By Susanne Myers

Now that the holiday season is right around the corner, you’ve probably started dragging out your recipes, including your favorite crockpot appetizer recipes. Everyone loves those tasty treats and you know your dinner guests like to grab a few bites as they mingle.

Even when planning a big sit-down meal, your dinner guests will always make room for a few tasty bites before dinner. The trick to serving good appetizers is serving an attractive and delicious variety of dishes. This may be easier said than done when you have become so accustomed to making certain appetizers year after year.

It’s time to put your crockpot to work for you as you improve on your classic appetizers like cheese dips, cocktail wieners, and meatballs. Your holiday gathering is special. Shouldn’t your appetizers be special, too? Let’s take a look at how to make your old favorites a bit more special:

Cheese Dip – You can certainly make a simple little cheese dip that would be delicious, but, don’t you want to make a dip that your guests will remember, and talk about, and ask you for the recipe? How about an Artichoke and Cheese dip? By adding some chopped artichoke hearts to your favorite cheese dip you’ve perked this appetizer up enough to make it memorable.

You can also add flavorful ingredients like Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and red pepper flakes to really kick this cheese dip up a few notches. Cook in your crockpot on low for about 2 hours, and keep warm to serve with your crackers, chips, or bread.

Cocktail Sausages – Think way beyond those little wienies and serve up an easy, but fancy, batch of sweet and tangy Apple Sausage Appetizers instead. Use any combination of ingredients such as brown sugar, honey, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard, then instead of adding Vienna Sausages, cut up some good apple smoked sausage, some tart apples like Granny Smith, and some sweet onion and add that to the crockpot.

If your guests were expecting the standard cocktail wienie appetizer, they’ll be pleasantly surprised when they bite into this sweet and spicy treat. Combine the ingredients in your crockpot, set it on low heat, and let cook for about 2 hours. Check to make sure the apples and onions are just cooked through but not turning to mush, then serve warm.

Meatball Bites – Those little meatballs swimming around in barbecue sauce are tasty, but are they special enough for your holiday event? Go ahead and make your mini meatballs out of your favorite recipe, but when it comes to the sauce, it’s time to do something special. Beer is the ingredient that kicks this appetizer recipe up a couple pegs. This Tangy Meatball Appetizer will have your guests wondering what makes the sauce so yummy. Start by making your favorite meatball recipe, form the mini meatballs, then brown them in a heavy skillet with cooking oil. Once they’re brown, put them in your crock pot.

Mix together in a separate bowl a combination of ingredients starting with beer. Add any or all of the following ingredients to the beer – spicy tomato juice, mustard, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion, hot sauce, red pepper flakes, or anything that sounds good to you. Pour this sauce over the meatballs in the crockpot, turn the heat to low, and let it cook for about 2 hours or a little more until you’re sure the meatballs are cooked thoroughly. You won’t find these meatballs on just any buffet!

Nutty Snacks – I always think some pretty bowls of assorted nuts placed on tables around the room is a nice touch. But, instead of just dumping some mixed nuts in a bowl, why not cook up a batch to surprise your holiday guests? Because pecans are often associated with sweet snacks and desserts, these Cajun Style Pecans will be quite the surprise, indeed!

Choose the spices that you would normally associate with a good Cajun dish. You’ll probably want ground onion and garlic, of course, and cayenne pepper, chili powder, oregano, basil, and thyme. Mix these together, then add to some melted butter and pecans in your crockpot. Cover your crockpot and turn it to high for about 10 minutes, then uncover and turn to low. Continue cooking on low, uncovered, for about 2 hours. Stir the contents a few times to keep the pecans coated and toasting evenly. After they’re done cooking, just cool the pecans by spreading them on a baking sheet, rack, or paper towels.

We all have our favorite appetizers that have become a tradition over the years. We can still enjoy these same appetizers, but don’t they deserve a little updating? And don’t our guests deserve a little special treat this year? Surprise them by tweaking your old crockpot appetizers and maybe you’ll start some brand new traditions!

About the Author: Susanne Myers at HillbillyHousewife.com wants to help you make great appetizers and other tasty dishes for your family. Find lots of crockpot recipes and more in the

Hillbilly Housewife’s

informative guide,

Crockpot Cooking Made Simple

. Get your copy now and start enjoying hot, hearty meals every night!

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