5 Baby Shower Food Ideas Anyone Can Make

Planning a baby shower? You have got all the details taken care of by now, or have you?

What are you feeding your guests?

No doubt, you could cater the food and be done with it. That would cost quite a bit of money on all the caterer's service. That would eat into your baby shower budget. Why not use that money on personal gifts for your guests instead. Besides, home cooked food is better and cheaper than anything mass produced right?

You could always make it a pot luck. Each guest could bring his or her culinary speciality. But some people might not like it, or they may not have the time to spare.

Or you could go the extra mile and prepare the feast yourself. It is cheaper than catering. You get to show off your culinary skills (even if you think you don't have any) and present your guests food you prepared yourself (which by the way, will be scrumptious. Just see the recipes below).

Short of time? Prepare a quick and scrumptious meal at home that should tickle their tastebuds and fill their stomachs, to some extent, that is.

Here are 5 relatively easy items you could include in your party spread.

1. Chicken Wings.

The trick is to marinade them overnight. Put the wings in a large bowl and cover them with marinade. You could buy bottles of marinade from the supermarket, or you could make your own with a family recipe from grandma or mom. Either way, seal the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight to let the marinade seep in. Then bake or grill the wings. (about an hour or less)

One of my favorites is very oriental. For 1 kg wings, mix 4 tablepoons light soya sauce mixed with 1 tablepoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and 1 small piece of crushed ginger in a bowl. Then add the wings and leave to marinade.

2. Pizza Sandwich Fingers

This is my favorite buffet recipe for when I have to prepare a feast for a large group of people in a hurry. These colorful slices taste as good as they look. They make great buffet additions.

Take a loaf of bread (or two or as many as you need to feed your guests.)

Remove the edges.

Cut each slice of bread into 4 strips.

Put coarsely chopped, bite sized pieces of salami, green capsicum, button mushrooms and tomatos on each strip. Then sprinkle cheddar cheese and morazella cheese over the ingredients. Grill in a toaster oven. The effect is a spread of green (capsicum) / red (tomato) / yellow (cheese) open sandwiches that add to the festive mood.

3. Tuna On A Ritz

Get a box of Ritz biscuits or salted crackers.

Mix a can of tuna with a can of cream of mushroom soup. Then spoon half a teaspoon of this mixture onto each biscuit. (I learnt this from my old friend Serene Woon.) Another great instant buffet offering.

4. 1 large pot of beef stew and french loaves.

The bread and stew should fill their stomachs. You don't want your guests to go home hungry, do you?

Stir fry in a tablespoon of olive oil, in a large pot, 1 chopped onion, 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 kg beef cubes, 3 large ripe tomatos, 3 large potatos (diced) 3 large carrots (diced), 2 stalks of celery and a box of button mushrooms.Throw in a handful of oregano leaves, a sprinkle of crushed black pepper and a pinch of salt. Then fill the pot with boiling water. Let it simmer for 3 hours to draw out the flavour, topping up with boiling water as necessary. Add sugar and salt to taste. When you are satisfied with the result, serve with warm bread.

An easier way to make the stew is to dump everything into a crockpot (no oil needed) first thing in the morning, add boiling water and let it simmer until the guests arrive.

(Personally, I would marinade the beef in 3 tablespoons of light soya sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar and a little crushed black pepper corns overnight before using the beef for the stew. Then skip the salt and sugar.)

Warm the bread in the oven while the guests arrive. After take the crockpot out to the buffet table, present the warmed bread in a basket and serve your guests.

Let your guests dip the bread into little bowls of stew. Delicious!

5. Salad

Wash and chop up 1 large head of lettuce, peeled japanese cucumbers, 1 bunch of baby spinach, 3 large ripe tomatos, button mushrooms, chick peas and your favourite veggies. Toss in salad cream and serve chilled.

For a small party, you could use the recipes that come with gt express mentioned in the resource below for quick and easy to make dishes, Cut into smaller servings and serve as part of the party buffet.



For easy, delicious dishes, get gt express. More baby shower gifts at http://www.babymusthaves.com

See Also : circulon infinite circulon 10 piece cookware set calphalon unison 10 piece set

Crockpot Apple Butter

My grandmother was a baker - not by profession, but by habit. She was a country woman at heart and she baked a few pies every day either she needed to or not.

I all the time loved her pies, but I indeed miss her apple dumplings. To me, they were the ultimate comfort food, and a mighty good morning meal with some milk poured over them! She also participated in production apple butter the old-fashioned way with a group of friends, cooking it all day in a huge black kettle and then canning it for the winter. In her later years, she began production her apple butter in a crockpot. All of the flavor, none of the hassle.

Crockpot

I have carried on the apple butter tradition -the crockpot version, not the limited House on the Prairie version. It takes two days in a crockpot, so plan it on a weekend if you work away from home during the week, but it doesn't want much effort. I freeze mine in canning jars, but you could freeze it in plastic containers or can it and store it on a shelf. It's not hard at all, so if you're finding for a good way to bring home the taste of fall and wow your friends with your domestic abilities, then try this apple butter recipe: 

Crockpot Apple Butter

4 c. Sugar ( I use brown sugar or succanat)

8 c. Cooked apples

1/2 c. Vinegar

2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. Cloves

1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
 
Wash, peel and slice apples thin. Pack into crockpot until full. Add only adequate water to keep from sticking to the bottom. Cook all day, covered on low; that night, add 4 cups of sugar to 8 cups of cooked apples (adjust sugar if less than 8 cups). Add 1/2 cup vinegar; stir well and cook all night, covered on low. The next morning, add spices. Cook, uncovered, on high for 3 hours. Fill jars and freeze them when cooled to room temperature, or fill jars and seal, if canning.
 
Yum! The excellent fall bread-spread!

Crockpot Apple Butter

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