Bleu Cheese & Yogurt Cucumber Bites w. Cranberries

I'm a snacker. So when I saw this yummy idea for Pomegranate Cheese Cucumber Bites on Sugar-Free Mom I knew I had to make them. They were so simple, straightforward and nutritious...right up my alley. Hers were red and green for Christmas entertaining; mine are too late for the holidays, but I love the color scheme and the balance of savory and sweet, so I'm thinking they're great all year long.

I made some changes to suit my tastes and to match what I had in the fridge. Adding some yogurt (and cutting down on the cheese a bit) makes them a little less rich; it also provides a tartness that counterbalances the sweetness of the dried cranberries. 

My cucumber was pretty enormous. I used less than half of it to get the 16 slices I used for this dish. I just made these for myself as part of my post-workout lunch; if you're making these for a crowd, it's easy to make larger amounts. I cut them on a slight diagonal for more surface area on which to put the topping.

Ingredients
yield: 16 bites

• English (seedless) cucumber, cut into sixteen slices, about 1/4" thick
• 1/4 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 large scallion, chopped (reserve some of the chopped greens to top the bites)
• 1-2 tsp. dried cranberries, minced
• freshly-ground salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl stir together the yogurt, cheese and scallions, adding salt and pepper to taste. You can make this yogurt-cheese mixture the day before; it's not necessary but it actually gives the flavors a chance to meld well.

Arrange the cucumber slices on a large plate or platter. Top each slice with a small dollop of the yogurt-cheese mixture. Then sprinkle the reserved, chopped scallion greens and the minced cranberries over all the bites.  

I ate a few before they had a chance to make it
to the platter. Oops!

The whole platter is less than 250 calories, so whether you're eating it yourself or sharing with friends, you can really dig in!