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Perk Up Your Old Crockpot Appetizer Recipes With A Few Special Surprises
By Susanne Myers | December 5, 2009
With the holiday season quickly approaching, I’m guessing you have already pulled out some of your favorite appetizer recipes. You know you love those mouth-watering little treats and you know that your guests love to nibble on appetizers as they mingle.
Even when planning a big sit-down meal, your dinner guests will always make room for a few tasty bites before dinner. The trick to serving good appetizers is serving an attractive and delicious variety of dishes. This may be easier said than done when you have become so accustomed to making certain appetizers year after year.
It’s time to put your crockpot to work for you as you improve on your classic appetizers like cheese dips, cocktail wieners, and meatballs. Your holiday gathering is special. Shouldn’t your appetizers be special, too?
Cheese Dip: This appetizer is so classic I don’t think a holiday buffet is complete without a crockpot full of tasty, melted cheese. However, go one better by mixing up an Artichoke Hearts and Cheese dip to perk up your holiday table.
Add other tasty and tangy ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, Dijon or other spicy mustard, some red pepper flakes, and Parmesan cheese to liven up this traditional dip. Put your ingredients in the crockpot on low and cook for about 2 hours. Keep it warm and serve alongside a basket of fresh crusty bread, crackers, or chips for dipping.
Saucy Sausages: If little cocktail wienies are a favorite in your house, but the traditional recipe seems to have run its course, it’s easy to turn this classic into something uniquely yours. A tasty combination of smoked sausage, tart apples, and sweet onion, swimming in a sauce of balsamic vinegar, honey, brown sugar, and mustard will quickly become your new favorite Sweet and Tangy Sausage Appetizer.
Although we know our Vienna Sausage appetizers are good, you’ll have to admit that this cocktail sausage appetizer is great! Mix together these special ingredients in your crockpot, turn it on low heat, and cook for about 2 hours, checking to make sure the onion and apple chunks are cooked, but don’t let them get soft and mushy.
Mini Meatballs: Any meatball recipe will work for this, but the sauce is what makes this appetizer recipe different from your ordinary barbecue meatball appetizer. Beer is the secret ingredient for making this Saucy Meatball Appetizer nice and tangy and full of flavor. Begin by forming the meatballs and browning them in a skillet with a little oil. Then put them in your crockpot.
In a bowl, create your sauce with beer, spicy tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and a little horseradish. Add salt, pepper, onion, garlic, hot sauce, or other seasonings you like. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook in your crockpot on low for about 2 to 3 hours or until the meatballs are cooked through. Now your little meatball appetizer won’t be like every other one on the block.
Pecan Snacks: A few pretty bowls of nuts scattered on tables throughout the house during your holiday gathering is always a nice touch. Instead of just pouring mixed nuts right out of the jar, how about your own special nutty treat? Pecans are often thought of as a dessert nut, so surprise your guests with pecans presented in grand Cajun fashion!
Use spices that are typically found in Cajun cooking, like cayenne pepper, ground oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, ground or dried thyme and even a little chili powder. Add salt and black pepper if you wish. Then mix these spices together with some melted butter and pecans. Put everything in your crockpot set on high, and cook covered for about 12 to 15 minutes. Then uncover your crockpot, turn it to low, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 2 hours. After that, just cool the pecans on paper towels, a paper bag, or a baking sheet or rack.
Why make the same crockpot appetizer recipes year after year after year? With just a few easy tweaks of your old recipes, you can create new versions of your favorite appetizers. Get together with your crockpot this year to surprise your holiday guests!
Learning the methods to use for slowcooker cooking will help save time and money, but it’s the mouth-watering appetizer recipes for your crock pot that will have you coming back time after time.
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