Cucumber Bites

Need a quick and inexpensive appetizer to take to a party or potluck?  My friend, Holly, recently made these and I am hooked.  She called them "Tiny Salads" but my family has renamed them Cucumber Bites.   My eldest said he would call them "Clown Noses" for serving to children and when I took them to a Super Bowl gathering last night, another friend said how festive the red and green would be for Christmas. Christmas Cukes?   

Whatever you call them, they are a tasty bite-sized treat that was quick, easy and relatively inexpensive to make for a crowd.

What you need:
2-3 cucumbers
1 block of softened neufchatel cheese (lower fat than cream cheese but tastes the same)
1/2 package of ranch dressing powder
grape tomatoes, sliced in half.
dill weed or other herb for garnish

Before you start assembly, mix about 1/2 a package of the ranch dressing mix into the cheese.  I used my mixer to really mix well. I'm sure you could use other seasonings you may have on hand, and I will probably try that in the future.  Set the mixture aside while you prep your cucumbers.


Step 1:  Wash the cucumbers.  If you want to be fancy, which I ALWAYS want to be, use a vegetable peeler to make stripes down the side of the cuke.  This gives a little pizazz to the finished product.

Step 2:  Slice the cucumbers into 1/2 inch slices.

Step 3:  Scoop out a portion of each slice to make a 'well' to hold the yummy that is coming. If you have a melon-baller, I'm sure that would work great.  I don't, but found a grapefruit spoon (inherited from my sweet Grannie) worked wonderfully.

Step 4:  Now, place a scoop of the cheese mixture into the cucumber and top with half of a grape tomato. Sprinkle the top with a little dill weed.  FANCY!    

At this point, I eat a couple, then place the tray of bites back into the frig to chill until serving time.