I’m an appetizer lover. Sometimes I go to restaurants and order just an appetizer for my meal. Either it’s that good, or I’m in the mood for greasy & yummy, or I know I’ll never get it as just an appetizer because that’s a budget buster most days. So here is the first in a 3-part series on the appetizers I love. These are the ones that are incredibly simple, yet crowd pleasing at the same time. Oh, how I love my crockpot. And the disposable liners they make now for them!
Mini Hot Dogs ‘n’ Meatballs – This is a male crowd pleaser for sure!
36 frozen cooked Italian meatballs (1/2 oz each)
16 oz pkg little smokies (I like the new turkey ones – can’t tell a difference!)
3.5 oz sliced pepperoni (again, I go with turkey)
26 oz meatless spaghetti sauce
18 oz BBQ sauce
12 oz chili sauce
In 5-qt crockpot, combine all ingredients. Cover & cook on low for 3 hrs or til heated through. Serve with toothpicks (or forks).
Little Smokies
2 16 oz. pkgs little smokies
1 bottle BBQ sauce
Heat in crockpot & serve. (My mom always did a mixture of grape jelly & chili sauce, which sounds super weird but basically just turns out to be mostly a BBQ sauce. So I just go straight to the BBQ sauce!)
Chili Cheese Dip
2 cans Hormel chili without beans
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cut into cubes
Tortilla chips
Combine chili and cheese in crockpot; cook on high, stirring regularly until cheese melts. Doesn’t take long. Keep warm to serve. Serve with tortilla chips.
Queso Cheese Dip
2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
Tortilla chips
Combine tomatoes & cheese in crockpot; cook on high, stirring regularly until cheese melts. Doesn’t take long. Keep warm to serve. Serve with tortilla chips. (This can also be done easily in the microwave.)
And here’s a new one I’m dying to try at the next opportunity:
Glazed Kielbasa
3 lbs. fully cooked Kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks (Hillshire Farms has a good low fat Polish sausage I use regularly)
½ C packed brown sugar
1 ½ C ginger ale
Place sausage in 3-qt crockpot; sprinkle with brown sugar. Pour ginger ale over the top. Cover & cook on low for 4-5 hrs or until heated through. Serve with a slotted spoon.
I love crockpot condoms! 🙂
Never heard that term before – too funny!
A friend of mine called them that and I've been dying to introduce someone to the term. Thanks for being my first! 🙂
Can't wait to try these! I'm going to have to get a Cari Cookbook to write down all your yummy recipes in!