From holidays or special parties to casual get-togethers, you can save money by making your own appetizers and snacks when entertaining.
Open Faced Finger Sandwiches
You don’t have to use expensive breads and fillings to make great finger sandwiches. You’ll also make your appetizers, not to mention your budget, go further by making open faced sandwiches. Aside from providing greater savings, they are far more elegant in appearance. You can use white bread, or for added texture, choose store brand wheat or rye. Cut the crusts from the bread (lightly toast bread if desired), cut each piece into four equal sized squares, and spread each square with generic, softened cream cheese. Top with a paper-thin slice of cucumber and sprinkle with freshly ground pepper, a pinch of seasoned salt, or a bit of paprika for a bit of color as well as added flavor.
Mini Garlic Bread
Spread regular white sandwich bread slices with margarine and sprinkle lightly with garlic salt. Place face down on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes. Turn each piece over and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Slice each piece diagonally into quarters. Arrange toast points on a platter with points facing upward. If you prefer bread “sticks,” remove the crusts and slice bread into strips. Place a bowl of marinara sauce in the center of the plate for dipping. Seasoned tomato sauce, such as roasted garlic and onion flavor, makes a great dipping sauce and costs less than $1.00 per can. Just pour into a bowl and warm through.
Meatballs
Make your favorite meatball recipe with ground turkey instead of ground beef, or mix half ground turkey and half ground beef for each batch. Frozen, one pound rolls of ground turkey are very inexpensive. You can also use ground turkey sausage, which costs about the same, for added flavor.
*See previous article for other ideas.