Easy Appetizers

Break that crockpot out of the cupboard more often. Do not use it just to make stews and soups; you can use crockpots to make dips, sauces and all sorts of appetizers. One of the best things about making meatballs in the crockpot is they stay moist and tender. You can even serve them directly from the crockpot; just place some toothpicks or small skewers nearby that your guests can use to spear them and put them on their plates.

Crockpot meatballs can be made with all sorts of sauces. Use a barbecue sauce, or our zesty beer and tomato sauce published here in this recipe. You can also make Swedish meatballs this way. Instead of them becoming dried out from the oven, they get to cook slowly, covered in sauce. The meatballs soak up the flavors of the sauce and retain their natural moisture. When you take a bite you will be transported to culinary bliss. All the flavors of the sauce come together in your mouth with the ground beef, creating a wonderful taste sensation. You could even make this for dinner one night and serve it alongside potatoes, rice or even over pasta. What an easy, delicious meal!

If you like meatballs, invest in a couple different crockpots and you can make several different recipes when your friends come over to watch the big game or you want to ring in the New Year. Leftover sauce can be used as a dip for bread slices or poured over rice or potatoes. Use your imagination. Crockpot appetizer recipes are easy and make preparing for your party less stressful.

Recipe for Zesty Beer Meatballs

These delicious meatballs are full of flavor and spice.

What You Need

3 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup onions, chopped and divided
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs, finely ground
3 eggs
1 can (12 ounces) of your favorite beer
1 (6 ounces) can V-8 juice (regular or spicy)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large bottle (14 to 16 ounces) of ketchup
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

How to Make It

Mix the ground beef, half of the onions, the bread crumbs, and eggs in a bowl. Do not be afraid to use your hands. Form the mixture into small meatballs.

Brown the meatballs in a large skillet, turning frequently to brown all surfaces. Alternatively, you could also bake them in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees F. until they are browned. Drain the meatballs and discard the fat.

Take a saucepan and combine the beer, V-8 juice, lemon juice, hot sauce, ketchup, horseradish, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Place the meatballs into the crockpot. Pour the sauce over them. Cover and let them cook on Low for 3 to 6 hours. Occasionally, gently stir the meatballs.

If you want more sauce, add more ketchup and V-8. Season accordingly.

Makes 6 dozen meatballs.

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Whichever type of event you are hosting, quick easy appetizers are always good to make. If you are having a dinner party, you will want to allow yourself time to focus on the main course and desserts as well as the appetizers. If you are having a buffet, you will want to make a variety of appetizers instead of spending too long on each one. If you are having a Superbowl party, you will want to choose some easy appetizer recipes, which are easy to eat as well as easy to make.

Make ahead appetizers are great because you can have everything ready and enjoy the game with your guests, instead of running back and forth to the kitchen all through it.

Types of Superbowl Appetizers and Snacks

Traditional Superbowl appetizers are not the fancy appetizer recipes or delicate canapes you might find at a cocktail party. Instead, they are filling foods, comfort foods, and classic favorites. This includes hot dogs, chicken wings, ribs, mini burgers, potato skins, French fries, filled celery ribs, chips and dips and much more. Sweet appetizers for Superbowl can include cookies and muffins.

Bread and sandwiches make quick easy appetizers for a Superbowl party. You might like to use tortilla wraps, sliced bread or a French baguette loaf. Get creative with fillings. These are make ahead appetizers too and you can keep sandwiches in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them. Do not forget about mini quiches and mini pizzas too.

If you have quite a lot of people coming, you might want to make a variety of different foods. You will find that a crockpot is really handy if you want to keep meatballs, sausage links, or hot dip recipes warm. Combine some link sausages or meatballs with a mixture of tomato sauce and some raspberry chipotle sauce for a really good snack. This keeps warm in a crockpot until you want to serve it.

Honey Glazed Chicken Wings Recipe

This delicious Superbowl recipe is easy to make. The chicken wings need to marinate for an hour and then bake for forty five minutes, so you can time them to be ready just as the game begins. Alternatively, you can bake them ahead of time and just reheat them in the oven before the party starts.

This recipe makes enough to serve eight people. You will need to have some napkins nearby if you are serving this easy appetizer as one of your Superbowl party recipes, since honey glazed chicken wings are sticky!

What you will need:

2 lbs chicken wings
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced scallions
1 clove minced garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

How to make it:

Cut the wingtips off and discard them, then cut the wings in half at the joint and put them in a baking dish. Mix all the other ingredients together and pour this mixture over the chicken wings, turning them over a few times, so they are well covered. Cover and chill the chicken wings for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Put the chicken wings on a lightly greased jellyroll pan, then bake them for 45 minutes, turning them once halfway through the cooking time. Serve them hot.

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全新西班牙Tapas批，批邊有四款Tapas，分別以Cheddar及Mozzarella雙色芝士包著海蝦、八爪魚仔、鷄柳及煙肉；批面鋪滿西班牙肉腸、魷魚圈等特色餡料， 配上秘製紫蘇香草醬汁，給你啖啖不同的西班牙濃郁滋味！另有多款傳統西班牙小食及地道特飲，倍添味美，每一口都同樣Delicioso！ Spanish Tapas Pizza its tapas-inspired crust of embedded shrimp, octopus, chicken and bacon slices intertwining Cheddar and Mozzarella cheese, paired with Spanish-style toppings of sausage and calamari, plus basil sauce base, is definitely a specialty that Spain has to offer. Complete it with other Spanish themed appetizers and special drinks. Every mouthful is just delicioso!

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Do you tire of serving the same foods every time you host a party or are asked to bring an appetizer or snack to a friend or relatives party? Below are some recipes that may help you come up with something new for your next party. All of these recipes are easy, tasty, and they are also suitable for any diabetics who may be among your group of family or friends. Choose from Southwestern Chicken Dip, a variation of the Velveeta Cheese dips; Triscuit Cottage Snacks, also with a Southwestern Flavor due to the salsa, or the Pineapple Yogurt Dip. Or just make them all, they are sure to be a hit.

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN DIP

1 lb Velveeta Cheese Product, cut-up

1 can (10-oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained

1 pkg (6-oz) Southwestern Seasoned or Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, cut-up

1/4 cup chopped green onion

1 tsp ground cumin, optional

Mix all ingredients in a large microwavable bowl. Microwave on high for 6 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted, stirring every 3 minutes.

Serve with tortilla chips or assorted cut-up vegetables.

TRISCUIT COTTAGE SNACKS

12 Triscuit Reduced Fat Crackers

1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese

1/4 cup thick, chunky salsa,

1 tbsp chopped green onion, if desired

1 tbsp grated cheese, if desired

Drain the cottage cheese in a small strainer or on paper towels to reduce most of the moisture.

Top each cracker with a teaspoon of the cottage cheese. Top the cottage cheese with a teaspoon of the salsa. Sprinkle with chopped green onion and/or grated cheese, if desired. Serve right away. This is not a snack to leave setting out for hours.

PINEAPPLE YOGURT DIP

1 pkg (8-oz) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened

1 container (8-oz) fat-free plain or vanilla yogurt

1 can (8-oz) crushed pineapple in its own juice, well drained

1/2 cup Splenda granular (or your favorite sweetener--amt adjusted)

Process cream cheese, yogurt, pineapple, and Splenda in a food processor or blender until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Spoon the mixture into a serving dish. Serve with assorted fresh fruits and/or graham-type crackers.

Enjoy!

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Since spring is finally here, sort of (it snowed here in Denver on Easter day, sigh), I thought I would share one of my favorite strawberry recipes with you. It is a pretty easy recipe that does not even require any baking. Start to finish, it takes about 20 minutes. As I do at my baking site, I am going to share with you here the story behind the recipe.

Cream Cheese Strawberry Pie

Strawberries are my favorite fruit. I always have them around when they come into season in the spring. It always brings back memories of going to pick berries with my family in the summer. We would all pile in the car with buckets and ice cream pails, eager to taste fresh summer berries. We would go to one of the nearby berry farms that had acres and acres of berries. I remember it seemed so huge to me as a kid and I could not believe how many rows upon rows upon rows there were. All of us kids of course ended up eating just as many berries as we picked. There is nothing that has quite as much flavor as a strawberry fresh from the field, warm with sunshine. Makes me want to go hunt down a local berry farm so I can share that memory with my daughter!

Prepare the vanilla pudding according to the package directions. (Put the pudding mix and the milk into a bowl and whisk together for 2 minutes.) Allow it to set for 5 minutes. I usually use this time to start washing and cutting the strawberries. I typically just cut them in half for this recipe. Once the pudding has set, place the cream cheese in a medium sized bowl and mix with an electric mixer for 30 seconds at low speed. Add the pudding to the cream cheese and mix for about one minute on low speed. Put the mixture into the pie crust and put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. Continue washing and cutting the strawberries while the pie is in the refrigerator. Place the strawberries on top of the pie. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Enjoy your spring (and your berry picking adventures)!

Happy Baking!

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Organizing a picnic, and running out of picnic food ideas? Picnic food items are easy to prepare, delicious and healthy. When preparing a picnic meal keep it simple and play with the flavours and aromas.

Picnic food items should be easy and fast to prepare, easy to eat, tasty and healthy too, especially for children. Picnics are the best occasion to encourage your kids to inculcate good and healthy eating habits.

On picnics one wants to relax and be casual. Thus, no one wants to follow sophisticated table manners. Therefore, keep the food item simple, which can be easily eaten with hands. Keep hassle free finger foods like or you can also keep a barbeque and serve grilled food, which are delicious, filling and easy to eat.

Following are the best and easy to cook picnic food ideas:

Picnic Appetizers: Appetizers will keep your guests and kids engaged and will prevent them from getting bored. Plus, the appetizers will keep them from getting hungry till the time you decide to start the lunch. Now it is very much easy, convenient and comfortably possible to accomplish he vacation one wished for, that too with a complete indulgence in luxury and comfort at its level best.

For appetizers arrange a platter of raw vegetables like cucumber sticks, carrot sticks, asparagus, etc and serve it with one or two nice dips. Keep one spicy and aromatic dip and the other one little subtly flavour and easy on hotness. You can probably keep one salsa dip and other a celery-sour cream dip. You can even buy readymade dips from the market. Instead of accompanying the platter with usually fried and unhealthy chips, try baked chips. These are healthy, less filling and a tasty option.

Sandwiches: Sandwiches are easy to make and does not take much time. Moreover, everyone likes sandwiches. You can get hundred of different recipes from the internet. Add sausages, pepperoni and lots of vegetables to make them delicious as well as healthy.

Desserts and Fruits: A meal is incomplete without a dessert. Bake or buy some pastries and pies for the desserts to relish your sweet tooth. Cut different fruits and top them up on whipped cream and garnish it with golden honey. This makes for a healthy and a delicious dessert promotional items.

Barbeque: If you are planning to set up a barbeque and serve your guests with freshly grilled scrumptious meats, then you can go in for frozen burger patties, kebabs, sausages, etc that are readily available in stores. Or else marinate the meat pieces, like chicken, seafood, etc. In herbs, flavoured olive oil, etc in advance. This, way the grilled meat will be tender and will have an intense flavour. Serve the barbeque dishes with readymade barbeque sauce or the freshly prepared two dips mentioned in the appetizer section.

Drinks: go in for lots of juices or juice concentrates and lemonade. Stock up lots of bottled water because children tend to be quiet active on picnics, and can get dehydrated.

Picnics can be more fun if you plan each and every detail well in advance, like the venue, picnic table plans, food items, etc. Easy to cook, easy to eat, delicious and nutritious food items can make picnic all the more enjoyable.

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How to make pepperoni pizza rolls, gyoza and the best fondue ever.

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The downside to writing up new recipes is remembering how good they taste and getting hungry in the process!

This recipe for a wonderful nibble called Mandarin Chicken Bites is good for any time of the year, but during the holidays, with all the eating and snacking going on, adding this recipe to your repertoire will be a terrific addition to your holiday fare.

Easy to make, these mandarin chicken bites are even easier to eat. Most importantly, make sure you make more than you think you'll need. These tasty tidbits get eaten up in a big hurry.

What you'll need:

- 1 cup of flour (all-purpose)

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper

- 1 pound of chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

- 2 Tablespoons of butter (or margarine)

- 1 11-ounce can of mandarin oranges (drained)

- 2/3 cup of orange marmalade

- 1/2 teaspoon of dried tarragon

The first thing to do is cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Then, combine the salt and pepper and flour in a large plastic bag (resealable). Adding a few pieces of chicken at a time, shake to coat. Remove the chicken pieces and brown them in a skillet in melted butter. When the juices run clear, you've cooked the chicken long enough.

Next, in a small saucepan, mix the oranges, marmalade and tarragon and then bring the mixture to a boil.

Simply, pour the mixture over the chicken and stir everything gently to coat it all.

Transfer the coated chicken to a pretty platter and serve warm with some toothpicks.

This delicious recipe makes 12-15 servings.

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