One of my favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses.
It is such a fun way to get your friends or family together. I recently hosted a gingerbread house making party for my closest friends (shown below). What I learned from this gingerbread making party is that we are all not so creative in the building department, but it was so much fun and a great way to get all my best friends together. I had each guest provide a candy topping for the houses and I provided the graham crackers and frosting as well as cocktails and light bites. For the set up, use paper placemats and put cardboard under each one. Write each guests name on the paper so everyone has a place. Put frosting in frosting bags (or ziplock bags) and cut the ends of each bag.
As far as light bites went, you can NEVER go wrong with a delicious cheese spread. Pick two cheeses and couple different cured meats paired with accouterments and you have the perfect spread. Along with this I also love serving mini appetizers, like these Johnsonville sausage meatballs. I have the easiest recipe to make two different meatballs that make for an amazing appetizers to serve at any holiday party!
I chose to serve both types of meatballs to give variety to my guests but choosing one is completely fine too. If you don’t want to make your own sauce you can always buy pre-made sauces.
Ingredients
- Johnsonville Homestyle meatballs (for the Teriyaki Sauce)
- Johnsonville Classic Itallian Style meatballs (for the Marinara Sauce)
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice wine
- 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
Marinara Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Teriyaki Sauce:
Combine ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Marinara Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
Cook the meatballs per the instructions on the bag. Serve with toothpicks, like these ones from Meri Meri.
// Recipe adapted from here and here.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville . The opinions and text are all mine.
One of my favorite holiday traditions is making gingerbread houses.
It is such a fun way to get your friends or family together. I recently hosted a gingerbread house making party for my closest friends (shown below). What I learned from this gingerbread making party is that we are all not so creative in the building department, but it was so much fun and a great way to get all my best friends together. I had each guest provide a candy topping for the houses and I provided the graham crackers and frosting as well as cocktails and light bites. For the set up, use paper placemats and put cardboard under each one. Write each guests name on the paper so everyone has a place. Put frosting in frosting bags (or ziplock bags) and cut the ends of each bag.
As far as light bites went, you can NEVER go wrong with a delicious cheese spread. Pick two cheeses and couple different cured meats paired with accouterments and you have the perfect spread. Along with this I also love serving mini appetizers, like these Johnsonville sausage meatballs. I have the easiest recipe to make two different meatballs that make for an amazing appetizers to serve at any holiday party!
I chose to serve both types of meatballs to give variety to my guests but choosing one is completely fine too. If you don’t want to make your own sauce you can always buy pre-made sauces.
Ingredients
- Johnsonville Homestyle meatballs (for the Teriyaki Sauce)
- Johnsonville Classic Itallian Style meatballs (for the Marinara Sauce)
Teriyaki Sauce:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sweet rice wine
- 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
Marinara Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Teriyaki Sauce:
Combine ingredients in a saucepan on medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Marinara Sauce:
Heat the olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper. Cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 15 minutes.
Cook the meatballs per the instructions on the bag. Serve with toothpicks, like these ones from Meri Meri.
// Recipe adapted from here and here.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville . The opinions and text are all mine.
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