Tasty Thanksgiving Appetizers

Thinking of doing something fancier than the fruit tray or a salad as your Thanksgiving Appetizers? Funny enough, despite the fact that Thanksgiving is usually associated with a huge feast of some kind, many people never take the appetizers into consideration. Everyone's all about the main dishes, side dishes and of course the desserts. However, there are many recipes out there for festive and delicious appetizers that are easy to make and a great edition to your holiday feast!

Like many, my family always does the fruit tray, and salads as appetizers. So I made it my mission to find tasty alternatives to those appetizers, as I don't like salads and, despite my love of fruit, it's kind of boring. Sure this holiday is about the harvest, but there must be something out there that is festive and more fun than just plain fruits and veggies right? So after much research, I found three great recipes for some sweet and savory appetizers that I will be trying this holiday. I thought I'd share them in hub for all my lovely readers to try as well.

Kick off your feast with this sweet and festive appetizer. This is a quick and easy-to-make sweet dip consisting of marshmallow creme, peanut butter and pumpkin pie spice to be served with apple wedges. Why not have a dessert-like appetizer this year? It's sure to be a hit with your friends and family!

Prep Time: 10 Min.
Servings: 8

Ingredients You'll Need

• 1 Package of cream cheese, softened.
• 1 Tbsp of peanut butter, creamy
• 1/2 Tsp of pumpkin pie spice
• 1 Jar of marshmallow creme or fluff
• Apples for the wedges

How to Make the Dip

1. Combine cream cheese, peanut butter, and pumpkin spice into a small bowl.
2. Beat the mixture until it is well blended.
3. Fold in the marshmallow creme or fluff.
4. Slice apples into wedges.
5. Place the dip on the center of a plate surrounded by the apple wedges and serve.

Double up on ingredients if you're expecting more guests.

Try this savory appetizer this year. Tease your family and friends with some tasty Turkey Croquettes and Cranberry salsa. A delicious combination of two traditional Thanksgiving dishes! This appetizer is not as quick and easy to make as others but it's well worth the effort. Your friends and family will fall head over heals for these appetizers.

Prep Time: 50 Min.
Servings: 8

Ingredients You'll Need

• 1/3 Cup of chopped onions
• 2 Tbsp of butter
• 1/4 Cup of all purpose flour
• 1/4 Cup of milk
• 1/4 Cup of chicken broth
• 2 Cups of cooked turkey, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup of mashed sweet potato
• 1/2 Tsp of salt
• 1/4 Tsp of pepper
• 1/8 Tsp of cayenne pepper
• 3/4 Cup of tart apples, chopped
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1/2 Cup of cranberries, chopped
• 2 Green onions, chopped
• 2 Jalapeno peppers, chopped and seeded
• 3 Tbsp of golden raisins, chopped
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tbsp of water
• 1/2 Cup of all purpose flour, for Croquettes
• 1/2 Cup of bread crumbs, dry
  
• Oil for deep frying

How to Make Turkey Croquettes with Cranberry Salsa

1. Saute the onions in the butter, in a saucepan, until they are tender.
2. Stir in the flour until it is well blended.
3. Add the milk and the broth and bring it to a boil.
   
4. Stir until the mixture has thickened.
5. Remove the sauce pan from the heat.
6. Stir in the turkey, the sweet potato, the salt, the pepper and the cayenne pepper.
7. Cover it and put it in the refrigerator until firm.
8. While that's happening, put the apples with lemon juice in a bowl.
9. Now stir in the cranberries, the green onions, the jalapeno peppers, the golden raisins and the honey.
10. Chill the cranberry salsa for at least one hour before serving.
11. Now for the croquettes; beat the eggs and water in a shallow bowl.
12. Put the flour and bread crumbs in two more bowls.
13. Shape the turkey mixture that was in your refrigerator into balls.
14. Now roll them in the flour, then the egg, and finally the bread crumbs.
15. In an electric skillet or deep fryer, heat an inch and a half of oil to 375°.
16. Fry a few croquettes at a time until they are golden brown in color.
    
17. Place them on paper towels to drain the excess oil.
18. Now put the salsa on the center of a plate, surround it with croquettes and serve.
    

Again double up on ingredients if you expect more than eight guests.

To top it all off, here's another sweetly delicious appetizer for your feast. This is a sweet and creamy dip combining pumpkin and vanilla to be served with graham crackers. This is a great appetizer for your children especially. Tickle your friends and family members' taste buds with this delicious and easy-to-make pumpkin dip treat.

Prep Time: 15
Servings: 32

Ingredients You'll Need

• 1 Container of frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 Package of instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 Can of solid pack pumpkin
• 1 Tsp of pumpkin pie spice

How to Make the Dip

1. Mix together the vanilla pudding mix, the pumpkin and the pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl.
2. Fold in the whipped topping.
3. Chill in the refrigerator until it's time to serve.
4. Place the dip on the center of the plate, surrounded by graham crackers and serve.

Fun fact: It seems to be very popular to put this dip in a small sized, gutted pumpkin, if the pictures are any indication. And of course, as mentioned, more guests means more ingredients.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Skylar Spring © copyright 2011