Family Favorite Appetizers
We have some family favorite appetizers that we want to share with you. And the best part about them you ask?.... well 90% of everything we are using is something you will either have in your cabinets or in your fridge. There is a time and place for fancy appetizers that take time… but lets face it. Being on the farm/ranch sometimes you just run out of time. Don’t get to the grocery store before it closes or whatever else might happen. Cows get out, fence break, a well goes down, dad calls for help. Whatever the case maybe sometimes we just have to wing it and use what we have on hand.
So if you are looking for the perfect last minute appetizer that still looks and tastes great. Look no farther. We have you covered.
Veggie Dip
The first one is a veggie dip. Super simple and so easy to make and everyone loves it. Just through in a regular ranch-seasoning packet in sour cream stir it up and grab some carrots, celery, peppers, whatever you have on hand and out the door you go. We also really love the fiesta ranch packet. It is so yummy and mixes it up a little bit!
Cheese Ball
These are always a favorite and go over so well no matter what time of the year it is.
2 pkgs. Cream cheese, softened
¼ cup mayonnaise
1 cup shredded Mexican style cheese mix
¼ cup chopped green onions
½ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 cup chopped pecans
Combine the cream cheese and mayonnaise until smooth. Add in the Mexican style blend cheese, green onion, Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder. Stir all together until combined. Put the chopped pecans onto a plastic wrap and roll the cheese ball into the pecans. Roll into plastic wrap and refrigerate. Once ready to serve unwrap and serve with cracker! You can also add bacon to the cheese ball to make it even better. Who doesn’t love bacon?
Little Smokies
These are an all time family favorite and there is a funny story behind them…When I was ohhh probably 10 or so, I was reading this recipe and I asked mom what is BOOR-BON? She then was like you mean bourbon? We all died laughing, but wait it gets better. I then asked what Catsup was, AKA Ketchup. We continue to laugh about it to this day. I will probably never live that one down.
1 pound of little smokies sausage
¼ c. bourbon
¾ c Catsup (ketchup)
¼ c brown surgar
½ T. Onion or onion salt.
Heat in a crock pot until the little smokies are done. VERY SIMPLE AND SO YUMMY. This recipe originated from Rhonda Wilkerson out of the Manter cookbook and is a family favorite of ours.
Pin Wheels
These I honestly don’t have a written recipe for them…. I am so sorry y’all. My Grandma McKinney always brings these to family gatherings. They are so simple and she always told me she just used whatever she could find. She would always make them before her and Pops (Grandpa) went dancing and most of the time she was out of time and just used whatever she had on hand! So get creative. The sky’s the limit!
All you need is a couple of tortillas and cream cheese and then season it however you want. We also always have canned green chilies, olives, and cheese on hand so we put that in there. You can add bacon bits, some sort of meat like turkey, ham, or Canadian bacon. Literally the skies the limit with these little puppies and they are always a great hit. Just smear the cream cheese mixture on the tortilla and roll tight. Rap the roll in plastic wrap and put it back in the fridge.
Crockpot Meatballs.
1 pound of ground beef
1 cup of crumbled club crackers, or whatever crackers you have on hand
2 eggs
1 clove of minced garlic
½ chopped onion
1 Tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Black pepper
Favorite Marinara sauce.
Mix all the ingredients together minus the marinara sauce. Make sure all the spices get mixed wel. Start forming into balls with a big spoon full. Brown quickly in a pan just to ensure the meatball does not fall apart in the crock-pot. Then place in a crock pot with marinara sauce covering the meatball. If you really want to wow your guests, little pieces of frozen mozzarella sticks in the center of the meatball before you fry them.
Cook the meatballs on low for 3-4 hours.