Looking for Your Best Appetizer Recipe for a Baby Shower!!

Seven layer taco dip, served with tortilla chips. I love it, and it makes a nice colorful presentation.

I use something like this recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Dip-I/Detail.aspx
But we add a layer of 1 can of fat-free refried beans, mixed with 1 or 2 T of milk, as needed to make the beans spread-able, as the bottom layer. And we leave out the cream cheese altogether.

mix together:
1 cup of cream cheese
3 TB creamed horseradish
3 TB of finely chopped fresh chives

Use a knife to spread the mixture thinly onto thinly sliced roast beef. Roll them up and slice crosswise (make pinwheels). Place them spiral end up on a tray.

Slice pimento stuffed green olives and place one slice on the end/top of each pinwheel of roast beef/spread.

Let them chill for an hour or so after making and serve using toothpicks.
They are fantastic, and there are never any left to take home.

If you are going to be bringing the appetizer over to school, it needs to be portable and either in a crock pot or served room temp...
- empanadas are time consuming but delicious and you can make them ahead of time, freeze them and then bake on the day! I do a simple one using ground beef, seasonings, sliced green olives, onion, garlic and golden raisins as filling. Brown and combine then using pre-made pie crusts cut 4" circles, fill the circle, fold and seal with a fork. Brush with egg whites and back 350 for 20 minutes. I serve them with a lime-scented sour cream (lime zest stirred into a container of sour cream). Really tasty without needing to be Hot or Cold
- Spinach Artichoke Dip: 1 cup mayo, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup mozz cheese, quirt of spicy mustard, 1/2 tsp of ground black pepper, can of artichoke hearts chopped, package of frozen/chopped spinach with the moisture squeezed out after defrosting all mixed together. Put it in a small baking dish (I use the round Pyrex b/c they have lids) and sprinkle with parm cheese. Bake 350 for 20 minutes- serve with chips, sliced veggies or pita wedges

Yay finger foods! I love entertaining. You could do super simple chicken or beef quesedillas, cucumber sandwiches, mini sliders (cheeseburgers), buffalo chicken/cheese dip... I love love love doing this kind of stuff, let me know if you want any recipes. You didn't mention if you wanted something a little lighter or heavier or for how many people, but the few things I mentioned are really, really easy and feed a lot. Cucumber sandwiches are ALWAYS a huge hit!!

I love little phyllo triangles, filled with any number of things. The traditional route is spinach and feta, but you can also do red peppers or mushrooms and goat cheese or really anything you want. I also like sweet versions of them, like goat cheese and fig preserves or apricot jelly. They take a little time to assemble, but they are a nice finger food for things like showers.

I make stuffed jalapenos that are always scarfed up in the blink of an eye. I buy about 1 1/2 pounds fresh jalapenos, slice lengthwise & remove the seeds. Cook & crumble 1 pound of bacon. Add 1 (8 oz.) brick of softened cream cheese, a dash or 2 of Worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper & maybe 1/4 tsp. garlic powder. Stuff the peppers with the cheese/bacon mixture & place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. They re-heat really well, too, but I promise there won't be any leftovers!

get several cans of whole water chestnuts (I usually use 3 cans)
1 lb bacon cut into 1/3 strips (each pc of bacon is about 3 inches or so long)
2 cups brown sugar

line a cake pan or jelly roll pan with foil
wrap water chestnut with bacon skewer with toothpick put onto foil lined pan. after all pc's are wrapped and skewere w/toothpick sprinkle the brown sugar over the top. bake at about 375 until done its usually about 15 to 20 minutes you want bacon cooked but not burned. sugar makes a bubbly sauce over them. really good.

Here is a recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis from food network...I swear she has the best recipes and she makes them so simple to make. This one does take a bit of prep, but you mentioned you wanted to do something special for these ladies. Anyway this recipe is for baked cheesy farro squares (farro if you haven't used it before is basically an Italian grain that looks like larger grains of brown rice but cooks like pasta, and holds its texture beautifully when baked). Once the recipe is finished cooking and cools, you can cut it into squares - perfect to pick up and eat. I'd practice it once at home first - in some ovens it needs less time to cook than what the recipe says. Then on the day of the shower transport them warm if you can then the squares are fine to sit out for the party at room temp. YUM.

Ingredients

* Vegetable cooking spray

Sauce:

* 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 cups warm whole milk
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Farro:

* 2 1/2 cups grated Parmesan
* 1 cup grated Gruyere
* 1/2 cup fontina cheese, grated
* 6 cups chicken broth
* 2 cups faro or barley, rinsed and drained
* 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs
* Olive oil, for drizzling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

For the sauce: In a 2-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 8 minutes (do not allow the mixture to boil). Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the farro: In a large bowl, add the cheeses and stir to combine. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture and reserve. In a large stock pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the farro, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the faro is tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, if necessary. Add the farro, thyme, and sauce to the bowl with the cheese. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the reserved 1/2 cup of cheese. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until the top is golden brown and forms a crust, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Bacon wrapped dates are amaaaaaazing! You can stuff w/ all different kinds of cheese, or blanched almonds, too. Sounds like an odd combo but the sweet w/ the salty is to die for!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/dave-lieberman/ricotta...

Grape salad. It's like a cream cheese with grapes. Mmmmm so good. I am working from my phone but if this sounds like something you might like the recipe for PM me and I can get the recipe for you from my main computer.