Guests love bite size snacks they can carry with them. Just about
everyone loves macaroni and cheese. You can make it special and
portable by hollowing out a small dinner roll and stuffing it with
mac and cheese. They won't even need a spoon.
Stuff cherry tomatoes with a mixture of one cup of cottage cheese
mixed with one quarter cup of Parmesan cheese.
For a variation stuff the tomatoes with chicken salad or tuna salad.
Chicken wings are fun and easy. Cut a chicken wing in three pieces.
Save the bony wing end for making chicken broth. Bake the wings at
350 degrees until done. Serve at room temperature with dipping
sauces. Mix equal parts honey, lime juice and mustard for a tangy
dip. Or try equal party ketchup and brown sugar for a BBQ like
sauce. Each guest gets their own little cup of dipping sauce.
Miniature hot dogs and buns are always a hit. Buy the little franks
and refrigerator biscuits. Cut the biscuits in half. Place one
little frank in the center and roll up. Bake as package directs.
Grill baby burgers and place in a cut dinner roll, top with a slice
of tomato, a lettuce leaf, and favorite condiments like mayonnaise,
ketchup, and mustard.
Keep portions tiny.
Salad to go. Wash endive leaves. Fill the broad end with a teaspoon
of your favorite prepared salad. Wash butter lettuce leaves,
selecting the smaller more pliable leaves. Spread out the lettuce
leaf and put a tablespoon of salad on the end nearest you. Roll the
leaf forward covering the salad. Tuck the ends of the leave under
as if you were rolling up a burrito.
Lightly fill celery stalk with cream cheese. Press dried cranberries or
raisins into the cheese. Cut into bite sized pieces. For a change use
flavored cream cheese.
Mini pizzas. Use refrigerator biscuits. Lightly flour a
board. Roll each biscuit flat doubling the size of the biscuit.
Place biscuits on cookie sheets. Spread with a teaspoon of tomato
sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. An alternative is to use a
slice of fresh tomato. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake as package
directs.
A veggie platter and dip can be made special by using baby
vegetables. Carrots, summer squash, patty pan squash, string beans,
both yellow and green should be blanched by immersing in boiling
water for one minute and then in immediately in an ice bath. Add
snap pea pods, grape tomatoes, both red and yellow, and boiled baby
potatoes.
Mini tacos are fun and easy. Use the corn chips that are made for
dipping and have a bowl shape. Fill with a teaspoon of cooked taco
meat, a bit of refried beans and top with shredded cheese. Bake
until the cheese just melts.
Valentines Day is coming up fast but it's not too late to snag a few
party ideas for kids they're not just for children.
Dee Power
Weddings on a Shoestring Budget http://www.weddingsonashoestringbudget.com
Like I said---"Sparkle!"