Tortilla Roll-Ups

8-10 flour tortillas
1 package cream cheese
1 bunch green onions
Salsa and/or Queso

Spread tortillas with cream cheese & sprinkle with chopped onions. Roll up & cut into 1/2 inch slices. Dip into salsa or queso.

Gosh, after that long in the car I'm surprised you'll have the energy to go anyplace other than bed! This recipe couldn't be easier, but it'd be better to take them unbaked and do them at the host's house as mushrooms get watery.

STUFFED MUSHROOMS

42 large white mushrooms
1 lb. mild sausage
1 - 8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Cook sausage until crumbly and drain. Stir in cream cheese and pepper flakes. Spoon into mushrooms and bake at 350 for 15 min.
(I haven't tried this, but I don't know why you couldn't use hot sausage and omit the red pepper flakes.)

EASY and QUICK Appetizers

1. Brick of Cream Cheese thickly slathered with Red Pepper Jelly

2. Brick of Cream Cheese thickly slathered with Green Pepper Jelly

Note: Sometimes the Red and the Green Pepper jelly are on the shelves with sweet jellies. Sometimes they are stocked with condiments such as mayo, pickles, olives.
The Red Pepper Jelly is much hotter than the green.

3. 1 can of small shrimp.. broken pieces are okay. Drain and add enough of Best Foods (Hellmans) mayo and mash up to make a spread. No need to add spices or herbs.

Buy an assortment of crackers and cocktail breads to serve with the above 3 appetizers.

Buy a bunch of parsley and 'decorate' the 3 plates with parsley after removing some of the big stems.
I specialize in parsley placement ;-) at my house.

I believe I got this recipe from Ginger over on the cooking forum a while ago:

ROQUEFORT GRAPES (makes 50)
1 lb large, seedless red grapes (about 50)
10 oz pecans
4 TBL crumbled Roquefort cheese
8 oz pk cream cheese, softened
2 TBL heavy cream
Wash the grapes & pat dry. Crush the pecans on a platter or sheet of waxed paper. Combine the Roquefort, cream cheese & cream in a bowl & mix well. Roll the grapes in the cheese mixture & then in the pecans, coating well. Chill, covered until serving time.~~ From First Impressions.

I have a brie/gorgonzola torte recipe too; if anyone is intersted in that, I'll try to find it.

Marinated cheese
2 pkg cheese cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or 1 Tbl dried
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

. Whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, chopped parsley, and next 6 ingredients; pour evenly over cheese cubes. Cover and chill at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving and drain well.
Serve with your favorite crackers!

Here's another one....

Onion Bites

A quick, easy and very tasty tidbit for your next get together

Ingredients
1. 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2. 6 TBS mayonnaise
3. 6 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
4. 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. 6 thin slices white bread
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix everything together.
3. Spread on the bread and
4. THEN cut the crusts off.
5. Cut each slice in half.
6. Place on a baking sheet.
7. Bake until lightly golden and slightly puffy,
8. about 15 minutes.
9. Serve immediately.

This is about as easy as it gets-

Put a brick of cream cheese on a platter. Pour a can of chili over it (you might want to stir it first). Cover with shredded colby-jack cheese. Zap in microwave until CC is melty and gooey but not spread all over. Toss a few sliced jalopenos on top and serve with tortilla chips. If you want to bother, you can surround it all with chopped lettuce and tomatoes and onions. That really makes it pretty, almost wreath-like.

Honestly, this takes about 5 minutes to make.

Well to quote Kitty Forman "Vienna sausages are so versatile!"

Sorry... couldn't resist! :)

Sometimes the simplest things go really fast. I didn't have any time to make something once(actually more than once) I had celery in frig and thats about it. I did the old fashion snack of Ants on a log..but of course didn't have raisins, just used crunchy peanut butter and did some with cream cheese too. They were almost the first things to go. I heard people say I haven't had this since I was a little kid.

lucky gardener ~~ if you're still checking this post, i have a question ~~ could the cream cheese squares be served a few hours after baking? ~~ or would they get soggy?

To be honest, I don't know. I haven't made them yet. The recipe just looked so darn good, I had to share it. However, I think you could bake them, and then serve them at room temp. But I don't think I would refrigerate them first, and then bring them to room temp. Maybe you could put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes to just warm them up....?

Laurel