5 Easy and Delicious Appetizers!

Hey Pinners! I'm so glad you stopped by for some new quick and easy recipes. You can check out my entire list of recipes here and learn more about our little family here and here. I post on this space 3-5 times/week, so if you want to follow along, we'd love to have you! Click here or here to follow. Thanks for stopping by!

Last week, we had our neighbors over for a little get-together. We've had two new sets of neighbors move in since the beginning of the year, so we thought it would be nice to have everyone over to meet them! We missed the couples who couldn't make it but had a great time with those who could!

Since this was a mid-week, last-minute get together, I wanted some quick and yummy appetizers that wouldn't take all day to prepare. Here's what I came up with:

Caprese Bites:
Ingredients:
Whole Milk Fresh Mozzarella (approximately 24 in one 8 oz. package)
Grape Tomatoes
Gia Rossa Balsamic Glaze
12 Fresh Basil Leaves, rinsed
Toothpicks

Directions:
Halve basil leaves and tomatoes. Slide one mozzarella ball, one basil leaf, and one tomato onto a toothpick. Once all skewers are assembled, drizzle with glaze.

Beer Dip: (my friend, Caitlyn, made this for a Master's party, and I about ate the whole thing- SO good!)

Ingredients:

2- 8oz. packages of cream cheese

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 package ranch seasoning mix

1/3 cup beer (any beer is fine)

Toothpicks

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a mixer. Serve with pretzels.

Pastry Bites:

Ingredients:

1 package- Trader Joe's Feta Cheese and Caramelized Onions Pastry Bites

1 package- Trader Joe's Uncured Ham and Cheese Pastry Bites

Directions:

Place trays on cookie sheet and bake according to directions on packaging. These are SO yummy!

Bruschetta:

Ingredients:

Hannah Bruschetta (from Costco- super tasty!)

Pillsbury French Loaf Bread

Locatelli Parmesan

Basil

Directions:

Bake bread according to package. While bread is baking, rinse basil and cut chiffonade. Cut baked bread into thin slices. Spoon bruschetta onto bread. Broil for 3-5 minutes, or until bread is lightly browned and crispy (make sure it doesn't burn!). Top with basil and fresh-grated parmesan.

Fresh Veggies and Hummus:

Ingredients:

Trader Joe's Bell Peppers (yellow, red, and orange)

Trader Joe's Carrots

Trader Joe's Organic Hummus

Directions:

Rinse peppers and carrots. Slice peppers. Place hummus in serving dish and top with a garnish (I used basil). I also served Stacey's Parmesan Garlic Pita Chips with the hummus.

The ladies

The gents (minus two out-of-town hubbies)