Need some easy party food ideas/recipes

Mattsmom277

Active Member
I am hosting my annual cookie exchange party in a couple of weeks. To avoid the need to bake massive amounts per person, I keep it somewhat small. There will probably be between 12-15 of us. I serve lunch every year. The first year I made cold trays (pickles, cheese/crackers, spinach bread bowl dip, veggies/dip, fruit/dip, cold cut meat trays, dinner rolls etc). Last year I did a crock pot full of homemade chili along with homemade rolls and small trays of pickles, crackers/cheese etc. This year I'm not sure what to make. I must avoid pork due to a guests allergies. Also, nothing with any citrus ingredients, also due to allergies. I would really like to make one hot item in my crockpot ahead of time, and make the rest be cold things that I can make the day before. It shouldn't be crazy complicated, nor overly pricey. This isn't a full on dinner, its a Sunday lunch, followed by trays made of samples of all of the cookies and bars brought by guests and myself for the exchange. So nothing too heavy, so that the goodies can be enjoyed and sampled by all, but enough to be substantial enough to hold everyone until their own dinners

Ideas? Recipes?
 
S

Signorina

Guest
I have two recipes I love for women's get togethers - Asian Pulled Pork and Martha Stewart's Chicken with Dill, Feta and Orzo. (Just a note - I substitute oregano for the Dill - I do not particularly like Dill. But you can make it either way.) Two totally different tastes though! (don't serve together - I am not sure what you are going for...)

I just made this recipe for Asian Pulled pork - it was AMAZING and it is wonderful served in a tortilla as a wrap or as a lettuce wrap. You could buy some asian appetizers - like mini egg rolls, dumplings etc in the freezer section and serve along side. It was truly delicious.

SLOW COOKER SWEET & SPICY ASIAN PORK SHOULDER
SERVES: 4
SOURCE: adapted from this recipe on realsimple.com

1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 to 2 T chili garlic sauce (find this in the Asian aisle)
1 T. finely minced fresh ginger
kosher salt and black pepper
2 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder

1 T. cornstarch
1 T. water or chicken broth

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
3 or 4 scallions, chopped for optional garnish

Hot cooked rice, ramen noodles, or mashed potatoes for serving
In a 4 " 6 quart slow cooker, combine the soy sauce, sugar, chili-garlic sauce, ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Add the pork and turn to coat. Cook, covered, until pork is tender, on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours, turning pork from time to time. Transfer pork to a work surface and allow to cool slightly before pulling it into chunks or strips with two forks. The meat should fall apart easily. Set aside.
[FONT=Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Pour sauce through a strainer and into a medium saucepan set over medium high heat. Bring sauce up to a simmer. In a small bowl, stir together cornstarch and broth or water until cornstarch dissolves; whisk mixture into simmering sauce and stir until sauce begins to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Put shredded pork back in slow cooker, pour sauce over and stir to combine. Set cooker to warm; replace lid and continue to heat until pork is hot throughout, 10 to 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and scallions. Serve over hot cooked rice or serve as a wrap filling.[/FONT]
[h=2]Chicken, Lemon, and Dill with Orzo
Ingredients[/h]
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound orzo
  • 2 cups crumbled feta (4 ounces) ( I double it)
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill ( I use fresh oregano instead)
  • 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup grated Parmesan


[h=2]Directions[/h]
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 cup water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. In a 3-quart baking dish, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice. Pour broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.


[FONT=museo-slab-1, museo-slab-2, Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]It's super easy... there's a video on how to make it on the website [/FONT]http://www.marthastewart.com/317393/chicken-lemon-and-dill-with-orzo
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I love anything that is loosely based on a quiche recipe. I make one without the crust in a 9 x 13 pan with eggs, bacon,cheese, and mushrooms. I make another one using eggs, swiss cheese and diced ham. I dont like pie crust which is why I leave it out. Does just as well with or without, I just spray the pan with Pam.
 

Tiapet

Old Hand
I like the mini quiche idea as it is very easy to do in mass quantities and heat or can be cool and made in different kinds too. Other ideas using a crock could be a batch of tacos (soft and hard shell) that they can make on their own or batch of fajitas with the chicken and peppers and onions on the side for those that might now like them. One other thing could be sausage and pepper sandwiches oh but that's pork so never mind unless you substitute turkey sausage or chicken? Cocktail meatballs (toothpicks for eating)? There are many different kinds of flavors you could choose any one of those and/or do full sized ones if you wanted and turn into sandwiches and have rolls?
 

DaisyFace

Love me...Love me not
Oh yes, you can't go wrong with mini quiches or a "breakfast casserole" that can be assembled ahead of time and just heated before guests arrive...
 

recoveringenabler

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Sig, I made the slow cooker sweet and spicy Asian pork, it was delicious! Thank you! And, I'm going to make Janet's bread pudding recipe too. Yum.
 
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