Healthy Holiday Appetizers

Christmas time is celebration time! With the Christmas season just around the corner, don’t you wish you could create something healthy and exciting for visitors without being imprisoned in your own kitchen? Yes, that’s possible with this nutritious yet delicious appetizer. These finger foods are not only a breeze to prepare; they’ll make you the master of your own kitchen. Indeed, you’ll no longer be a slave to your kitchen. With this quick fix, you can feed your guests, entertain them and party the whole night!

Our featured recipe is Cherry Tomatoes with Creamy Pesto Cheese which serves 16 and takes only 35 minutes to prepare. For this, you’ll need 3 cups of fresh basil leaves (washed and dried), 2 finely chopped medium garlic cloves, half a teaspoon of salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, an 8-ounce pack of reduced-fat cream cheese cut into chunks, and 2 pints or 4 cups of cherry tomatoes (washed and dried).

First, put the basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the pine nuts and add the rest to the basil. Process until the pine nuts are ground. With the motor running, add olive oil before putting the soft cheese and pulse until smooth and creamy.

Before serving, make an X on the bottom side of each cherry tomato with a serrated or sharp paring knife. Remove the seeds with a grapefruit spoon or your fingertips without ruining the tomatoes. Put the pesto cheese filling into a piping bag with a star nozzle. Or you can use a small plastic food bag with a 1-centimeter hole.

Place a rosette of filling into each cherry tomato cavity. Garnish the cherry tomatoes with the remaining pine nuts. One serving is composed of three cherry tomatoes. To make things easier for you, make the creamy pesto filling ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. Let it cool down a bit before using it to stuff the tomatoes.

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