Quick Tip: Fast & Festive Food Ideas To Bring To Thanksgiving

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It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is in two weeks.  Time flies!  Here are a few fast and festive food ideas to bring to the holiday gathering.

Salad in Seconds

*Easy 30 Second Salad – I call this the easy 30 Second Salad because you can grab the ingredients at the store and toss right before you bring the salad to the dinner.  Simply buy your favorite bag of salad greens and a 1/2 pound (or 1 pound for large salad) of the deli Greek salad mix.  This deli mix includes the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese making it the perfect addition to add to the salad greens.  Then toss and top with a little olive oil and white balsamic vinaigrette to enhance the Greek salad dressing.  salad fastAdd a dash of salt and pepper and you now have a tossed salad that you made in seconds.

Fun & Festive Appetizer Idea

*Cheese & Meat Turkey Tray – I found this super simple and visual idea on Pinterest.  This is a great one for the kids to help assemble.  Simply use cheese, crackers and meat to create a turkey shaped appetizer.  turkey meat cheese platterStart with the outside layer of feathers made with crackers.  I recommend the Flipsides pretzel crackers.  Make two layers of these.  Then place the next inside layer by the crackers using squares of your favorite yellow cheese.  The next inside layer is made with salami, then a layer of Colby jack cheese squares and another layer of the salami.  Make the center inside piece look like the turkey using a piece of Colby jack cheese cut into the shape of the front of a turkey body.  Put a round piece of yellow cheese on top to make the head with two peppercorns for the eyes.  Use an empty pistachio nutshell to make the beak.  Use a folded piece of salami for the part of the beak that hangs down.  Use two toothpicks for the legs.

Sweet Tooth Offerings

*Give Thanks Cookies – Make a platter of turkey and pumpkin shaped sugar cookies and place two big cookies in the center of the platter.  Decorate the first cookie to say, “Give Thanks” and the second cookie to say “Have Cookies”.  Place both cookies next to each other in the center.  turkey day cookiesThis is fun and visual.  If you don’t have time to make sugar cookies, buy a batch at AJ’s Fine Foods.  That’s what I did.  The lady at the dessert case wrote on the cookies for me without delay.  The giant iced sugar cookies at AJ’s are shaped like pumpkins, turkeys and leaves and cost $2.99 each at the dessert case.

*Pilgrim Hats – Another simple treat to make are pilgrim hat cookies.  pilgram hatsSimply take a fudge striped cookie (Keebler makes these) and turn it face down.  Then dip a miniature chocolate peanut butter cup into white (or yellow) frosting and place it over the center of the cookie so that it covers the hole.  This makes the hatband and crown.  Then place an orange Tic Tac on the crown to make the buckle.  This is a super easy and tasty Turkey Day treat.

Place these minis on a platter for a crowd-pleasing dessert or a post dinner snack later in the evening with coffee.

What festive holiday food ideas do you have to bring to the celebration?  Share in the comments section and Happy Holidays!