Looking for new recipes for cream cheese.... (celery, ginger, pepper)

[sayulita]

Chop up in small cubes and add to gazpacho. Especially good is you also ad some baby shrimp as well.
Make cheesecake.

[gela]

Here is one of my favorite:

1.5 quart cream cheese
5 fl oz milk
2.5 oz sugar
1 vanilla pod (slit open lengthways)
3 fl oz whipped cream

Scrape seeds from the inside of the vanilla bean. Put vanilla, vanilla bean, milk and sugar in a pan, heat until sugar melted. Remove vanilla bean.

Add to cream cheese, stir. Add whipped cream, stir again.
Refrigerate for almost 2 hours.

Very tasty with half frozen, pureed raspberries

[DontH8Me]

Easy cheesy casserole:

take a glass rectangular pyrex - spray with pam - dump in one bag of uncooked egg noodles - dot with two packages of cream cheese, cubed - sprinkle with salt and fresh black pepper - pour in enough hot milk to almost cover all the noodles - bake at 375 until bubbly and creamy and the noodles are cooked through - stir once about half way through cooking.

This is comfort food, folks.

[jimboburnsy]

Originally Posted by CArizona

I put cream cheese in my mashed potaotoes and love the taste....What else can I do with cream cheese? I'd love to add cream cheese to everything I make....Does anyone have any ideas or recipes for the "everyday use" of cream cheese? Thanks ahead of time.

Simple recipe.

1. Unwrap a block of cream cheese.

2. Set on a platter

3. Cover in *****peppa sauce or your favorite chipotle sauce

*Edit- I have no idea why P-I-C-K-A is censored. I'm going to have to google that... -ediT* *Edit #2- Got it.*

4. Open a box of wheat thins.

Done.

[CArizona]

Thanks for all of the great recipes. How often do you eat and use cream cheese? Do you keep cream cheese in your fridge all the time? Just curious....We always have cream cheese on hand now. What type of cream cheese do you like best? Do you ever buy store brands?....Thanks again for all of your help and wonderful recipes...

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by CArizona

Thanks for all of the great recipes. How often do you eat and use cream cheese? Do you keep cream cheese in your fridge all the time? Just curious....We always have cream cheese on hand now. What type of cream cheese do you like best? Do you ever buy store brands?....Thanks again for all of your help and wonderful recipes...

We always, always, always have cream cheese on hand, at least 2-3 packages.

I always buy the brand that's on sale, which is usually the store brand. I always buy the "light" kind -- this is often listed on the package as "neufchatel", but don't be fooled by the fancy French word... it's cream cheese; that's why it's sitting in the cream cheese section.

[CArizona]

Originally Posted by DandJ

We always, always, always have cream cheese on hand, at least 2-3 packages.

I always buy the brand that's on sale, which is usually the store brand. I always buy the "light" kind -- this is often listed on the package as "neufchatel", but don't be fooled by the fancy French word... it's cream cheese; that's why it's sitting in the cream cheese section.

Thanks for the info....How would you describe the difference in taste between light and regular cream cheese? Just curious....Do you have sour cream on hand most of the time too? I don't like or drink milk but I always have all kinds of cheeses on hand and sour cream too.

[Niftybergin]

My absolute FAVORITE indulgent food is what my (olive-loving) friends call "Olive Goodness." All it is is a TON of green olives (with pimentoes), although you can use as many or as few as you like, and a block of cream cheese, blended until smooth in a food processor. It's an awesome dip for crackers.

I also have a recipe for a dessert I call "Protestant Pie" (because it seemed like it was always being served at church pot-luck dinners when I was a kid). I don't remember the details off the top of my head but it's basically this:
1) Pretzels, crushed and mixed with melted butter and sugar and pressed into the bottom of a rectangular glass baking dish. Bake for just a few minutes. Remove from oven. Cool.
2) Mix a block of cream cheese with white sugar with a hand-mixer until smooth. I think it's something like 1 or 2 cups per block of cheese. Spread onto the pretzel "crust."
3) Top with strawberry jello (into which you've added frozen sliced strawberries, and which you've allowed to "gell" enough so that it's not quite set, but also isn't completely liquid).
4) Refrigerate. Serve cold.

It's got that perfect combination of salty-sweet, and it's super-delicious.

[Niftybergin]

Originally Posted by CArizona

How would you describe the difference in taste between light and regular cream cheese?

To me, the regular and the light taste exactly the same. I always use the light also.

Fat free tastes nasty, though.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by CArizona

Thanks for the info....How would you describe the difference in taste between light and regular cream cheese? Just curious....Do you have sour cream on hand most of the time too? I don't like or drink milk but I always have all kinds of cheeses on hand and sour cream too.

Originally Posted by Niftybergin

To me, the regular and the light taste exactly the same. I always use the light also.

Fat free tastes nasty, though.

I ditto Niftybergin -- don't even LOOK at the fat free stuff. It'll hurt you! Seriously, it's pretty gross.

I'm not sure that I can tell the difference between light and regular cream cheese. Maybe in the beginning I could, when I first switched, but I can't even be certain that that was the case even then. It's 1/3 less fat and/or calories (I'm not sure which or both) and, honestly, the light stuff is pure goodness. I don't need the extra fat or calories. The light is heavenly enough.

I don't always have sour cream in the house. I buy it when we're planning on "making Mexican something or other" but aside from then, it's not a staple in my house. (I do love sour cream, though, so if it WAS always in the fridge, I'd *ahem* find an excuse for it.)

I'm a big cheese freak -- I always have Parmesan, sharp cheddar, and Dubliner in the house, and possibly another kind too.

But I will NOT drink milk. NEVER. And nobody can make me!

I'd definitely try the light cream cheese, though (but NOT the fat free) -- it's worth a try, and I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.