would make at least 24-30.

This was my first time making dumplings of any kind so they are not the prettiest, but they tasted very good.  If you want to make these fancier I'm sure you could add garlic, shallots, ginger and all kinds of flavors.  Enjoy.

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Pepper and Onion Breakfast Pizza

A crunchy and delicious breakfast pizza with roasted peppers and onions atop cream cheese on a pita with a beautiful egg center stage.

I do not like eggs.  I keep trying them in a variety of ways, but no matter what I have tried I just do not like plain eggs.  However, I have found I enjoy eggs if they are with other ingredients.  I like quiche with bacon and plenty of cheese, and I like scrambled eggs with salsa.  This Breakfast Pizza is another way I can enjoy an egg.  Here the egg lies in the center of roasted peppers and onions atop a cream cheese spread pitta and is baked until set.  I found this recipe on another blog but it was called a Galette and was atop a sour cream spread puff pastry.  I never have puff pastry on hand, I'm sure it is delicious but I'm kind of bitter that it isn't something I can make so I almost never buy it.  I had just recently made Ricotta Bread Pitas so I used that instead.  Since the bread base is thicker and hardier than puff pastry I also decided to use cream cheese and I call it a pizza because I'm not sure if I can call it a galette anymore.  No mater what I call it, it is good.

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper, to taste
dash cumin
dash coriander
2 pitas
2 Tbsp cream cheese (or try fresh ricotta)
2 large eggs
a few snips of fresh cilantro

Toss the peppers and onions with spices and some olive oil.  Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 400F for 20 minutes until soft and caramelized.

Spread about 1 Tbsp of cream cheese on each pitta.  Then, top with roasted peppers and onions.  Make a kind of well in the center and pour in a cracked egg being careful not to break the yolk (I crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl or ramekin, then pour it onto the pizza).  Bake pizzas at 425F for about 10-15 minutes until eggs are set.

Remove pizzas from oven and top with a sprinkle of fresh snipped cilantro or parsley.  Makes 2 individual pizzas.  Enjoy.

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Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese Spread

This yummy spread makes a great snack.  Made with smoked salmon and cream cheese it tastes great on bread, bagels, or crackers.

I have many packages of cream cheese sitting in my freezer (I always pick one up when I see it on sale).  Cream cheese is a great addition to many recipes.  It's great in dips, spreads, desserts, and main courses so it is very useful to have around.

I also had some smoked salmon left over from my Smoked Salmon Chowder and I did not want it to go to waste.  I love bagels with cream cheese and lox (which is basically smoked salmon).  So why not put them together in one spread?

 I made this for my Thanksgiving day snack.  I knew I would be spending most of the day cooking and watching football and have no time for a making breakfast or lunch, so I just munched this most of the day. It was an easy, filling, and tasty snack.

Smoked Salmon Cream Cheese spread

Ingredients:

Smoked salmon (about 1/2 cup)
Cream cheese (1 package), at room temperature
Lemon juice (1/2 of a lemon)
Dill (1/2 tsp), optional
Hot sauce (to taste), optional

In a food processor I blended all of the ingredients together, until smooth.  Then I transferred it to a resealable container, for easy storage, and served it with a good, chewy ciabatta bread (100% sourdough that I made the day before).

This was so simple to make and tasted great.  I bet it would be really great with capers added, but I didn't have any.  It would also be good on bagels or crackers.  Enjoy.

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