Christmas Party Recipes ~ Hot Appetizers

I don’t like standing over a hot oven when we have company so I only do a couple of hot appetizers.  For this party I did three.

I love mushrooms so what could be better than a wild mushroom pizza?  It’s easy and delicious.  I used shitake, baby bella, and button mushrooms.

Wild Mushroom Pizza

1 tsp olive oil
1 can refrigerated pizza crust
1 tbsp butter
1 pound assorted fresh wild mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 8 ounce pkg cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Heat oven to 400º. Brush a large cookie sheet with the olive oil and press out pizza dough into a 15×10 rectangle. Bake 8-10 minutes or until crust is very light brown.

Meawhile, in a 12-inch skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat until melted. Add mushrooms, cook about 6 minutes stirring frequently until well browned, then drain. Stir in thyme, salt and pepper.

Spread cream cheese evenly over crust. Sprinkle fontina cheese over cream cheese. Spread cooked mushrooms over cheese. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over mushrooms.

Bake 10-12 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and crust is golden. Coll 5 minutes. Cut into 8 rows by 6 rows (I cut mine bigger).

Makes 48 servings (I made about 24 servings since I cut them bigger)

This next recipe is super easy and would make a quick lunch as well as a quick appetizer.

Pepperoni Roll Ups

1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls
16 slices pepperoni, cut in quarters
2 pieces mozzarella string cheese, cut into quarters
3/4 tsp Italian seasoning, divided
1/4 tsp garlic salt

Unroll cresecent dough, spearate into 8 triangles. Place 8 pepperoni pieces on each. Place a piece of string cheese on the long side of each triangle, sprinkle some of the Italian seasoning. Roll up, starting with the side with the cheese. Sprinkle with garlic salt and remaining Italian seasoning.

Place 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with warmed pizza sauce for dipping.

Makes 8 appetizers.

This next recipe is my recipe for meatballs ~ actually, I think it’s my Mom’s.  I just make them tiny for appetizers.  They are cooked for the same time as the regular sized meatballs.

Easy Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together and shape into balls ~ about the size of a golfball or make about the size of a walnut for appetizer meatballs.

Brown the meatballs by placing in a shallow baking dish and baking at 350º for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Place hot meatballs into sauce and let simmer while your pasta cooks. If I am making appetizer meatballs, I just put them in a crockpot with the sauce a couple of hours before the party, on LOW, and they will be ready when you are!

Here’s how I freeze the meat spheres ~ I make them up and cook them as above. I let them cool a bit, place on a cookie sheet in the freezer and when they are frozen, transfer to a ziplock. I take out the amount I need for dinner and put them in a pan with a jar of sauce (or more depending on the number of spheres I am cooking) and let them simmer for 30 minutes at least ~ no need to defrost them first ~ until they are cooked! Very simple!

Happy Cooking!