Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Bloggy Progressive Dinner-Three Different Appetizers

Today, Kate from A Simple Walk is hosting the appetizer portion of the Bloggy Progressive Dinner that is going on this week at various blogs. You can read the details of the progressive dinner here.

We love appetizers and I thought of 3 different ones that I could share.

Bacon-Wrapped Smokies, Smoky Cheeseball, and Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Bacon-Wrapped Smokies

My sister introduced me to these yummy morsels this Thanksgiving when I had a package of Little Smokies to use and wanted a good recipe. Is there anything better than bacon-wrapped nitrates? I didn't think so.

These are easy to make, don't have a long list of ingredients and can be frozen ahead.

Ingredients:
1 pound package Little Smokies
1 package bacon
brown sugar
vinegar
toothpicks

Cut bacon strips in 3rds. (You may have some left over. Use another package of Smokies or fry up the bacon and use for another recipe.)
Wrap a raw bacon strip around each sausage and secure with a toothpick.
Place in a glass pan.
Sprinkle the brown sugar over all and drizzle the vinegar over it. At this point you can bake or refrigerate a few hours to overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. May remove to a small crock pot to keep warm, or eat right away.

Next on the list, we have a family favorite, The Smoky Cheeseball.

This can be made ahead as well as frozen. Make one recipe for a smallish ball; make a double recipe for a large cheeseball. I like to roll this in nuts but shredded cheese, parsley or just plain works just as well. Whatever you like! Before I was married, I made a bunch of these and sold them to my sister's coworkers at Christmas. They loved them!

Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke flavoring
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. onion salt
1/8 tsp. garlic salt

Mix all ingredients and beat well. A hand mixer works well for this recipe as does a food processor. Shape in to ball and roll in chopped nuts. Cover and store in refrigerator. Allow to soften a bit at room temp before serving. Serve with your favorite cracker assortment.

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups and serves 6-8.


Last but not least, I have a crock pot of Buffalo Chicken Dip to share.

I got this recipe from a coworker of my husband's. She makes this every year for the company Christmas drop-in. In fact, I'll get to eat some of her dip tonight. Yum! This is wonderful for football parties or a simple dinner at home.

Ingredients:
5 cups cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
1 large bottle Frank's hot sauce(less if you don't want it too kickin')

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Heat on low for several hours. Stir to combine every so often.
Serve with tortilla chips.

Head over to Kate's for more appetizer recipes!

6 comments:

Kate said...

My sister just made a buffalo chicken dip for Thanksgiving. It was so good! The only problem I had with it was that she used Bleu cheese dressing and I'm not a fan of bleu cheese. But with ranch dressing? That's perfect! I'll definitely be making it this way.

Your other appetizers sound great also! Thanks for sharing them.

KaitCav said...

Hi Mary Ann! I love your blog. Buffalo Chicken Dip also tastes great if you use canned chicken. Just be sure it's made with only white meat chicken like Swanson Chicken (I work for them so I know!)it makes the consistency of the dip better AND saves a ton of time you would spend cooking chicken, waiting for it to cool and then shredding it! Check out my blog: entertainingescapades.blogspot.com for more cool recipe ideas!

Serenity Now said...

question...on the little smokies recipe - do you use plain white vinegar? or balsamic vinegar? or something else?

Mary Ann said...

Serenity Now-
Plain white vinegar is what I used.

Thanks for asking!

-Mary Ann

Jerri at Simply Sweet Home said...

Everything sounds great. Your buffalo chicken dip recipe is a different from the one I've made before. I'll have to try yours sometime.

NotJustAMom said...

I have made the buffalo dip before. It's pretty good. Have you ever tried pizza dip? It's awesome.

The others sounds great, I may try them!