Make appetizers with crackers for your next party.
When planning a social gathering, select appetizers that party guests will enjoy all night. Use your imagination to create the perfect appetizers to go with crackers, from a cheese ball to miniature tuna melts. Most appetizers served with crackers are easy to make in a short amount of time. A few ingredients from your local grocery store are all you need to get started.
Cheese Ball
Make a simple cheese ball by mixing 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup of bacon bits, 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tsp. of grated onion and 1/4 cup of chopped pecans in a bowl. Use your hands to mix it until it's well-blended, then refrigerate it overnight. Roll the mixture into a ball and put it on a plate. Place crackers around the cheese ball and serve.
Crabmeat Cracker Toppers
Mix 1/2 cup of purchased crab salad with 2 tbsp. of finely-chopped seedless cucumbers in a bowl. Cut an avocado into slices small enough to fit on a saltine cracker. Sprinkle lime juice on the avocados to prevent them from turning brown and put one piece on top of each saltine cracker. Scoop 1 tsp. of the crab mixture on top of each cracker. Place on a tray and serve.
Cheesy Bacon Crackers
Make cheesy bacon crackers using club crackers, bacon and freshly-grated Parmesan cheese. Place club crackers on a baking sheet and put 1 tsp. of grated Parmesan cheese on each cracker. Carefully pick the crackers up and wrap each cracker with half a piece of bacon. Make sure the cheese does not fall off. Put the crackers in the oven and bake them at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for two hours, checking them occasionally.
Shrimp Cracker Toppers
You'll need one tub of soft cream cheese, one bag of miniature cocktail shrimp, round butter crackers and a bottle of cocktail sauce for this recipe. Spread cream cheese and cocktail sauce on each cracker. Top each crack with a couple of miniature cocktail shrimp and serve. You can also fill a bowl with cream cheese, then spread the cocktail sauce on top and arrange the miniature shrimp on top of the sauce. Place the bowl on a platter and the crackers around the bowl.
Tuna Melts
Combine 6 oz. of white tuna, 1/4 cup of chopped celery and 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (you can use light mayo if preferred) in a bowl. Spread round whole wheat crackers with 1 tsp. of the tuna mixture each, then sprinkle each cracker with 1/2 tsp. of shredded cheddar cheese (you can use reduced-fat cheese). Microwave the crackers, six at a time, for 15 seconds or until the cheese melts.
Tags: each cracker, cheese ball, cocktail sauce, cream cheese, appetizers with