To Die for Appetizers!

Everyone likes me to bring stuffed mushroom caps!
Brown bulk sausage, crumbled into small pieces (like taco meat).
Make stuffing.
Mix sausage & stuffing.
Stuff mushroom caps in a buttered baking dish.
Bake at 325 for about 20-30 minutes, until mushroom caps are tender.

Super yummy--how can sausage, stuffing and mushrooms and butter ever be bad? LOL

I second the buffalo chicken dip that Sam suggested. You CANNOT go wrong with this. The room will crowd around it. I serve it with tortilla chips and celery.

Almond stuffed dates wrapped with bacon ... these are insanely delish!!! And so easy.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/bacon-and-date-appetizer/det...

Sautee 1 sliced up onion in some butter until the onions are soft. Add in some brown sugar, enough to make it a brown color, then pour over a chunk of brie cheese. The onion sauce will melt the cheese and serve it with some fancy crackers. It's delicious!!

Buffalo chicken dip in the crockpot! Ugh - the best. When I get home I can get the correct measurements but it includes:

Canned Chicken
Ranch
Franks Red Hot
1 pkg of cream cheese
Bag of Shredded Cheese

Mix all together and let crockpot melt it together and serve with tortilla chips. MMMM our favorite for sure!

My newest go to appetizer is very simple but is always the first thing gone. I put an entire package of cream cheese (unwrapped) on a plate and pour Raspberry Chipotle sauce over it and serve with crackers. It is sooooo good! The sauce is a flavorful blend of sweet, smoky, and spicy.

Sometimes random thoughts can create, as my friend calls it, Orgasmic Delight! Here's my vegie dip...which I've been using for years. Requested year after year, too!

equal parts fat-free cream cheese ....and butter/margarine. I usually use 2 blocks of cr cheese/2 sticks butter.
2-3 green onions, minced
1 bunch of radishes, ground
1 pkg of blue cheese crumbles
1/2 jar of pepperoncini, drained & minced
fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
& enough Kraft fat-free Honey Dijon dressing to hit the right consistency. (I make it thicker for on crackers...thinner for vegies.)

Combine the cream cheese/butter. Add the dressing sparingly, & then add the rest of the ingredients. You can then add more dressing, if needed.

Allow the flavors to blend for 3-4 hours before serving. This dip is good the 1st day, better the 2nd, & still YUM days later!

I serve it with really good crackers & vegies.

Oh, & you can also substitute Good Seasons dry Ital dressing mix....or Caesar....or......lots of options! I've even made it without the dressing... adding just milk to thin it.

bacon wrapped stuffed jalapenos!

Bacon wrapped, cream cheese stuffed jalapenos. They are the bomb!!

Make a slit length wise in the jalapeno (remove seeds) and fill with cream cheese (there are many, many different fillings to stuff the peppers with - you can google for different recipes). Wrap the peppers with the bacon, secure with a toothpick and bake (I don't remember the right degrees, around 400 I think) until the bacon is crispy.

I personally am a sucker for a cheese tray...

1. Salad on a stick. Cubed bite sized cucumber, feta cheese and 1/2 grape tomato. Use toothpick... Tomato on top, feta in middle, cuke as base. Drizzle with a little lime juice, use chopped fresh mint, cilantro, basil (whatever fresh herb you like). Drizzle Italian or favorite dressing (just a touch) and serve!! Pretty, colorful, festive tray!

2. Bacon wrapped water chestnuts!! Yummy. Wrap small piece if bacon around a water chestnut, seal with toothpick, bake until bacon is done. CAUTION::: Hot bacon grease from the pan in oven

3. Stuffed mushroom caps.

4. Crescent roll-ups. Canned crescent rolls, seal edges. Filling... Softened cream cheese, chopped green onion, chopped, drained mushrooms, season to taste ( seasoning salt, garlic, etc). Spread mixture evenly on crescent rolls. Roll up , let chill and get firm, then slice evenly. Place on cookie sheet. Beat 1 egg, brush over rolls, sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cook til browned, serve warm.

Have fun!!

Here are my two winners:

Hot Artichoke Dip
-2 cans artichokes, drained quartered
-1 small (ie not the tall one) size green can parmesan cheese
-1 mini can diced chilies (or more for more hot) drained
-1 small container mayo
- garlic powder
-loaf french bread, torn into scoop sized pieces

Chop artichokes into bite size pieces, dump into bowl with chilies, mayo and parm cheese. Mix everything together, start with half mayo and half parm cheese and keep adding until you get the right consistency. You want it to look like thick white gunk, not too runny. Technically and yummy, I know. Add garlic powder to taste. I've done this in the mini crock pot, but my mom bakes hers. CP for at least an hour until hot or in the oven at 350 for an hour or until its bubbly on top. Serve with bread. Yum-oh!!

Cheesy Beer Dip:
- can/bottle of beer
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, SHARP
-1 block cream cheese
-1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix, NOT DRESSING MIX (I usually buy the one thats in a strand of three or four)

Pour beer into pot, heat and melt cream cheese until smooth. Add ranch mix. Melt cheese into pot till all melted and smooth. Serve with chips or pretzels.

BTW, I'm really glad you asked this because I was informed today we are serving Thanksgiving dinner AND game food to another family and 6 single Marines. I had just got online to find some appetizer recipes so you saved me an hour of searching through recipes! :)

Crab Cups
Philo Dough Cups
Pico de Gallo
Crab
Cream Cheese plain or seasoned
Premade cups in the frozen section, Premade pico in the veggie section and a tub of crab from seafood section, soft cream cheese in dairy.
Let cups defrost. Layer Cream Cheese, pico, then crab.
They disappear fast!!
Good Luck!
D.

Yes on the stuffed mushrooms!

little crock pot full of lil smokies in bbq sauce

shrimp and cream cheese diablo. - stuff half a whole fresh jalapeno with eaither a raw shrimp or smear with cream cheese. Wrap in bacon, secure with toothpicks and bake.

You can do a lot with wonton wrappers. Spray muffin tin with buttery spray, put a wonton wrapper in each and spray again. Bake until crispy. Then you can fill with sweet and savory things.
Make some full of pumpkin whipt with cream cheese and dollop of whipt cream on top. Apple pie filling. Sweet potatoes with a marshmallow melted on top. Spinach artichoke dip - made with creamed spinach, a can of artichikes and a little cream cheese. Put a bowl out with pita chips and use some to fill your little wonton cups.
Another cool thing is phyllo cups. You buy them in freezer section next to phyllo sheets. You can do the same. Bake and fill with whatever floats your boat.
You can make mini poovers with premade pie dough. Use a biscuit cutter to cut little rounds. Fill with whatever you want, brush with egg white and bake. You could do peperoni and cheess and put a bowl or marinara next to it to dip for the kids or something more sophisticated for the grownups like terriyaki chicken with a bowl of teryaki sauce to dip.
Ooooh now I want to go cook..

Take Brie cheese and phyllo dough (or maybe just regular pizza dough will work?). Cover the cheese with the dough and drizzle honey over it. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350. Take out and put pecans or walnuts over the top and bake for a few minutes more. Serve with crackers. SOOO good I could eat this without crackers!!!!

Pier 1 has an amazing line of serving dishes called Tasting Party.

In each box set there are recipies. I love them because they are small, beautiful, and make a lovely table. Each set serves 12 but the portions are really just a taste.

Hot Corn Dip
Serves 12
2 11-ounce cans Mexican corn, drained
2 4½-ounce cans chopped green chiles, drained
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (about 8 ounces)
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
Corn chips, for dipping
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13 × 2-inch casserole dish.
In a medium bowl, mix the corn, chiles, cheeses, and mayonnaise until fully combined. Spread the mixture in the prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges. Serve the dip warm from the oven with corn chips.

All the ideas sound so yummy...I'm practically drooling!

Here is an easy and super delicious one. It may sound wierd, but the combination is so good and it's an instant hit at parties.

Mix a block of cream cheese with some sour cream (not the entire container, but enough to make the cream cheese soft and spreadable). Spread the cream cheese on a pretty plate, making it about 1/4 inch to 1 cm thick. Then spread pesto on the top of it (you don't use the entire container). Then cut up those Cherub grape tomatoes into halves or quarters and sprinkle those on the top. Then, toast pine nuts and sprinkle those on. Last, add a dash off salt and serve with wheat thins or some other crackers. When my mom first told me about it I thought it sounded strange and I don't care for foods made with pesto (pizza, pasta etc.). However, I tried some one day when she made it and LOVED it. Even my kids go crazy for it.

List:
Cream Cheese
Sour Cream
Pesto-any variety
Cherub grape tomatoes
Pine nuts

peppers stuffed with proccuito and cheese(sp)
shrimp wrapped bacon
mushrooms stuffed with sausage (easiest ever and so good)
pasta salad only this way
spiral noodles
cucumbers in thin slices
cubed cheese, ham, and salami
tomotoaes in chunks
and an entire bottle of the make it yourself italian dressing (no olives or peppers or anything else added...and everyone begs for it=) ) everytime my ex mil or friend tried to make it and get fanc and add ingredients noone ate it, but this simple way people begged for

i forgot spinach dip in the bread bown the dark bread...i forget what its called
and also buffolo chicken dip

I didn't read anyone else's (will later though, for ideas) but our big one here is stuffed jalepenos.

1 pkg. cream cheese
1 pkg. maple sausage (we use Jimmy Dean breakfast type)
Parmesan cheese (real, not the stuff in a can)
whole bunch of jalepenos

Brown the maple sausage. While doing this, split the jalepenos straight down the middle & scoop out the seeds (unless you like it really hot). Once the sausage is done, drain it then mix the cream cheese in with it. Once the cream cheese is melted and everything is mixed really well stuff each half of the jalapenos with the mixture and top with the parmesan. Bake @ 350 for about 15-25 minutes. I always back some alone in a mini loaf pan for those that don't like the jalapenos & serve it with crackers or tortilla chips.
Enjoy!

Feta Dip:

1 package feta (plain)
1 package cherry tomatoes quartered
2 green onions chopped
olive oil - slightly wet texture
all purpose greek seasoning - to taste 1tsp or more

crumble the feta, mix it all up
serve with warm baguette or pita

Or for low/no carbers- serve with slices of cucumber or bellpepper

Check out allrecipes.com and knock yourself out..So much online to find...Just type in apetizer recipes even..Stuffed mushrooms, buffalo chicken dip, spinach and artichoke dip, little weiners, deviled eggs, you name it...Good luck!

Sweet and sour meatballs. I serve this and everyone begs me for the recipe.

1 package of pre cooked meatballs (original only) Do not get Italian as it throws the taste off. 2 cups of grape jelly, 1 cup BBQ sauce, 1 cup ketchup.

I usually triple this recipe because it goes fast, but I put them in the crockpot and just leave them to simmer for about 2 hours. Put a slated spoon next to the crockpot with toothpicks.

Also if you want a slightly healthier version you can make your own meatballs with turkey meat, but it does add a ton of prep time.

Not the answer you are looking for but I would rather not worry about the appetizers and I order mine from Big Chef Online. Rosana is awesome and she will help you plan an appetizer menu and figure out how much you need. It really takes the worry out of having a party for me:) As Rosana says, "Fake it like you Made it".

http://www.bigchefonline.com/index.php