Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

A lovely woman from church prepared these delicious sandwiches for coffee last Sunday. Beth kindly gave me the recipe. My children loved them so much, I'm planning on preparing them for lunch tomorrow!

Beth's Cucumber Tea Sandwiches

1 3 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup minced cucumber, drained and seeds removed
1 teaspoon grated onion or Mrs Dash onion and herb seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of white pepper
1 rounded Tablespoon of mayonnaise
bread
butter

Trim crust from bread. Spread with softened butter. Mix all other ingredients. Spread mix over butter. Refrigerate for several hours. YUM!

Empanadas (Recipe 15)

We had a lot of fun making up these tasty meat pies! I needed to double the recipe to feed my crowd. The dough became difficult to handle when made into a double batch, so next time I'll make two separate batches of dough. These can be made ahead and heated up in the microwave or covered with foil in the oven. I think they would also freeze well, if not completely baked through.

Empanadas

Ingredients

Dough:
3-1/2 cups flour, plus more for dusting work surface
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 sticks butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
1-1/4 cups ice water
1 large egg

Filling:
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 pound ground beef (not lean)
3/4 cup beef broth
dash of sugar
salt and pepper
3 ounces shredded Colby-jack cheese


Heat oil in pan and cook onion until soft. Stir in garlic, oregano, cumin, cloves, cayenne pepper. Cook briefly, then add ground beef. Cook until thoroughly cooked. Add beef broth, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook until beef is moist. Set aside.


In medium bowl, place dough flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in butter, using fingers or pastry blender. Dough should resemble coarse cornmeal. Add ice water by small amounts until dough joins together and forms ball. Cover and place bowl in refrigerator for 20-25 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll dough out to 1/4" on lightly floured surface. Cut dough into circles. Add 1 tablespoon of meal filling and small amount of cheese in center of circle. Top with another dough circle. Pinch edges together using fork. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush top with beaten egg.

Bake in 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stromboli (Recipe 14)

I had planned to show pictures of the finished dish, but the family wiped out all the food before I had the opportunity.

Stromboli

Ingredients:

Bread choices:

White Bread Style
5 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoon yeast
2 cups very hot water

or Wheat Bread Style
1 cup flour
3 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoon yeast
2 cups very hot water

Filling:
Slices of your favorite deli meat and cheese. For my family of 9, I used 3/4 pound of salami and 3/4 pound of Colby-jack cheese. Both were thinly sliced.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all bread ingredients together and mix well. Place in large bowl and cover. Let rest in warm place for 30-45 minutes, until at least double. Split dough into two equal portions.

Roll one portion of dough into a 11" x 13" rectangle. Place a single layer of deli meat on top of dough, leaving a 1" border of dough on the outside of the rectangle. Repeat with a layer of cheese. Roll dough up, beginning with the long end. Seal the dough seam and ends by pinching. Place seam-side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with other portion of dough. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Cover with foil for first twenty minutes. Remove foil to allow browning.

My kids raved about this meal. While not a particularly healthy entree, it is an alternative to homemade pizza when we need comfort food. We all ate too much!