topic Re: Please Help Me! in Recipes

Please Help Me!

gofigure — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 17:58:34 GMT

I am not the primary cook in my house. However, I am having a surprise birthday party for my husband and need help with some appetizers that are simple and easy. There will be 8 adults in attendance.

I am going to keep things simple. There is a recipe here for an upside down pizza. I am preparing that with a salad.

Can you suggest appetizers to complement the meal? TIA

Re: Please Help Me!

Suzeecat — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:02:42 GMT

Here's an easy one:

SPINACH BITES

1 16 oz bag – frozen chopped spinach, drained

1 medium onion - chopped

4 beaten eggs

1 – 1 ½ C. Progresso Italian bread crumbs

¾ C. melted margarine

½ Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

***************

Mix onion, garlic, eggs, margarine and cheeses. Then mix in spinach and bread crumbs. Refrigerate 2 hours. Shape into one-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet, or use Pam. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Re: Please Help Me!

Suzeecat — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:03:28 GMT

Another one:

Sausage Cheese Bites

1# roll sausage

¾ cup Bisquick

2 cups shredded cheddar

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup finely chopped celery

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

***************

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix dry ingredients together and sausage and cheese separately, then mix everything together. Roll into 1” balls. Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown. Can be frozen uncooked.

Makes 3 dozen.

Re: Please Help Me!

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:13:33 GMT

*Cold Shrimp & Cocktail Sauce (homemade is best - ketchup, horseradish, and fresh lemon juice)
*Brie Wedge or Cream Cheese Block (softened) w/Hot Pepper Jelly poured over it - serve with good crackers
*Sweet Bacon Dogs (cocktail weiners or cut pieces of hot dog, wrapped in bacon, sprinkled with brown sugar, and baked)
*Roasted Asparagus Spears wrapped with Proscuitto
*Mexican Pinwheels (softened block of cream cheese, a little salsa, a little chopped black olive - mix into a spread. Spread on flour tortillas. Roll up and slice into pinwheels. Serve with more salsa for dipping)
*Bruschetta on Homemade Crostini

Let me know if you need any recipes or directions.

If you live near a Costco, I've seen frozen appetizers there that you just heat up. Maybe something like that would be less stressful for you.

Re: Please Help Me!

gofigure — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:30:21 GMT

Thank you both. I will try the Spinach Bites and shrimp cocktail. JeanLouiseFinch, could you please provide the recipe for the Roasted Asparagus Spears.

Also, this may be a silly question, but when you say pour the hot pepper jelly over the cheese, is the jelly runny or do I heat it?

I do so wish I lived near a Costco...lol

Re: Please Help Me!

kittyloo — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:33:32 GMT

what about just a platter of antipasto to go with the Italian theme.

sliced salami, or rolled up with cream cheese, olives, cubes of cheese, pepperchinis (sp) baby gherkins, you get the idea.

Re: Please Help Me!

gofigure — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:33:41 GMT

On 11/6/2014 suzeecat said:
Here's an easy one:

SPINACH BITES

1 16 oz bag – frozen chopped spinach, drained

1 medium onion - chopped

4 beaten eggs

1 – 1 ½ C. Progresso Italian bread crumbs

¾ C. melted margarine

½ Parmesan cheese

1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

***************

Mix onion, garlic, eggs, margarine and cheeses. Then mix in spinach and bread crumbs. Refrigerate 2 hours. Shape into one-inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet, or use Pam. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.

Am I to cook the spinach or just let it thaw?

Re: Please Help Me!

Suzeecat — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:39:14 GMT

On 11/6/2014 gofigure said:
On 11/6/2014 suzeecat said:
Here's an easy one:

Am I to cook the spinach or just let it thaw?

No need to cook the spinach, just thaw.

Re: Please Help Me!

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 18:43:12 GMT

On 11/6/2014 gofigure said:
Thank you both. I will try the Spinach Bites and shrimp cocktail. JeanLouiseFinch, could you please provide the recipe for the Roasted Asparagus Spears.

Also, this may be a silly question, but when you say pour the hot pepper jelly over the cheese, is the jelly runny or do I heat it?

I do so wish I lived near a Costco...lol

Preheat oven to 400°

1 lb. fresh asparagus (about 18 pieces) - wash and trim/snap off the woody end. Arrange on a baking sheet.
Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over the asparagus and sprinkle with a little S & P
Roast until tender - about 15 mins. Remove from oven and cool to be able to handle them.
Thinly sliced prosciutto (1/2 slice per asparagus spear so calculate accordingly). Take a half slice and wrap around the asparagus spear. At this point you can decide if you want to stick them under the broiler for a minute or two or you can just arrange them on a serving platter.
Serve at room temperature.

Re: Hot Pepper Jelly. Hot Pepper Jelly is a kind of jelly, not pepper jelly that's warmed up. It's not super jelled up like grape jelly per se. Just pour it over the brie wedge or block of softened cream cheese.

Re: Please Help Me!

gofigure — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:06:06 GMT

Thank you, thank you, thank you. How many different types of appetizers do you think is sufficient?

Re: Please Help Me!

JeanLouiseFinch — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:20:00 GMT

On 11/6/2014 gofigure said:
Thank you, thank you, thank you. How many different types of appetizers do you think is sufficient?

Since you're having a meal, there's no need to go crazy on the appetizers. You don't want your guests too full to eat dinner. Two or three options should be more than enough.

Re: Please Help Me!

DiamondGirly — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:20:18 GMT

Someone mentioned the rolled up salami with cream cheese, and I am telling you - when I make them with the pepperoncinis, they disappear quickly!! They are not "HOT" spicy, but so good! I make TONS of them lol... (you can also use the soft cream cheese in the cups) I use a paper towel to get extra moisture off of the peppers...yummmy!

Salami, Cream Cheese, and Pepperoncini Roll-Ups

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Ready In: 10 Minutes

Servings: 18

"Quick little appetizer rolls of sliced salami with cream cheese and pepperoncini peppers will delight your guests, and you can whip them up in no time."

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,

softened

18 slices thinly sliced salami

18 slices pepperoncini peppers, drained, (I slice lengthwise, if large or use "rings")

or to taste

Directions:

Spread about 1 1/2 teaspoon softened cream cheese over a slice of salami; top with 1 to 3 slices of pepperoncini pepper. Roll the salami around the cheese and pepper; secure with toothpick. Repeat with remaining ingredients; serve immediately.

Re: Please Help Me!

spud188 — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:30:41 GMT

You need to really squeeze that spinach hard to get the liquid out.

Re: Please Help Me!

spud188 — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:32:40 GMT

You need to really squeeze that spinach hard to get the liquid out.

Re: Please Help Me!

gofigure — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:51:54 GMT

DiamondGirly that is something I can handle. Thank you. My husband and oldest son are excellent cooks. Unfortunately, my son has to work.

JeanLouiseFinch I chuckled to myself when you said we don't want them to fill up on the appetizers. In this instance, we may want them full.

I am going to do the best I can. We are all good friends and they know I don't cook. If nothing else, my heart is in the right place!

Re: Please Help Me!

GloriBee — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:04:56 GMT

We make a very easy cheese ball:

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened

2 T. dry ranch dressing

2 cps (1 8 oz. bag) of shredded cheddar (we use the orange color)

we sometimes add crumpled bacon

Serve with assorted crackers.

Just mix the cheese ball ingredients in a small bowl (reserve a little of the shredded cheese and the bacon, if using, to roll the finished ball in).

We leave it in the fridge to get a little hard, then spoon it onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into ball. At this point, roll in reserved shredded cheese (and bacon). Wrap in the plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. We make this the day before.

Re: Please Help Me!

Beebee2 — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:19:04 GMT

I, too, like the idea of antipasto. Since the lasagna is primarily protein with lots of cheese and meat, I would complement it with an antipasto platter heavy on veggies, including pickled ones to counter the heaviness of the meat and cheese:

pepperoncini

marinated mushrooms

cherry tomatoes

black olives

marinated green olives

bread sticks

and just a small amount of

chunked salami or pepperoni

and same with Provolone cheese

All the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green are there, and the black olives

make it a beautiful tray as well as delicious one.

Re: Please Help Me!

GloriBee — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:51:06 GMT

On 11/6/2014 Beebee2 said:
I, too, like the idea of antipasto. Since the lasagna is primarily protein with lots of cheese and meat, I would complement it with an antipasto platter heavy on veggies, including pickled ones to counter the heaviness of the meat and cheese:

pepperoncini

marinated mushrooms

cherry tomatoes

black olives

marinated green olives

bread sticks

and just a small amount of

chunked salami or pepperoni

and same with Provolone cheese

All the colors of the Italian flag, red, white and green are there, and the black olives

make it a beautiful tray as well as delicious one.

I do something similar. We call it an antipasto salad.

It has grape tomatoes (cut in half), pitted black olives, Spanish olives (the little green ones with the pimento inside), chick peas, 1 can of artichoke hearts (slice in half--it falls apart when mixing), little mozzarella balls (boccacini)--sold at my store's olive/salad bar. I mix in some Italian salad dressing to taste. Store in fridge. Make this the day before, stirring occasionally. Add more dressing, if needed.

I also make my own large "croutons" the day before. My store has ciabatta bread sticks in the bakery section. I slice a couple of them in large chunks. Place them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and pepper. I bake about 10 min. at high heat (425, or so). Stir and bake until they look done (a few more minutes). When cool, I store them in a ziplock until the next day. A few hours before serving the antipasto salad, add the bread and a little more Italian salad dressing and stir every so often. The bread is supposed to absorb the dressing and get a little soft. This is sort of a panzanella salad (which I also make just with the tomatoes, mozzarella balls, bread, fresh basil and dressing).