Appetizers – Page 4 – Charles and Kimberly's Recipes (2024)

This is one of my favorite summer salads. I went by the farmers market today and one of the venders had some fresh cucumbers. I couldn’t resist but make this combination. Charles loves spicy food so the jalapeno was a great touch. I don’t care to eat the jalapeno slices myself but I do enjoy the way the heat permeates through a bit and adds a nice flavor. I am sure I will post another variation or two by the time the summer is over but here is my first creation.

Cucumbers and Onions ~ Refrigerator Pickles with a twist

• 4 small cucumbers
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium tomato or 4 – 5 cherry or plum tomato
• 1 jalapeno if desired
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vinegar ~ cider works well; today I used rice vinegar but choose your favorite

If desired peel cucumbers. Slice cucumbers and onions; cut tomatoes into wedges and thinly slice jalapeno.

Mix sugar and vinegar and pour over cucumbers. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

Ok, so making a fat-freedressing isn’t my first intent but for some reason I am not a huge fan of all the oil that is in a true vinaigrette. While making a raspberry dressing the other day I grabbed my cooking olive oil vs. the extra virgin type; I was so disappointedwhen I tasted what was starting to be a super combination. Ergo my oil-less dressing was created. I often use just balsamic vinegar on my lettuce anyway so no oil just makes sense. We enjoyed our tossed salad with romaine lettuce, locally grown radishes, tomato, carrot, and mushrooms. We also added some avocado to our salads; it just seemed like a natural addition with the cilantro and lime.

Strawberry Cilantro Salad Dressing

• 1 cup fresh strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar ~ I used rice vinegar for a milder taste
• 1 tsp cilantro
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

In blender combine all ingredients. I strained my dressing through a metal sieve. Some of the seeds still slip through and of course you lose a bit of the pepper and cilantro but it keeps most of the seeds at bay if you are sensitive or just don’t feel like contending with them in your teeth all day!

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I thought I’d try a different twist on my cream cheese dip tonight. I decided to go with a southwestern flair; cilantro, lime, and jalapeno just sounded tasty. The sweetness of the red pepper and the tartness of the lime worked very well with this spicy combination. I don’t think I would change a thing. I couldn’t decide if bread or tortilla chips would be better; I tried both but enjoyed the crusty toasted baguette the best. This can be made ahead and baked just before serving. It also reheats very well should you be lucky enough to have leftovers!

Southwestern Cream Cheese Dip

• 1 8 o.z. package cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 Tbs mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sweet red pepper ~ diced
• 1/4 cup jalapeno ~ diced ~ I used 1 large jalapeno
• 2 Tbs green onion ~ thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp lime zest
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 cup cheddar cheese ~ shredded
• 1 tsp cilantro ~ chopped

Allow cream cheese to soften at room temperature for about an hour. Mix in sour cream and mayo until fully incorporated. Add pepper, jalapeno, onion, lime zest and juice, chili powder, 1/2 cup of cheddar, and cilantro. Spread into small buttered baking dish or pie pan. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 – 40 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I mention the guacamole yesterday; I don’t always make it the same way but I really enjoyed this chunky version. The flavors all worked well together. I’ve seen many different techniques as far as the preparation. One thing all have in common is use of lime juice to prevent the avocado from browning and of course covering well if storing before serving. I opted today to prep everything but the avocado in advance and add the avocado just before serving. This worked out really well and made it easy to throw together when the time was right.

Chunky Guacamole

• 1/2 jalapeno finely diced
• 2 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic ~ minced ~ I used my zester for this but a garlic press works well too

• juice of one lime
• 2 Tbs diced tomato
• 1/2 tsp eachsalt and pepper
• 1 avocado ~ chopped or mashed as desired

Combine all ingredient except for the avocado. Set aside at room temperature until ready to serve and add the avocado just before serving.

Alternately if you wish to add the avocado early I would recommend waiting to add the tomato until time to serve or omitting completely as it can make the guacamole discolor and get a bit watery if it sets too long.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I had to revisit a few recipes today. Chicken tostadas just sounded terrific and I figured I should test some of my posts just to make sure everything was as delicious as when I first made them. I couldn’t have been happier with the results. Perfectly seasoned, very spicy, full of flavor …. just the way I like it!

I started off with preparing my cilantro lime sour cream.

I then prepared the Salsa Fresco. I did only use 1 half of the jalapeno as it was very large and I added a little extra tomato but the chunks were larger so ounce for ounce it was likely about the same.

I then prepared my Taco Seasoning for the chicken.

I haven’t posted myguacamole recipe; perhapsI shall do that tomorrow but here is a picture just to get the mouth-watering!

After all the prep work is done it’s time to cook the chicken. I used 2 chicken breast which I thinly sliced. Before cooking I tossed with the taco seasoning.

In a hot skillet with about 1 Tbsolive oil sauté the chicken for about4 – 5 minutes until cooked through. Squeeze about 1/2 a lime during the last minute of cooking.

Set aside and prepare corn shells for the tostadas. I like to fry mine for about1 minute, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 4 – 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven until nice and crispy. Build your tostadas as desired.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I mentioned the sauce yesterday in my rib rub post.I like the kick the cayenne added and the lime and corona worked well together of course. I didn’t use vinegar which is unusual for my barbecue sauces, but the lime and beer complimented everything so well I didn’t want to overwhelm with acidity. I will wrap it all up tomorrow and get these ribs cooked. In the meantime here is the sauce recipe.

Corona BBQ Sauce

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup corona
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 Tbs lime juice
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp crushed brown mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• 1/2tsp cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan. Heat to simmer and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes over medium heat to thicken and bring out all the flavors. Chill until ready to serve. Serve warm or cold. Baste on to ribs if desired.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I decided to make Charles some ribs for dinner today but I knew I wouldn’t be able to smoke them like I wanted since I had to be at work at 1 and Charles wouldn’t be home till 6 so I went with a slow oven roasted technique. I will start by sharing the rub recipe I used; I thinkcould have gone more intense on the rub but the sauce I made (which I will share tomorrow) finished them very nicely.

Spicy Lime Rib Rub

1teaspoon each

• chili powder
• coriander,
• black pepper
• crushed brown mustard seed
• garlic powder
• lime zest

2 teaspoons each

• salt
• brown sugar

Mix together all ingredients and rub generously over raw ribs.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I had a bit more fresh mozzarella to use so I decided to make a bruschetta tonight. I love toasted italian bread anyway so adding some fresh ingredients was a no brainer. You can use any type of mozzarella although the softness of the fresh mozzarella pearls was tasty.

Bruschetta ~ fresh tomato basil and garlic

• 2 Tbs fresh basil ~ thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups fresh diced tomato
• 2 clove garlic ~ finely minced
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Bread ~ crusty italian baguette works perfectly
• mozzarella cheese

Prepare basil ~ I like the technique I posted in my fresh basil post seen here. Combine basil, tomato, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Set aside and slice bread as desired. Lightly toast bread on one side just enough to dry surface. Flip over and toast other side.Flip back over and top with bruschetta mixture and mozzarella cheese.

Toast 2 – 3 minutes longer about 4 – 5 inches from broiler or until cheese is melted and edges of bread have browned.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I decided tostadas sounded good for dinner Sunday after a busy day.

I cooked some ground beef and seasoned with my taco seasoning recipe. I only wish I’d had some jalapeno on hand to make some Pico de Gallo to top it off, but alas I did not so I opted to infuse some extra flavor into the sour cream with some fresh lime and cilantro. I liked thefreshness it added putting the cilantro in the sour cream and the lime of course was a perfect touch. I layered my fried andbakedcorn shells with the meat and bean combination, shredded cheese, cilantro lime sour cream, lettuce and tomato. Avocados would be delicious too but I was working with what I had in the house so top yours as desired!

Cilantro Lime Sour Cream

• 4 o.z. sour cream
• 1 tsp fresh cilantro
• juice of one lime

Mix together sour cream, cilantro and lime. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly

I wanted to make a nice salad with our lasagna so I decided to go with a vinegar based dressing and fresh tomatoes. Not exactly a vinaigrettebut a nice tangy herbdressing none-the-less. Traditionally vinaigretteshave about 3 to 1 ratio of oil to vinegar and I just don’t see the need to add that much oil to salad dressing. My love of cheese takes care of any fat I may be missing out on so I like to get my flavor from the herbs and vinegar! My sister bought me a tasty apple balsamic vinegar for Christmas; substitute a favorite vinegar if you have one or I am sure a simple rice or red wine vinegar would be tasty too.

Chunky Tomato Basil Salad Dressing

• 1/2 cup diced or wedged tomato
• 1 tsp fresh basil
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2 Tbs apple balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 head romaine lettuce
• 2 o.z. fresh mozzarella

Cut tomatoes as desired and add basil, sugar, vinegar, and olive oil. Stir until blended; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with torn lettuce and sprinkle with fresh mozzarella.

Enjoy ~ Kimberly