# ISO Mexican Appetizer Ideas



## chave982 (Mar 27, 2008)

Ok so we're having a family get-together on Sunday, and the dinner theme is "Mexican".  I'm in charge of appetizers/hors d'oevres, but have no idea what to make.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!


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## buckytom (Mar 27, 2008)

chave, is tex-mex ok, or are you looking for authentic or regional mexican.

if either is ok, i was thinking of ceviche, garlic shrimp, cactus salad, taquitos or quesadillas, and of course the ubiquitous chips and salsa


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## pdswife (Mar 27, 2008)

You could google for a 7 layer dip.  Cheese, refried beans, tomatoes,olives, sour cream, ground beef, lettuce are included in most recipes.


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## simplicity (Mar 27, 2008)

Hi chave,  I like this one.  Because
....it is simple
....it is good
....it requires no last minute preparation, nor heating, nor refrigeration and is easy to transport
....it can be made in advance - store it in plastic bags until needed

Party Mix

4 tablespoons unsalted butter - margarine is okay
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
7 cups Kellogg's Crispix
2 cups Chili Cheese Fritos
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup roasted peanuts

Melt butter in microwave or saucepan, then add the spices.
Toss cereal, Fritos and peanuts in a 9x 13 pan or roaster pan.
Pour butter mixture over and toss to coat thoroughly.
Bake in preheated oven at 250 Deg for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, toss with Parmesan and return to over for 30 minutes.  Stir after 15 minutes.

Spread on paper towels to cool.

Makes about 10 cups


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## pdswife (Mar 27, 2008)

Here a few that sound good.

Antojitos Minis

Traditional Salsa with Baked Chips


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## BBQ Mikey (Mar 27, 2008)

Pizza w/ Chorizo Sausage and Cajun Spiced Chicken
Instead of sauce, lay down tomato slices.
Grill the chicken first and then lay on top.
Slice or mince Chorizo and sprinkle it around.
Use Mexi-cheese


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## *amy* (Mar 27, 2008)

Queso dip & nachos
Guacamole
Ceviche served in martini glasses - shrimp etc
Mexican shrimp cocktail
Tortilla Espanolla (potato & egg omlette)
Mexican pizza

Posted a recipe for shrimp/crab stuffed avacado & a gazpacho cocktail. Try a search here, & see what you think. (Or, I can post the links here, if you like.)

And...

cinco de mayo guacamole and nacho's
(With *Blue* Corn chips)

queso dip!


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## Andy M. (Mar 27, 2008)

Check out Rick Bayless' recipes.


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## karenlyn (Mar 28, 2008)

A cheese dip with cooked ground chorizo is always wonderful.  Or taquitos (yum!) or tamale pieces.  But my favorite is fresh, homemade salsa and a minimalistic chunky guacamole with fresh tortilla chips.  mmmmm.....


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## chave982 (Mar 28, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas everyone! Will probably end up using one of these.


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## expatgirl (Mar 28, 2008)

Mexican layered dip--can find on the internet--recipes about the same--you layer refried beans (I make pinto beans and puree them) sour cream, guacamole, and top with cheese, green onions, and a few chopped tomatos. Delicious served with tortilla chips.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 28, 2008)

The DW was able to duplicate those South-Western Eggrolls from Chili's. But she bakes them insted of frying. It's basically a tortilla with corn, cheddar, spinach, chicken, red peppers, black beans and spices. All the pieces need to be of uniform size like the corn kernels. She makes a Ranch and cilantro dipping sauce.

Looks like this


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## PanchoHambre (Mar 28, 2008)

Pico De Gallo bruschetta

This is my italian-mexican fusion recipe that came from trying to bring Pico to an office party... it worked out great.

Pico De Gallo is easy to make and a great appetiser as well as a nice thing to eat with other mexican foods. Just coarsely chop Tomatos, Chillies, Onion (red or purple) add some lime juice, Cilantro, garlic salt and pepper. You can play around with the proportions to your taste. (refrigerate until serving)

Sometimes to make it more of an "appetiser" I present it in a sort of modified bruschetta

take a loaf of bread  (italian bread works but it is your choice just pick one with a nice crust and good texture) slice about 1/4 to 1/2" thick slices (slices should be small enough to eat in 2 bites or so) brush with olive oil and toast lightly. Just before serving spoon on the Pico de Gallo. Garnish with cilantro leaves and avocado slices.

These look great arranged on a platter and make it much easier to serve the pico than a bowl of chips.


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## AllenOK (Mar 28, 2008)

Shrimp toastadas

tortilla chips
small shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked
salsa
guacamole

Assemble them by spooning a little bit of salsa onto each chip.  Place a shrimp on the salsa.  Top with a little bit of guac (this is easily done if the guac is in a piping bag, but, it needs to be SMOOTH so the tip doesn't clog).


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## *amy* (Mar 28, 2008)

You can dress up guacamole by adding crab or shrimp salad, etc. Like this:


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## shannon in KS (Mar 29, 2008)

Here's a few I had in my library... hope it's not too late!!

Mexican Cheesecake

1/2 cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour 
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened 
1 egg yolk 
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened 
1 envelope (1.25 ounces) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix 
3 eggs 
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 ounces) 
1 can (4.5 ounces) Old El Paso® chopped green chiles, undrained 
1 cup sour cream 
 Crackers, if desired

1. Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 400ºF. Lightly grease springform pan, 9x3 inches.  
2. Mix flour, butter and egg yolk. Press mixture evenly on bottom of pan. Bake about 15 minutes or until golden brown; cool.  
3. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF . Mix cream cheese and seasoning mix in large bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in Cheddar cheese and chiles. Pour over crust.  
4. Bake about 40 minutes or until center is set. Immediately spread with sour cream. Bake 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours. Remove side of pan. Cut cheesecake into wedges. Serve with crackers.

Southwest Relish

1 cup canned (drained) or frozen (thawed) whole kernel corn, drained 
1 can mild ro-tel, juice optional
2/3 cup chopped red onion 
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 
3 tablespoons lime juice 
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil 
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into bite-size pieces (1 cup) 
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, rinsed

1. Mix all ingredients. 
2. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors. Store covered in refrigerator up to 2 days.

Tamale Dip

2  lbs Velveeta reduced fat cheese product  
1 (4  ounce) can green chilies, chopped  
2 (10  ounce) cans rotel  
1  bunch green onions, chopped  
1  dozen tamales

Mix all ingredients except tamales in crockpot and heat until melted. 
Remove corn husks from tamales and crumble into melted cheese mixture. Frozen or canned tamales are fine. Thaw if frozen. 
Have a bowl of tortilla or corn chips available to scoop up dip or warm flour or corn tortillas so they can use as a filling.


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## expatgirl (Mar 29, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> The DW was able to duplicate those South-Western Eggrolls from Chili's. But she bakes them insted of frying. It's basically a tortilla with corn, cheddar, spinach, chicken, red peppers, black beans and spices. All the pieces need to be of uniform size like the corn kernels. She makes a Ranch and cilantro dipping sauce.
> 
> Looks like this



OMG!  I want the recipe one way or the other---we can now get tortillas now---those look fantastic and I have an afternoon Fat Friday to give on April 11.  Please,  I'll never make fun of your watermelon hat anymore, Jeeks!!


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## karenlyn (Mar 30, 2008)

I want the recipe for those SW eggrolls, too!  I loved loved loved them when I lived in the States... I always ordered them as my meal when I went to Chili's.  They're to die for.  I hate to deep fry, so I'd love to try a baked version.  I think DH would love them, too, though he's never tried the original.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 30, 2008)

Here's a recipe I found on the net. Instead of frying them, put them in the oven on a baking sheet until the tortilla is crispy. You need to keep turning it though. They freeze good too.


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## expatgirl (Mar 30, 2008)

Not to  sound dumb.... so I take it that your DW slices the rolls after baking, right?  I'm serious I have about 15 ladies coming on the 11th and I know that they love American hors de oerves........ranch dip & veggies was a  novelty dream come true for them.  them..........ok, jeeks, I'll be nice to you now on..............where can i get that smiley that is whistling and looking upwards?


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## Jeekinz (Mar 30, 2008)

LOL

Yes, cut them *after* you bake them.  FWIW, you may want to put a spoon in with the sauce to prevent the dreaded _Double Dip_.  It's hard to remember any manners munching down on these things.


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## expatgirl (Mar 30, 2008)

Thanks, Jeeks, after having endured many Dehli bellies, I'm nearly anal about cross contamination---I won't even use a cloth towel in someone's bathroom and will just air dry my hands---too many bad experiences..  So looking forward to making these...many thanks again..


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## kitchenelf (Mar 30, 2008)

Expatgirl said:
			
		

> where can i get that smiley that is whistling and looking upwards?



Here you go - - - - - -


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## expatgirl (Mar 30, 2008)

Thank you my dear......that's what I wanted to post when I said I would never give Jeenks a hard time about his "helmet"..........but how do I post it


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## GotGarlic (Mar 30, 2008)

expatgirl said:


> Thank you my dear......that's what I wanted to post when I said I would never give Jeenks a hard time about his "helmet"..........but how do I post it



Hi, Expatgirl. In the Quick Reply window, click Go Advanced. Then, under the Smilies on the right, click More. Make the window a bit bigger, so you can see more smilies, and click on the one you want. HTH.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 30, 2008)

expatgirl said:


> Thanks, Jeeks, after having endured many Dehli bellies, I'm nearly anal about cross contamination---I won't even use a cloth towel in someone's bathroom and will just air dry my hands---too many bad experiences.. So looking forward to making these...many thanks again..


 
Any relation to Mozart?


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

Unfortunately not---I'm not talented or gifted, can't carry a tune to save my life, and will not die penniless (I hope not to at least)..........however I would be happy to claim kinship to my great uncle Howard Hughes who I understand considered me his favorite great niece---now if we could only find his will.........


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## buckytom (Mar 31, 2008)

psst, expatty, he means mozart the hypochondriac member of this site...


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

GotGarlic said:


> Hi, Expatgirl. In the Quick Reply window, click Go Advanced. Then, under the Smilies on the right, click More. Make the window a bit bigger, so you can see more smilies, and click on the one you want. HTH.



Thanks, GotGarlic, but where do I find Quick Reply?  I'm sorry to be such an idiot about this but I bet I'm not the only one.  Thanks for all of DC's help on this.............


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

buckytom said:


> psst, expatty, he means mozart the hypochondriac member of this site...



ooops.........double ooops...........


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## GotGarlic (Mar 31, 2008)

expatgirl said:


> Thanks, GotGarlic, but where do I find Quick Reply?  I'm sorry to be such an idiot about this but I bet I'm not the only one.  Thanks for all of DC's help on this.............



If you scroll down to the bottom of any thread, there's a window called Quick Reply that you can start typing in immediately. If you always click on Quote to start a reply, you get the same window, plus the message you're replying to is already quoted (sometimes you don't need the quote, so you can use Quick Reply instead). 

So anytime you're replying to a thread and you see a bunch of smilies to the right, there should be a link called [More] under the smilies. Click on that and a small window will open up with more smilies to choose from. Just click the one you want. HTH.


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## Jeekinz (Mar 31, 2008)

expatgirl said:


> ooops.........double ooops...........


 
Still on that decaf, huh? 

Let us know how you make out with the eggrolls.


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Still on that decaf, huh?
> 
> Let us know how you make out with the eggrolls.
> 
> ...


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

GotGarlic said:


> If you scroll down to the bottom of any thread, there's a window called Quick Reply that you can start typing in immediately. If you always click on Quote to start a reply, you get the same window, plus the message you're replying to is already quoted (sometimes you don't need the quote, so you can use Quick Reply instead).
> 
> So anytime you're replying to a thread and you see a bunch of smilies to the right, there should be a link called [More] under the smilies. Click on that and a small window will open up with more smilies to choose from. Just click the one you want. HTH.



Thank you so much, GotGarlic, for taking the time and trouble to help this computer nitwit out.  I really had no clue as to where quick replies was and searched at the top of the screen bar in several DC  venues.  Never thought to check the bottom.......duh-uh.......you're a doll.....


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## GotGarlic (Mar 31, 2008)

expatgirl said:


> Thank you so much, GotGarlic, for taking the time and trouble to help this computer nitwit out.  I really had no clue as to where quick replies was and searched at the top of the screen bar in several DC  venues.  Never thought to check the bottom.......duh-uh.......you're a doll.....



Hey, no problem. I've been doing PC tech support, full-time or as part of my job, since 1992 - it's pretty much second-nature now


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## expatgirl (Mar 31, 2008)

Well, you're an angel to help out and I really appreciate it......just wished that I was more computer savvy---so does my DH, DS, and DD........they run for the hills when I call for help......


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