Hors d'oeuvres

Earlier this week we had a thing at our house and I wanted to make some fun foods that would be easy to grab and eat while talking and walking around. So, this is what I came up with. Meatballs in a BBQ Apricot sauce, Veggies & Dip in a cup and a Dill Cream Cheese Crostini. They were so yummy and really easy to make. The meatballs can be made the day before and then, an hour or so before your party begins toss them in a crock pot with the sauce to heat them up. The veggies for the cup and the crostini can all be prepped the day before so all you have left to do on the day of is assemble!



Meatballs

I use my grandma's recipe. Any recipe will do - OR - buy the premade ones in the frozen section at the grocery store. For the sauce I combined equal parts BBQ sauce, your favorite kind will do, and apricot preserves. You can always bump it up a bit by adding a little cayenne pepper, liquid smoke, garlic, onion, brown sugar... the options are endless!

Veggies Sticks & Dip in a Cup

This doesn't really need explaining. Just cut up a variety of veggies. I used carrots, celery and red bell pepper. Make sure they are cut long enough to easily pick out of a cup. Put some Ranch dip in the bottom of a clear plastic cup - you can use shorter or regular sized cups - and then put in the veggie sticks. Simple and fun, right? Plus your guests can double dip all they want!

Dill Cream Cheese Crostini's

This one is really easy, too. You'll need:
1 baguette or a loaf of french bread. I prefer the baguette but french bread will work fine.
1 package cream cheese
1/2 - 1 TB dried dill, depending on how much dill you like. Just taste as you go.
Diced tomatoes
Diced black olives
Mozzarella cheese
~I also used capers and red bell peppers on mine~
Directions:
Soften cream cheese a bit and stir in dill, set aside. Slice your bread on a bias in 1/4 inch slices. Lay flat on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Broil for a couple minutes on each side till lightly toasted. You don't want them too toasted because they are going back under the broiler after they're topped. Once removed, spread cream cheese on each one. Top with tomatoes & olives (and anything else that sounds good to you!). Sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on top and pop them back under the broiler till the cheese just begins to melt. Serve warm.

And there you go. Three delicious, simple and quick hors d'oeuves for any get-together!