Crashing a Party with some Amazing Appetizers

Meet my friend Kauri...

She's a giant! I'm standing up! :p Ok, that's a lie. She is one of the most beautiful, kind & hilarious people I know & I am lucky to have her as a friend. I am also lucky because she ALWAYS has an arsenal of wonderful recipes. It never fails that every recipe is off the chain good. Lucky for you she's letting us crash a bridal shower she threw for a friend! 

Here are the contributors...Kauri, Brittany, Jenny (it was at her house & she is an awesome decorator) & Amy! 

Let's get down to bid-nez & talk about some appetizers! 

Avocado Salsa Cups 

(here's the recipe, but if you want to save time it seems like you could just add some tomatoes to your favorite pre-packaged guacamole) 

Tortilla Cups

6  (11-in./28-cm) flour tortillas
1  tbsp (15 mL) Vegetable oil


Avocado Filling

2  small plum tomatoes
2  small avocados
2  tbsp (30 mL) chopped fresh cilantro
2  tbsp (30 mL) fresh lime juice

2  garlic clove, pressed
1/4  tsp (1 mL) salt
1/2  cup (125 mL) sour cream
Additional chopped fresh cilantro (optional)


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). For cups, using Pizza Cutter, trim tortillas to form six 6-in. (15-cm) squares; discard trimmings. Cut each square into quarters for a total of twenty-four 3-in. (7.5-cm) squares. Make a 1-in. (2.5-cm) cut from each corner toward the center of each square. Brush both sides of each square with oil using  Basting Brush. Press squares into bottom of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan using Mini- Tart Shaper. Bake 8–10 minutes or until crisp. Remove from oven.

2.  For filling, core and seed tomatoes. Finely dice tomatoes and avocados using Utility Knife. Chop cilantro with Food Chopper. Combine tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, lime juice, garlic pressed with Garlic Press and salt in Classic Batter Bowl.

3.  Fill cups with filling using Adjustable Measuring Spoon. Spoon sour cream into small resealable plastic bag; trim corner using Utility Knife to allow sour cream to flow through. Pipe sour cream over avocado mixture. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro, if desired.

Yield: 24 servings

Nutrients per serving: (1 appetizer): Calories 70, Total Fat 4.5 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 5 mg, Carbohydrate 6 g, Protein 1 g, Sodium 95 mg, Fiber 1 g

These are just so beautiful! 

Blue Cheese & Bacon Potato Crisps

Ingredients:
4-5  small red potatoes (about 1 1/2-2 in./4-5 cm in diameter)

1/4  tsp (1 mL) coarsely ground black pepper

1/2  tsp (2 mL) olive oil

4  slices cooked turkey bacon

2  oz (60 mL) blue cheese crumbled

6  grape tomatoes

2  tbsp (30 mL) reduced-fat sour cream

2  tbsp (30 mL) snipped fresh chives


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Spray cups of Deluxe Mini-Muffin Pan with nonstick cooking spray. Slice potatoes with Ultimate Mandoline fitted with adjustable slicing blade on thin setting. Discard ends of potatoes. Combine potato slices, black pepper and oil in Classic Batter Bowl; toss to coat with Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Finely chop bacon with Food Chopper.

2.  Press one potato slice into each cup of pan; sprinkle with half of the bacon and cheese. Repeat layer one time with additional potato slices, remaining bacon and remaining cheese. Top with remaining potato slices, gently pressing layers together. Bake 12–14 minutes or until edges are browned and crisp. Remove pan from oven; immediately remove crisps from pan to Stackable Cooling Rack.

3.  Meanwhile, slice tomatoes lengthwise into quarters with Utility Knife. Spoon sour cream into small resealable plastic bag; secure bag and trim corner. Pipe a dollop of sour cream onto each crisp. Top with tomato quarters and sprinkle with chives.

Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: (2 appetizers): Calories 70, Total Fat 2.5 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 10 mg, Carbohydrate 10 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 115 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cook's Tip: Choose turkey bacon with 65% less fat than regular bacon and contains about 135 mg sodium per slice.



To cook bacon, cut slices in half and cook in (8-in./20-cm) Sauté Pan over medium-high heat 6–8 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

This is red pepper pesto dip & it looks so yummy. Did anyone else first notice the incredible serving knife?? The pink zebra stripes? Love it! So girly... yet fierce. :p 

Red Pepper Pesto Dip 

*you may recognize this recipe if you're a wheat thins connoisseur, Kauri got it from a wheat thins box. It looks super easy & oh so delish!

1 tub (8 oz) Light Cream Cheese Spread

1 large red pepper, chopped (about 1-1/4 cups)

1/2 cup Reduced Fat Feta Cheese

2 Tbsp. Basil Pesto Sauce (Di Giorno)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients until well blended.

Spread in 9'' pie plate or 2-cup ovenproof serving dish.

Bake 5 min. or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 min. Serve with pita chips, bagel chips, or crackers.

Last but FOR SURE not least...dessert! If a genie appeared to grant me three wishes...my first wish is that I could eat all the dessert I wanted without it 1) making me gain weight/cottage cheese (you know what I mean by this) 2) not compromising my health. I know...all in moderation. The problem is once I get one bite, I become a greedy little bugger. Ok, sorry for the tangent. 

These are Glazed Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberries 

Cupcakes

1  lemon
3/4  cup (175 mL) sugar
3  tbsp (45 mL) canola oil
1/3  cup (75 mL) plus 2 tbsp (30 mL) plain nonfat yogurt
1/3  cup (75 mL) 2% milk
1  tbsp (15 mL) plus 1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) lemon extract
1 1/4  cups (300 mL) all-purpose flour
3/4  tsp (4 mL) baking soda
1/4  tsp (1 mL) salt
2  egg whites, room temperature
1/4  cup (50 mL) raspberry pastry filling (see Cook’s Tip)


Ganache & Garnish

3  squares (1 oz/30 g each) white chocolate for baking, chopped
2  tbsp (30 mL) plain nonfat yogurt
1 1/2  tsp (7 mL) lemon extract
12  fresh raspberries
Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Place cupcake liners into wells of Muffin Pan; set aside. Using Microplane(R) Zester, zest lemon to measure 1 tbsp (15 mL) zest. In Stainless (4-qt./4-L) Mixing Bowl, combine sugar and oil; whisk well with Stainless Whisk. Add zest, yogurt, milk and extract; whisk until well blended.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt in Small Batter Bowl; mix well. Using (7 in./18-cm) Strainer, sift flour mixture into wet ingredients; whisk until blended. Using clean whisk, whisk egg whites vigorously in Stainless (2-qt./2-L) Mixing Bowl 1 minute or until very foamy; fold into batter.

3.  Immediately scoop batter into liners using level Large Scoop. Using Small Scoop, place a very scant scoop of pastry filling (about 1 tsp/5 mL) onto centers of cupcakes; push in gently with back of scoop. Bake 15–17 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack; let stand 5 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pan.

4.  Meanwhile, for ganache, place chocolate in (2-cup/500-mL) Prep Bowl. Microwave on HIGH 45–60 seconds or until almost melted; stir until smooth. Stir in yogurt and extract. Dip tops of cupcakes into ganache, coating tops evenly. Garnish with raspberries.
Yield: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: (1 cupcake): Calories 190, Total Fat 6 g, Saturated Fat 1.5 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Carbohydrate 31 g, Protein 3 g, Sodium 150 mg, Fiber 1 g

Cook's Tip: Pastry filling is sold in jars and is formulated not to spread when baked. If desired, 1/4 cup (50 mL) jam and 1 tsp (5 mL) cornstarch can be combined and substituted for the pastry filling.

*It seems like this would also work, if you wanted to save time, by using regular cake mix & just adding some lemon zest & lemon extract. 

From the looks of these beautiful girls, I think the food turned out great! :-)

Several of these recipes came from Pampered Chef. Kauri just started selling Pampered Chef, so I'm sure she was anxious to try out some of the recipes. Well done Kauri & the other girls...you have successfully made me hungry & forcing me to make a late night trip to the fridge! 

Thanks for letting us drool & crash your bridal shower! 

We've got more parties to crash (take that Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson) in the coming weeks & some fun easter penny-pinching-party crafts (say that three times fast). Thank you for stopping by the blog & let me know if you try any of these great appetizers!