Recipes for Your Thanksgiving Snack Table

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

14 Nov 2008 10:00 AM

Growing up my parents never allowed us to eat snacks on Thanksgiving. I suspect this tradition stemmed from my mom not wanting her 10-hour day in the kitchen to be for not, and the desire for a costly multi-course meal for a family of eight to be completely devoured by ravenous children.

When I moved to the mainland for college I discovered that not all families function the way mine did. In fact, I quickly learned that snacks and Thanksgiving go hand-in-hand for some clans, especially those who enjoy watching professional football on Turkey Day.

If your Thanksgiving Day includes friends, family and football and you need some quick and easy snacks to keep the troops in line while the rest of the holiday meal is being prepared, consider the following recipes:

REUBEN DIP

Ingredients:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 sour cream

1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened

1/4 onion, finely chopped

3 cups shredded Swiss cheese, divided

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

1 cup sliced corned beef, finely chopped

1 cup sauerkraut, drained

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all but 1 cup Swiss cheese together. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top.

Bake in a small dish for 20 minutes.

Serve warm with rye bread, bagel chips, or crackers.

SMOKED SALMON DIP

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon chopped scallions

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup smoked salmon, flaked or chopped

2 tablespoons capers

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, scallions, and salt until smooth. Stir in salmon and capers. Mix thoroughly. Keep chilled until serving.

Garnish with fresh dill before serving.

Serve with crackers or cucumber slices.

SWEET AND CRUNCHY SNACK MIX

Ingredients:

1 package (10 ounces) Fritos (or your favorite corn chips)

1 package (6 ounces) Bugles (or your favorite cone-shaped corn snacks)

1 box (12 ounces) each of corn and rice cereal squares (such as Chex)

1/2 package (10 ounce size) butter-flavored pretzel sticks

1/2 package (11 ounce size) Cheetos (or your favorite cheese-flavored puffs)

1-1/2 cups butter

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Spray a large deep baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine chips, cereals, pretzels and cheese puffs in prepared pan.

In a saucepan, heat butter with sugar, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce; stir until sugar dissolves. Pour over cereal mixture; mix lightly.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour; mix lightly every 15 minutes.

Store leftovers in an airtight container.

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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