I need easy CHEAP finger food recipe's

[Robyn66]

I am directing/producing a play next weekend and am having a cast party immediately after at my house. There will probably be about 20 people coming. When I look up cheap and easy on line I am finding things like scallops wrapped in bacon (easy but NOT cheap) or mini quiche's (definitely NOT easy for me)

I want to put something nice on but not break the bank. I figure I will do chicken wings, although they are pretty messy. And maybe sweet and sour meatballs and chips and dip and a taco dip recipe I have.

Anyway I will appreciate any help with this!

Thank you!!!
Robyn

[kfred]

1. 7 layer salad

It's always a winner, leave off the bacon so vegies can eat it. Or make it into a taco type dip for ease of eating with no utensils required.

While scallops with bacon are good, so are those little smokies which are much cheaper.

If you do wings, make sure you have them in pieces.

Hummus with pita chips and/or bean dip is usually inexpensive and can be warm or cold.

Cheese of various types in bite sized pieces with crackers is also a winner and filling.

Have a hot dip of some sort - maybe a cheese/nacho type or a spinach with artichoke type that can be kept on low during the play without consequences.

You won't have much energy but they will have their appetites. And good luck!

Could have a broken leg cake.

[Robyn66]

6. Thank you so much!!

There are a lot of TERRIFIC ideas in there!!!! This helps tremendously!!

[Tesha]

10. broken leg cake???

[Robyn66]

11. That is so cute!!!

I actually think I will order a cake and have the poster I designed scanned in so they can put it on top. But that is ADORABLE!!!!

[Robyn66]

18. AND its a CAST party! LOL!!!!

:rofl:

[The empressof all]

2. Do Bruchetta's

Mix some Pesto with cream cheese and butter and top some toasted sliced baguette with it. Top with chopped tomato, olive, whatever.

Don't dismiss the deviled egg. People love them! Add a little wasabi to the yolk mixture.

Bake a cheese in crescent rolls. I usually use a hunk of brie but I've also done it with cheddar. Open up the pack of crescent rolls and cover the cheese entirely making sure that it is completely covered. If you are using brie make sure the cheese is cold. Then just bake it till brown.

Chicken livers wrapped in Bacon or dates stuffed with blue cheese and wrapped in bacon are less pricey than the scallops.

[Robyn66]

4. I love doing deviled eggs but

I have a terrible time peeling the eggs! They take forever and I end up losing two or three out of the dozen because the white sticks to the shell too much. Am I doing something wrong??? I have a fab recipe for Deviled eggs too

I put in

minced bacon
cayenne pepper
yellow mustard
green onion
celery
mayonnaise
with the yoke
then pipe it in to the egg. Its YUMMY

[NMDemDist2]

7. fresher eggs are hard to peel, buy the eggs a few days in advance

then don't boil the eggs, put eggs in cold water, bring to a boil, then cover and remove from heat for 12 minutes

usually that works pretty good for me.

[NMDemDist2]

3. hasty hots, I swear they FLY off the tray and are CHEAP and easy

in fact, better make a triple batch for 20 ppl

and I never turn em over, I just slather the glop on and broil, but watch em close, they go from "brown and bubbly" to "burnt to a crisp" in .134 seconds flat

:hi:

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/appetizer/hasty-hots-recipe.html

4 green onions, very thinly sliced
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used the green can stuff, it works fine)
6 to 8 tablespoons mayonnaise
24 slices cocktail-size rye bread OR baguette slices

In a small bowl, stir together onions, cheese and 6 tablespoons of the mayonnaise until well blended. If needed, add more mayonnaise to give mixture a firm spreading consistency.
Place bread in single layer on a baking sheet; broil 4 to 6-inches below heat source until golden brown.
Turn slices over and spread with cheese mixture.
Return to oven and roil until bubbly and lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Makes 2 dozen appetizers.

[Robyn66]

5. Thank you!

Those look great!

[NMDemDist2]

8. they say use fancy bread, but regular bread is fine too, just slice off crust

slather goop, then cut into quarters and broil

really cheap that way :rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

9. another hit around here, not exactly 'cheap' but won't break the bank

clean out the fridge of all those fancy mustards and sauces that you aquire and then put them out for these

buy a bag of lil smokies and a couple cans of crescent rolls, cut each roll dough square thing in half and then wrap them around the smokie, bake as directed for the rolls and serve with all the dippy stuff

http://southerncuisine.suite101.com/article.cfm/little_smokie_piggie_recipe

[grasswire]

15. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm hasty hots

My all-time favorite snack. My family has loved them for decades. They are fun with party rye bread slices, but just as good with any ol' kind of bread cut in quarters.

[NMDemDist2]

16. aren't you the one who gave me the name??

it was you or ArkieGranny I think

I kinda knew the recipe but you pointed me to the name

:yourock:

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Here's one that we've used in the past and they really went fast.

Cocktail Pigs in a Blanket

http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--2770/cocktail-pigs-in-a-blanket.asp

[Robyn66]

19. That looks awesome too!

[hippywife]

13. Whatever you end up fixing

it's always good to have a variety of fruit and grapes. :hi:

[ginnyinWI]

14. pizza bread would be fairly cheap.

French or Italian bread, sliced crosswise, slathered with canned pizza sauce, topped with shredded mozarella and and any other toppings you might like. Bake and slice into appetizer-sized slices.

[Robyn66]

17. I hadn't thought of that!

Those are VERY easy to make!

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

20. I always think the most cost effective dish is BBQ Beef in the crockpot

Go buy some pot roast on sale. Throw it in the crockpot with a bottle of BBQ sauce. When it is done, shred the beef in the sauce. Serve with little rolls so people make mini sandwiches.

You get a LOT of mileage from this, everyone loves it and it adds something substantial to all the lightweight food. It is also MUCH cheaper than buying cold-cuts, etc.

[The empressof all]

21. That.....or a Ham!

Love the beef idea! Ham is also something that goes a long way. For 20 bucks and a little slicing you can feed a lot of people.

[wryter2000]

22. Veggies and dip

A bunch of celery and some carrots go a long way.