1. Ham & Cheese Sliders
2. Mini Lasagnas
3. Homemade Chips & Salsa
4. Caprese Skewers
5. Poinsettia Mimosas
Check out the recipes after the jump!
Ham & Cheese SlidersThese are the same ham & cheese sliders that I made for our housewarming party. I wanted to do something different, but I knew we wanted ham for Christmas, and these little sandwiches were so darn good, that I had to make them. We used the recipe from the-girl-who-ate-everything.com (check it out here). The only thing I do differently from her recipe is instead of minced onion, I use chopped up fresh onion. YUM! I almost always make a double batch of these, but since we had so much food, 12 was enough.
Mini Lasagnas
These turned out way better (and way cuter!) than I expected. I used the recipe from canyoustayfordinner.com (check it out here). They really didn't take too long to make, and once I had an extra hand in the kitchen to stir up the ingredients, it came together really easily. I got a great response from these (I don't like lasagna, so I couldn't tell you how good they were), although some people seemed to think there was too much ricotta in them. I'd probably cut back on it a little bit. The only other problem I had was getting them out of the muffin tins. These things need super grease to get out without tearing. I made 12 and we had leftovers (my friends loved them the next day- reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes and they're just like new).
Homemade Chips and Salsa
Chips: I saw a recipe somewhere awhile back (I don't remember where, sorry!) for homemade chips. All I did was brush oil on one side of the tortillas (I used a whole package), stacked them all up, and cut them into eighths. Then I spread them out on a cookie sheet and baked at 350 degrees until crispy. I retrospect, I should've used multiple cookie sheets and probably fewer tortillas. They were okay, but I'll probably find a different recipe next time.
Salsa: I used a recipe from melskitchencafe.com (check it out here). Overall, it was pretty good, but I really wish I had a food processor. Once I put everything in a blender, it just got liquidy and the taste was a little off. I also used fresh jalapenos, just because I prefer not to use canned vegetables if I can avoid it. It was good enough to eat, but I probably won't try to make salsa again until I have the right equipment.
Caprese Skewers
These were a big hit! I got the idea from Terri's Table (check it out here). When I tried to make them, I couldn't get the skewer through both sides of the spinach without tearing it, so I only put it through one and laid them out nicely. After a drizzle of balsamic vinegarette, they were ready to go! I made these three days in a row because people kept asking me for them. They were delicious, looked great and were super easy to make- I definitely recommend them!
Poinsettia Mimosas
I found the recipe for these on Better Homes & Gardens's website (check it out here). I loved that they had a Christmas-y name and involved sparkling wine. I modified the recipe a little bit, but I think it was a big hit. I made two different bowls of this (one alcoholic and one non). The recipe says to take oranges and get the peels to use as a garnish, but I thought it would be better with fruit in it. I peeled a bunch of clementines and threw them in the punch, and put half of a jar of maraschino cherries in each bowl as well. For the alcoholic punch, I used Triple Sec & sparkling pink moscato; for the non-alcoholic punch, I used pulp free orange juice and sparkling white grape juice. They were very good and I drank them all week (I made a double batch and had plenty left over).
Now that Christmas is done, we can focus on the new year! I'll be back with the first post of 2012 soon!
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