Appetizer recipes

Chili or chile con queso is a typical Mexican chile flavored cheese dip, perfect with tortilla chips and beer. The cheese dip can be made a day or 2 ahead and refrigerated until needed.
 

A simple, fast and extra delicious Southern style shrimp dish great as an appetizer or even a main dish when served over a warm tortilla together with a green salad. The shrimps are first marinaded in a garlic, oregano, thyme, lemon and Worcestershire flavored sauce, pan fried and finally cooked for a few minutes in butter. This recipe can serve 2 for a main dish, 4 or more for an appetizer. You can double all ingredients for twice the servings. If you like the shrimps to be a bit hot you can increase the amount of cayenne pepper used.
 

A very popular sauce, used often in Mexican and Southwestern recipes, chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are stewed chipotle chiles. The sauce provides a smokey flavor with a mild heat to a variety of dishes. This homemade version of adobo sauce is easy to make and far more superior than ready made ones.
 

Dumplings are one of the most popular Chinese dishes. There are a lot of different types for dumplings, based on the filling ingredients and the way they are cooked. Dumplings can be made with chicken, pork, shrimps, vegetables or a combination of these ingredients. They can be boiled, steamed, fried or fried and then steamed. Whatever the ingredient or the cooking method, dumplings are always a tasty dish, ideal as a starter or even a main dish. The best thing about dumplings is that they can be prepared in advance and frozen until needed. This recipe includes the dumpling dough that can be used in any kind of dumpling and a roast pork filling recipe. To make more dumplings just multiply the ingredient quantities.
 

Easy homemade pickled jalapeno peppers, great as a Mexican condiment or ingredient in recipes such as nachos, tacos, enchiladas, salsas and more. Pickled jalapenos can be refrigerated for several months so you can make more by increasing the ingredients proportinally - just make sure that the chiles are covered in the pickling liquid.
 

Refried beans is a typical Mexican condiment, used as a side dish or as an ingredient in various Mexican dishes such as burritos, carnitas, etc. There ready made refried beans that you can buy, but making your own is quite easy and tastes much better. This recipe requires only 5 minutes of preparation and 5 to 10 minutes of cooking.
 

Corn tortillas filled with melted cheese, avocado and salsa. A great Mexican appetizer, easy to make and extremely delicious.
 

A tasty, low fat salad recipe that is great as a starter or a light main dish. This salad uses cannellini beans, dried or canned, black olives, fresh basil leaves, lemon rind and a simple olive oil based dressing. If you use dried beans, you will have to soak them overnight, and cook them afterwords. Using canned beans will save you the preparation time.
 

Zucchini fried in garlic flavoured oil, served with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.
 

A great appetizer with zucchini, garlic and dried red pepper.