Pico de Gallo

1 large or 2 small tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1-2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
the juice of one lime
1 TBS water

If you want a hotter pico, add more jalapeño and leave in the seeds.

Mix all ingredients together.

Crabmeat Canapes

These are always gone in seconds, and can be made well ahead of time and frozen.

1 jar (5 oz.) Olde English cheese spread
1 small pkg. frozen Alaskan King crab, or imitation crab meat
1/4 lb. butter
1 1/2 Tbs. Mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. season salt
6 English muffins, split

Cream together cheese spread, butter, mayonnaise, garlic salt and season salt. Carefully fold in crab. Spread mixture evenly onto muffins. Freeze for at least 10 minutes. Cut the muffins into quarters or sixths. Broil in the oven for 5-8 minutes (watch carefully), and serve hot.

If you keep some of these in the freezer you will always be ready for unexpected company!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This recipe is really easy to make and great for those who like some spice in their recipes.

1 roasted chicken from the grocery store
1 jar (17.5 oz) Texas Pete Buffalo Wing Sauce (if you have a favorite you can substitute)
1 block (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Remove meat from chicken and place in a bowl. Empty entire bottle of buffalo wing sauce onto chicken and stir to coat. Set aside. In a 9x9 or 9x13 pan (it depends on how large your chicken was and how thick you want the dip), spread the cream cheese in an even layer across the bottom. Next dump the chicken on top of the cream cheese and again, spread evenly. Sprinkle cheddar chhese over the top of the chicken coating evenly. Place pan in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until the dip is heated through.

Serve warm with tortilla chips and a side of celery.

If you are trying to use up some chicken breasts that you have at home, what I do is boil 3-4 chicken breasts for 45 minutes, reserve the liquid to keep for a chicken soup and then shred the chicken breasts once they have cooled.

Pigs in a Blanket

I know, Pigs in a Blanket?! But really these are the first things gone at our parties and all the kids love them.

1 Pkg. (16 oz.) cocktail-sized smoked sausage links
1 Tube (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls


Drain the sausage links and blot them dry on some paper towels. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Separate crescent rolls into 4 rectangles, pressing the diagonal perforations together. Cut each rectangle in 1/2 and then each half into 6 strips. Wrap a strip of dough in a spiral around each sausage link pressing the ends to seal.Place each link with the seam side down on a baking sheet about and inch apart. Bake for 11 to 12 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool briefly and serve with your favorite sauce. We usually do a honey mustard (1/2 C. honey, 1/2 C. Dijon mustard and 1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar whisked together). or BBQ sauce. The kids prefer ketchup.

The best part about these is that they can be made well ahead of time and frozen. Just pull them out of the freezer an hour before the party to thaw a little then just pop them in the oven like you had just made them. I do notice however that they do not brown as nicely when they have been frozen beforehand. They still taste great though. I keep some in the freezer for quick kids lunches.