Superbowl Weekend & Easy Appetizers

Superbowl weekend was filled with a lot of activity here. It started Saturday afternoon continuing overnight and into late Sunday evening. The numbers were a little lower than normal as a result of the weather but it was still a good turn out with an average of 24 Saturday and 15 Sunday not counting our kids and grandbaby. The numbers varied throughout the day and evening as folks dropped by. Saturday was more of a constant snacking during the afternoon and evening. Some of the guys stayed all night so I served a hearty breakfast for them followed by another round of breakfast when the kids woke.

An abundance of food is never a problem. The rule is no one ever leaves our house hungry. The problem ends up being too much food as the guys tend to bring snacks and anything alcoholic they are drinking. It's a great bunch of guys who tend to be quite generous with what they bring. We supply the mix and lots of coffee. Aside of the snacks things like our friend's famous banana cake tend to make their way into the house.

On the menu
Saturday afternoon/evening: cheese & kielbasa tray, sausage puffs, peanuts in the shell, a variety of snacks (chips, pretzels)
Saturday dinner: ordered in pizzas, salad
Sunday breakfast: bacon, peameal bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, muskmelon and English muffins
Sunday afternoon: nut tray, meatballs in sauce, mini stuffed pitas, ham spirals, pepperettes, KFC chicken
Sunday dinner: barbequed pulled pork on buns, baked beans, vegetable tray, dill pickles, banana cake

Three Appetizers

Appetizers need not be time consuming to make or expensive to be enjoyed. I planned on making a home made version of bagel bites having seen miniature bagels that would have been perfect. However, when I needed them the grocery store didn't have any so I settled on mini pitas. Ham spirals always go over well. Despite their look they are very easy to make. Pepperettes cut into thirds are just the right size for snacking. I ended up making three trays of these appetizers.

Mini Stuffed Pitas
An 18 size package of mini pocket bread (pitas) will make 36 appetizers. Cut the pitas in half. Add filling of your choice. I used a simple egg salad filling.

Egg Filling
6 hard boiled eggs
¼ c finely chopped onion
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
dash sea salt
½ tsp fresh ground pepper
½ c Miracle Whip
Place eggs in cold water, bring to a boil. Boil 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour cold water over the eggs. Peel and chop. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into mini pita halves.

Ham Spirals
I used whole wheat (not shown) and whole grain chipotle & red pepper tortillas.
4 - 6 tortillas*
spreadable cream cheese
honey mustard
about 3 thin slices of cooked ham per tortillas
Spread a thin layer of cream cheese over a tortilla. Lay a single layer of ham slices evenly over the cream cheese. Spread a thin layer of mustard over the ham. Roll the tortilla applying slight pressure to help the roll hold together. Cut across the roll forming spirals. Secure with toothpick if necessary.