December 19, 2012 | Condiments
I don’t buy many pre-seasoned, pre-marinated, pre-cooked, or any other sort of pre-foods. In fact, once my middle son asked me why we only had ingredients in our house and not any “food”. Imagine my distress at raising a kid so dependent on pre-packaged and fast foods that he couldn’t figure out how to make himself something to eat. Besides loving to cook – and really loving to eat real food prepared well – another reason I don’t buy pre-seasoned things is that you lose options that way.
Take the humble tub of cream cheese. Sure, you can buy it flavored with blueberries, or herbs, or vegetables – but then you are stuck with that flavor. But if you buy it plain, and flavor it yourself, you can make just as much as you need and leave the rest plain for another use.
Still not sold? Well how about I tell you that this creamy spread is made with only 3 ingredients and can be prepared in about 2 minutes? And how about I tell you that it’s equally good in tea sandwiches with cucumbers, on a bagel or toast, inside an omelet, or melted into a pasta dish with cooked shrimp? There, now you get it, right?
- 8 ounces soft cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced dill
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- chopped green onions, to taste (optional)
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Enjoy!
I work with a whole office full of folks that couldn’t make something from scratch if they had to. Really bothers me. Sounds like a great dip recipe Michele. Tis the season.