appetizers and snacks Archives - Page 11 of 12

The Best of Simply Sweet Home: The Christmas Recipe Edition

December 9, 2008 8 Comments

Time for more of my favorite posts from a year ago. I did a lot of Christmas recipe posts last year, and since this is Recipe Week in my little Christmas festival, I thought it would be a good time to revisit last December’s recipes.

I recommend the appetizers and the holiday poke cupcakes, but that’s just me! My husband recommends the coconut macaroons. (Unless you’re coming to my house; in which case, they’re no good. lol.)

Appetizers:
Christmas Pinwheels
Crunchy Cheese Crisps
Sausage Balls

Desserts:
Coconut Macaroons
Peppermint Brittle
Fantasy Fudge
Holiday Poke Cakes
Chocolate Bon Bons
Rudolph Cupcakes

-Jerri

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Best Posts, cookies and candy, cupcakes, recipes

Recipe of the Week: Crab Appetizer Napoleons

July 25, 2008 1 Comment

I’ve been doing a lot of desserts lately, so I decided to post an appetizer for this week’s recipe. This crab appetizer comes from Pepperidge Farm, and as you can see it looks very colorful on a party platter. This a great recipe for a summer party, a wedding, a shower, or for just snacking around the house.

1/2 pkg. Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet)

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. prepared horseradish

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 can (about 6 oz.) refrigerated pasteurized crabmeat, drained

4 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup sliced almond Paprika

Directions:

THAW pastry sheet at room temperature 30 min.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

UNFOLD pastry sheet on lightly floured surface.

Cut into 12 rounds, using 2″ cookie cutter. Place 2″ apart on baking sheet. Bake 15 min. or until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack.

STIR cream cheese until smooth. Stir in milk, horseradish, pepper and crabmeat.

SPLIT pastries into 2 layers, making 24 layers in all. Spread crabmeat mixture on 12 bottom layers. Top with onions, almonds and top layers. Sprinkle with paprika. Makes 12 Napoleons.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Recipe of the Week

Works for Me Wednesday: Bundinos, A New Snack to Try

April 30, 2008 5 Comments

Hello everyone. For the first time, I’m doing a Works for Wednesday post. It is a blog carnival on Rocks in my Dryer. Since I already have MPM, Recipe of the Week, and other posts to do every week, for right now I won’t be participating in WFMW every week, but I’ll try to participate as much as I can.

For this post, I wanted to introduce a new product to you. It is called Bundinos, and it is found in the frozen section. After a little research I found that these are made from the same company that makes Michelina’s frozen dinners, which has a great line of frozen pastas.

Bundinos are sort of a cross between mini pizza rolls and hot pockets. They are essentially meat, cheese, and other fillings inside of grilled, oven-baked bread. They are a little over in an inch wide in diameter, and they are a great for a quick, tasty, mess-free snack. They are also reasonably priced at a little over $2 for a box of 9.

There were a few flavors available (and sorry I can’t remember them all). But I purchased the Chicken, Swiss, and Ham flavor, and I was highly impressed. The cheese was very creamy, and all the ingredients had a great taste. And unlike a lot of these kind of snacks, none of the filling leaked out during the cooking process, nor did it ooze out after being bitten into. So you don’t have to worry about a mess, and you can cook them up in 2 minutes or less.

Usually I’m a little picky about microwaved foods, but these were a great value, and I’ll definitely buy again! They were very flavorful and different, and I think they’re great for a quick snack or meal. And I think the kids would like them too. Overall, I give them 5 stars out of 5.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, product review, Simple Solutions

Recipe of the Week: Bacon, Caesar, and Mozarella Panini

April 25, 2008 4 Comments

In case anyone was wondering, the reason I didn’t post anything for Menu Plan Monday this week is because my husband is out of town for half of this week. Since it’s just me here, I didn’t really have a need to plan a big menu. But MPM will be back again for this upcoming week.

In the meantime, here is this week’s recipe of the week. This was a featured recipe on pilsbury.com recently. These are great for a snack, appetizer, or quick lunch and dinner. And since I’m on my own this week, it seemed like an easy and tasty meal for me to make for myself. Yum!

1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
4 teaspoons basil pesto
1/4 cup Caesar dressing (creamy or vinaigrette style)
8 oz water-packed fresh mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into 8 slices, or 8 slices (1 oz each) regular mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
12 slices cooked bacon
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes, each cut into 4 slices
8 large fresh basil leaves
1/4cup Butter

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray large cookie sheet with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray. Unroll pizza crust dough on cookie sheet; press dough into 16×11-inch rectangle, pulling dough gently if necessary. Bake 9 to 16 minutes or until light brown. Cool about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
2. Cut cooled pizza crust in half lengthwise and crosswise to make 4 rectangles. Remove rectangles from cookie sheet; cut each rectangle in half crosswise for a total of 8 squares.
3. On each of 4 crust slices, spread 1 teaspoon pesto; set aside. On each of remaining 4 slices, spread 1 tablespoon Caesar dressing. Place 2 cheese slices on each crust slice with Caesar dressing. Top cheese with pepper, 3 bacon slices, 2 tomato slices and 2 basil leaves. Top with remaining crust slices, pesto sides down.
4. Heat 12-inch skillet or cast-iron skillet over medium heat until hot. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in skillet. Place 2 sandwiches in skillet. Place smaller skillet or saucepan on sandwiches to flatten slightly; keep skillet on sandwiches while cooking. Cook 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until bread is golden brown and crisp and fillings are heated. Remove from skillet; cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with remaining 2 tablespoons butter and sandwiches.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week

Recipe of the Week: Pizza Melts

April 5, 2008 3 Comments

I was searching for some appetizers to make for lunch when I ran across this recipe for Pizza Melts from Pillsbury. Since I haven’t posted a recipe of the week, I decided to share this one with you. If you like pizza, then this would be a good quick meal for you. It would also make a great party appetizer and the perfect after school snack. Follow the recipe or mix it up by adding your favorite pizza toppings, and enjoy!

2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1/4 cup pizza sauce or 3 tablespoons tomato paste with basil, garlic and oregano
1 package (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 cup pizza sauce, if desired

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease cookie sheet. On cookie sheet, unroll 1 can of dough into 1 large rectangle. With floured rolling pin or fingers, roll or press dough into 12×9-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal.

2. Spread 1/4 cup pizza sauce over dough to within 1/4 inch of edges. Top with pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.

3. On 14-inch length of parchment paper, unroll remaining can of dough. Press to make 12×9-inch rectangle, firmly pressing perforations to seal. While holding paper with dough, turn dough upside down to cover cheese. Remove paper. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and oregano.

4. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand on cooling rack 5 to 10 minutes. Move to cutting board. Using pizza cutter, cut into 16 squares. Cut each square in half diagonally. Serve with 1 cup pizza sauce.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, casseroles and quick meals, Recipe of the Week

Spring Rolls (for spring, get it?)

April 2, 2008 3 Comments

I’ve planned on doing a series of “spring” posts, from spring cleaning to spring decor to spring recipes. But since I did all those “informational” posts over the last week or so, I thought it would be a good idea to lighten things up with a recipe or two. And I just couldn’t get spring rolls out of my head. I don’t know if it’s really a spring recipe, but at least spring is in the name, and besides that it makes a great appetizer and a good addition to a Chinese meal.

I haven’t really done any Chinese cooking myself (at least not from scratch) but I found this recipe and a lot of other on a website called Chinese Food DIY. They seem to have a recipe for almost everything that you’d find on a Chinese buffet, so if you’re interested in cooking Chinese at home, check them out.

Spring Rolls

1 tablespoon oil
2 cups your choice of meat (cooked ham, Chinese barbecued pork, raw pork, or raw chicken, cut julienne; you can also add tiny shrimp or leave out the meat entirely and substitute more vegetables)
6 Chinese dried black mushrooms, soaked to reconstitute, then cut julienne
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, cut julienne
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 small carrot, shredded
1-1/2 cups Chinese or regular green cabbage, shredded
2 scallions, shredded
1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetarian broth for a vegetarian version)
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch (corn flour)
1 package spring roll or egg roll wrappers, thawed if frozen
1 egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Prepare filling: Heat oil in a wok. Add meat and stir-fry briefly (until cooked through, if raw). Add vegetables and stir-fry about 2 minutes. Combine chicken broth, oyster sauce, sugar, and cornstarch. Add to wok and stir-fry until sauce thickens. Let filling cool before filling spring rolls (refrigerate if you’re in a hurry).

2. To prepare each spring roll: Position one wrapper like a diamond with one point facing you. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in a log shape across the bottom about 2″ from the lowest corner. Fold the bottom corner up over the filling and tuck it behind the filling. Roll the packet up once to enclose the filling securely. Moisten the three remaining corners of the wrapper with beaten egg. Fold the left and right corners to the center and press down firmly to seal, forming an envelope. Finish rolling up, sealing the top corner. Repeat with remaining packets.

3. (Spring rolls may be prepared a few hours ahead and refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, until ready to cook. Make sure they do not touch each other or the dough will stick together.)

4. In a deep-fryer or wok, heat 4 cups of oil to 360 -375 degrees F. Deep-fry spring rolls a few at a time, until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve the spring rolls hot, whole or cut in thirds, with plum sauce as a dip.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, recipes

Bacon Cheddar Appetizers

January 30, 2008 3 Comments

Here’s an easy and rather tasty looking treat. I found these on Nabisco. It’s a cute, bite-size (and quick) version of potato skins, and I bet you can’t eat just one! And for those of you aren’t in to bacon and cheese, perhaps you could do a variation of this idea; instead of bacon and cheese try mixing in the ingredients for spinach dip or some other type of vegetable dip. Just an idea I had….but for I think I’ll stick with the bacon and cheddar.

Bacon Cheddar Appetizers

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Finely Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1/2 cup Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp. finely chopped onion

1/2 cup Real Bacon Bits

64 TRISCUIT Thin Crisps

Preparation:

PREHEAT broiler. Mix all ingredients except crackers until well blended.

PLACE crackers on baking sheet. Top each cracker with about 1 tsp. of the cheese mixture.

BROIL 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Garnish with chopped red and green pepper, if desired.

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, recipes

Simple Solutions: Easy Super Bowl Snacks

January 30, 2008 Leave a Comment

If members of your household will be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday (or essentially any sporting event on television in the future) it is the perfect day for an appetizer buffet. You can make many of your snacks the day before the event and other items can be made fairly quickly on the day of the event. Then put them out on the counter so that everyone can help themselves whenever their hungry.

If you’re having guests over, you might want to do a potluck buffet, but even if you do all the cooking yourself, you don’t have to spend a lot of money or even a lot of time to make snacks for your family, friends, and fellow sports fans. Save time by getting ready made appetizers from your grocer’s freezer or the refrigerated section of your deli. Check your deli for meats and hoagie buns, vegetable and meat trays, and desserts. Or buy pizza, wings, chicken fingers, or sandwiches from a fast food place. You can usually get a good deal on party platters.

Here are easy appetizer choices:

Chicken wings (plain, buffalo, honey barbeque)
Chicken fingers
Cheese fries/Chili Cheese Fries/Bacon Cheese Fries
Pizza (delivery or oven-baked)
Pizza Rolls & Mini Pizzas
Sub sandwiches
Hot dogs or chili dogs
Potato skins
Chips & dip (homemade, store bought, or check your deli section)
Potato wedges
Ham & Cheese tray (make your own or buy one already made from the store)
Vegetable tray & dip (store bought or homemade
Chili
Cheese sticks
Pigs in a blanket
Sausage Balls or Meatballs(homemade or buy frozen)
Cocktail weanies
Cookies or brownies

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, party ideas, recipes, Simple Solutions

Recipe of the Week: Fantasy Football Meatballs

January 25, 2008 1 Comment

Here in the United States, there will be a lot of buzz about the upcoming Super Bowl next week, and many households will be holding Super Bowl parties, big and small, next Sunday. For this reason, I decided to post an appetizer for the recipe of the week. Whether eaten as a finger food or put on a sandwich, meatballs are a tasty treat for any party or gathering, and this recipe from Smuckers is no exception. And even if you’re not a football fan, you can still enjoy this great snack.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil -or-
1 (16 ounce) pkg frozen prepared, bite-sized meatballs, thawed (about 32)
1 (12 ounce) jar Concord Grape Jelly
1 (12 ounce) bottle chili sauce

Directions:

1. COMBINE first eight ingredients, mixing well; shape into 36 one-inch meatballs.

2. COOK in oil over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Drain on paper towels. 3. COMBINE grape jelly and chili sauce in a large skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring until well combined, about 3 minutes.

4. PLACE cooked or thawed meatballs in a single layer in skillet coating each meatball evenly with sauce. Cover; simmer 10 minutes stirring occasionally, until sauce is bubbly and meatballs are heated through.

5. TRANSFER glazed meatballs to a chafing dish or slow cooker. Serve with toothpicks. Makes about 32 appetizers

Filed Under: appetizers and snacks, Recipe of the Week, recipes

Recipe of the Week: Sausage Balls

December 29, 2007 Leave a Comment

For the recipe of the week, I chose to do one of my favorite appetizers…sausage balls. This is an easy and tasty recipe for a party or for a quick snack at home.

1 lb. mild or hot sausage

2 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese

3 c. Bisquick (biscuit mix)

Allow cheese to come to room temperature. Combine all ingredients (easier done by hand). Shape into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.