Halloween Appetizers - Monster Claws with Dipping Sauce

Halloween is an exciting time for kids of all ages, so this year why not plan a Monster Bash and serve some frightfully delicious Halloween appetizers, starting with Monster Claws with Dipping Sauce. Increase the number of 'claws' to suit the number of people at your party.

These easy to make appetizers are from our collection of great Kraft appetizer recipes and are sure to be a hit with all the little ghosts and goblins at your Bash. This kid-friendly, can also be turned into a quick and easy main dish to serve the little ghouls on Halloween night before they go out trick-or-treating!!

Monster Claws with Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 lb/450 gm) gut lenghtwise in half
1 pouch Shake'N Bake extra crispy original coating mix
8 red pepper triangles (about 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup Kraft original BBQ sauce

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400 F.
2. Coat chicken with coating mix as directed on package. Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
3. Bake 13 to 15 min or until chicken is done.
4. Make 1/2 inch slit in thinner end of each chicken strip; insert red pepper triangle in slit for the monster's claw. Serve with sauce.

For more great Halloween party appetizers, visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Halloween Party Appetizers - Bat Wings with Swamp Dip

Planning a haunted Halloween Party but need some ghoulish ideas for frightfully delicious Halloween Party Appetizers to serve? Then look no further than our Mummy's easy appetizer recipe for Bat Wings with Swamp Dip!!

These creepy Halloween appetizers are sure to satisfy all the ghosts and goblins in your household, yet are easy make ahead appetizers for your party so you are sure not to miss any of the ghastly goings-on in your haunted house!!

Bat Wings with Swamp Dip

20 chicken wings (3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
Swamp Dip (recipe follows)

Place wings in a plastic bag set in a shallow dish. In a small bowl stir together soy sauce, ginger, crushed red pepper, five spice powder and garlic. Pour over wings. Close bag and toss to coat. Chill in refrigerator several hours or overnight, turning bag occasionally. Remove wings from bag, reserving marinade.
Place wings on a foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Brush with reserved marinade (discard remaining marinade). Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Serve with Swamp Dip.
Makes 20 appetizers.

Swamp Dip: In a small bowl stir together a 8-ounce container of dairy sour cream and 3 tablespoons coarse ground mustard. Garnish with fresh whole chives. Serve with bat wings.
Recipe provided by Better Homes and Gardens


For more goulish ideas for Halloween Party Appetizers, visit our website at http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Easy Party Appetizers - Cheese Trays

For quick easy appetizers, to paraphrase the Dairy Farmers of Canada's catchy slogan, "All you need is cheese"!

Cheese trays are highly popular yet very easy to make appetizers for any size of gathering. With just a few different varieties of cheeses - Canadian cheddar, Oka, Gouda, Camembert, Colby, Blue or Brie - and a few choices of crackers or artisan breads, you can quickly assemble a colourful and appetizing cheese appetizer tray for your party. Just remember to vary your hard cheeses (cheddar) with some softer choices (brie).

Decorate with grapes, strawberries or cherries, and you have an easy party appetizer that your friends will think you have spent hours planning.

So always remember to keep on hand a few varieties of cheese and crackers and you will always be prepared to put together a wonderful array of party appetizers for even the most impromptu of gatherings.

For more great easy appetizer ideas visit www.appetizersunlimited.com

Kraft Appetizer Recipes - Make Ahead Spinach Phyllo Roll-Ups

If you follow our blogs you know that we absolutely love the Kraft appetizer recipes. These quick easy appetizers use only a few ingredients and give detailed step by step instructions that even the most beginner of cooks can easily follow.

If you are not comfortable navigating around the kitchen and literally get weak in the knees at the thought of cooking when your guests are present, then these Kraft make ahead appetizers are the perfect solution for you. These easy to make appetizers can be assembled up to 3 months prior to your party. Simply dethaw overnight, and when your guests arrive, bake and serve - stress free entertaining at its best!!

Courtesy of Kraft Kitchens, we bring you one of Kraft's great appetizer recipes for:

Make Ahead Spinach Phyllo Roll-Ups

Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 tub (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Garden Vegetable 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese
4 green onions, finely chopped
15 sheets frozen phyllo (14x9 inch), thawed
1/3 cup butter, melted

Directions:
MIX first 5 ingredients until well blended; set aside. Brush 1 phyllo sheet lightly with butter; top with 2 more phyllo sheets, lightly brushing each layer with some of the remaining butter. Place remaining phyllo between sheets of plastic wrap; set aside.
SPREAD 1/5 of the spinach mixture along 1 short side of phyllo stack; fold in both long sides then roll up, starting at 1 of the short sides to make log. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and spinach mixture to make 4 more logs. Brush with remaining butter. Make small cuts in tops of logs at 1-inch intervals. Place in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bags or wrap tightly in plastic wrap.
FREEZE up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove desired number of logs from freezer. Refrigerate, tightly wrapped, several hours or overnight until thawed. Place on baking sheet. Bake in 375°F-oven for 25 min. or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheet 5 min.; transfer to cutting board. Use serrated knife to cut each log into 6 slices.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Storage Know-How
Leftover phyllo sheets can be wrapped tightly and refrozen.
How to Prepare with 18x14-inch Phyllo Sheets
Use a total of 9 phyllo sheets, spreading 1/3 of the filling on each stack of 3 sheets and rolling up each stack to make a total of 3 logs. Freeze and bake as directed. Cut each log into 10 slices to serve.
Variation
Omit butter. Spray phyllo sheets with cooking spay instead of brushing with the melted butter.

For more great make ahead appetizers visit our website at www.appetizersunlimited.com

Summertime Appetizer Recipes - Fruit Kebobs

Although summer is almost over and we will soon be writing about Christmas party appetizers, we thought we would squeeze in as much summer as we could by bringing you one of our favorite summertime appetizer recipes - Fruit Kebobs.

Summer invokes thoughts of fun and relaxation, therefore preparing summer appetizers should not be stressful and fruit kebobs are one of the easiest to make appetizers that we have ever tried. All you need are a few different fruits (our favorite choices are strawberries, mangos, grapes, watermelon, oranges) and some wooded skewers. Cut the fruit into bite size pieces and thread 4 or 5 pieces of fruits per skewer, alternating the different fruits in a colorful arrangement. Serve standing up in a clear vase, or arrange on a platter and in no time you have a quick easy summer appetizer for your final summertime party.

For more appetizer recipes, visit www.appetizersunlimited.com

Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp Appetizers

Shrimp appetizers are by far our most widely requested party appetizers. Earlier this month we gave you the Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi recipe and today we have another classic, Spanish-Style Garlic Shrimp. We are not sure where we found this great recipe for shrimp appetizers, but we have served it successfully for a number of dinner parties. Don't let the amount of garlic used in this recipe throw you off.

This shrimp appetizer is best served hot, so we suggest making it for a small intimate dinner party, not a large group.

Spanish Style Garlic Shrimp Appetizer

Ingredients
14 medium garlic cloves, peeled
1 lb large (31-40) shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
8 tblsp olive oil
1/2 tsp table salt
1 bay leaf
1 (2-inch) piece of mild dried chile, such as New Mexico, roughly broken, seeds included OR
1/4 tsp sweet paprika
1 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar OR
2 tsp dry sherry and 1 tsp white vinegar
1 tblsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions:
1. Mince 2 cloves garlic. Toss minced garlic with shrimp, 2 tblsp olive oil and salt in medium bowl. Marinate shrimp at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, using flat side of chef's knife, smash 4 garlic cloves. Heat smashed garlic with remaining 6 tblsp olive oil in 12 inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove pan from heat and allow oil to cool to room temperature. Using slotted spoon, remove smashed garlic from skillet and discard. Chef's Tip: if you are short of time, you can purchase premade garlic olive oil from your local grocery store.
3. Thinly slice remaining 8 cloves garlic. Return skillet to low heat and add sliced garlic, bay leaf, and chile or paprika. Cook, stirring occasionally until garlic is tender but not browned, 4 to 7 minutes (if garlic has not begun to sizzle after 3 minutes, increase heat to medium-low). Increase heat to medium-low, add shrimp with marinade to pan in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to gently bubble, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, flip shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, abut 2 minutes longer. ncrease heat to high and add sherry vinegar and parsley. Cook, stirring constantly until shrim0p are cooked through and oil is bubbling vigorously, 15 to 20 seconds. Serve immediately.
Reprinted

For more great shrimp appetizer recipes, visit www.appetizersunlimited.com

Kraft Appetizer Recipes - Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

One company that has done an extraordinary job of capitalizing on it's brand name is Kraft Foods. Don't we all still refer to macaroni and cheese as 'Kraft Dinner'?

When browzing for easy to make appetizers one of the first places we search are the ads for Kraft appetizer recipes . These quick easy appetizers use only a few ingredients that you generally have in your pantry, give simple step-by-step instructions for preparation and are surprisingly tasty and inexpensive to make.

Courtesy of Kraft Foods, we bring you this great Kraft appetizer recipe for Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms, perfect for both large and small parties.

Spinach-Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 1/2 cups hot water
40 fresh mushrooms (2 lb)
2 tblsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained
1 cup Kraft shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 cup Kraft grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Heat oven to 400F.
Mis stuffing mix and water in lalrge bowl; set aside. Remove stems from mushrooms; chop stems. Melt butter in skillet on medium heat. Add chopped stems and garlic; cook and stir until tender. Add to prepared stuffing with spinach and cheeses; mix well.
Spoon into mushroom caps. Place, filled-sides up, in shallow pan.
Bake 20 min, or until mushrooms are tender and filling is heated through.

Enjoy!

For more great appetizer recipes, visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Easy Party Appetizers - Vegetable Platters with Herb Dip

One of the best and most popular appetizer ideas for large parties are vegetable platters and they are one of the easiest finger appetizers to serve!!

Vegetable platters satisfy a diverse range of tastes and just a few different vegetables go a long way in feeding a large crowd. To top it off, with a bit of planning you will have great make ahead appetizers that keep you well organized come party day.

On the day prior to your party, choose a variety of vegetables (carrots, broccoli, red and green peppers, radishes, cauliflower), wash & cut into bite size pieces. Cover with wet paper towel and refrigerate.

Prepare your dip either from a package (there are some absolutely wonderful packaged dips out there that you need only to add sour cream or mayonnaise) or try our Easy Herbed Vegetable Dip recipe below:

Easy Herbed Vegetable Dip

Combine:
2 cups sour cream
2 tblsp chopped parsley
2 tblsp chopped chives
1 tsp dried herbs (such as dill or basil, etc - your favorite choice)
1/8 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Refrigerate until ready to use.

On party day, place a bowl filled with your dip on a large platter and surround with your pre-cut vegetables and voila, easy to make party appetizers that took you almost no time to prepare.

For more easy party appetizers, visit www.appetizersunlimited.com

Shrimp Appetizers - Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe

We receive numerous requests every week for easy and tasty shrimp appetizer recipes, but over the years the most requested one has been for the Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe.

We truly must agree with all of you that this is one of the best shrimp appetizers that we have tried. It is also an easy appetizer recipe to turn into a full gourmet meal simply by serving accompanied by fresh pasta.

Although this is not one of our easiest appetizer recipes, it is simple enough for even the amateur chef in you.

So without further ado, we present to you:

Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Pound Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp Pure Olive Oil (not extra virgin)
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic (you may used pre-chopped from the produce section of your grocery store)
1½ Cups White Wine (a nice Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay will work well)
½ Fresh Lemon (juice only)
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning Blend
½ Cup Butter (softened)
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped fine)
To taste Salt and Pepper
½ Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese (if desired as garnish)

Method:
1. Heat heavy bottom skillet and add olive oil, do not allow oil to smoke. Add shrimp and cook until tender and no longer translucent
2. Remove shrimp from pan and reduce heat slightly. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to brown garlic as this will produce a slightly bitter flavor. When garlic is cooked, add white wine.
3. Squeeze juice from lemon in pan, and reduce wine by half. After it is reduced, add Italian seasoning blend
4. Reduce heat to low, and slowly add butter, 1 Tbsp at a time. The butter should slowly melt into the sauce and create a nice creamy texture. If the pan is too hot the butter will separate
5. Once butter is fully incorporated, add shrimp back into sauce, add parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Serve with garnish of fresh cheese if desired. (Scampi is great accompanied by fresh pasta if serving as a meal instead of an appetizer)

For more shrimp appetizer recipes, visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Easiest Finger Appetizers - Italian Appetizers

An easy appetizer idea made popular a few years ago (and still a staple in any Italian food eatery) Bread Dippers, commonly called Italian Appetizers, are making a huge comeback as one of the easiest finger appetizers to make and serve. Appropriate for any menu, this quick easy appetizer is also healthy for you as most bread dippers are olive oil based, and olive oil is known to reduce the risk of heart disease.

To serve this easy gourmet appetizer, simply purchase a baguette or two from your local grocery store or bakery, cut and serve with a variety of your favorite bottled bread dippers. If you're on a budget or prefer to make your own bread dipper simply follow our instructions below for easy to make Italian Appetizers:

Italian Appetizers - Bread Dippers

Pour 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (no less than extra virgin) into individual serving dishes and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
Serve with slices of baguette

It doesn't get much simpler than this to serve one of the easiest finger appetizers in our collection, yet this appetizer is also elegant enough to be considered a gourmet appetizer in the finest Italian food restaurants.

For more easy appetizer recipes, visit our website at www.appetizersunlimited.com

Make Ahead Appetizers for your Party - Devilled Eggs

At Appetizers Unlimited we are all about simplifying your life and eliminating the stress that normally goes with planning a get-together by offering some great suggestions for make ahead appetizers for your party.

One of our favorite ideas (and always a party hit) for a quick easy appetizer to prepare in advance is Deviled Eggs. The secret to spicing up these party appetizers is to add a dash of curry or cayenne pepper to the filling.

Devilled Eggs are a wonderful party appetizer to make if you are on a budget. A dozen eggs yields 24 deviled eggs. Not only are they inexpensive, Deviled Eggs are one of the easiest finger appetizers to throw together in a hurry, and the required ingredients are staples in everyone's pantry.


Deviled Eggs

The day prior or the morning of your party, hard boil a dozen eggs.
Tip to hard boil eggs: Place your eggs in a pot and cover with enough cold water to cover. Bring the pot to a boil, turn heat off completely, and let the eggs stand in the boiling water for 10-12 minutes. Drain and cool eggs (if you are in a hurry, fill the empty pot of boiled eggs with cold water to cool quickly).

Peel eggs, cut each in half lengthwise, scoop out the yolk and place reserved yolk in separate bowl. Add enough mayonnaise to reserved yolks to make a creamy mixture (2-4 tblsp). Add 1/2-1 tsp curry powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (we prefer curry), salt & pepper to taste, and mix well. Spoon or decoratively pipe the filling into the eggs white halves to make them look elegant, sprinkle with paprika, cover and refrigerate until serving.

There you go, quick easy make ahead appetizers for your party that fit within the budget and make your preparations almost effortless.

For more great easy party appetizers, visit our website at http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Baked Brie Appetizer

As far as party appetizers go, our Baked Brie Appetizer always ranks at the top of our most raved about appetizers. You can buy your brie pre-done, but it is such an easy appetizer recipe to make, why bother.

If you have a brie baker, perfect, but if you don't just find a small caserole with a lid or small oven proof dish and cover with foil. Preheat your oven to 350F, top the brie with pecans, sliced figs and about 1/4-1/2 cup of maple syrup, bake for approximately 15 munites until heated through. Serve in your brie baker or remove to a platter, and surrounded with an assortment of crackers or bread.

Other topping variations for our Baked Brie Appetizer include: a mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries topped with maple syrup; a mix of nuts such as pine nuts, hazelnuts or sliced almonds and finely chopped shallots topped with maple syrup.

As you can see, the options for this easy appetizer recipe are endless. Just check out what you have in your cupboard, add a little bit of creativity, and get ready to accept endless compliments about your scrumptious Baked Brie Appetizer!!

For more great appetizer recipes, check out www.appetizersunlimited.com

Shrimp Bacon Appetizers

It's Friday night, July 3rd, you've had a crazy week at work and your husband drops the bomb! He's invited his boss and his boss' wife for 4th of July appetizers and cocktails around the pool. What do you do? Don't fret! Pull out that frozen shrimp and get ready to make these delicious Shrimp Bacon Appetizers.

These quick easy appetizers will save the day (or the marriage!). Shrimp bacon appetizers are easy to make but taste like you have spent days in the kitchen preparing gourmet appetizers fit for a King (or a boss).

Shrimp and Bacon Appetizers

1 pound of shrimp
2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce
1 pound of bacon

Rinse and drain shrimp, pat dry. Marinate shrimp in hot sauce for about 15 minutes. Partially cook bacon, slice in half. Roll one shrimp per half slice of bacon, secure with a toothpick. Bake in oven at 400*F until crisp.


Voila! Another easy appetizer recipe from www.appetizersunlimited.com

Easy to Make Appetizers The Whole Family Can Make

When planning for big parties, I like to make it a family affair by involving the whole family in preparing all of the easy party appetizers (the more complex ones I prepare by myself when I am alone in the kitchen).

When I am looking for easy to make appetizers the whole family can make, I generally like to stick to the basics - veggie, cheese and fruit trays with delicious dips. I split the family into teams, and set the adults to work cutting up the vegetables, fruit and cheese, and the kids preparing the dips for these delicious but easy appetizers.

Although the internet provides an unlimited supply of recipes for dips to accompany any type of appetizer tray (check our website at www.appetizersunlimited.com for some great veggie dip ideass), one of my favorite fruit dips is the quick and easy recipe below that I discovered many years ago:

FRUIT DIP
1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (3.4 oz) pkg instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 oz) container whipped topping
1 cup milk
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice

In a medium bowl, combine and mix together all ingredients. Refrigerate before serving. Spoon mixture into dip bowl and serve with your favorite fruit.
Makes approximately 3 cups.


So when planning for your next big get together, simplify your life and save yourself alot of time by getting some help with these easy to make appetizers the whole family can make, even the kids!!

Easy Party Appetizers - Apple with Caramel Dip

I was invited to a potluck barbeque last weekend where everyone was asked to bring a couple of brand new summer appetizers or party drinks to try. I scoured my books for quick easy appetizers that I had never before served but nothing really tempted me until I finally remembered this decadent Apple with Carmel Dip recipe my sister made a number of years ago. I forgot how easy this recipe was to put together, especially considering how good I remembered it tasting! Sure enough, this delicious appetizer turned out to be the most popular of all the party appetizers and many people commented that it would also be perfect served as a light summer dessert.

You will definately want to add this recipe to your list of quick easy appetizers to make in a hurry and while you are at it, don't forget to check out our website at www.appetizersunlimited.com for hundreds more easy party appetizers!!

Apple with Caramel Dip

Green Granny Smith Apples cut into wedges (toss in lemon juice to prevent apples from turning brown)

Blend together:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Spread onto a plate

Heat:
1 container carmel spread in the microwave for 15 seconds and spread over the cream cheese base.

Top with skor bits, cool and serve with wedges of green apples.

Easy Party Appetizers

On the spur of the moment, you decided to throw a summer party. Invited the whole family, the whole neighbourhood for that matter, but now you don't have enough time to prepare the appetizers. What were you thinking?? Now you need to make some quick appetizers since your guests are arriving in a couple of hours, but because you are enlisting help of your kids and kitchen-wary brother-in-law, they need to be easy to make appetizers the whole family can make. What do you do?

Take a deep breath, relax, and take a quick stock of your fridge and pantry, roll up your sleeves, and check out the www.appetizersunlimited.com website for many quick and easy party appetizers.

Of course, if you do have a bit more time, check out the recipe below for Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts Appetizers - an amazingly quick and easy appetizer recipe that even your brother-in-law can make.



BACON WRAPPED WATER CHESTNUTS APPETIZERS


2 cans water chestnuts
1 lb. bacon (preferably maple flavored)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly fry bacon to remove fat (do not fry crisp - bacon slices should still be limp). Wrap each water chestnut with a half a slice of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet 20-30 minutes until bacon is crisp and water chestnuts are hot.