The holidays are stressful enough, from cleaning and decorating the house to preparing a delicious dinner and baking decadent desserts, without having to do extra cooking. This Thanksgiving, if you're not dining out, instead of cooking up appetizers to appease your guests’ early appetites opt to prepare no-cook starters! No-cook appetizers are simple and easy to make, involve no slaving away over a hot stove and are a sure way to make your holiday preparations that much less stressful.
Here are some simple no-cook appetizers, perfect for your holiday get-together!
Marinated Mozzarella
Ingredients:
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese (block)
- 1 jar Kalamata olives
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp parsley (fine)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp black ground pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- Package of toothpicks
Directions: Start off by cutting the mozzarella into 1 inch blocks of cheese. Place cheese blocks and Kalamata olives on an 8 inch baking dish. Mix together the rest of the ingredients then pour it over the cheese blocks and olives. Cover the baking dish with the cheese and olives and refrigerator for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Once ready to serve spear the olives on top of the cheese block and serve.
Caesar Salad Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients:
- 1 bottle of creamy Caesar dressing
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts
- ½ a cucumber
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 1 cup small croutons
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Ground black pepper to taste
Directions: Separate romaine heart leaves and arrange on a long platter. Chop up tomatoes and cucumber and sprinkle some on the lettuce. Next sprinkle croutons, cheese, dressing and a little bit of ground black pepper on the lettuce wraps.
Prosciutto Covered Pears
Ingredients:
- 2 pears (cored and cut into wedges)
- 4 oz prosciutto (sliced thin)
- 2 tsp sherry vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt for taste
Directions: Cut the slices of prosciutto in half and wrap up the pear wedges in prosciutto. Set these on a serving dish and drizzle on the vinegar and olive oil. Add salt on top for taste.
Smoked Salmon Spread
Ingredients:
- 4 oz smoked salmon (pulled into small pieces)
- 2 oz sour cream
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp dill (minced)
- Package of crackers
Directions: Simply mix all of the ingredients together until mixed well and evenly. Place the spread out along with crackers for you and your guests to enjoy.
Photo by Rob Owen-Wahl via Free Images