Hosting a party is always an unnecessary stress. The main concern always seems to be the food- “What should I make?” and “How much?” When it comes to New Years and Super Bowl parties, the easiest and most popular choice is to make a variety of appetizers. Something I always keep on hand for occasions like this (and quick dinners) are frozen meatballs. I usually throw some into my crock pot with pasta sauce and voila, boil pasta and dinner is ready.
Stephanie Ashcroft, author of 101 Things To Do With Meatballs, states in her book- to find the freshest and highest quality meatballs, avoid companies who do not specialize in them. They usually use leftover scraps from other products to make the meatballs. A company who is known for their meatballs is Farm Rich.
101 Things to Do with Meatballs features recipes like meatball sliders, sesame stir fry, meatball pizza, Tortellini Meatball Stew, Chipotle Meatball Pasta and more. This cookbook is a great resource for quick dinners and includes appetizers that are a must-have for your parties.
Farm Rich not only has meatballs, but they carry cheese sticks, pizza slices, mozzarella bites, mushrooms, quesadillas, paninis, peppers and pizzaria bites- all ideal for a New Years or Superbowl party.
Other great appetizers found in your local grocery store are SeaPak products, which includes butterfly shrimp, popcorn shrimp, shrimp scampi, tempura shrimp, coconut shrimp, shrimp alfredo, light and crispy shrimp, tilapia tenders, crab cakes and a ton more. I often purchase SeaPak products because of their quality and taste and I know I will stock up on these during Lent! Below is a super-easy recipe, sure to be a hit at your new years and Superbowl parties.
Gorgonzola Shrimp Bites
Ingredients
- 1 (9 oz) package SeaPak® Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp – Oven Crispy or 1 package (8 oz) SeaPak® Butterfly Shrimp – Oven Crispy, frozen
- Apricot preserves
- Gorgonzola crumbles
PREHEAT oven to 425º. Bake Butterfly Shrimp according to package instructions. Remove from oven. Turn oven up to broil.
SPOON apricot preserves (about ½ teaspoon) onto each shrimp. Top with Gorgonzola crumbles (about ½ teaspoon).
PLACE shrimp under broiler for 1-2 minutes (watching closely).
SERVE immediately.
Haha – oh, there are other things to do with meatballs besides spaghetti & meatballs? I need to expand my meatball recipes!