I was just told that I'm in charge of the appetizers for our families Christmas eve dinner...?

Question

There will be 8 adults and 12 children... I need a few simple ideas that I can quickly serve buffet style. I want to get the items from either costco or a regular grocery store, so not to fancy...

Answer 1

THIS IS SIMPLE BUT ALWAYS GETS EATEN AND ENJOYED. CUT CELERY STALKS INTO 2-3 INCH PIECES. FILL THE CENTER WITH CREAM CHEESE AND PIMENTOS. jUST CHOP THE PIMENTO'S AND WHIP THEM INTO THE CHEESE. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT FLAVORED CREAM CHEESES, CHIVES, PINEAPPLE, THEY'D ALL GO GREAT. IT A GOOD SOURCE OF FIBER TOO AND YOU NEED THAT WHEN EATING A BIG MEAL.
BRUSCHETTA IS ALSO GREAT. CHOP SEEDED TOMATOES AND FRESH BASIL (YOU CAN ALSO ADD CHOPPED GARLIC AND ONIONS IF YOU LIKE), DRIZZLE WITH OLIVE OIL AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR, MIX IN. SERVE WITH SLICES OF FRENCH BREAD, (UN BAGETTE). TAKE A PIECE OF GARLIC AND WIPE THE BREAD FOR ADDED FLAVOR.

Answer 2

If you are doing buffet style you dont want to have to keep a lot of things warm. The things that go well in crock pots are cocktail weenies in sauce or the premade frozen meat balls in sauce. Along with that I would do assorted cheese and sausage with crackers. Chips and a cold dip (I love the new Pita Chips and they are not flimsy so they go well with dips) or salsa and tortilla chips .An assorted veggie tray with dip and fruit tray with sweet cream cheese dip. If you still think you need more they also have frozen little pinwheel sandwiches which can be thawed. You have a large amount of kids and they usually dont like fancy things so there should be a good assortment here for them to snack on. Dont forget the fancy toothpicks to use to eat all these appetizers.

Answer 3

by a bag of frozen sausage rolls, the little party type ones. go to the deli counter and get things like samosas and kebabs . if u feel a bit more artistic bake some potatoes and cut them in half, scoop out the insides int o a bowl, dice an onion and a couple of garlic cloves and mash it all together with a bit of milk n butter. refill the jackets with the mixture and top with cheese n herbs and roast till cheese goes brown.
garlic bread is good and make it home made as follows:
buy those vacuum packed part baked baggettes they are great for the best garlic bread.
the mix i finely chop 1 BULB of garlic with a knife i dnt crush it as i think the flavour comes out to much so chop it fine and mix into a paste with 1/2 lb of butter and some good olive oil sea salt and some mixed herbs. slice the garlic bread across to give u around 12-14 pieces but dnt cut all the way through and fill the gaps with your mix. wrap in foil ( shiny on the inside) and roast checking occasionally to make sure not burning the bread.. i also drizzle a bit of extra oil over the top before wrapping the foil around.
the old cheese n pinapple sticks is good but u can do the same with turkey and cranberry if you can find the cranberries lol and add a bit of salt.. the best turkey for this is a bernard mathews job cooked n cut into chunks to put on the sticks.
i hope that gives u some ideas, the only thing i would add is some dips and some french bread buttered.
as far as dips go this is my secret reciepe for a great sauce to go with meaty things

50/50 tomatoe ketchup n brown HP and then a tin of lazy garlic and a few dashes of worcester sauce and lemon juice and a couple of spoons of brown sugar and mix it and warm it in the microwave its lush.. i also add a dash of dark rum sometimes the kids love it lol

Answer 4

Get a big tub of mixed olives. Some cheese like feta, fresh mozarella in little balls or haloumi. (All of that is available in the deli department.)

Make hummus (you get much more hummus of much better taste and quality for 5 minutes with the blender or food processor) and turn a package or two of pita breads into pita chips - cut them into eighths with scissors, split, brush with a dab of olive oil and sprinkle with a little garlic salt &/or mixed herbs. Bake at 250 until crisp and turning golden around the edges. Can be done the day (or even two) before - just store airtight.

Veggie platter - buy it premade, or get yourself a plastic tray at the dollar store and make your own. If you don't feel like cutting veggies you can buy them pre-cut in baggies and still save a bundle by arranging your own tray. Put out an assortment of dips - a nice blue cheese dressing, ranch (those are usually the two most popular) maybe one other.

Answer 5

You got the crappy job! Go buy Nancy's appetizers. The have little quiches and a variety of other appetizers that you pop in the oven for a few minutes and they smell and taste terrific. Also get a few blocks of cheeses and crackers. You could also get a veggie tray from the grocery store.

Answer 6

Mini weenies wrapped in croissants. Just buy the croissants and cut one into 4 triangles and then wrap a mini weenie. I used about 3 cans of croissants and 2 bags of mini weenies.
Bake at 350 for 10 min check for done-ness serve with mustard, BBQ sauce, or ketchup

Answer 7

Buy a specialty loaf of bread from the bakery, like a garlic or rosemary bread, where the flavors are cooked into the bread. Then place cooked spinach on the bread and roasted red peppers on top of the spinach (you can buy these in a jar). Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake until the cheese it melted.

Answer 8

how about bacon wrapped water chestnuts and pineapple chunks? Just cut bacon in half length wise and wrap around the waterchestnuts and pineapple chunks secure with toothpicks and bake til bacon is crisp. Serve sweet and sour dipping sauce along side. I bet the adults like the chestnuts and the kids like the pineapple.

Answer 9

Get a packet of various cheese biscuits, some ham, fresh salmon, some cold hard boiled eggs and baby tomatoes. Slice eggs and the tomatoes then place alternately on the biscuits and hand around.

Answer 10

Costco has a fabulous jalepeno artichoke dip, They also have a great selection of cheeses and sausages, so perhaps you could assemble a nice cheese plate.