Little smokies are always a crowd pleaser. Using just four ingredients, they are inexpensive and super easy to make. Just pop them into a crock pot the night before or early morning of the party and several hours later, you have a warm & tasty appetizer.

This recipe calls for using a crockpot; however, you can easily cook them on the stove in a large pot if you prefer.

Searching the internet, you may find varying opinions on how long to cook these little treats, but after making them for several years for our super bowl party, we’ve found the slower and longer you cook them, the better they are.

Also note, this recipe makes a large batch, however you can easily cut it in half if you’re serving a smaller group of people.

Ingredients

2 cans Coca-Cola (or other similar soda)

4 cups BBQ sauce (or chili sauce)

2 cups grape jelly

2 (3 lb) packages lil’ smokies or cocktail wieners

Note: If you plan to cook these quickly on a stove, you may want to use one can of coke (or eliminate them entirely) as it takes several hours of cooking for the liquid to reduce to a thick sauce.

Directions:

In your crock pot add the grape jelly and coke.

Next add the BBQ sauce.

Using a whisk, mix until the jelly breaks into small chunks.

Add cocktail wieners or little smokies.

Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours or until wieners are hot and sauce has thickened. Stir well and serve immediately with toothpicks.

To keep them warm for serving, leave the crockpot on the lowest setting.

These tasty appetizers take only minutes to make.

Starting with shrimp and bacon, you can add any fruits and veggies you’d like. We’ve made some with bell peppers and some without.

If you prefer, you can add these to bamboo skewers for a better display.

We broiled our shrimp but you could easily deep fry or grill them.

Shrimp Ingredients

30 large or jumbo pre-cooked shrimp

1 lb. bacon, cut into 3 inch slices

1 bell pepper, cut into slices (optional)

Your favorite shrimp seasoning or you could use Old Bay or a Creole seasoning

Other items you could include:

• Jalapeno pepper slices

• Basil leaves

• Pineapple chunks

• Mandarin orange wedges

Prep Work

Turn on oven broiler and place rack in the center of the oven.

Rinse and remove black vein from shrimp (if it hasn’t already been removed).

Directions

Wrap each shrimp – and veggie if you use them – with a slice of bacon. Secure with a toothpick. Place on a cooking sheet.

Sprinkle with shrimp seasoning.

Broil for 4 minutes, turn and broil for another 4-5 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

We like to use a prepared shrimp dip rather than marinade them. However, if you like your shrimp marinated, you might try one of the following combinations. Simply brush shrimp with marinade and return to the oven for about 1 minute.

• Orange juice, honey & brown sugar

• Lemon juice, garlic powder, brown sugar and thyme

• Bottled teriyaki sauce • Your favorite oil-based salad dressing

• Bottled BBQ sauce

• Cayenne pepper, paprika, olive oil, cumin and sugar

• Lime and chipotle sauce

• Lemon pepper, red pepper, melted butter, garlic and onion powder

You simply cannot have a party without a platter of Buffalo wings.

Traditional Buffalo wings are fried then coated with a glaze seasoned with cayenne pepper and/or hot sauce. They range in heat levels from mild to hot. While fried wings are delicious, we like to lightly bread and bake our wings to give them a touch of crispness.

Buffalo wings are usually served with celery sticks and blue cheese or ranch dressing.

Ingredients

20 whole chicken wings

½ cup butter, melted

2 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rinse wings. Cut off wing tips and discard. Using a knife or kitchen shears separate wings at the joint.

In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter.

Combine the flour, garlic salt, paprika and cayenne pepper in a separate small bowl.

Dip wings into butter.

Then roll into the flour mix & place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 25 minutes or until wings are crispy on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.

Serve with ranch dressing or your favorite dip.

This recipe for Cheddar Cheese Straws has a little bit of a bite due to the red pepper flakes that are included in the ingredients. They are easy to make, take few ingredients and travel well. Served warm or cold, they are usually a hit whenever you need a cheesy snack.

Ingredients

1 ½ c of softened butter (margarine may not produce the same results)

1 lb of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 ½ tsp salt

1 to 2 tsp ground red pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

4 c of all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl or measuring cup, measure 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Remember to scoop the flour into the cup and then scrape a knife across the cup to level it. Don’t shake the flour or you’ll end up with too much. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, add the softened butter.

Then add the cheese. You can purchase a block of cheese and shred it yourself, but using the pre-shredded cheese is so much easier.

Next add the salt, red pepper flakes and paprika.

This is the ingredients before being mixed.

Beat these ingredients together using a mixer.

Add the flour a little at a time so it incorporates well with the other ingredients. This dough becomes very thick so do not all it all at once!

Load the mixture into a cookie press. This recipe made enough to use the cookie press three times. If you don’t have a cookie press, you can use a spoon to make ‘drop’ straws or press them into medallion shapes.

To get the standard shape, you will want to use the star-shaped disk/tip in the cookie press.

Squeeze the cheese mixture into long ribbons. You can break the pieces after they are baked if you prefer shorter ones or simply squeeze out shorter ribbons before baking.

While many recipes suggest using parchment paper when baking, we have found that a well-used baking sheet works just as well. It’s your choice which way to do it.

Important! Do not try to use a piping bag to make the Cheese straws. The dough is too thick to go through a piping tip.

Place the baking sheet into the oven and bake them for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. (We found the recipe took closer to 20 minutes to bake, so you will want to check them as they are baking to avoid burning them.)

Remove them from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool.

Cut them into two-inch pieces and serve while warm. These can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Rather than using a prepared pizza crust or crust mix this recipe calls for extra-large flour tortilla shells. It was originally created as a means of using left over flour tortillas from a burrito or taco dinner. While it may not be traditional pizza, the results are delicious nonetheless.

Our pizza was made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, herbs and cheese, but of course, you could add any toppings you’d like.

Tortilla pizzas are great for get-togethers, parties and as after school or weekend snacks. Because they can be made in the oven, microwave or in a skillet kids can prepare their own. Simply provide them with pre-cooked, chopped toppings and let them take it from there.

Ingredients (makes 1 pizza)

2 extra-large flour tortillas

2 cloves garlic finely chopped (or 1 tsp. pre-minced garlic that comes in a jar)

1 c. diced tomato

8 fresh basil leaves, sliced thin in strips (or 2 tsp. dried or crushed)

1 ½ c. shredded mozzarella cheese

¼ c. parmesan cheese Olive oil to drizzle over the top

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place tortilla shell on a pizza stone or baking sheet. Add 1 cup mozzarella cheese, spreading evenly.

Place a second tortilla shell on top. This will be used as the base for the pizza.

Thinly slice basil leaves and place them in a medium size bowl.

Next add the parmesan cheese & remaining mozzarella the bowl.

Peel and mince garlic & chop the tomatoes. Add them to the bowl.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well.

Spread the mixture on top of tortilla base.

Sprinkle olive oil over the top of the finished pizza.

And bake for 8 to 10 minutes at 357 degrees Fahrenheit or until the cheese is melted.

Slice and serve while it is warm.

Throwing a party or get-together typically means a lot of prep work and at least one person manning the kitchen. But nobody wants to cook all day and miss out on the celebrations.

One way to reduce the time spent in the kitchen is to provide guests with quick and easy appetizers such as these mouthwatering stuffed mushrooms. With just 5 minutes of prep work and 15 minutes in the oven, nothing could be easier.

A great thing about cheese stuffed mushrooms is that you can add just about anything to them. We’ve provided a easy basic recipe that you can build upon with your favorite meats, cheese, herbs and veggies.

Ingredients:

12 Fresh Mushrooms

8oz Cream Cheese, brought to room temperature

8oz Pepper Jack Cheese

White or black pepper to taste

Directions:

Wash mushrooms and remove the stems.

In a small bowl using a fork, stir cream cheese until softened.

Using a cheese grater shred the pepper jack cheese. Add this to the cream cheese. Fold together and pepper to taste.

Divide cheese into 12 equal parts.

Stuff each mushroom and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until mushrooms are tender and cheese is melted. Serve while hot.