Baked Cheese
and Bacon Jam Bites
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Servings: 15 mini cups
Crispy bite-sized shells with a warm, creamy and savory mix of cream
cheese and melted jack cheese topped with smokey bacon jam.
Ingredients:
1 box (15 mini cups) Safeway SELECT® Mini Phyllo Cups
4 oz (½ box) Lucerne® Cream Cheese, softened
½ cup Lucerne Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
8 slices Safeway® Farms or Safeway SELECT Bacon
1/3 cup Safeway SELECT Apricot Preserves
2 tbsp Safeway® Kitchens Apple Cider Vinegar
Fresh thyme, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
1. In a microwave or large skillet, cook bacon until crisp (drain fat), then
allow to cool before cutting into pieces. Set aside.
2. In a small sauce pan, heat and mix apricot jam and vinegar over
medium heat until well combined. Next, stir in bacon and bring
ingredients to a rolling boil. Once this is reached, reduce flame to low
and simmer for 5 minutes. This will create the bacon jam used later in
step 5.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and shredded jack
cheese with a mixing spoon.
4. Spoon a teaspoon of cheese mixture into each phyllo cup. Press down a
bit to flatten.
5. Top each cup with a dollop of bacon jam.
6. Bake at 350°F for 7 minutes or until bacon jam just starts to lightly
caramelize.
7. Plate and serve, garnishing with a touch of fresh thyme if desired.
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Dip
Sweet, creamy pumpkin dip that can be served with apple slices.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
(2 tbsp per serving)
Ingredients:
8 oz Lucerne® Whipped Cream Cheese, softened
½ cup Lucerne Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Safeway® Kitchens Powdered Sugar
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground allspice
5 drops yellow food coloring (optional)
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
Sliced apple, for garnish
Directions:
1. Put cream cheese, ricotta, powdered sugar, salt, spices, and food
coloring (optional) into a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, mix on high
for 2 minutes.
2. Chill 30 minutes before serving.
3. Garnish with a piece of sliced apple and serve with more sliced apples.
Serving Suggestions:
Chef’s Tip: Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds
Cheese in a Blanket
Mozzarella cheese sticks paired with pepperoni and tucked into
crescent rolls.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 16 pieces
Ingredients:
2 tubes Safeway® Kitchens Crescent Rolls
8 Lucerne® Mozzarella String Cheese sticks, cut in half
¾ cup Safeway SELECT® Marinara Sauce
1 cup Lucerne Parmesan Cheese, shredded
32 pieces pepperoni or salami
Directions:
1. Unroll the crescent rolls so that you have 16 triangles.
2. Top each triangle with marinara sauce and sprinkle with 1 tbsp
parmesan cheese.
3. Lay 1 to 2 slices of pepperoni or salami at the wide end of the triangle.
4. Lay mozzarella stick on the wide end of the triangle and roll crescent
dough around the cheese stick from wide to narrow end. Place on a
parchment lined cookie sheet.
5. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes to an internal temperature of 165°F or until
the crescent rolls are browned and the cheese starts to melt.
Serving Suggestions:
Chef’s Tip: Use pesto and prosciutto in place of the marinara and pepperoni.
Please Note: For food safety, cook thoroughly to an internal temperature of 165°F as measured by a food thermometer. Since
cooking appliances vary, these instructions are guidelines only.
Leek and Apricot Tart
Squares of puff pastry filled with cream cheese, apricot jam and leeks.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 18 servings (3-oz. squares)
Ingredients:
2 sheets frozen puff pastry
2 whole leeks
2 tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped
4 oz Lucerne® Feta Cheese Crumbles
8 oz Lucerne Cream Cheese
²/³ cup Safeway SELECT® Apricot Preserves
1 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
1. Thaw and cut each puff pastry sheet into 9 squares. In each square, slice
the dough a quarter-inch from the edge on all four sides.
2. Wash leeks well to remove sand and cut in half lengthwise. Cut leeks,
starting at the white end, into 8 equal slices (approximately 4 cups).
3. Sauté the leeks and tarragon in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper
to taste and cook until translucent. Let cool.
4. In a bowl, combine 1/3 cup of apricot preserves with the cream cheese
and mix to combine.
5. To assemble each pastry, take one square and working within the score
lines, place about 1 tbsp. of the cream cheese mixture, top with 1 to 2 tsp
of the leeks, top with 1 tsp of feta cheese crumbles, and finally top with 1
tsp of apricot jam.
6. Bake at 400°F for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown around the
edges.
Serving Suggestions:
Chef’s Tip: To make assembly easier, put the cream cheese mixture in a plastic zip bag. Cut one of the bottom corners of the bag
and squeeze the bag to dispense the mixture. The same can be done with the apricot jam.
Cream Cheese Peppermint Dip
Sweet, creamy peppermint dip served with chocolate-covered pretzels
and chocolate graham crackers.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 30 min
Servings: 12 servings
(2 tbsp per serving)
Ingredients:
8 oz Lucerne® Whipped Cream Cheese, softened
½ cup Lucerne Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
½ cup Safeway Kitchens Powdered Sugar
¼ tsp peppermint extract
6 Safeway Starlight Mints, crushed
Suggestion: Chocolate-covered pretzels and graham crackers to serve with
dip
Directions:
1. Put cream cheese, ricotta, powdered sugar, and peppermint extract into
a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, mix on high for 2 minutes.
2. Chill 30 minutes before serving.
3. Garnish with crushed peppermints and serve with chocolate-covered
pretzels and graham crackers.
Serving Suggestions:
Chef’s Tip: Instead of peppermint candies, use crushed peppermint bark.
Rainbow Ricotta Dip/Terrine
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Refrigerator Time: 3 hours
Servings: 12 servings
(3-oz. per serving)
Colorful dip or terrine that is easy to make and great for brunch and
sharing. Full of savory flavors that pairs excellently with crackers and
sliced baguettes!
Ingredients:
1 container (15-oz.) Lucerne® Natural Ricotta Part-Skim
1 package (8-oz.) Lucerne Cream Cheese
1 container (7-oz.) Open Nature™ Pesto Sauce
1 container (7-oz.) Safeway SELECT® Sun-Dried Tomatoes Julienne Cut
with Italian herbs, well drained and finely chopped
5 oz. package Open Nature Goat Cheese
1
/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
2 tsp Safeway® Farms Garlic, fresh, minced
1 tsp Safeway® Kitchens Mediterranean Oregano, whole
½ tsp Safeway Kitchens Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Directions:
1. Place the ricotta, goat cheese, cream cheese, garlic, oregano, and black
pepper in a food processor with a regular blade. Blend until smooth,
scraping down sides of bowl if necessary.
2. Spoon 1/3 of the cheese mixture onto the bottom of an 8”x8” baking
dish. Spread pesto over cheese mixture. Add another third of the cheese
mixture over the pesto then add a layer of sun-dried tomatoes. Cover
the sun-dried tomatoes with the remaining cheese mixture.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
4. Garnish the top of dip with toasted pine nuts before serving.
Serving Suggestions:
Chef’s Tip: To make a terrine, line a loaf pan with plastic wrap. Assemble according to directions above and refrigerate for at
least 3 hours. Invert loaf pan onto a serving platter to unmold and remove plastic wrap. Garnish with toasted pine nuts. Serve by
the slice with crackers or sliced baguettes. For a more decadent version, replace the tomato layer with minced smoked salmon.
Garnish with capers and grated lemon zest. Serve with bagel chips. Great for a brunch.