Goat Cheese on Sourdough

So, I'm really sorry that I've been a terrible blogger lately and haven't updated in almost 2 weeks! I would probably be ashamed if I didn't have some legitimate excuses ;) I was sick for a few days in that time and have been pretty busy with work and with our house getting started - eee so exciting! We're also starting to move stuff out of our apartment because we'll be moving in with Eric's parents next week - our lease is up at the end of the month and we're going to try to save some money while the house is being built. As many of you know, busy days leave little extra time for crafting, cooking, or baking, hence, my insanely easy recipe for you tonight :)

I present to you: Goat Cheese on Sourdough (a very condensed name for what is really just toasted sourdough bread spread with goat cheese and topped with roasted red peppers).

So, I'll give you a little background to the inspiration behind this recipe: I love goat cheese. It is seriously one of my favorite things ever. There are two places where I always order goat cheese and this little recipe is inspired by one of them. One of these places is up north in Traverse City at M. Lawrence winery where it is served with two small sample glasses of sparkling wine (my favorite winery) and at Sanchez restaurant in Grand Rapids. The goat cheese tapa at Sanchez reminds me a lot of this recipe that I threw together tonight and I'm so happy with how it turned out! Now I can make one of my favorite restaurant appetizers right at home :)

The ingredients that I used tonight were actually pretty inexpensive even though they seem like they might be kinda pricey. The sourdough bread is from the Meijer bakery and the goat cheese and roasted red peppers are from Aldi. I seriously love Aldi - it has such great prices and a nice selection of specialty items. The goat cheese comes in several different flavors but the one I always get is the "Garlic and Herb". The roasted red peppers actually come in a jar and are the "Sweet" variety that Aldi offers, but they are just as good as fresh roasted ones in my opinion, and a lot less work.

I'm not going to actually write out a recipe for this post just because it's so easy! Basically what I did was slice up the loaf of sourdough into thin slices and throw them in the toaster until they were just lightly toasted. While they were toasting, I put the goat cheese in the microwave for 10 second intervals, mashing and stirring it up until it was a good spreading consistency and nice and warm. For me, this only took about 35-40 seconds. I also cut up the roasted red peppers from the jar into smaller strips so that they weren't such large chunks. Then all you have to do is spread the goat cheese onto the toasted sourdough and top with the roasted red peppers - easy as that! I think this could also be made in the oven and might stay warmer a little longer, but I did not try this approach yet. I would also probably warm up the red peppers next time before adding them on top.

I used about 1/3 of the sourdough loaf, the entire 4 oz package of goat cheese, and less than 1/4 of the jar of roasted red peppers for the eight slices shown in the pictures, just so you have an idea of the amounts I used when buying ingredients. I'm thinking I might bring this appetizer to our next get together with friends or family. It was so easy and seriously delicious! Eric and I ate all eight slices within no time tonight ;)

Before I go, I also just want to say that I'm going to try to be better about updating the blog over the next few weeks, however, it's probably going to be a little difficult with all the busy things we have going on. I do plan to give you a brief update of the progress on our house within the next couple of days though, as well as show you my most recent pallet sign which I sold to a friend for her mom's birthday - it turned out really great and I can't wait to show you! Check back within the next couple of days for this post. See you then! :)