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Guests love bite size snacks they can carry with them. Just about everyone loves macaroni and cheese. You can make it special and portable by hollowing out a small dinner roll and stuffing it with mac and cheese. They won’t even need a spoon.

Stuff cherry tomatoes with a mixture of one cup of cottage cheese mixed with one quarter cup of Parmesan cheese.

For a variation stuff the tomatoes with chicken salad or tuna salad.

Chicken wings are fun and easy. Cut a chicken wing in three pieces. Save the bony wing end for making chicken broth. Bake the wings at 350 degrees until done. Serve at room temperature with dipping sauces. Mix equal parts honey, lime juice and mustard for a tangy dip. Or try equal party ketchup and brown sugar for a BBQ like sauce. Each guest gets their own little cup of dipping sauce.

Miniature hot dogs and buns are always a hit. Buy the little franks and refrigerator biscuits. Cut the biscuits in half. Place one little frank in the center and roll up. Bake as package directs.

Grill baby burgers and place in a cut dinner roll, top with a slice of tomato, a lettuce leaf, and favorite condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.

Keep portions tiny.

Salad to go. Wash endive leaves. Fill the broad end with a teaspoon of your favorite prepared salad. Wash butter lettuce leaves, selecting the smaller more pliable leaves. Spread out the lettuce leaf and put a tablespoon of salad on the end nearest you. Roll the leaf forward covering the salad. Tuck the ends of the leave under as if you were rolling up a burrito.

Lightly fill celery stalk with cream cheese. Press dried cranberries or raisins into the cheese. Cut into bite sized pieces. For a change use flavored cream cheese.

Mini pizzas. Use refrigerator biscuits. Lightly flour a board. Roll each biscuit flat doubling the size of the biscuit. Place biscuits on cookie sheets. Spread with a teaspoon of tomato sauce, pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce. An alternative is to use a slice of fresh tomato. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake as package directs.

A veggie platter and dip can be made special by using baby vegetables. Carrots, summer squash, patty pan squash, string beans, both yellow and green should be blanched by immersing in boiling
water for one minute and then in immediately in an ice bath. Add snap pea pods, grape tomatoes, both red and yellow, and boiled baby potatoes.

Mini tacos are fun and easy. Use the corn chips that are made for dipping and have a bowl shape. Fill with a teaspoon of cooked taco meat, a bit of refried beans and top with shredded cheese. Bake until the cheese just melts.

Slow moist cooking tenderizes tough cuts of meat in a flavorful broth. Add potatoes, carrots, string beans or other vegetables and you’re through cooking dinner. Crock-pot has become generic name for a slow cooker.

Put the inner stoneware compartment into the heating base unit.

Turn on the cook top to high. Place the meat in a skillet with a few tablespoons of cooking oil. Brown the meat on all sides. Remove from the skillet.

Lower the temperature of the cook top to medium. Add sliced onions and garlic to the skillet. Cook about five minutes until the onions are translucent.

Put vegetables such as carrots and potatoes cut up into 1-inch chunks in the slow cooker. Put the meat and onions on top of the vegetables. Vegetables cook slower than meat. Cover with a liquid such as water, broth, wine or beer.

Add dried herbs and spices at the beginning of cooking and fresh herbs at the end of cooking.

Plug in the slow cooker and turn the knob so it points to low. Cook until meat is tender and vegetables are done, which will probably take from six to eight hours. The high temperature setting will speed cooking time. 60 minutes on high is comparable to 90 minutes on low.

Unplug cooker and allow to cool. Remove the stoneware and wash with hot soapy water or place in the dishwasher.

Wipe off spills from the outside of the heating base unit. Do not immerse base unit in water or other liquid.