Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps, Tomato-Avocado Toasts, Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms, & Strawberry Blossoms

Kimberli Dana's Favorite Appetizer Recipes...

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 head butter head lettuce

In a small bowl, stir all ingredients together. If necessary, cut the bottom of each butter head leaf, making leaves about 6 inches long. Spread about 3 Tablespoons of chicken salad mixture lengthwise down one edge of lettuce leaf. Roll and secure with three wooden cocktail picks,
completely enclosing salad in lettuce. Use a gentle sawing motion to cut each lettuce roll between the picks, making three pieces.

Tomato-Avocado Toasts

2 Tablespoons olive oil
Several Avocados
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered
1 small bread baguette, cut diagonally into sixteen half-inch slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice baguette pieces and brush both sides with olive oil. Bake on a baking sheet until golden, about 8 minutes. Halve the avocados and scoop flesh into a bowl. Mash avocado with the teaspoon of lemon juice. Season mixture with salt and pepper and spread mixture onto toasted bread. Top with quartered grape tomatoes.

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

24 or more large mushrooms
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese
1 lb. sausage
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1 (12 oz) pkg. Stouffer’s Frozen Spinach Souffle, defrosted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash mushrooms and remove stems. Dry the mushrooms and arrange them on a baking sheet. Brown sausage and drain. Add cheddar cheese, cream cheese, and Spinach Souffle. Mound mixture into mushroom caps. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes until browned.

Strawberry Blossoms

8-12 large strawberries or more
3 ounce pkg. of cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Remove stems from berries, forming a flat base. Place berries pointed end up. With a sharp knife, carefully slice berry in half vertically through the center to within 1/4 inch of the base. cut each half into three wedges, forming 6 petals. Pull petals apart. In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, sour cream and vanilla until light and fluffy. With a pastry bag and star tip or small spoon, fill berries with cream cheese mixture. Use as a garnish on a cake or serve as a mini desert.