Stress-free holiday appetizers

Stress-free holiday appetizers. The holidays can be stressful for many reasons, let’s take food out of the equation. Over the years I have come across some very tasty and easy-to-make crowd-pleasers. Some of these are ready-made in the freezer section of the grocery store if you would like to bypass making them altogether. This post contains affiliate links.

Pigs in a blanket.

This one is a favorite for all the kids in my family. All you need are little smokies (small sausages the size of your pinky finger) and crescent roll dough. If you can’t find little smokes, a cut-up kielbasa or Polish sausage will work too. Roll out the dough, cut it into little strips , and wrap up each of the little sausages. Bake according to the directions on the dough. These are also pre-made in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

Baked brie cheese wheel

With the help of a few shortcut ingredients, this appetizer is sure to impress.

Baked brie topper from Trader Joe’s. you can buy it on Amazon HERE
- you can bake the brie with the topper in a small dish or wrap it in a puff pastry
pre-made puff pastry from the freezer section.
- I cut off most of the rind of the brie and then placed it in the center of the puff pastry. Fold over the dough and place brie seam side down on parchment or foil. bake according to pastry package directions.

Serve with crackers and a cute Christmas spreader.

Party meatballs

Everyone’s favorite meatball, and to be honest, a party is not a holiday party without these meatballs. Super easy, especially if you buy your meatballs frozen. If not, it is still easy. All you have to do is mix up your meat mixture, roll it into balls, and bake on a cookie sheet until golden brown. Place meatballs into a crock pot with the sauce mixture and let it cook on low for a few hours before the party starts. If you are using frozen meatballs, mix everything and put your crockpot on the high setting for 4-6 hours.

Frozen meatballs of choice or use THIS recipe for homemade meatballs.
3/4 cup of grape jelly
Two jars of Hentz chili sauce
splash of water. Not much. I just eyeball it to make sure all the meatballs are coated with sauce. The meatballs will make their own juice when they cook so if you want the sauce thick you do not need to add any water.

Cheese ball

My Mema made the best cheese ball. There are so many variations to this recipe. Here is the one she made.

2 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained and lightly patted dry
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp. garlic and herb seasoning- if you do not have this, just use 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp Italian herbs
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted and divided

Mix all ingredients except pecans. Roll into a ball and place in the refrigerator until firm. Roll the ball on the pecans until the ball is coated. Serve with crackers on a cute holiday dish with a spreader. HERE are some cute ones from Amazon.

Hot Crab Dip

2- 8oz packages of cream cheese softened
1 8oz container of sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 cans of lump crab meat or 1 lb of fresh lump crabmeat drained
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp minced onion
2 tbsp minced celery

Mix all ingredients except the crab meat. Once mixed well, gently fold in the crabmeat. Then, place it in a small crockpot or 11×7-inch dish that can be heated in the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Some recipes call for cheddar cheese. 2 oz on top and 2 oz mixed in. I like it without.

Cream cheese and hot pepper jelly

you can not get easier than this. It is simply a block of cream cheese with pepper jelly poured over top. Serve with your favorite crackers on a holiday dish with a spreader.

There are so many rich dishes at holiday parties. A less indigestion-provoking option would be a fruit and veggie tray. You can buy these pre-made or make your own. Assemble veggies or fruit around your favorite dip on a pretty platter.

Bacon wrapped crackers

I first saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman cooking show on theFood Network. It sounds kind of weird but it’s good. The best part, it only requires a few ingredients.

38-45 Club crackers I used Multi-grain (1 sleeve)
1 pound thin-sliced pepper bacon
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place an oven-safe cooling rack over a sheet pan lined with foil or parchment paper. You can do this directly on the sheet pan just know they will be less crispy this way. Assemble the crackers. Cut bacon in half. Take a cracker and place one tablespoon of parmesan and a sprinkle of brown sugar on the center of the cracker. Gently wrap the cracker with the bacon. Place seam side down on the cooling rack. You can also do these with just brown sugar or just parmesan cheese.

Bake at 250 for 2 hours.

Party time!

I know that last one was a bit more time-consuming but it has just a few ingredients and they are a little something different. Anywho. I hope you guys are having a fun holiday season so far. If you ever need any help with all things kids, party planning or just life with kids, reach out. I may not have an answer but I will let you know that you are not alone in this.

XOXO

Beckie