While everyone enjoys holiday food, cooking for the holidays can be really stressful. Arranging simple Hors d’oeuvres can decrease the stress of holiday cooking and provide simple, tasty snacks for all holiday guests.
Vegetables Make Great Appetizers
Holiday appetizers can be as simple as cutting up vegetables. Vegetables like carrots, celery, bell peppers, and tomatoes are beautiful when arranged on a platter. They are also delicious when accompanied with Ranch dressing as a dipping sauce.
Other vegetables that can be arranged on relish dishes are dill pickles, sweet pickles, pickled okra, black olives, and green olives. These appetizers are easy as opening a can or a jar, and all guests will love to munch on these healthy snacks.
Crackers and Cheese
Another easily holiday appetizer is cheese with crackers. This appetizer goes really well with wine. To make this appetizer really special, choose specialty crackers and cut up different types of cheeses. For added flavor, cut up cold cuts and arrange them on a platter as well. Add a small bowl of Dijon mustard to the platter and this simple appetizer will be sure to please!
Guests go Nuts for Nuts!
It’s also a great idea to set out a small bowl of mixed nuts. There are many different types of nuts, and each of them has a different flavor. Arrange macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and cashews. These different nuts can be bought prepackaged.
Please them with Trail Mix
There are many different types of trail mix that are available for purchase. Some of them contain dried fruit and chocolate chips. Place a small bowl of trail mix on the buffet, and guests will wonder if it’s a homemade concoction.
Pretzels add a Twist
Placing store bought pretzels on a decorative plate may get more praise than you expect. Dipped in mustard, pretzels are a party pleaser. It’s also a great idea to layer the plate with regular pretzels and chocolate covered pretzels, which can be bought in stores as well.
Fruit and Dip
Fruit is always a people pleaser. Cut up strawberries, apple slices, peaches, and pears. Toss the apples in lemon juice so they won’t brown. Then, mix a tub of whipped cream with some vanilla yogurt, and you’ve got a simple, delicious fruit dip. Place cocktail toothpicks by the platter of fruit so guests can dip away.
When guests come for the holidays, they look forward to the main course of the meal. For that very reason, there’s no sense in getting stressed over the appetizers. Offering guests a variety of simple snacks to munch on will impress guests, and give you more time to focus on the heart of the meal.
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