wedding-finger food/appetizers

[ToAutumn]

ok ladies, I need everyone to put their cookbooks to work. My daughter has just decided to get married and I have to put a wedding together by September 10th. I need recipes for finger food, appetizers,hors d'oeuvres- whatever you want to call them, that will be good at a wedding. I need things that are simply, can be made ahead and frozen, this is going to be a wedding where class and country meet. Both families are pure country so nothing exotic because no one will eat it if they don't know what it is. this is a 9-1-1 from a woman who has planned a wedding in my mind for years for my daughter but never thought about the food!

[rockncook]

Chicken Nuggets

 

 

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons margarine or butter -- melted

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

 

Cut chicken into 1" pieces (kitchen shears work best).

Combine chicken, melted margarine, and Worcestershire in a 1 quart

freezer bag.

 

Combine the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a second freezer bag.

Tape the two bags together. Label and FREEZE.

 

To prepare for serving, thaw and remove the chicken pieces from

marinade. Shake them in the bread crumb bag to coat, a few at a time.

 

Preheat oven to 450F. Arrange chicken on a greased cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-9 minutes or until no longer pink in the center.

 

 

Hot & Honeyed Chicken Wings

 

Ingredients

3 lb chicken wings ¾ c pace picante sauce

2/3 c honey 1/3 c soy sauce

¼ c Dijon-style mustard 3 T vegetable oil

2 T grated fresh ginger ½ tsp grated orange peel

additional picante sauce

Procedure

Cut off and discard wing tips; cut each wing in half at joint. Place in 13 x 9 baking dish. Combine ¾ c picante sauce, honey, soy sauce, mustard, oil, ginger and oil peel in small bowl; mix well. Pour over chicken wings. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 400*. Place chicken wings and sauce in single layer on foil lined 15 x 10 jelly roll pan. Bake 40-45 minutes or until brown.

 

Freeze when cooled. To reheat, thaw, then bake on foil 15 minutes at 350 or until hot.

 

Garlic pizza crust

 

2 pkg. yeast (I use 2 Tblsp. of bulk yeast)

2 c tempid water (90*)

2 Tblsp. sugar

1/2 c oil

1 tsp. salt

5 1/2 - 6 cups flour

3 cloves crushed garlic

Dissolve yeast in water and add sugar.. wait a few minutes.. add oil and salt and garlic .. mix in 3 cups flour and whip about 10 min till it leaves the side of the mixer bowl.. add remaining flour w/ dough hook or by hand.. knead till smooth.. allow to rise twice in the bowl.. punch down.. (I rush this a bit) oil baking sheets ..use fingers press out to edges..

 

Bake for 10 minutes, top and freeze. To serve, bake until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Cut into relatively small pieces.

 

 

CORNMEAL HONEY BISCUITS

 

1 3/4 cups Bisquick

1/2 Cup cornmeal

1/2 Cup milk

2 tablespoons honey

 

 

Combine all ingredients. When thoroughly blended, knead slightly. Roll to 1/2 inch thick. Bake in preheated 475 oven on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes.

 

These freeze very well after baking. Thaw to room temp, or warm in microwave wrapped in damp towel.

 

French Breakfast Muffins

Categories: Muffins

Yield: 1 servings

 

1/3 c Shortening

1/2 c Sugar

1 Egg

1 1/2 c Flour

1 1/2 ts Baking powder

1/2 ts Salt

1/4 ts Nutmeg

1/2 c Milk

1/2 c Sugar

1 ts Cinnamon

1/2 c Butter; melted

 

 

Heat oven to 350 deg. Grease 15 muffin cups (depends on

the size of your muffin tins). Mix thoroughly, shortening,

1/2 c. sugar and the egg. Stir in flour, baking powder,

salt and nutmeg alternately with milk. Fill muffin cups 2/3

full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Mix 1/2 c. sugar and the

cinnamon. Immediately after baking, roll puffs in melted

butter, then in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

 

These are good anytime. Freeze BEFORE doing the melted butter and cinnamon sugar mixture; do that once they are thawed.

 

Cowboy Cookies

 

4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup butter

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups oatmeal (uncooked)

1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips

 

Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking

powder. Stir in oatmeal. Set aside. Cream together the

butter, margarine and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla.

Mix well. Stir flour mixture into creamed mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons on greased

cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Remove to wire rack to cool. This makes a large

batch...cut recipe in half for smaller one

 

These freeze wonderfully; PM for high altitude directions-these do NOT turn out at altitude as is, but make great bar cookies.

 

Twice-Baked Potatoes

 

4 baking potatoes

1/4 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing with Bacon

1/4 cup Sour Cream

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives

1/4 lb. (4 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

 

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Prick potatoes in several places with fork.

Bake 1 hour. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

CUT off thin slice from top of each potato. Discard tops of potatoes;

scoop out centers, leaving 1/8-inch-thick shells. Mash potatoes in

medium bowl. Add dressing, sour cream and chives; beat until fluffy.

Spoon evenly into shells; top with VELVEETA. Place in shallow baking

dish.

BAKE 20 minutes or until heated through.

 

Freeze when cooled, to serve, reheat in microwave.

 

I'll see what else I can hunt down for you.

[ToAutumn]

Oh, Thank you sooooo much mommy of 5 , these sound delicious. I've been surfing the web every minute I can and most of what I'm finding our families wouldn't even try. So far I'm having hot wings, sausage balls, BBQ wieners, devil eggs, 7-up punch, spiced apple cider, vegetables with ranch dressing dip, now I can add these to the list! Thank you again.

[Guest Guest]

go to the deli and have lunch meat and cheese sliced really thin. On a large (throw away) platter, place green lettuce. Now place these on the tray. Go get little sourdough rolls. Slice them but not through. Add tomato, onion, mayo and mustard. The quests can put together sandwiches. Some potato salad or pasta salad.

 

 

[Guest Guest]

Karen... a tip about Deviled Eggs...

 

If you have to transport them somewhere and wonder how to get them there without looking like they've been through a hurricane, just keep the egg halves *unfilled* until you get to the place where they're served.

 

When I take Deviled Eggs to church potlucks, I put the yolk mixture into a plastic baggie. At church, I arrange the egg white halves, snip one corner of the baggie, and squeeze the filling out easily.

 

If you have a fancy icing tip you want to use, transport the yolk mixture in a prepared pastry bag.

 

A light sprinkle of Paprika over them, a garnish of parsley, and you have a beautiful platter!!

[ToAutumn]

Great idea for the sandwiches. I found Sam's sell cheese in little squares that are perfect toothpick size so I'm going to have a tray of cheeses to one side. I thankfully don't have to transport the food farther than my front yard. We just finished building a cement front porch with a roof and a ramp and sidewalks and a small patio of slate, that's where she wants the ceremony to be held.

[Guest Guest]

crackers and a cheese ball, salsa and chips, avacado dip,

a small salad bar (bowl of salad with small dishes of grape tomatos, sliced cucumbers, kidney beans, garbanza beans, peas, carrots etc.) to help keep this all fresh, you can place the bowls in ice. ... easy way.. get small boxes just large enough to keep the bowls.. place a place a plastic bag inside the box. Now decorate the box with pretty paper. place ice in the bottom of the box and place the bowl inside. stuff ice around as best you can and stick parsley around the edge. A garland of silk flowers around on the table, a few silk flowers here and there and wella!

 

On your table... stack books or blocks of wood. The idea is to get different levels for the food. This is all draped in table cloths (cause it will take more then one) the highest part can be flowers or foods that are easy to take.

 

Spread your banquet out... so people have to walk over here to get drinks and over there to get chips and dips and way over there to get salad and still over there to get sandwiches ... or what ever you have decided to serve.

 

To make tables look like they have more on them then they do, add a bowl of fruit..grapes, strawberries, crackers and have a cheese ball next to the crackers on another level then the crackers. Fill a vase with cuttings from around the yard. Just things to fill up the space... plates, napkins.

 

This helps people get up and walk around, meet others .. co-mingle. Conversations are started over food.. "Oh this sure looks good".. "have your tried this yet?" and "doesn't the bride look beautiful?" ... Keeps people from just sitting there waiting for soemthing to happen...after all it is a garden wedding!

 

On each table plase a couple of disposal cameras.

 

I hope this gives you some more ideas.

 

[mk7925]

Green and purple grapes cut into small clusters (3 or 4 grapes each) slice kiwi fruit and scatter round the bowl. It is different and the colors compliment each other. Fruit salad not using the "white stuff" bananas, strawberries, canned peaches, canned pineapple, fruit coctail whatever you have and want in the salad. The dressing is a box of instant lemon pudding. Mix all fruits together, Do not drain the canned fruit. Add one or more boxes of pudding, mix well. Keeps the fruit from turning brown also.

 

Cheese ball recipe

 

4 packages cream cheese

Onion scrapped (to get the juice only)

Garlic to taste

2 packages Buding thin sliced corned beef

Dash soy

Dash worchestershire

Mix all together

Roll in chopped parsley

Serve at room temp

Leftovers can be used on baked potatos or beef stroganoff.

May add smoked salmon instead of corned beef.

 

Stuffed mushrooms

(I do not bake these, they are raw)

 

1 or more pounds mushrooms

1 or more tubs Rondele cheese spread (the new parmesan cheese artichoke is wonderful) spoon cheese spread into mushroom cap.

[ToAutumn]

Alright!! Great ideas, didn't think of putting different levels on the tables. I am using my mothers collection of teapots as flower vases, going to fill them with flowers, greenery and ribbon streamers. The tables are going to be covered with a long white roll of plastic tablecloth with big squares of material draped over it for color. My daughter wants lots of color, so no set color scheme. This is deffinitely going to be a little bit of class and a whole lot of country wedding. I have some silver platters and candle holders and a few silver warming dishes/chafing dishes.I also am using beautiful china platters and serving bowls of different patterns and colors, I also have some antique glass bowls I'm using that belonged to my grandmother and mother. Even though they won't be physically at her wedding they will be there in spirit through the use of their things at her reception. My brother is searching desperately now for the jewelery that my mother hid in her home after dementia set in, there is a necklace that was promised for my daughter on her wedding day and he wants it for her "something old", it's so sweet of him how he has pulled dishes out of boxes with ideas for Jewellia's wedding. I've already got a group of cousin's who have a band saying they will play for her reception and are learning the wedding march on their acoustic(sp?) guitars because they don't want her to walk down the asile(sidewalk) to a tape! The groom and his father have gotten with her dad and agreed that the 2 dads are going to exchange shotguns at the altar behind the couple when her dad passes her to the groom and a group of the grooms brother are going to be waiting at one end of the house for when the preacher introduces them as "Like to present Mr & Mrs....."Boom! she's going to have a shot gun salute! ROFLMAO. I can't seem to picture this wild wedding that's going to happen without getting a smile on my face, it certainly fits my wild child daughter and she is really tickled with the plans so far. Oh did I tell that the best man is going to be a nice black man from tennessee and my daughter's "Pa Pa" is a notary and black and is going to perform the ceremony! MA MA and PaPA babysat her from the day she came home from the hospital and they both started crying when she told them she was getting married and wanted him to do the deed. MA MA already has her dress and hat picked out for the ceremony!!! There are so many close good friends of all races going to be at and in this ceremony that her pictures are going to be priceless. Oh, the main receptionist at work does freelance photograghy and has asked to let her do the pictures for just the cost of printing the pictures, just so she can come!God is blessing her with so many family and friends coming out of the woodwork to help me make her have a wonderful wedding day, I have RA and everyone is helping put this together as a family. My step-mother is fixing her bouquet and between me, my sister, a sister-in-law and my step-mother we're all going to fix the flowers and table decorations.I'm baking the cake and another sister-in-law is helping me decorate it, it'll be 3 heart shaped layers tiered over a long sheet cake. The fence around 2 sides of the front yard is going to be draped with long garlands of flowers and ribbons and bows and lots of real and artificial flowers everywhere.It's definitely going to be a party.

[Guest Guest]

I wish I could be there...this sounds exceptionally special!