Mini Chicken Sandwiches with Veggie Spread

Why is it that if it's little it seems to tastes better?

Well that's what my kids always thought anyway. When they were really little, I would often cut my kids sandwiches into shapes with cookie cutters and magically a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread became worthy of being eaten. Even Oscar Mayer seemed to know what was going on in my kitchen - they came out with those Lunchables and of course my kids had to have them...they're little sandwiches, they're cute (I'm sure the candy and sugary juice drink that I would never have included in their lunch boxes helped too). I have found now that I actually prefer "little" sandwiches too, but that's probably because then I can eat two of them and feel like I'm getting away with something.

A creamy vegetable spread is the base for these sandwiches made using "cocktail bread". The spread can use any variety of vegetables. An obvious addition would be scallions-I've excluded them here because my family prefers to not have an "oniony" tasting spread. I had a hard time not eating all the spread, because it's rather tasty by itself just spread on the cocktail bread.

Fillings could vary according to your personal taste, but I've used sliced Boar's Head Chicken breast from my supermarket. Boar's Head in my opinion has the best tasting cold cuts-when we first moved here from New York I was devastated that you could not buy Boar's Head brand...but thankfully a makeover at our local Stop and Shop a few years later brought with it Boar's Head brand and all is now well.

Mini Chicken Sandwiches with Veggie Spread

Veggie Spread:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons finely chopped carrot

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes

pinch of salt

Sandwiches:

16 slices pumpernickel cocktail bread (2"x2")

Romaine lettuce

1/2 pound good quality sliced chicken breast

1 large ripe tomato

1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and thinly slice

In a small food processor combine the cream cheese, carrot, jalapeno pepper, sun-dried tomatoes and salt; process just until combined (it's best if it's left a little chunky).

Spread a generous amount of the veggie spread onto 8 slices of the cocktail bread. Top the spread with a slice of Romaine lettuce, cut to fit the bread. Follow with a few slices of the chicken breast, a tomato slice and/or an avocado slice. Top sandwiches with the remaining bread slices.

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