You can make great-tasting, appealing appetizers without spending a lot of money. Check your local grocery stores for sale items and plan your appetizer menu to include them. Think of ways to use ingredients that aren't usually served as appetizers. You'll only need two or three appetizers per person, so don't overdo it and you'll still have funds for the main course. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Hot Appetizers
Onion Dip: In a 2- or 3-quart casserole dish, combine two cups each of chopped sweet onion, Parmesan cheese and mayonnaise. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve with chips or crackers.
Mini Ravioli: Use frozen cheese or meat mini ravioli. Fry them in vegetable oil until crisp. Drain the ravioli on paper towels and serve warm with a dish of heated spaghetti sauce for dipping.
Sweet Barbecue Kielbasa: Slice 2 pounds of kielbasa into 1/4-inch pieces and place it in a crock pot along with an 11- or 12-ounce jar of grape jelly and an 18-ounce bottle of barbecue sauce. Cook on high for four hours.
Egg and Cheese Appetizers
Deviled Eggs: Peel one dozen hard-cooked eggs and slice them in half. Remove the yolks, mash them and mix in 1/2 cup mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of mustard. Fill the whites with the yolk mixture and sprinkle paprika on them. Add other toppings such as parsley, crumbled bacon, shredded cheese or walnut halves.
Cheese Ball: Combine two 8-ounce packages of softened cream cheese with one 15-ounce can of drained crushed pineapple, 2 tablespoons of chopped onion or onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Shape the mixture into a ball and refrigerate it overnight. Before serving, roll the ball in chopped nuts, using about two cups of chopped walnuts or pecans.
Cottage Cheese Dip: Mix 16 ounces of cottage cheese with 1/3 cup milk and 1/2 envelope of onion soup mix. Chill for an hour before serving with raw vegetables.
Baked Appetizers
Cheese Puffs: Mix together 1/4 pound each of shredded cheddar and Swiss cheeses, 3 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce and one egg. Roll out two sheets of puff pastry to 1½ times their original size and cut each sheet into 18 squares. Place a small amount of the cheese mixture in the middle of each square and fasten the ends of the square together in the middle. Use a drop of water or egg to moisten the pastry, if necessary. Bake the puffs at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. You can also freeze the unbaked puffs.
Apple and Sausage Appetizers: Slice four packages of link sausage into 1-inch pieces. Combine in a baking pan with four large sliced apples, 1 cup of brown sugar and three medium-sized sliced onions. Cover and bake at 250 degrees for three hours.
Little Pizzas: Bake biscuits (from scratch or using a can of prepared biscuits) or use English muffins. Toast the biscuits or muffins until they're lightly browned, then place a teaspoon of pizza sauce in the center of each one. Top with pepperoni and shredded Mozzarella cheese. Add other toppings such as sliced black olives, chopped green peppers, crumbled cooked sausage, a fresh tomato slice or chopped green onions. Bake at 300 degrees or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Tags: lightly browned, Bake degrees, cheese with, chopped green, cream cheese, degrees minutes