appetizers

What’s better than veggies? Well, in my opinion… everything. But the real answer is veggies sauteed in bacon grease. Naturally. Warning: this is not your run-of-the-mill spinach dip. Been there, done that. A few weeks ago my uncle made a spinach dip for a party and it was so good that I nearly ate the entire dish myself. That is nothing out of the norm, but this was really good. I am not quite sure what all went into it, but what I do remember is spinach, mushrooms, red peppers and bacon. The best part? You can eat this hot or cold. You can saute the veggies or you can just mix them into the dip. Versatile, simple and delicious. Then you can eat an entire bag of pita chips too. It’s strongly encouraged. Plus, it’s the holiday season. Calories are free. I used a bunch of crumbled gorgonzola in my dip because I’m freaky like that. But I know that for many of you, any form of cheese in the blue gives you the heebie jeebies. No need to add the blue. Add some feta or goat or cheddar… or even none at all. Make this your dip! Pop [...]

You only need three ingredients to make this fabulous snack! And I say snack, because it is totally acceptable to make it for yourself this afternoon when your stomach starts to rumble. You know why? Because I said so. It also obviously makes a great appetizer for parties. The key is to consume it as quickly as possible. Trust me… it isn’t challenging. And it is super simple to make. All you must do is chop the ingredients and combine them like so. Then throw the dish in the oven and let the cheese work it’s magic. It will look like this. And then you might die. But that’s okay, because having this as your final meal totally makes sense. It took all of my restraint to not go at the dip with just a spoon. I was so tempted. I might have taken a little spoonful of a taste. There really is nothing better than a spoonful of bubbly, golden cheese. Hot Caprese Dip serves 2-4 10 ounces fresh mozzarella, chopped into cubes 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and juiced 3 tablespoons freshly chopped basil (or about 1 tablespoon dried) + more for garnish Preheat oven to 375. Make sure [...]

Please update your google readers! http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp   I managed to save some crusty bread from my fondue fest Saturday night, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Truly, I wanted to smother half in peanut butter and dip the other half in gravy, but I am the queen of restraint.   I am so great at restraining myself, that I limited myself to one serving of buffalo wing kettle chips last night. Actually, my husband and I split one serving. He would like you to know that there are not 8 servings in those family-size bags. There is one serving. And we split it. In 30 minutes.     I gave the bread a light brushing of olive oil and set it in the oven to toast.               I’ve never really been a ‘bread person’, and I prefer nutty, grainier breads most of the time. However, if there is a thick slice of crusty bread toasted with olive oil? Count me in. And let me just point something out: thank goodness I do not like bread products that much. I would be 17,000 pounds. Which would be terrible, because I doubt any of my shoes [...]

Subscribe here! http://feeds.feedburner.com/howsweeteats/smSp     Need some inspiration? If you’ve missed any of the appetizers over the past few weeks, here they all are – just in time for your holiday party! And good news: I still have more to post, and will probably continue to do so throughout the year.   Buffalo Chicken Dip     Fruit Salsa     Fresh Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Bacon     Gorgonzola Stuffed Olives       Pizza Dip       Easy Cheeseball     Chili Dip       Mini Rye Breads       Crabmeat Bites       Bacon Wrapped Scallops       Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheeseball     Bruschetta     Brie with Cranberry, Pancetta, and Spiced Pecans     Cinnamon Sugared Roasted Almonds     Firecracker Shrimp     And you can serve these all with some Holiday Punch.     Enjoy!