When you don’t feel like sitting down to a meal, but you need something more.
Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone - and like most families here in the U.S., your family probably ate so many snacks during the big game that dinner went by the wayside last weekend.
Here's the thing, though. Snack-y delicious things can still be considered dinner. There is no rule that you can't eat hors d'oeuvres and party food whenever you feel like making it.
In this post, we'll cover a couple of easy, tasty finger foods you can dash together on a weeknight and share with the family or a visiting friend. (Who says Wednesday can't be family movie night?)
Stuffed "Sandwiches"
It's less of a sandwich and more of a stuffed slice of bread... But it's an uncommon, tasty finger food. Plus, it's neither terribly messy nor expensive to make.
Ingredients:
One large loaf of Italian or French bread
8 oz softened cream cheese (we suggest the garden vegetable flavor Philadelphia brand, or spicy jalapeno flavor if you'd prefer some heat)
3 oz crumbled cooked bacon
1/2 cup matchstick carrots, chopped down
1/2 cup baby spinach, shredded
1/4 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 3 oz package sun-dried tomatoes (we like Bella Sun Luci brand)
handful of black olives, chopped
4 oz shredded cheese of your choice
Fresh or dried parsley, for garnish
Tools:
Cutting board, bread knife, paring knife, baking sheet, large bowl, spoon
Allow your cream cheese to come up to room temperature while you work; the softer it is, the easier it will be to mix in your other ingredients.
Preheat your oven (or toaster oven if you'd rather) to 350.
Grab the bread knife and cut your loaf of bread into 3/4" to one inch thick slices. Use the paring knife to scoop out the centers of each slice to make each into a shallow bread boat. Make sure you only cut about halfway into the center - you still want it to be able to hold the cream cheese mixture. In the event any of your slices have a hole from an air bubble in the dough, consider covering it over with a spinach leaf to stop too much of the cheese from oozing out during the baking process.
Once your slices are scooped out, place them open side up on your baking sheet.
Chop up your carrots, bell pepper, olives and spinach as fine as you'd like them - and if your tomatoes are large pieces, you might consider cutting them down as well. Transfer all the cut veggies to the bowl.
If you're working with fresh parsley, now is the time to cut it - but don't mix it in with the other veggies.
Toss the crumbled bacon in with the veggies, then add your softened cream cheese. Give everything a good stir to make sure it's evenly distributed.
Spoon an even amount of the cream cheese mixture into each of your scooped out bread slices and level it out.
Cover the top of each slice in shredded cheese.
Bake at 350 until the shredded cheese is melted and the bread is lightly toasted.
Sprinkle on the parsley before serving. These "sandwiches" are best served with chips (which can function as a utensil, too, if the cheese mixture escapes!).
Peanut Butter Cup Hummus
We know, no one thinks sweet when someone says hummus. But believe it or not, you can make sweet versions! And you can even make them out of things you probably have on hand already.
Once it's ready, use it as a dip for apple slices (Gala apples are excellent for this). The kids will never realize they're eating a vegetable.
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 tablespoons peanut butter
3 tablespoons honey or corn syrup
5 tablespoons baker's cocoa
2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk
a pinch of salt
Tools:
Food processor, measuring cup and spoons, bowl(s) to serve.
Cook up some chickpeas, or open up a can. You'll need about a cup of them, drained and rinsed.
Pour the rinsed chickpeas into the food processor, and measure in the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract.
Process on low for a few seconds at a time, scraping down the sides when you pause. If the mixture seems too sticky or too inclined to climb up the sides, you can add some water a tablespoon at a time - but be careful not to add too much and thin it out. It can be pretty difficult (and messy!) to dip an apple slice in something soupy.
Once you've got the chickpeas processed down to a mostly smooth consistency, measure in the cocoa and milk and hit the button on the processor again a time or two to mix it all in.
Make sure you taste test at this stage, to figure out whether or not you need more sweetener, and/or how much salt you'd like to add. Everyone's family is different - we recommend finding the pickiest eater in the house and using them as the guinea pig.
Once you've adjusted to account for the picky eaters in the house, scoop some out into a shallow dish for every member of the family and cut up some apples to share. Pretzels also work well with this hummus, as do chunks of banana (toothpicks or forks help cut down on the sticky fingers problem with the bananas).
Hopefully this filling, deceptively healthy “dessert” joins the rotation in your family too!
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If on the other hand you showed up here because you need help with your appliances, we can help there too. We aim to be the best appliance repair company in Plano and the surrounding area, and that means we’re here, whatever your appliances need. You can reach out to us via our website or by giving us a call at ((214) 599-0055).
