Cucumber Bites with Herb Cream Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes - 52 Church PotLuck Appetizers

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These are fantastic for a number of reasons... Beautifully colorful, a real standout of a dish.  Easy, Really Really DIY Easy to make and cost effective,  The whole tray of about 36 appetizers will come in at about a quarter each!

Perfect dish for a catering appetizer or side dish, Great for a pass a plate PotLuck event or any big family gathering.

Only a couple of special needs... A small amount of skills with a piping bag to get the swirly star affect in the Cream Cheese.  And a melon baller to remove a portion of the cucumber slices.

Be Festive and ENJOY!

Keep scrolling down for the easy to follow recipe.

OK... Here's what I did...

Cucumber Bites with
Herb Cream Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients

• FOR THE HERB CREAM CHEESE - 4 Ounces (1 Brick) Cream Cheese, Softened to room temperature
• 1/4 Cup Ranch Dressing (Yes, good old Hidden Valley)
• 2 TBS Dill (can use other spices... Thyme is excellent also)
• 3-4 Long Cucumbers. skinned and Slice into thirty 1 inch slices
• 15 Cherry Tomatoes, sliced in half
• Additional Sprinkle of Salt (to Taste, Careful, little goes a long way)
• Additional Sprinkle of Spice (same as used in Cream Cheese) for Garnish
• Additional Sprinkle of Paprika OR a Cajun Spice Mix (optional) for Garnish (and an extra kick if you use the Cajun Mix)

Cooking Directions

1. First, Make up the HERB CREAM CHEESE, in a stand mixer, mix the softened Cream Cheese with the Ranch dressing and herbs. Mix until well combined. Spoon into a piping bag with a star tip.
2. Prepare the Cucumber, remove peel, Using a fork, score the sides. Slice into 1 inch pieces. Using a melon Baller, remove a portion of the center of one side of the piece of cucumber, leaving a half moon crater.
3. Pipe the Herb Cream Cheese into the crater. Enough to stick out of the top about 1/2 inch.
4. Add a half Cherry Tomato partially buried into the Herb Cream Cheese
5. Sprinkle additional salt, herbs and spice mix for additional color. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve.
6. Serve Chilled and ENJOY!

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This recipe has been added to my growing list of "52 Church PotLuck Dishes"!

A list of something NEW worthy of being shown off at a neighborhood BYODish (Bring Your Own Dish) Party, a Family special occasion dinner, Any Big Holiday Gathering or of course that glorious day when you bring a dish to share with your Church family...

Ages ago, literally almost a half century ago I was listening to our pastor talking about a PotLuck Dinner. It happened to be scheduled around a church work day when we were expected to weed, polish and do general cleaning and maintenance around the church (you know, back in the day when there were no no-wax floors and church pews smelled of Old English furniture polish). I am of course paraphrasing, but as I recall the pastor said,

"A potluck, like a church requires work. At a potluck everyone is expected to contribute.. At a church no one should come empty handed and no one should leave unfed".

I will confess that in my youth I brought more store bought plastic spoons and forks than I ever brought covered dishes and crock pots of fresh made love and caring delights. But now that I have become a hobbyist cook, I occasionally am reminded of those days and people from my youth. I reminded and I do wish that I could drop a dish of some new creation on those old tables at my fondly remembered Liberty Baptist Church.  Tables covered with newspapers and loaded with God's bounty prepared with love and caring... Enjoy

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