Thumbs on Party Food

So I meant to put this out last week after the shindig, but life had other plans- not to mention I'm new to this "techno-savviness-I-ain't-got-none" blog thing.  Either way, here ya go!



The best things about parties, minus the gifts, drinks, and people, is the food.  To say that I "love" food would be an understatement- I am obsessed with good food. 

Growing up in the south you get used to simple pleasures such as homegrown greens, fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, and pulled pork (eastern NC vinegar style pulled pork- none of that tomato based mess that the western part of the state claims- yeeek).  Not to mention BLT "sammiches" when you know exactly where all the ingredients came from- tomatoes and lettuce from the garden, bacon from the farmer down the road, and fresh sourdough bread your Momma made.

I never thought that you could find better food than the south, but then I went and married a guy from New York.  Woah, baby, my food palate was in overload!  Pizza will forever be referred to as "pies", fresh kielbasi makes me snub my nose up at the grocery store wannabe sausage mess, and my Mother-in-law's German Sauerbraten is simply something to dream about. 

Full course, thrown down, let out all the stops food is where I thrive, so when it comes to bite-size appetizers I'm all thumbs.  Enter Pinterest and Google....

Since the Hubs is all about the "healthy" side of eating, I had to throw out some crudites on a platter- but what about dip?  I found an "Herb Veggie Dip" recipe and tried it out- then made two more batches because it was amazing!  The only substitutions I made were using low fat cream cheese, fat free sour cream, and green onions in lieu of scallions. 

A hot dish we tried were pizza rolls- can we say insanely easy and mouth watering?  The recipe I found was a bit bland, so I vamped it up (which meant more cheese, meat, and cheese, then a bit more cheese).  To save time, I bought marinara sauce for dipping in lieu of making it. 



The Hubs made his ever-popular Buffalo Chicken Dip.  It's so easy that even the most kitchen-inept dude can't screw it up- put all the ingredients in the crock pot and let 'er go for three hours.
 


We also threw out the typical appetizers- cheese ball, pita crackers, meat platter, etc.  But when it came to desserts I wanted something bite-size and not a cupcake (seriously- I'm sick of cupcakes- yay, they're mini cakes- who cares).  Since the Hubs is a New Yorker I typically stay far away from cheesecakes, but saw this recipe and had to give it a whirl- Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites.  Score.  Massive score!  These babies are easy to make, but time consuming so plan acordingly.  As for the recipe, I didn't change a thing so here ya'll go-


Last, but never least, is the gift giving- glitter glasses.  Wham- here's a how-to just for you!

See ya'll 'round!

~Jacq.