With Christmas and Holiday parties springing up every weekend, I'm in dire need of new recipes to bring to these parties. If you're tired of bringing the same thing over and over and want to surprise your host or guests with something new, try these recipes to dazzle and appetize the crowd just right!
Holiday Brie en Croute
Servings: 12
This is a perfect and elegant appetizer. Serve with crackers :)
Ingredients
- 1/2 package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup apricot preserves or raspberry jam
- 1/3 cup dried cranberry, softened
- 1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
- 1 (13.2 ounce) round Brie cheese
- 1 (26 ounce) package Pepperidge Farm Entertaining Cracker Quartet Collection
Preparation
- Thaw pastry sheet at room temperature 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix egg and water.
- Unfold pastry sheet on lightly floured surface. Roll into 14 inch square. Cut off corners to make a circle. Spread preserves to within 1 inch of pastry edge. Sprinkle cranberries and almonds over preserves. Top with cheese. Brush edge of circle with egg mixture. Fold two opposite sides over cheese. Trim remaining two sides to 2 inch from edge of cheese. Fold these two sides onto the round. Press edges to seal. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Decorate top with pastry scraps if desired. Brush with egg mixture.
- Bake 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 1 hour. Serve with crackers.
Cream Cheese Penguins
Servings: 18 penguins
These things are such cute little critters it's sure to earn smiles on your guests faces and penguins in their tummies! The nutritional value for these include 57 calories, 14mg cholesterol, 0.2g fiber, 105mg sodium, 1.2g carbohydrates, 5.5g fat, and 1g protein.
Ingredients
- 18 jumbo black olives, pitted
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 18 small black olives
- 1 carrot
Preparation
- Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.
- Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.
Bavarian Style Meatballs
Servings 6-8
Meatballs are always a hit at a party and these always go quickly. The nutritional value for these are 494 calories, 50mg cholesterol, 6g fiber, 1953mg sodium, 76.7g carbohydrates, 17.1g fat, 11.5g protein.
Ingredients
- 12 fluied ounces tomato-based chili sauce
- 1 (16 ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
- 27 ounces Bavarian-style sauerkraut, undrained
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen meatballs
Preparation
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine chili sauce, cranberry sauce, sauerkraut, water, and brown sugar. Mix well. Pour sauce and meatballs in a slow cooker, stir.
- Cook, covered, at a medium temperature for 4 hours. Stir occasionally to coat meatballs.
Remember those days where your mom (or dad) always told you to finish your peas and broccoli? Oh the face you made as you were tortured and tried swallowing it whole so you didn't have to taste it! Or, if you were smart and lucky enough to have a dog, you slid the food under the table to feed good ol' Fido. Yes, a (wo)man's best friend for life!
Back then we thought it was a form of torture, stopping us from playing outside or actually enjoying life. Mom and dad had a point though. Those fruits and veggies actually do a body good. In the hustle and bustle of our life, we often choose to eat fast food that, unfortunately, do not supply our body with the healthy nutrients that fruits and vegetables provide. And even when we do have time to eat at home, we forget to include that side dish of fruits or veggies. Here are some recipes that will include a couple servings of fruits and veggies into your daily diet.
If you like to eat muffins, bagels or donuts in the morning, opt for the Banana Crumb Muffin. This muffin only takes 15 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to bake, and provides 10 muffins in a single recipe. The nutrition for the Banana Crumb Muffin include: 263 calories, 40mg Cholesterol, 1.5g Fiber, 352mg Sodium, 46g Carbohydrates, 8.1g Fat, and 3.2g Protein.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
- In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
Who says you can't have delicious and healthy? The Country Apple Dumplings recipe is just for you. This will take about 20 minutes to prepare, 45 minutes to bake and makes 16 dumplings. The nutritional value includes: 333 calories, 31mg of Cholesterol, 0.6g of Fiber, 350mg Sodium, 38.5g Carbohydrates, 19g Fat, and 2.7g Protein. To make this more waist friendly, opt to reduce the butter to 3/4 stick, 1/2 cup of Splenda, and use Diet Mountain Dew. Serve with light vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 cup butter (or 3/4 stick melted butter)
1 1/2 cups white sugar (or 1/2 cup Splenda)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 (12 fluid ounce) can or bottle Mountain Dew (or Diet Mountain Dew)
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Cut each apple into 8 wedges and set aside. Separate the crescent roll dough into triangles. Roll each apple wedge in crescent roll dough starting at the smallest end. Pinch to seal and place in the baking dish.
- Melt butter in a small saucepan and stir in the sugar and cinnamon. Pour over the apple dumplings. Pour Mountain Dew™ over the dumplings.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.
If you're a lover of soup or looking for a way to veggie up your soups, the Italian Sausage Soup is perfetto for you. This recipe takes 10 minutes to prepare, 40 minutes to cook, and provides 6 servings. The nutritional value for this buono recipe is 385 Calories, 58mg Cholesterol, 5.7g Fiber, 1259g Sodium, 22.5g Carbohydrates, 24.4g Fat, 18.8g Protein. The sausage can be removed to opt for a healthier choice.
Ingredients
1 pound Italian sausage
1 clove garlic, minced
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 cup sliced carrots
1 (14.5 ounce) can great Northern beans, undrained
2 small zucchini, cubed
2 cups spinach - packed, rinsed and torn
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preparation
- In a stockpot or Dutch oven, brown sausage with garlic. Stir in broth, tomatoes and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
- Stir in beans with liquid and zucchini. Cover, and simmer another 15 minutes, or until zucchini is tender.
- Remove from heat, and add spinach. Replace lid allowing the heat from the soup to cook the spinach leaves. Soup is ready to serve after 5 minutes.
