Openfaced Apple & Cheese Sandwich with Spicy Cucumber Salad

The recipes for last night's dinner were ones I randomly put together in my head, not having a clue how all of my ingredients combined would actually turn out. Sometimes these are the best meals to make, if you like getting creative in the kitchen. Last night's concoction was a delicious success.

I'll call these dishes Open-faced Apple & Cheese Sandwich and Spicy Sesame Cucumber Salad.

Open-faced Apple & Cheese Sandwich:

On a piece of whole wheat Naan bread, I spread on some spicy Dijon mustard. Then I layered thin slices of green apple with two slices of soy Cheddar cheese. I toasted these in the toaster oven until the cheese was melted and Naan toasted. The combination of spicy mustard, with tart crunchy apples, and gooey cheese was amazing! And I think anything tastes good on Naan bread, but you could try this on whole wheat pita pockets, English muffins, or even rolled up in a tortilla! It's a fancy take on a traditional cheese sandwich.

Spicy Sesame Cucumber Salad:

Plain and simple, this salad was 1 cucumber, sliced thinly, a few shakes of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil, and a dash of red pepper flakes. I recently purchased sesame oil for the first time and it has completely changed the flavor of some of my meals.

Typically I'd use olive or canola oil in a recipe that called for sesame, but never again! It has such a strong, unique flavor (in a very good way) that it cannot be substituted. It gave this salad such a great taste, it seemed much more complex than it really was.

Have you ever used sesame oil? If so, I'd love to gather some recipes to make use of my new favorite ingredient!