Smoked Chicken- Stuffed Yellow Peppers

Another make-ahead appetizer!  I used a rotisserie chicken instead of smoked but either should work fine.  

This makes a perfect hand-held appetizer. The sweetness of the yellow pepper contrasts with the smoked chicken beautifully. For this recipe, your hands are your best tools to arrange the ingredients on the pepper strips.

Smoked Chicken-Stuffed Yellow Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 cup coarsely chopped smoked chicken
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomato
• 1 Tbsp. finely diced red onion
• 1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut lengthwise into 8 strips
• 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Directions

In a bowl, combine chicken, sun-dried tomato, onion, mayonnaise and mustard and mix well to combine. Place pepper strips on a platter with natural curve facing up. Arrange chicken mixture on top, dividing equally. Garnish with parsley and serve. To make ahead, assemble, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 hours ahead and garnish with parsley just before serving. 
Taken from 750 Best Appetizers by Judith Finlayson and Jordan Wagman © 2011 

Caramelized Peach and Brie Quesadillas with Honey

This is supposed to be an appetizer but one of these days I think I'm just going to eat these for dinner....they are sweet, savory and sumptuous!  The peaches, brie and onions can be prepped up to 24 hours in advance and then refrigerated, making for quick and easy assembly.  This recipe inspires me to think outside the box on quesadillas.....the fruit & cheese combinations may be endless.

Caramelized Peach & Brie Quesadillas with Honey


Ingredients:

• 12 Flour Tortillas (I like the "uncooked" from Costco, but any will work)
• 2 peaches sliced and sauteed briefly in a hot pan with chopped thyme, until slightly brown
• one small (or 1/4 of a large) Brie wheel, rind removed, and cut into very thin slices
• 1 red onion, sliced thin and sauteed in butter until caramelized
• 1/4 cup of honey

Directions:

• For the Costco "uncooked" tortillas, start by briefly heating each one on both sides, about 30 secs per side to par cook
• Place 2 tortillas on a flat surface
• Evenly distribute 1/4 of the peaches, brie and onion
• Season with salt and pepper
• Stack the tortillas on top of each other, top with a plain tortilla, pressing down firmly to secure the layers
• Repeat with remaining ingredients
• To cook, place on BBQ grill or in hot pan with very little oil
• Heat until grill marks show, flip, heat other side, and then remove from pan
• Cut each stack into 8 slices (more or less if desired) and once on serving platter, drizzle tops with honey
• Garnish with chopped thyme leaves if desired

Shrimp and Avocado Rounds

So......I hate Shrimp, AND Avocado.  You won't find many recipes here featuring those items.  But, I saw this one on a website and thought, "I can do that", and many others will enjoy it.  So, I managed to make them and they were beautiful, and (so I am told) delicious.  I loved that you didn't have to cook anything, and with the cucumber being the "plate" they were portable and super healthy too.  

Shrimp and Avocado Rounds


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup reduced-calorie (or reg.) mayo
• 1 tsp wasabi powder or paste
• 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 large (I use English) cucumber cut into 24- 1/2" thick slices
• 1/2 medium avocado, quartered and then cut into 24 slices
• 8oz cooked shrimp (about 24 small)- peeled and deveigned (I used Costco shrimp and also cut the tails off to make eating them easier)
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped radish
• 1/4 cup mint (approx 24 leaves), left whole for garnish

Directions:

• To make Wasabi Mayo, stir together first three items until smooth
• To make appetizers, spread cucumber slices on platter, top each with 1/2 tsp. of wasabi mayo, then shrimp, avocado and sprinkle radish on top.  Finish with a mint leaf.

Sweet Potato Squares with a Lemon Garlic Mayo

This appetizer is SO simple, but there is something about the "sweet" potato with the "spicy" sausage that is unique, and simply delish!  I found the recipe online to make for a friend's baby shower.  I had to make all the food in advance and then assemble quickly after work, so I cooked the potatoes the night before and then just reheated them when I heated the sausage.  That made the day-of cook/assemble process all of 10 minutes.  (The mayo can also be made in advance).


I've made them for two other parties since then and they have always been a hit.  It's quickly become one of my "go-to" appetizers.  Since I use the larger "hot link" sausage than what is pictured below... (usually from Costco), I place the sausage below the sweet potato so they sit up nicely.  The lemon-garlic mayo is nice, but not necessary if you want to simplify even more.

Sweet Potato Squares with a Lemon Garlic Mayo

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch (approx. 32) cubes

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1/2 tsp. pepper

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1/2 lb. spicy smoked sausage cut into 32, 1/2 inch pieces(I use the pre-cooked kielbasa-style)

• 24 toothpicks or small skewers

• garnish:  fresh thyme sprigs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450.  Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Drizzle them with the olive oil, salt and pepper and toss to coat
• Bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes, turning cubes twice (they should be slightly brown and just soft all the way through)
• Cook sausage in large skillet over medium high 3-4 minutes until browned.  Drain if needed.
• Place one sausage on top of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with wooden pick.  Repeat with remaining sausage slices & potato cubes.  Serve with Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Thyme for Garnish, if desired.

For the Lemon- Garlic Mayo, stir together the following and store up to 7 days in airtight container:

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

• 2 tsp. minced garlic

• 1 tsp. lemon zest

• 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 tsp. pepper

• 1/2 tsp. salt