I'm thowing a baby shower for a relatively new friend. The shower is this Saturday, May 28th. One of the co-hosts is bringing a fruit tray and another is bringing the cupcakes. I volunteered for appetizers but am bored with the idea of a cheese, meat and cracker tray. There will be approx. 12 - 15 people. What would you serve? I'm also thinking about cookies in bags tied with a cute ribbon for party favors. What kind would you buy/make? We (the co-hosts) would like to make this simple but nice. Any and all ideas would be appreciated!
Thanks!
J. F.
I love stuffed mushrooms or artichoke dip! The other appetizer that is one of my favorites is baked brie. You buy a round of brie and spread pesto on top (or my friend makes a sweet cranberry orange spread) and you bake it till it is soft and oozy inside. Put it out with a small knife to spread on small pieces of crusty bread. SO GOOD! And fancy looking too :)
You have received lots of good answers. One quick easy dip is found on the box of the Knox Vegetable Soup mix for Spinach dip. It's delicious, easy and you can use frozen spinach in it. It's delicious. You put it inside a round of Hawaiin Bread with the top carved out and it's really festive looking.
Any spreadable sandwiches (pimento, cream cheese/chive, etc.) sandwiches cut with a cookie cutter to make different shapes works too. I love the cookies in a bag with ribbon idea.
Sam's club makes a really nice cookie tray it's about $15 dollars but it has big fat soft cookies in a bunch of flavor's. (oatmeal, chocolate chip, snicker doodle, peanut butter, macadamia nut etc) they would be really nice in little bags with ribbons tied up and the rest could be on the food table. as far as appetizers go. I would do sams again lol. they have really nice selection in the frozen isle. I get those pinwheels they are flour tortilla's w/ cream cheese and there are 3 kinds per box, one is turkey one is ham and the others are cream cheese with salasa, really yummy no cooking required, there are the usual things like mini egg rolls, wings, cheese balls etc. and i wouldn't count out the fruit / veggie trays. those are a big hit with people who are watching their weight.
I'm all about mini-tizers!
Tostios scoops chips with salsa or queso
bagel pizzas
homemade cheese quesadillas with sour cream
mini bar-b-que sandwiches (its TX baby!) - use dinner rolls instead of sandwich rolls
mini pigs-in-a-blanket
My go to appetizer is veggie pizza. Yum! It's relatively easy and you can customize it to your tastes. I take 2 tubes of crescent rolls (or the new ones that are all one sheet, not perforated into triangles, if I can find them) and press them into a large baking sheet, then bake until golden. For the "sauce" I mix 2 bricks of cream cheese (I get the 1/3 less fat... fat free does not work well in this recipe btw) and 1 cup of light mayo (or reg if you prefer) with 1 envelope of dry ranch dressing mix and then spread over the crust once it is cooled completely. Then top with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cucumbers, and whatever other veggies you like, all cut up into tiny pieces. Sometimes I also sprinkle with real bacon bits.
You could also do different flavors of hummus, with pita bread cut into triangles and veggie sticks for dipping.
Your favor idea sounds cute and simple. I would try to find some cookie cutters in baby themed shapes and decorate with pink or blue icing, if you are making them yourself. Or you could buy some cute decorated cookies from a bakery.
I think a Caprese Salad would be wonderful. Sliced tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella cheese, chopped up basil sprinkled over the top with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. You can also add kalamata olives, salami and fresh baked Italian or French loaf of bread. A huge bowl of pasta salad is good too!
Here are a few sites with easy appetizer recipes to help you find something that rocks:
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/easy-appetizers/Detail.aspx
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/easy-appet...
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,easy_appetizers,FF....
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,easy_appetizers,FF....
How about a pan of stuffed mushrooms? Just brown bulk sausage, mix with prepared stuffing and stuff mushroom caps. Place in buttered pan & bake for 30 min in a buttered shallow casserole. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. YUMMY!
Or BBQ cocktail meatballs in a crock pot are always a good app!
What about animal cracker cookies?
What about a veggie pizza cut into small squares? I think there is a good recipe on allrecipes.com. Also, my MIL bought a delicious brie appetizer to a party once. It was the cheese wheel (not sure if that is actually what it is called) and on top it had amazing candied walnuts and cherries and was drizzled with a kind of honey sauce and we ate it with crackers. It was decadent and I didn't even like brie, but I ate that! She got it at our local grocery store that also does catering. Something like that would be great.
I like to make an onion tart. Caramelize onions and put them in a pastry shell.
Ham rolls filled with spiced cream cheese.
Cucumber sandwiches.
Those sausage cheese balls on the Bisquick box.
Deviled eggs
Just a few ideas that aren't sweet.
I like things that are simple but LOOK like they take allot of time. A relish tray of raw veggies with a dip (make sure you put different colors next to each other and it looks even better - usually I have red bell pepper next to green ones, then califlower, then celery, then grape tomatoes, broccoli then carrots - I put them on a round tray and have a bowl of dip in the center). Tortilla roll ups (you have to make these the day ahead - LOVE them - can give you a recipe if you like), someone mentioned a 7 layer dip - always good, and shrimp - boiled, already peeled go over well too and most places they're pretty reasonable for already cooked and peeled - in the frozen section or seafood dept of your grocery store if you buy and eat that day.
meatballs, sausage, cheese and crackers are always a big hit. Tortinos' pizza rolls from Costco...Yummy.
I'm all about dips for appetizers -
artichoke dip
chicken enchilada dip
7-layer dip
chili cheese dip
you could also do -
stuffed jalepenos
bruschetta
that's all I can think of right now, if you want the recipes, send me a PM - Hope you all have a great time!!
I would suggest some chicken salad and tuna salad with crackers or those little breads or smaller croissants. How about a vegetable tray? You can also put a block of cream cheese on a plate and pour some type of jelly over it and serve with crackers. Hope this helps!
I think you should get a big box of those frozen little tiny quiches. All you have to do is pop them in the oven and serve them. Almost no prep, and people like them.
For cookies, you could decorate sugar cookies, but that will definitely add to your work. The other thing that would be meaningful is to find out the very favorite cookie of your friend and when you hand them out, mention that it's her favorite, so everyone will know that the gesture has meaning.
I love making these appetizer sandwiches. They are easy and tasty! http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Ham-and-Cheese-Appetize... I have made them for baby showers and bridal showers as well. They are always a hit. I even have to make a stash for my hubby before I go to an event. :)
Pita chips with hummus, baked artichoke dip with french bread, fresh veggies with ranch or other creamy dip. If you live near a trader joes you can get great party food in the frozen section too, I LOVE their ham and cheese puff pastry thingies, yum!
Do you have a Trader Joe's in your area? They were sampling their frozen mini meat balls with their bbq sauce. I couldn't believe how good they were. My homemade ones never turn out that good. I would guess 2-3 pkgs would be enough and enough bottles of sauce to match that number.
