Today I have some delicious recipes to share with you from SuperValu and Wild Harvest to help you do just that. The best part about these recipes is, they’re no more difficult to make than their less nutritious counterparts, and they’re loaded with delicious fresh flavor.

From Bruschetta, to Bean Salsa, to a Triple Berry Parfait, with these recipes I don’t think your guests will miss the calories! I know I wouldn’t.

Bruschetta
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 10 minutes
Amount: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 (14.5 ounce) can wild harvest™ organic diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, drained
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped wild harvest™ organic fresh basil
1 tablespoon wild harvest™ organic extra virgin olive oil
12 (½-inch thick) slices wild harvest™ organic baguette bread
- olive oil no stick cooking spray

Directions:
1. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil and oil; set aside.
2. Place bread slices on baking sheet. Spray with liberal amount of cooking spray.
3. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven; cool.
To Serve: Top bread crostinis with Bruschetta.

Nutritional Info:
Serving Size:
1/6 of recipe

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 115
Total Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Sodium: 360mg
Carbohydrates: 13g
Dietary Fiber: 1g

Bean Salsa
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Chill Time: several hours
Amount: about 5 1/2 cups

Ingredients:
2 (15 ounce) cans wild harvest™ organic pinto beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup each diced red, green and yellow bell peppers
1 cup diced red onion
¼ cup wild harvest™ organic extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons wild harvest™ organic honey
1½ teaspoons freshly ground wild harvest™ natural sea salt
1 teaspoon wild harvest™ organic ground cumin
½ teaspoon chili powder
- wild harvest™ organic tortilla chips

Directions
1. In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size:
1/2 cup

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 135
Total Fat: 5g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 340mg
Carbohydrates: 19g
Dietary Fiber: 6g

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time:
Amount: 2 servings

Triple Berry Parfait
2 (6 ounce) containers wild harvest™ Organic Low Fat Strawberry Yogurt
2/3 cup wild harvest™ Organic Triple Berry Granola
1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Directions
1. Divide one container of yogurt between 2 parfait glasses.
2. Top with 1/4 of the granola, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.
3. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

Nutrition Information
Serving Size:
1/2 of recipe

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 335
Total Fat: 11
Saturated Fat: 3
Cholesterol: 10
Sodium: 130
Carbohydrates: 54
Dietary Fiber: 7

Popcorn Snack Mix
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Amount: about 13 cups

Ingredients:
1 (3 ounce) bag wild harvest™ Organic Microwave Light Butter Popcorn
2 cups mini-twist pretzels
1 1/2 cups wild harvest™ Organic Bite Size Cheddar Cheese Crackers
1 1/2 cups lightly roasted whole almonds
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese 2 teaspoons wild harvest™ Organic Italian Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon wild harvest™ Organic Black Pepper

Directions:
1. Prepare popcorn according to package directions. Transfer popcorn to a large mixing bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients to popcorn and toss to coat.

Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/12 of recipe

Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 185
Total Fat: 11
Saturated Fat: 2
Cholesterol: 5
Sodium: 220
Carbohydrates: 15
Dietary Fiber: 3

You can find Wild Harvest Organic products at SuperValu stores nationwide.

Images SuperValu/ Wild Harvest

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Go beyond the chips and dip, or cheese and crackers  to take your holiday party to the next level without a ton of fuss with these easy holiday appetizers that your friends and family can nibble on while they’re catching up on all the fun things that have happened to them over the last year.

Here’s a roundup of 20 Easy, fun holiday appetizer recipes. Check them out and give your favorites a try.

1. Taco Tartlets
2. Cranberry Meatballs
3. Holiday Appetizer Crab Puffs
4. Crescent Trees
5. Pine Cone Cheese Ball
6. Guacamole and Bacon Canapes
7. Won Ton Cups With Cream Cheese and Chutney
8. Chicken Salad And Cranberry Brie Toast
9. Easy Grilled BBQ Potato Skins
10. Seared Bacon Wrapped Bay Scallops
11. Cheesy Stuffed Artichokes
12. Jalapeno Pepper Appetizer
13. Baby Brie and Crab Appetizer
14. Quichettes and Deviled Eggs
15. Artichoke Bacon Spread
16. Spicy Buffalo Chicken Wings
17. Guacamole Football Field
18. Hot Spinach Dip
19. Mango Tango Party Dip
20. Layered Sun Dried Tomato Spread

I hope this list inspires your holiday party appetizer menu, there are many different and festive flavors here to mix or match for your holiday buffet.

Image (c) L Gerlach

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Today I have a couple appetizer recipes with a kick. The first one is a spicy spinach mini quiche, the second is a deviled egg recipe with smoked salmon. Both recipes are courtesy of Tabasco, and sound delicious for the holiday season.

Spicy Spinach Quichettes

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ teaspoons original Tabasco® brand pepper sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup shredded Cheddar-Jack cheese
• 1 (16-ounce) package refrigerated pie crust

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat-high heat. Add spinach and scallions; cook until spinach is just wilted, stirring constantly.

Combine eggs, heavy cream, Tabasco sauce and salt in large bowl until well blended; stir in cheese and spinach mixture.

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Grease 24 mini muffin cups. Unroll pie crusts; cut into twenty-four rounds with 3-inch-round cutter. Press a dough round into each muffin cup. Fill each with egg mixture. Bake 15 minutes or until quiches are golden and puffed.

Makes 24 mini quiches.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Salmon Deviled Eggs

• 6 large eggs
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup smoked salmon, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• ¾ tablespoon original Tabasco® brand pepper sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Hard-boil eggs; peel and cool. Cut eggs lengthwise in half; carefully remove yolks.

Stir egg yolks, mayonnaise, smoked salmon, dill, Tabasco sauce and salt in a large bowl. Spoon the filling into the egg whites, mounding it slightly, or pipe the filling with a rosette tip. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Garnish eggs with a small piece of smoked salmon and dill sprig.

Makes 12 halves.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Image and recipes courtesy of Tobasco.

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It’s always good to have a couple easy appetizer recipes up your sleeve to pull out that last minute entertaining and make it look effortless.

Today I have an easy crab appetizer recipe from Alouette Cheese to share with you for your holiday entertaining.

Alouette® Baby Brie® Crab Appetizers Recipe

Makes: 30 appetizers
Prep Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Alouette Baby Brie Cheese
1 can (6 oz.) crab meat with leg meat, well drained
2 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tbsp. diced pimiento (from 2 oz. jar), drained
1 tbsp. minced shallot
2 pkg. (2.1 oz. each) frozen phyllo tartlet shells
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

Directions

Heat oven to 350 F.

Trim rind from outside edge of cheese.
Cut crosswise into 6 strips. Trim rind from each strip.

To form 30 pieces, cut the 4 longest strips each into 6 cubes.
Cut the 2 shortest strips each into 3 cubes.

In small bowl, combine crab meat, mayonnaise, pimiento and shallot.

Arrange tartlet shells on large cookie sheet. Spoon crab mixture evenly into tartlet shells, about 1 tsp. each. Top with cheese cube.

Bake 5 minutes or until cheese is soft and melted.
Sprinkle with chives.

Image and recipe courtesy of Alouette Cheese.

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They were super easy to make, I just preheated the oven and popped them in for about 15 minutes to heat them up and they were ready to serve.

I think these would be delicious drizzled with a little melted chocolate. Yum! I thought they were really good warm out of the oven, but they received mixed reviews from my guests. I think you have to enjoy brie cheese to really get the flavor of these fillo rolls. Guests who like brie cheese enjoyed them, others were not as crazy about them.

They’re definitely easy to throw in the oven for those last minute gatherings if you have them on hand.

I would definitely try them again. I’m a big fan of light and flaky fillo hors d’oeuvres, they’re usually easy to make with fillo sheets and your own filling, or baked up from pre made treats.

Images: Fillo Factory and L Gerlach

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Quesadillas make great finger food for casual parties, and football gatherings. This Herb Portobello Quesadillo has a little flavor twist to make it extra delicious.

Grilled Herb Portobello Quesadilla

Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients

4 Mission® Zesty Garlic Herb Wraps or Mission® 10″ Burrito Flour Tortillas
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 tablespoons Fresh Rosemary minced
2 tablespoons Thyme, fresh
1/3 cup Onion finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon Salt iodized
1 teaspoon Black Pepper freshly ground
1/2 cup Olive Oil
4 large Portabello Mushrooms whole, cleaned, stems removed
3 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
3 cups Gouda Cheese finely grated
1/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes in oil
1 small Red Onion sliced, circles
1 bunch Fresh Basil whole leaves

Instructions

1. For marinade, combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, onion, salt, black pepper and olive oil, mix well. Pour over mushrooms and set aside for about 15 minutes.
2. Grill whole on barbeque until tender, about 4 minutes per side. Once cooked through and cool to touch, slice.
3. Top each wrap with equal amount of cheeses, sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, and basil leaves (about 4 leaves per quesadilla) and mushrooms – layering ingredients on just half of the wrap.
4. Fold the wrap over, creating a half circle, and grill on barbecue for about 2 minutes per side until golden brown and cheese is melted.
5. Slice each cooked wrap into 3 wedges. Serve.

Image and recipe courtesy of Mission Menus

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Chips and dip are great, but why kick the standard chips and dip up a notch or two by making your own, and giving it a twist? Today I have a yummy mango dip recipe for you from Mission Menus.

It won’t take you long to throw together, and you can even keep the ingredients on hand in your cupboards for last minute entertaining.

Mango Tango Dip
Cooking Time: 0 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Mission® Extra Thin Chips
• 1 cup Black Beans can, drained
• 1/2 cup Mangoes jar, small chop
• 2 tablespoons Mango juice from jar
• 2 tablespoons Red Onion finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons Cumin ground
• 1 tablespoon Fresh Cilantro chopped
• 2 teaspoons Lime Juice

Instructions:

• Mash black beans, to a smaller size/paste, with a potato masher or use tines of a fork. • Add mangoes, mango juice, onion, cumin, cilantro and lime juice; combine evenly. • Serve cold with Mission® chips.

Image Mission Menus

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I got some coupons for some Nasoya Wonton Wrappers, and they make the perfect crust for this easy taco appetizer.

Wonton Taco Tartlet Appetizer Recipe

• 1 lb of gound beef
  1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic
• 36 Nasoya Wonton wrappers
• 2 cups of cheddar cheese
• salsa or taco sauce
• sour cream

1. Brown your ground beef and mix in the chili powder, cumin, and garlic to taste. If it’s not spicy enough for your taste you can add another teaspoon of chili powder or cumin.

2. Preheat your oven to 350`F.

3. Place one wonton wrapper in each cup of a mini muffin pan, and pat them down in carefully, with the edges sticking up over the side.

4. Put a heaping teaspoon of the beef mixture into each wonton wrapper, then top with a pinch of cheddar cheese.

5. Place the taco tartlets in the oven and bake them for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the wonton wrappers start to brown a little around the edges.

6. Serve warm with a garnish of salsa and sour cream. You can also serve with sliced black olives, guacamole, or cilantro.

Images (c) L Gerlach

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When you’re putting together a Halloween menu you want to add some things to go with the theme, some scary, gross, or creepy food that still tastes delicious will fit into the menu perfectly.

You can even come up with your own menu ideas, use some of these for your inspiration. Think pumpkins, eyeballs, brains, ghosts, and witches. What a combination.

Halloween Appetizer Ideas:

• Last year I put together this list of 50 Halloween Treats, Snacks and Appetizers, and it’s still a great list for your party this year.
• Deviled Egg Eyeballs
• Witches Cauldron Soup with Breadstick Brooms

The Halloween Dinner Main Course

• Eyeball Tacos
• Barbecue Worm Sandwiches
• Halloween Pizza
• Eyeball Beans

Halloween Cocktails:

• Here’s a whole list of fabulous Halloween Cocktail Ideas
• Halloween~Fall Cocktails From Jägermeister
• My favorite? The Pumpkin Pie-tini
• For the kids there’s Ghoul’s Punch

Halloween Dessert Ideas:

• 21 Ghoulishly Fun Halloween Cookie Ideas
• 10 Fun Halloween Cupcake Ideas
• Halloween Cake Ideas

What’s your favorite Halloween food?

Image: Istockphoto.com

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You can use this recipe to celebrate Bacon Day, or for any of your other fall celebrations. I think it would be a wonderful recipe for a football party. You could switch it up and serve it on some homemade corn chips.

Guacamole and Bacon Canapés

• 8 slices lean slab bacon
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and seeded
• 1⁄2 small ripe tomato, chopped
• 3 tablespoons scallions, minced (white parts only)
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 small jalapeño chile pepper, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 12 thin slices pumpernickel bread, crusts removed
• Softened butter for spreading

Cooking Directions

In a large skillet, fry the bacon over moderate heat until crisp, drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside.

In a bowl, mash the avocado with a wooden spoon until lumpy, add the bacon, tomato, scallions, coriander, jalapeño chile pepper, lime juice, and salt and pepper, and mix until well blended.

Lightly butter the bread slices, spread the guacamole equally on the slices, and cut into thirds.

Makes 36 Canapés

Recipe Courtesy of James Villas, author of The Bacon Cookbook

Serving Ideas and Tips

• Traditionally, guacamole is prepared in a three-legged stone mortar (molcajete) and served with tortillas or corn chips, but it’s also very good when spread on thin, buttered pumpernickel slices as a canapé.
• Guacamole should always be more chunky than smooth.
• If you need to chill the mixture more than 20 minutes, add the avocado seed to the mixture to prevent darkening.

If you decide to celebrate International Bacon Day here are a couple more recipes featuring bacon I’ve posted at Food and Nutrition:

• For dessert~ Bacon and Peanut Butter Cookies
• Make it a brunch with an Overnight Bacon Casserole

Or visit the National Pork Board for even more bacon recipes.

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