Easy to Make Shower Foods???

We just had a shower for my sister last weekend, and the food consisted of veggie pizzas, egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches (cut in half), pasta salad, broccoli slaw salad, and punch. It went well, and everything was good.

When I had my daughters I worked for a catering co as a cook so I catered both my own showers! Good because we had what I wanted! We had different dips, like spinach dip and guacomole. We also had cheese trays and crackers, a mixed fruit bowl, a pasta salad(which can be made day ahead of time and really should be). We also had tuna and chicken croissants(my fav thing!) I bought croissants from Sams bakery and used canned tuna and canned chicken. I added diced red onion, celery, mayo, salt and pepper and called it a day. I did both of these day ahead of time as well and the day of my shower I put them in the croissants.

You could also have different cold lunch meats and condoments and a few salads or a soup. Ask the mommy to be what she would like to eat and see if her mom or mil or someone else would be willing to help out a little bit. Good luck!

I know it is a little costly, but I have always found that fresh fruit is a huge hit. Especially during the cold months, I think it makes people remember the sunny, outdoor type of weather. There is also a wonderful dip recipe on the back of marshmellow spread. I am sure it is not very healthy, but boy is it good.

I don't have any specific shower recipes but I do have a lot of parties! The biggest hit by far and the easiest that I do is I get the 6 pound bag of frozen meatballs from Costco, throw them in my crockpot and dump all over them a bottle of Bullseye Original BBQ sauce. I cook them on low all day and they are ready to go! Everyone LOVES them and thinks I make them from scratch! Good luck and have fun!

At my shower we had mini crossants filled with chicken salad and tuna salad. I love those little sandwiches. Figure 2 per person. Also we had a few different salads (which are easy to put together) and then some mini fruit kabobs. Between all that and the cake, that was plenty of food.

I would just provide light snacks. People won't be expecting a lot of food at that time.

Some of my go to recipes:

1lb hamburger
taco seasoning
1 jar chunky salsa
1 lb Velveeta
1 large onion--chopped

Brown burger and onion. Add everything to crock pot and cook till cheese is melted. You can add refried beans, sausage, chill beans, etc. Serve with tortilla chips

Tortilla roll ups
2 pkgs cream cheese
2/3 cup mayo
small can chopped green chilis
1 pkg dry Hidden Valley Ranch
1 small can of chopped olives
3 green onions--chopped*
Carl Budding Beef--chopped*

**I use a mini food processor to chop these things up.
2 pkgs burrito shells

Soften cream cheese. Mix everything in a large bowl. Once mixed, spread on burrito shells, making sure to get all the way to the edges, that's what seals the shell. Roll up. Place uncut rolls in refrigerator for an hour. Cut into 1 inch pieces.

I just helped with my best friends baby shower. One thing one of the co-hosts did, which I thought was FABULOUS (and so did everyone else there) was for dessert was a trifle bar. It was super easy.

She got 2 different pound cakes... regular and a marble. Cut them into pieces and then had all the different "toppings" in separate bowls. Coconut, strawberries, kiwi, blueberries, chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding, almond slivers, canned whipped cream (easier to serve)... oh my goodness, there were so many different toppings. Then, she had small plastic cups... you know, like you normally have for punch or something and then we just assembled our own combination. It was SO good and there was nothing left! Takes a bit of assembly to put everything into its own little bowl, but there is very little prep time before hand. Purchasing and cutting really is all you have to do.

Fruit trays with yummy dip is always good. I've also been to a shower before where they had fruit dipped in chocolate. That was done ahead of time, so the chocolate was hardened... it wasn't a chocolate fondue thing.

Home made pita chips with hummus.. To make the pita chips, you get pita bread, cut it into triangles, brush with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt and then bake at about 350 for maybe 5-10 minutes or so. Just watch it. SO good.

Fruit pizza
1 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. salt
¾ c. water
1 c. orange juice
¼ c. lemon juice
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
½ c. granulated sugar
sugar cookie dough (your favorite recipe)
fruit, well-drained (bananas, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, kiwi, cherries, etc.)

Combine first 6 ingredients to make orange sauce. Cook one minute and allow to cool – set aside. Make your favorite sugar cookie recipe and roll out 1/8-inch thick onto a well-greased pizza pan. Bake at 325 to 350 degrees for about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool. Combine cream cheese, vanilla and sugar and spread over cookie. Top with fruit of your choice. Spoon orange sauce over all. Chill in refrigerator 3 to 4 hours before serving.

Oh... and possibly a warm cheese dip for nachos. Super easy...melt something like velveta with salsa and voila.... nacho dip.

Look at sites like allrecipes.com for tons and tons of ideas. I use that site all the time.

Good luck! Baby showers always are a lot of work, but the mom always is SO appreciative.

Oh... and if you're looking for a different game... one of the co-hosts husband did this one at my friends.... He got different types of chocolate and diapers. Then melted the chocolate in the micro in the diaper. People had to guess WHAT chocolate bar it was. Seriously... some of these diapers looked REAL! I couldn't play. But people were laughing and having a great time with it. Great photo op too ... you get people smelling the diaper to try and figure out what chocolate bar is in there.

You can get little clear dixie cups and put veggie dip in the bottom with a celery stick, carrot stick, two olive and a cherry tomato. Display them all on a platter together. They're cuter than a veggie tray.

For a shower I did the other night I also got large paper nut cups and used a pastry bag to fill them. Put a vanilla wafer in the bottom and filled it with a swirl of a cheesecake mixture I made out of 2 blocks cream cheese and 8 oz. cool whip, plus 1 C powdered sugar. Then I put a sliced strawberry standing up and stuck a spoon in it. Everyone loved it. It really was easy, just blend up the cheesecake with electric mixer and put in a large ziploc bag and cut a hole in the corner to pipe it out of.

You could also do fondue with meat and veggies- in a crock pot or fondue pot put a cheesy fondue (google recipes) and arrange bread cubes, steamed broccoli and cauliflower and ham cubes with toothpicks in them.

Brownies, lemon bars, and any kind of other bar cookie looks good arranged on a platter.

Check our Marthastewart.com for more ideas! Good luck!

Finger foods sounds like a great idea.

How about the 2 good old stand-bys a cheese and cracker platter and veggies and dip? Meatballs are a good idea, you can use the frozen ones and your favorite sauce, put in a crock pot to keep warm.

Rather than a meat and cheese try, make up a small variety of mini sandwiches. If you're ambitious you could use some type of cookie cutter to cut the bread the shape of a baby related item.

A fruit tray or fruit salad.

Deviled eggs are easy and can be made ahead of time.

I know you don't want to be spending much time in the kitchen, but you can buy a large box of frozen appetizers at the warehouse club and pop them in the oven.

Good luck.

check out recipezaar.com or allrecipes.com
you can search based on events, themes, finger foods, appetizers, etc.

There are also some great soup recies that are easy to make and you can just throw in a crockpot to keep warm while the party is going. Order some fresh baguettes from a Panera bread or local bakery and toss together an easy salad. You could also include some fresh Deli Meats and Cheeses incase someone would rather use the individual baguettes to make sandwiches rather than dip in the soup.

Here is an awesome and easy recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice soup:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Minnesota-Cream-of-Chicken-Wild...

Here is a copycat recipe of the Zuppa Tuscana Soup served at Olive Garden:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Olive-Garden-Copycat-Zuppa-Tosc...

Hope this gives you some ideas.

I just threw my friend a baby shower a few weeks ago. I did lunch, though. We had homemade sub sandwiches, pasta salad, deviled eggs, broccoli salad, store bought Chex mix, and punch. Everything was so easy! I got most of the recipes off of the internet: recipezaar.com. The punch was really great: 1 bottle lemon lime pop, 1 cup sugar, 1 64 oz bottle White Cranberry juice, and 8 scoops of vanilla ice cream. If it's a girl, add an unsweetened packet of pink lemonade Koolaid, and a packet of Berry Blue Koolaid for boy. Good luck!

This isn't really baby themed, but I made these two things recently for a party, and they went over REALLY well.

Tortilla Roll Ups:
1 block cream cheese
1/2 packet Hidden Valley Ranch DIP mix
Large tortillas
lunch meat (ham, turkey, whatever)
lettuce (optional)
cheese (optional)

Mix the cream cheese and dip mix. Spread over tortilla. Layer lunch meat and other toppings. Roll into a tube and refridgerate for 1 hour or so. Remove from fridge and cut into 1 inch round sections. (You may have to use a toothpick to keep the tortilla rolled up before cutting.)

Bacon Crescent Roll Ups:
1 cannister crescent rolls
2 Tbs sour cream
Real bacon bits
1/2 c cheddar cheese
green onions (to taste)

Unroll the cresent rolls and lay them flat. Smoosh the seams together to seal. Mix the sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese and onion. Spread in an even layer over the rolls, and then roll into a tube. Refridgerate 1 hour to set. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut roll up into 1 inch rounds. Lay on greased cookie sheet, bake 10-15 minutes until golden brown. * These were a real favorite, and are good hot or at room temp.

Good luck!!

I have done a few baby showers so here are my suggestions:
Chips and Dip(spinach,cheese,salsa, soo many choices)
Meatballs-everyone loves meatballs
A fruit or veggie tray if you don't want to do meat and cheese-although you're mom is right and people will eat it
Pigs in a blanket-little sausages wrapped in dough-these are easy and more filling than just snack foods

Just remember this-people will eat more than you think they will so make sure you have enough!

A quick easy standby that I use in a pinch (whenever we have to bring an appetizer) is take a 16oz. block cream cheese and salsa of your choice. Mix them together with your mixer and then spread onto a large flour tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and let chill in fridge about 30mins. Take out and cut into little pinwheels (you can make them as big or as little as you want). Place the pinwheels on a serving tray facing up (so you can see what's inside. Place back in the fridge until ready to serve.
These are a hit (I never have any left) !! VERY VERY quick and easy...and you can make a bunch depending on how many are coming to your shower!! Good Luck with the shower!!

My sister did finger foods for me. It's was really nice. She bought this chicken salad from costco and made finger sandwiches using mini croissants, and then she made a tuna salad and made sandwiches on wheat bread, then cut into four triangles, she made a spinach dip which she served with whole wheat club crackers, and a crab & shrimp dip. I have the recipes, if you need any send me a message, and I'll send them to you.

Well, mine isn't baby themed, but it sure is yummy and easy! Ok, this is going to sound really odd, but PLEASE humor me and try it! I promise, promise, promise people will LOVE IT! And the best part is how easy it is!!! I'll give you the standard recipe, however, with a big group like this, I would double it. =0)

Black Eyed Pea Dip: (i know! I hate black eyed peas but LOVE this!)

2 cans black eyed peas (drained) (beware: the w/ added bacon can looks really really similar! ICK!!!)
1 can white shoepeg corn (drained)
1 can original rotel (drained)
1 bunch of green onions (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 small bottle Italian Dressing

Mix together all of the above and let chill in the fridge overnight. Serve with bite size tortilla chips..............DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, and SUPER ADDICTIVE!!!! I promise!!! =0)

One of my favorites is little finger sandwiches made with the small loaf of Pepperidge Farm bread. Cut off the crust and spread with cream cheese and add thinly sliced cucumbers or tomatoes. Then cut in half or into shapes.
You can also buy Petite Fours (sp) from a bakery in baby themes.
Victoria