Crabby Cheesy Easy... Appetizers

These little goodies are my party fall back plan. Takes about 15 minutes, from start to finish, and everyone seems to love 'em.

Time was... I'd slave for half a day and fret even longer about the Christmas Eve appetizers I brought to the Harty Party. The not-to-be-missed annual gathering of the orphans who hardly ever go home for the holidays.

You see, we live in a ski resort and Christmas is what folks around here call 'Big Business.' As in the tourist business. Nobody gets time off during the holidays because this tiny little town of 8,000 annual residents swells to 80,000 come Christmas.

Enter the Hartys. They throw this amazing party, every Christmas Eve! We eat. Drink. Feel exceptionally merry. And, not the slightest bit lonely even though we're all far from home.

This year, I brought the easiest peasiest appetizer ever and ~ I happened to notice that mine disappeared quicker than anybody's on the buffet table. (Hey! :)

Here we go...

Start with those little filo something or others that you can find in the freezer section. No, they didn't pay me to do this. I found these a few years ago and I'm a big fan 'cuz they're easy. But, you have to bake them for about 5 minutes, prior to adding the filling. This makes all the difference. After baking, they taste as if you went to the trouble of making your own.

Mini Crab Tart Appetizers

• 12 oz. crab {On a budget? Use the faux crab. With these ingredients and spices I doubt Pop Eye could tell the diff.}
• 1/4 cup shredded Asiago cheese
• 3 tablespoons roasted garlic 
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh green onions
• 2 tablespoons Creole seasoning (or, a bit of chili sauce/tabasco - careful. Heats up quick!)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Stir it all up, try not to eat too much of it during the process. Put a dollop of this mixture in each of the tiny tarts. Then! (This is important.) Mess up your hair a bit and try to look exhausted. That way they'll think you slaved for hours!

La dee dah.

Gingerbread Pancakes

Everything Gingerbread gets a 2 thumbs up in this household.

Do you make a special breakfast on Christmas morning? We open our presents the night before. Often stay up way too late. Which inspires some serious Christmas laziness, lounging around in our jammies the better part of the morning.

As Gingerbread lovers, we'll happily nibble on cakes, cookies... anything you care to cook us! But the pièce de résistance for a super special holiday breakfast are these hot off the griddle Gingerbread Pancakes.

Gingerbread Pancake Recipe:

Mix Together:

• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

Stir In:

• 1.25 cups buttermilk ~ What's that you say? You don't have buttermilk? Join the club! Simply add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to whole milk and voila! You've got buttermilk.
• 1/2 cup water

Do the dry stuff in a different bowl:

• 2.5 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1.5 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1.5 tablespoons ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

Then stir it all together and pour in...

• 4 tablespoons melted butter

Enjoy!