Recipe(tried): BLT Bites and Vegetable Platter with Dill Dip for Elly, Ohio - 2 more ideas

Hi again, Elly :-) The BLT Bites recipe was originally posted by Judy/AZ. I have made a very similar one. They would add a lot of color and would be gorgeous mixed on a tray with Kelly's Cheese Puffs and the Spinach Pom Poms - orange, green and red together:-) Very colorful! Everyone loves vegetable platters and I have made this recipe many times.

BLT BITES

16 to 20 cherry tomatoes
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing 1/3 cup chopped green onions
3 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

Cut a thin slice off of each tomato top. Scoop out and discard pulp. Invert the tomatoes on a paper towel to drain. In a small bowl, combine all remaining ingredients; mix well. Spoon into tomatoes. Refrigerate for several hours. Yield: 16-20 appetizer servings

As I recall, I did not use green onions or the grated Parmesan cheese. For mine, I just used the bacon, Hellman's mayonnaise and parsley. Before filling the cherry tomatoes, I put a drop of Tabasco in the bottom each cherry tomato. It is not overpowering and gives these a little zip. You could try them both ways and make them the way you like.

Vegetable Platter and Dill Dip

Line a silver platter(s) with red or green leaf lettuce leaves. Use a red, orange , yellow or purple bell pepper(s), washed and tops removed to hold the dip as well as slivers of the peppers for the platter. Alternatively, use a hollowed out red cabbage to hold the dip. For a colorful assortment of vegetables, use the usual such as the peppers, cucumber slices or sticks, cauliflower, broccoli, grape or cherry tomatoes, celery and carrot sticks, and maybe blanched, whole green beans and even some jicama, peeled (tastes a bit like a crunchy cucumber if you have never had it) for something a little different. I like to use Dill Dip (recipe below) but you could use any dip recipe you like. Good luck, Elly!!

Dill Dip (can be halved easily) This is best made one day before you plan to use it so the flavors have time to "marry." It's also good as a salad dressing.

1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. dried dillweed
1 tsp. freeze dried onions or chives
1 tsp. Beau Monde (It seems that this is no longer on the market. The closest thing to use in it's place is McCormick's Bon Appetit seasoned salt which you should be able to find with the spices in alphabetical order)
1 tsp. MSG (I never use the MSG since some people are allergic to it)

Simply blend all ingredients and refrigerate.