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Bilby
06-08-2008, 02:02 AM
Feeding hungry hordes of neighbourhood friends doesn't need to be tricky. Here are some quick and easy and mostly cheap ideas for snacks either from the freezer or pantry without having to starve your grocery budget for the rest of the week.

1. MINI HOT DOGS

Buy the small bake at home dinner rolls (like little mini hot dog buns) from your local supermarket (these can be frozen for ages, and then baked in the oven for five minutes or less). Add to these some little ****tail Frankfurters, which are also easy to freeze and low cost. When needed bake the rolls, heat up the Frankfurters and make mini hot dogs (add mustard, tomato sauce and any thing else you like (such as cheese) or just plain. These are low cost, easy and quick and kids love them.

2. NACHOS
All you need are some corn chips, mild salsa and cheese. Place corn chips down, then some salsa, then cheese over the top and grill until cheese melts (you can also add sour cream or guacamole if you wish).

3. PANCAKES or PIKELETS
Either make the mix fresh yourself or just keep one of those shake mix pancake mixes on hand. They can even be cooked outside on the barbecue and leftovers can be frozen.

4. WRAPS
Buy some flat bread (mountain, Lavash or pita bread) and place fillings on top (something quick easy and cheap), roll up and cut in half.

5. ****TAIL KEBABS
On a skewer (bamboo stick) place a ****tail Frankfurter, cherry tomato (or chunk of tomato), piece of capsicum (for colour try green) and a piece of canned pineapple. Grill for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with tomato or BBQ sauce.

6. FISH FINGER BURGERS
Buy a cheap packet of fish fingers and some small dinner rolls. To serve simply heat up the rolls, cook the fish fingers then simply place one or two fish fingers in each roll, top with tartare sauce, cheese and lettuce if you wish.

7. PEANUT BUTTER DIP and VEGE STICKS
Make up some vege sticks (i.e. carrot, celery, snow peas, cherry tomatoes or whatever), then add a little soy sauce to a third of a cup peanut butter. Serve with vegetables to dip.

8. FROZEN BANANAS
Place a bamboo skewer into the end of a peeled banana (or half a banana for smaller snacks and kids) then freeze. If you wish, before freezing dip in melted chocolate and/or 100's and 1000's and/or chopped nuts and then freeze. Great for those hot summer days and when bananas are on special cheap too.

9. JAFFLES
Use the 'old reliable' and make filling mixtures of different kinds such as cheese, baked bean, tin spaghetti, pasta sauce, tinned/stewed apple and cinnamon. Cut in half and serve.

10. POPCORN
Pop some popcorn kernels either in the microwave or on the stove top. Add melted butter or other seasoning and serve.

11. FRUIT KEBAB STICKS
To make eight kebabs, thread two chopped bananas, peach slices (from a drained 425g can), two kiwifruit and strawberries from a 250g punnet onto eight bamboo skewers (or fruit of your choice, such as what ever is on sale or canned in the pantry). Serve with a 250g tub of yoghurt of your choice, combined with a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon.

12. CHEESY BAKED BEAN POTS
Fill ramekin dishes or coffee cups with baked beans in ham or tomato sauce. Top with some grated cheese and pop in the microwave for two minutes or until heated through. Allow to stand for one minute before serving to prevent burnt fingers. Serve alone or with toast fingers.

13. VEGETABLE NOODLES
Bring four cups of water to the boil in a saucepan. Then add two x 85g packets of two minute noodles and one cup frozen diced mixed veges. Then return to the boil and cook for two minutes, stirring in the flavour sachets. Serve warm.

14. MINI PIZZAS
Use either halved English muffins or pita bread rounds and top with tomato paste or pizza sauce, canned pineapple, diced ham and grated cheese and grill until hot and bubbly.

barbszy
06-09-2008, 07:32 AM
Great ideas, Kathy!

I've also been known to serve PB&J sandwiches or grilled cheese sandwiches.

DeBora4BobbyL
06-09-2008, 08:01 AM
Kathy, these are terrific ideas. These would be great to make for our slumber parties when my DGKs come over.

Bilby
06-09-2008, 06:49 PM
You know a lot of the time it' snot that we don't have the ideas in our head or know what to do it's just scaling down things to finger food type stuff or the other way and making much more.

I love a good toasted cheese sandwich on a cold day.

One I saw in the bakery the other day was a little cherio (weiner?) wrapped in a small square of pastry on the diagonal and baked, how easy, OR even just doing the same in a bread dough and baking or some bisquick dough, takes a little more time though.

rachael24
06-11-2008, 09:17 AM
I was always a big fan of the mini pizzas when I was a kid...Im glad they are on your list. Great ideas too!

barbszy
06-11-2008, 08:07 PM
Kathy, my sister calls those "dogs on the run!" LOL! The kids love them.

cat lover
10-14-2008, 07:33 AM
Another quick good for them treat is just have some ovenfried drumsticks precooked in the freezer. Then pop them into the microwave for a quick fix!

Also makes a good take with food.

Bilby
10-14-2008, 05:17 PM
Cat I do that with chicken wings, cut them in 3 and use the tip for stock.
I then coat in bbq sauce and cook in the microwave, cool and freeze loosely.
As they are not browned due to microwave cooking you can pop them on an oven try or the bbq to heat and brown up. Wonderful when extras turn up in the summer to put with the steak on the barbie.

cat lover
10-15-2008, 06:24 AM
Good idea for the wings too! SInce we are empty nesters I don;t kep foods ready for the kids any longer, but I do buy lots of wings for my other "bablies"---- the cats and the dogs! LOL I cook them and debone them and prepare chicken and rice and freeze it in snack size baggies for when they aren't feeling well. Then I save the tip piece for the broth also.