I'm trying to out-do my sil, and I need some nice, easy, not too "foofy" appetizer ideas.

What do you like to serve?

TIA!

I saw this on a cooking show and have made small ones for appetizers, large ones for a picnic lunch--quick, easy and cheap--and everyone loved them: Ingredients: eggplant, french bread, olive oil, garlic, mozzerrella cheese, parsley flakes. Slice raw eggplant, about 1/2 inch thick, pan fry, plain no breading, in a little olive oil flavored with garlic-I let a few peices of garlic sit in the pan of oil for about an hour before cooking. Cook until soft. While that is cooking put on a cookie sheet 1 inch thick slices of french bread,drizzle a little olive oil on each peice-just a little or it will be greasy, toast in the oven. Once the bread is about 1/2 toasted put a peice of eggplant on and cover with a thin slice of mozzerella. sprinkle with parsley, bake until cheese melts. Next time I'll give you my stuffed mushroom recipe. /phpbb/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

These aren't fancy or anything but, everyone always likes them /phpbb/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif I buy the tiny rye bread and I put slices of chedder cheese on the slices of rye and then sprinkle cooked bacon pieces on them. I Put them in the oven till the cheese melts. Really quick and easy.

:bump:

vegetable pizza is always a big hit!! it is a cold dish and oh soooo yummy!!! very easy too! let me know if you want the recipe!:D

This is an easy elegant appetizer.

Puff Pastry Calzone with Chevre & Artichoke Hearts

1 PKG frozen pastry shells (6), defrosted
8 oz. Chevre cheese, crumbled or feta cheese
1/4 cup cut up onion slices
8 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
2 Tablespoons sliced black olives
grated paremasan cheese

Stack 3 pastry shells together & roll them out to
measure 8" (this makes a big one you can do it like
this & have people cut off a slice or make little
ones).

Place pastry on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

When you defrost shells don't let them get too soft -
just so they are still chilled.

Combine the next 4 ingredients & place in center of
pastry leaving a 1" border along the edge. (you can
also add some garlic to the mixture)

Roll out the remaining shells in the same fashion &
place over the filling. Press & sel the edges with
the tines of a fork. Scallop them in a decorative
fashion. Pierce top with fork & brush tip with a
little water & sprinkle with a little grated parmesan
cheese.

You can either bake it now or put it in the fridge
until the next day if need be.

Bake in a 400 oven for about 25 minutes or until top
is a deep golden brown. place in a platter & cut
into wedges to serve. Serves about 6.

If you assemble this in advance that's fine but don't
bake it until just before serving.

Artichoke Spinach Spread in Wonton Baskets

16 wonton wrappers
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Chicken Flavored Bouillon Granules
1 (6 ounce) bag baby fresh spinach, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can quartered artichokes, drained and chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
cooking spray

Coat a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray and press the wontons into each tin to form a cup.
Lightly coat with cooking spray and bake for 7 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until lightly brown.
Remove from the oven and cool.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the onion, garlic and chicken granules.
Cook until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the spinach, artichokes, and cheese and continue to cook until spinach is wilted.
Cool slightly and add the sour cream.
Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into the wonton cups.

Makes 16 servings

Bacon wrapped water chestnuts marinated in a soy type dressing and baked.
*********

Cheesy Crab Rolls never last long, are easy to make and taste great. I always have to make these for get togethers. What's nice is that you can make them ahead of time and just take out how many you want to serve.:thumb:

Cheesy Crab Rolls

20 slices of bread ~remove crusts & flatten with rolling pin and stack off to the side.

In saucepan melt~4T margarine & 6 oz. american cheese
add~2T milk or white wine & 2 cans (60z. each) crabmeat, drained. May need to add a bit more liquid to make it spreadable.

Spread crab mix onto bread slices and roll up jelly roll style and place on parchment(or waxed paper) lined pan that you can put in freezer.

Melt 1/3 c. margarine add 1/2 tsp paprika and brush on rolls.Place seam side down. Freeze 1 hour then transfer to freezer bags & freeze.

To serve, let stand flat at room temp 10 min. Slice each roll into 4 slices. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Bake 375º for 12 min or until golden.
Makes 80

Mmmm, you are making my mouth water!

I love to serve this mexican dip...it doesn't look really pretty, but it is always the biggest hit at the party! It is divoured in no time!

cook and drain 1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey, not both. Once cooked and drained, add a pkg of taco seasoning to the meat (you can also use chicken instead of beef or turkey) and enough water that it calls for on the package of the taco seasoning.
Set aside.

In a seperate bowl, cream together, a brick of cream cheese, an 8 oz container of sour cream and a 14 oz. can of refried beans. (use an electric mixer). Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bottom of a 13" x 9"pan. Next sprinkle the meat mixture on top of the cream cheese. Shred an 8 oz. brick of cheddar cheese and sprinkle that on top of the meat.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the dip is bubbly and the cheese on top is melted. After you take it out of the oven let it set for 5 mins. Serve with tortillia chips or cut up veggies.

It is soooo good and cheap to make too!!! Everybody usually wants a copy of this recipe, so make copies to give out at your party too!!!

wings, buffalo kind in hot sauce

or teriyaki style.

veggies and dip with crackers.

Smoked oysters

Bil does a neat thing with a water chestnut wrapped in bacon and fried.

My usuals are:
~ 7 layer taco dip
~ hot pepper cheese dip in the crockpot with frito scoops
~ tortilla roll-ups
~ cheeseball & crackers

ISO more appetizer recipes. I'm not trying to out-do my sil as she's not my sil any more :p, but I do need a change from our usual menu.

~My SIL makes the best hot Spinach/Artichoke dip! I need to get the recipe for that. I had some yummy appetizers at a wedding recently. They made bite sized cream puff shells and filled them with cold chicken salad and tuna salad. I'm also a huge fan of bite sized quiche, which can be cooked in mini-muffin pans. Tube crescent roles are really versitile for crusts, wraps and rolls. My folks seem to like brushetta(sp. ?), which is basically a big crouton dipped in chunky tomato sauce. Cold soup is a unique appetizer. I've made peach, apple cinnamon and chocolate. Oh, I almost forgot one of my favorites, shrimp cocktail. So good!!!~

I'm still pushing my cheesy crab rolls, lol. Hope your party is a blast, what ever you serve.:)

All these sound so yummy!!
I'm not good in the appetizer department!
I usually do chips & dip, veggies & dip, etc.
Boring!! LOL

We've been having these lately at wedding showers and what not...they are soooo yummy.

Lil'Smokey Bacon wraps

1 pkg. Lil' Smokey cocktail weiners
1 pkg. thin sliced bacon

Cut bacon strips into 1/4's and wrap each little smokey with a piece of bacon. Place on baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle with a generous amount of brown sugar and bake about 30 minutes at 350 or until bacon is done. These are really sweet and savory and YUMMMMYYY. A little bit of trouble but not too bad. Everyone loves em. ;)

In a glass pan, put one package philidelphia cream cheese. Cover with pesto (1 cup?...I eyeball it...maybe 1 1/2cups...) Bake 350 until cream cheese is melting and bubbly. Serve with garlic bagel bites or toasted crackers. Yummy!

I serve these alot and everyone loves them.

Ham Cresent Snacks

1 can cresent rolls
4 thin slices of ham
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 cup shredded swiss cheese

Unroll dough into 4 long rectangles. Press preforations to seal. Place 1 ham slice on each rectangle. Spread mustard on ham and sprinkle with cheese. Starting on longest side, roll each rectangle up in jelly roll fashion. Cut into 1/2 inch slices and place cut side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes or till lightly browned at 375 degrees.

Smokey Spread

8 ozs. shredded cheddar cheese
1 (8 oz. ) pkg. cream cheese, softened
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

Combine cheddar and cream cheeses. Mix till well blended. Add remaining ingredients and mix well and chill. Serve with crackers. The Ritz roasted vegetable crackers are wonderful with this. I have found that I have to make at least three batches of this cause it goes so fast.

Spicy Pecans

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning, to taste
1/2 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
1 cup pecan halves

Melt butter over medium heat in cast iron skillet. Add worchestershire sauce and cajun seasoning. Add pecans and stir till well coated. Place skillet in 225
degree oven and bake for 45 minutes or till pecans are crisp.

These are my hubby's favorite snack. When cooled, place in a small tin or bag and add to a gift basket. I always put some in hubby's stocking for Christmas morning. I have to wait to put them in on Christmas Eve after he goes to bed though. He is worse than a kid, LOL.

Oh, a subjest I'm good at! We have about 6 parites a year between our dance group and our garden groups so I've got a list of no fail goodies.
I make deviled eggs with chili powder subed for paprika and spicy mustard for more of a kick. Usually make upwards of 2 dozen per party and never have any left.
Jalopena Popers filled with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon broiled instead of deep fried always asked for at parties will make close to 100 for this weekends party.
Salsa Dip - one block of velveta melted mix in one can of Rodale chopped tomaotes and green chilies. Never any left! Serve with mini scoops
Chilled grapes - A mix of seedless grapes washed and placed damp into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Helps to cool off the hot stuff and very refreshing.
BBQ Meatballs - Big cheater - One large bag meatballs from Sams put into largest crockpot covered with one 16 oz. bottle of favorite BBQ suace. Rinse bottle with about 1/2 cup of water pour that on too. Cover and warm up. Use long bamboo skewers for removal to plate. Less messy than a spoon.
Always mixed nuts also.
Laurie in Bradenton

I'm still pushing my cheesy crab rolls, lol. Hope your party is a blast, what ever you serve.:)

Thanks :)

Recipe please? Maybe I can make them with my lactose-free cheese. :)

Thank you all for your recipes. :chef:

Here's a whole collection:

http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes/appetizers

I love some of your ideas ladies! I'm going to have to try some of them out for Christmas :)
We usually do:
spinach dip with pumpernickel bread (the recipe using Hellmanns mayo, I think its on their website)
Ritz crackers spread with cream cheese and topped with a bit of canned crabmeat
Tortilla chips with black bean salsa (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spicy-Bean-Salsa/Detail.aspx)
Devilled eggs
pitas with hummus
veggie tray, deli meat tray, cheese tray...
fruit salad (we buy a watermelon if they aren't too costly, carve off the top in a fancy zig zag pattern so that it looks like a bowl, hollow it out with a melon baller or spoon, and refill the hollowed out watermelon bowl with the melon balls, some grapes and other chopped fruits for our fancy fruit salad)

Rotelle and tortilla chips

Asparagus Rolls! These are the most delicious things I have ever put in my mouth, and they're so easy to make. Plus, they look really good - most people don't realize it's just white bread.

1 loaf white bread - crusts removed
1 can whole asparagus spears
2 containers cream cheese
3 sticks melted butter

With rolling pin, roll each slice of bread until flat. Spread each slice evenly with cream cheese. Place one asparagus spear on the edge of each bread slice and roll up. Secure with a toothpick. Brush with melted butter and bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees or until slightly puffed and golden.

May be made ahead and frozen on cookie sheets then stored loosely in freezer bags. When ready, bake for approximatley 10 minutes while still frozen.

Oh, a subjest I'm good at! We have about 6 parites a year between our dance group and our garden groups so I've got a list of no fail goodies.
I make deviled eggs with chili powder subed for paprika and spicy mustard for more of a kick. Usually make upwards of 2 dozen per party and never have any left.
Jalopena Popers filled with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon broiled instead of deep fried always asked for at parties will make close to 100 for this weekends party.
Salsa Dip - one block of velveta melted mix in one can of Rodale chopped tomaotes and green chilies. Never any left! Serve with mini scoops
Chilled grapes - A mix of seedless grapes washed and placed damp into the freezer for about 15 minutes. Helps to cool off the hot stuff and very refreshing.
BBQ Meatballs - Big cheater - One large bag meatballs from Sams put into largest crockpot covered with one 16 oz. bottle of favorite BBQ suace. Rinse bottle with about 1/2 cup of water pour that on too. Cover and warm up. Use long bamboo skewers for removal to plate. Less messy than a spoon.
Always mixed nuts also.
Laurie in Bradenton



all that sounds soooooo good

Oh, did anyone catch Paula Deen's show yesterday? She did another game night show with her sons and she did a sweet & smokey chicken appetizer that looked easy and delish. Will have to run over to FN and get the recipe cause I want to try it. Will post recipe here when I locate it.

O.K., I got it!

Sweet & Smokey Chicken Wraps

Yield: 12-15 appetizers
Prep time: 25 min
Cooktime: 30 min.

1-1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4)
1 (1lb) smoked sliced bacon
2/3 cup firm pack light brown sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In shallow bowl, mix together brown sugar and chili powder; set aside.

Cut chicken into 1" cubes. Cut bacon into thirds. Wrap chicken pieces with bacon slices and secure with a toothpicks. Dredge wrapped chicken in sugar/chili powder mixture and place on rack in broiler pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or till bacon is crisp.

Ya know, there are a whole herd of great appetizer recipes posted over in the kitchen forum under a post about snack foods for a card/game night. So if your looking for more, check it out.

always a big hit at my families get togethers is 7-layer taco dip. its sour cream, refried beans, salsa, shredded cheese, guacamole (optional), tomatoes, & black olives. then bring some tortilla chips. it delicious!!!!

I make something we simply call "cracker dip". It started as something that a friend got out of a kraft recipe book and we totally messed it up when we tried to make it. Everyone loved the mistake.

Soften a block of cream cheese, mix with Italian Seasoning (if I don't have any, I just use oregano). I don't measure, just keep adding until it looks like herbed cream cheese. Spread the mixture on a pie plate. Cover with chopped mushrooms (raw, white, chopped really small) and chopped green onion (just the tops). Grate mozzarella over top. Put in the oven at 350ish until the cheese melts and it should be starting to brown or bubble around the edges.

We've used just about every cracker out there to dip with. Triscuits work well because they don't break, but we use Vegetable Thins most of the time just because we like them.

kielbasa cut up in the crock pot with a can of pineapple chunks and a cup of brown sugar. let it cook on low until all gooey.

I do the usual dips, stuffed mushrooms, etc..
but last year I made deep-fried ravioli's and boy were they good(and easy)
use refrigerated ravioli
dip in buttermilk and then italian breadcrumbs.
fry in oil-of your choice.
Serve with marinera sauce.
Yummy!