Appetizers: Part 3, Don't Forget the Meat!

   

You can't have appetizers for dinner unless you have some meaty appetizers as well, right? So, here you go!

Caramelized Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken wings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 cup honey
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place chicken in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Mix together the oil, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the chicken.

Bake in preheated oven for one hours, or until sauce is caramelized.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Sandy. You can find it here.

Notes: I didn't get to try these, but everyone who did loved them!

Candied Kielbasa

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
2 pounds kielbasa sausage, sliced thin

Directions:

In a slow cooker, combine the sugar, ketchup, and horseradish. Add the sausage, and mix well. Cook on high until it starts to boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook until sauce thickens, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by BUCHKO. You can find it here.

Notes: This was really tasty. We were worried that the horseradish might make it too spicy. There was a hint (almost an after taste) of spice, but it wasn't overwhelming. The sweet mixed with the horseradish was so good!

  
Sausage Balls

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine sausage, biscuit baking mix, and cheese. Form into walnut-size balls, and place on baking sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown, and sausage is cooked through.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Stephanie. You can find it here. This is very similar to a recipe found on the Betty Crocker website (and no doubt inspired by it), which you can find here. The recipe above is just the much simplified version.

Notes: Sorry my picture is so blurry! Bad winter lighting! I didn't realize it was so blurry or I would have taken more pictures...but I didn't! These were tasty though. A very good, simple, hit-the-spot kind of appetizer.

Bacon Wrapped Smokies (aka Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Wieners)

Ingredients:

1 pound sliced bacon, each slice cut into thirds
1 (14 ounce) package beef cocktail wieners
1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wrap each cocktail wiener with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a large, foil-lined baking sheet or in a foil-lined baking dish. Sprinkle brown sugar generously over all.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until bacon is crisp.

Source: I got this from a gal in one of my old wards. She simply described to me how to do it. I later found an almost identical recipe for it on Allrecipes (though the temperature and bake time are different). You can find that recipe here. That is currently rated as 5 stars with over 1,000 reviews.

Notes: These are so, so good. Amazingly easy, and super addictive. I made these first for Thanksgiving. They got gobbled up within minutes and everyone was sad that there weren't more. So, I made them again for our appetizer night and I tripled the recipe. Quite a few got eaten, but I forgot to factor in how much food my mom would be preparing...so, I had plenty left over.

The leftovers will get a little soggy. Never fear. Simply pop them in the oven again until the bacon is crisp and re-serve.

Above: Going, going...gone!

Above: A larger batch.

Bacon Crackers

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package buttery round crackers (such as Ritz)

1 pound sliced bacon, cut into thirds

1 pound brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

Arrange the crackers in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Top each cracker with 1/3 slice bacon, and sprinkle desired amount of brown sugar over all.

Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until browned and crisp. Serve warm.

Source: Allrecipes.com, submitted by Gayle Woodle. You can find it here.

Notes: This tasted like the lil'smokie-free version of the Bacon Wrapped Smokies above. Really easy, and very tasty!