Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipes

It's the day of Thanksgiving and whether you're doing the cooking or watching football, you probably get really hungry while waiting on the big feast to be done. Instead of waiting until your stomach is eating itself, here are a few ideas and recipes for pre-feast snacks.

1. Sausage balls- Yes, this is a recipe that requires some cooking, but it's not so much that it's overwhelming. I'd recommend making these the night before Thankgiving, though. It's something even the kids can do, with a little supervision.

Ingredients
-2 cups of Bisquick
-1 pound of sausage (mild or spicy will do)
-10 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
-Roll into golf ball-sized balls, or a little smaller, depending on your liking, and put them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

((Eating three or four of these will make a great, filling snack. Put extras in the fridge. When you heat them up, I recommend sprinkling some water over them and placing a paper towel on top before sticking in the microwave.))

2. Sweet and Sour Meatballs-For this, you don't have to do much, unless you want to make your own meatballs, which you probably don't want to do with all your other cooking. My suggestion is to buy a package of frozen meatballs and a bottle of sweet and sour sauce, such as Keikoman and throw them together in a crock pot. Let them heat up, and they're ready to be consumed. The same idea also works for cocktail weenies and barbecue sauce.

3. Shrimp Cocktail- This one is a no-cook idea, as well, unless you like your shrimp warm (in which case, you can boil them for a little while.) My recommendation for this idea is going to your local supermarket and purchasing a ring of shrimp (they come on a little plastic holder with a bowl of cocktail sauce in the middle.) These are usually frozen, so a little bit of defrosting is in order.

4. Frozen snacks- As implied before, your kitchen is already abuzz with cooking, and the stove tops and oven are all all taken up. Therefore, a snack that requires little preparation, is a good one. Stick with microwavable or toaster oven appetizers such as: pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, jalepeño poppers, and eggrolls.

5. Antipasto platter- Antipasto platters are a good appetizer for anyone, because you can pick and choose what to put on it. Meats, cheeses, olives, pickles, rustic breads, artichoke hearts, veggies, and other things can all be put on these platters for easy snacking.

Remember, if you're starving before the big meal on Thanksgiving day, you don't have to wait! Just keep in mind, some of these great, quick ideas for pre-feast appetizers.