Texas Tea Sandwiches

Dump the softened cream cheese in bowl #1 and mix for about 30 seconds with a mixer to just make it creamy. Stir in the chopped green onions and the garlic powder. Set aside.

Place the chopped ham, mustard and pepper in bowl #2 and mix with a wooden spoon until all of the ham is coated with mustard. Set aside.

Assemble your work area: You will need Bowl #1, Bowl #2, container of softened butter with olive oil, a couple of butter knives, a knife to trim crust away, tooth picks and a platter to place finished sandwiches on.

Begin to assemble:

1. Take a piece of whole wheat bread and spread the butter on it, then spread the ham mixture on top.

2. Take a piece of white bread and spread butter on one side of it. Place the butter side down on the ham mixture of the other piece of bread. On the same slice of white bread, now butter it again and spread the cream cheese mixture on top.
3. Take another piece of whole wheat bread and butter it. Place that butter side down on top of the cream cheese mixture you just spread. On the same slice of whole wheat bread, butter it again and spread the ham mixture on top of it.
4. Since everything is bigger in Texas, we are adding one more layer! Take a piece of white bread, butter it and place it butter side down on the ham mixture. Butter it again and then spread the cream cheese mixture on top.
5. Butter a slice of whole wheat and place it butter side down on the cream cheese.

Now, take your assembled sandwich to a cutting board and trim the crust from all four sides. Then slice it into either 4 squares or 4 triangles. Place a tooth pick in each of the small sandwiches and move to your serving platter.

Continue in this way until you have finished with your ingredients. If you have any left over cream cheese or ham mixture, I typically clean out some cherry tomatoes and stuff them with one of the mixes. These add some color to your tray and a second little snack.

(This is my daughter's "thumb's up"!) Again, this can be made with regular whole wheat and white bread as well as smoked ham lunch meat. OR you can use homemade breads or fresh from the bakery. You could also use a different kind of ham and slice it small. I have tried all different versions and never met one that I didn't like. I will say though that I have found that they smoked lunch meat ham sliced in small pieces holds together the best for serving and eating. You can also alter what type of bread you start with so your sandwiches end with a different type and your platter has both white and whole wheat showing. I haven't found a great use for the left over crust, other than giving my dogs a few of them. :) If you think of something let me know!