I love seafood! Shrimp, fish, lobster, squid(!)…you name it, if its seafood….I’m there! Now if it’s grilled, even BETTER!!
Here’s what y’all need to make these scrumptious Grilled Shrimp: Continue reading
Apricot Grilled Shrimp!
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Category Archives: appetizers
Grilled Cinnamon Toast
Have y’all ever heard of grilled toast? with cinnamon? AND strawberries?? With a banana?? Yay! How cool is that? Here is a very easy recipe and it’s soooo YUMMY!
1/4 C of sugar
1 t ground cinnamon Continue reading
How ’bout some MEATBALLS???
These meatballs ROCK! Good appetizer food!
Asian Sweet and Sour Meatballs
½ cup finely chopped water chestnuts (from a can in the Chinese Food section)
1 teaspoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger root, divided
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
1 ¼ pounds lean ground beef (or turkey of you like)
1 ½ cups soft white bread crumbs
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, pressed
¾ cup plum preserves
¼ cup chili sauce
Preheat oven to 400F. Finely chop water chestnuts and slice ginger root. Slice green onions.
Combine ground beef (or turkey), bread crumbs, water chestnuts, ½ teaspoon of the ginger root, green onions, soy sauce and garlic in a bowl; mix gently but throughly.
Shape the meat mixture into balls; place in single layer baking dish. Bake for15 minutes, then remove from oven. Remove juices from baker using a baster and throw away.
Meanwhile, combine the preserves, chili sauce and remaining ½ teaspoon ginger root, evenly pour over meatballs. Put it back in the oven for about 15 more minutes. Give it a little stir before serving.
Should make about 40 meatballs
Little cooking tip on Ginger root…
Ginger root has a really thin, light brown skin that needs to be removed before use. Store it in a plastic food storage bag in the ice box for up to 3 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months. To use frozen ginger root, just slice off as much as you need.
Hope y’all enjoy!
P.S. I always use a small food chopper to chop all my veggies and cooked meats. Makes my life easier!! You can find one here!! They are really helpful for small chores.
Cheesy Stuffed Shrimp YUM!!
Cheesy Stuffed Shrimp Great Appetizer!! or just a little snacky!
4 oz. of cream cheese, softened(you can zap it for about 10 sec, stir and then zap another 10 sec and stir, you want it soft, not runny)
4 tsp horseradish
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated~please use fresh Parmesan Cheese, it’s so much better!
I use a microplane grater to grate the hard cheese. It’s real easy! You can get one here!
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked. You can buy shrimp already cooked, it’s pink, or cook it yourself; the uncooked are gray. If it says 40-60 or 90-100 on the bag, that means there are that many pieces per pound. The lower the number, the bigger the shrimp. You want to get the bigger ones so you can put filling in them. And if you are going to cook them, please don’t overcook!! They will get rubbery!! Shrimp cooks in about 4 minutes! Real FAST!! (add a little salt and pepper in a little bit of olive oil to saute)
Put the cream cheese into a small mixing bowl.
Then add the horseradish and Parmesan cheese and mix it up until it’s blended and smooth.
Put the mixture into a little sandwich sized baggie and cut one corner out of the bag. (Just a little snip at the corner.)
Cut the shrimp along the outside curve about 2/3 through the shrimp. Don’t cut all the way through, you are going to fill these.
Squeeze the cream cheese mixture into each of the shrimp being careful not to overfill.
Put the little stuffed shrimps on a plate and put them in the fridge for a bit. (At least 30 minutes)
Add cocktail sauce on the side for dipping.
Enjoy!!
Fab Finger Foods!
Summertime with friends and family is always fun! Y’all have cookouts, beach parties, lazy afternoons at the lake or even a living room picnic! Y’all ever trying to come up with easy ways to feed everyone? How about some easy finger foods that you can serve at your next carpet party?
Pigs in a Blanket<—-LOVED these as a kid!!
Using refrigerated crescent rolls (have you seen the new ones that are just one sheet and you can cut them to size??) and hotdogs or those little smokies, roll each dog or smokie in an unbaked crescent roll. Place on a 9X13 pan(cookie sheet) and bake according to the crescent roll package directions. Serve with ketchup and mustard or ranch dressing. Smokies LOVE BBQ sauce! YUM!!
Taquitos (little tacos…..literally!)
Warm up some corn tortillas to soften them up. If they are cold, they will tear.(then you have to make chilaquiles(I’ll explain another day)) Place some already prepared taco meat (ground beef and seasonings) and shredded cheddar or jack cheese (shred your own cheese, please, pre-shredded cheese in the bag scares me!!) in each of them and roll them on up! Brush them with some veggie oil and bake on 350F until crispy. (about 10 min) Ole!
Fried Zucchini Great summer veggie!
Cut zucchini into ¼ inch slices. Heat ¼ inch oil (with a pat or two of butter for taste) in a skillet; sprinkle them with garlic powder, a little lemon juice, black pepper and parmesan cheese. Fry them until golden brown and flip. Repeat if needed. Make sure you wipe out the oil in the pan with paper towel after each batch of zucchini to avoid blackening. Blackened zucchini is not on the menu!! It’s hard enough to get folks to eat their veggies!!
Easy Nachos
Get ya some Tostitos Scoops, place a little bit of cooked taco meat (there’s that ground beef and seasonings again!) in each little scoop and top it with shredded cheddar or jack cheese(real cheese again! Maybe I have something here!!). Then load those little guys up with your favorite nacho toppings like sour cream, salsa, olives, jalapenos, chopped onions, etc. You can also put them on a cookie sheet in an oven at 350F for about 8-10 minutes to melt all that cheese!
Pizza Roll-Ups<– THESE are too COOL!! Make you own little hot pockets! (and you KNOW what’s in them!!)
Unroll refrigerated crescent rolls into triangles. Sprinkle each crescent roll with garlic and Italian seasonings. Place a few slices of pepperoni on each triangle. Place ½ a piece of string cheese in each triangle. Roll it up, sprinkle with garlic and Italian seasonings again and bake according to the crescent roll package directions or until brown. Dip in warm pizza sauce or if you are anything like me…..ranch!
Sweet Turkey Wraps
Soften ½ pkg. cream cheese (you know you can soften cream cheese in the microwave, just keep an eye on it and put it in there for about 20 seconds, stir and if it’s not soft enough, you can go another 10 sec or so, remember it will keep softening after you take it out) and mix with 2 tbs. applesauce and 1 tsp. dried thyme until smooth. Spread evenly onto big flour tortillas. Place a leaf of lettuce and thin sliced turkey on each tortilla and roll. Wrap each rollup in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours until firm. Cut into one inch slices (like cinnamon rolls) and serve. MMM-HMMM!
I have TONS of appetizer and finger food ideas but I am making me HUNGRY!!
Hope y’all enjoy!!