Braunschweiger—Cream Cheese Spread

Ohhhh, I'm so excited! 😃

I discovered Norwegian crispbread a couple months ago, so naturally, the brand I love is no longer available! 🙁 However, after some digging, I found this brand, available on Amazon, and they arrived today.

They're not quite as good as the others, I suspect these are a bit lower in sodium actually, Mmmm, close enough! 😋 I bought 6 packs with 10 in each pack. So between these, and a couple loaves of multi-grain bread baked locally, at Amazing Grace, I'm probably good now until December, when they expire!  I'm picky about grains and keep them to a minimum.

The one other exception is cornbread.  The one I like to make is gluten free, made with oats and corn flour.  I'm now mentally working on a 'loaded' cornbread: (jalapeños, golden raisins, fresh garlic, flaxseed mix, canned corn, sour cream, eggs and sharp cheddar). I'm about due for some of that with my Mexican Rice and a big Taco Salad! I'll post the recipes when I make them.

Ahhhh, food, but I'm digressing. . .Sooo, yesterday, I made this bread and cracker spread and is it ever good! Lunch today was awesome!

• 8oz. block of cream cheese
• 6oz. Braunschweiger (liver sausage)
• 1t each of these seasonings

Soften the cream cheese or Neufchatel in a medium glass bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well with a fork until you're sure everything's blended. Refrigerate for at least an hour to let the seasonings do their thing. You know... 'season!' When you're ready to serve this, if it's too thick, add a tiny bit of water, milk or vegetable juice. This is great with Norwegian crispbread, obviously, on a sandwich, with Swiss cheese, onion and tomato. It can also be a different sort of 'dip' for firm vegetables. Carrot, celery, cucumber, zucchini, jicama, peeled raw potato, kohlrabi. . .any that you like!

Be Creative — Happy Cooking!! . . . Lin

Salmon, Neufchatel Breakfast Bake

8 lg.-jumbo eggs

8oz. Neufchatel cheese*

1t Old Bay Seasoning

1t fresh ground garlic salt

1t fresh ground black pepper

1t dry dill

2t dry tarragon

3-4c celery, green onion, purple

~ onion, and carrot sliced-chopped

1 lg. roasted red pepper - chopped

12oz. salmon - smoked is best

Leave the cream cheese at room temp for a couple hours.  *Neufchatel is French cream cheese, made in the Normandy region since the 6th century.  It has less calories and fat than the American version.  In a medium bowl, combine that and the eggs, using a fork and then a wire whisk.  Add spices and continue to blend as you prep and assemble the remaining ingredients.  Cut the salmon into long strips, then chop into small cubes.  Put these in a well buttered 9"x13" glass baking pan.

Add the chopped-sliced vegetables.  Whisk the egg mixture one more time then quickly, but carefully, pour it over everything in the pan.  Arrange anything that might have floated out of place, being sure the whole pan is evenly covered with all ingredients.  Bake at 325° ( -?- I forgot to set the timer 😕) Bake until the edges begin to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center area comes out clean.  Probably 30-40 minutes.

Check often though, after 20 minutes.  You want it just firm, but not so done that it's dry.  Cut into 12 squares, each of which contains about 150 calories. . .Lin

Cream Cheese - Liver Sausage Spread

In a small bowl, combine equal parts of Neufchatel cheese (cream cheese) and liver sausage (braunschweiger).  Add a tablespoon of powdered onion soup mix, for every 6oz. of combined weight.  Let stand for an hour or so to hydrate the onions.  If this seems really dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or milk.  Use this as a dip for pita chips, crackers, vegetables, or as a sandwich spread. . .Lin

I wondered what the difference was between liver sausage and braunschweiger and I found this information.  "Liverwurst is a general term referring to any liver sausage.  Braunschweiger is a smoked liver sausage, named after the town of Braunschweig in Germany.  Therefore, a Braunschweiger is a liverwurst, but not all liverwurst are Braunschweiger." 😊