Extremely Frugal Appetizer Ideas Needed!

[HouseHopeful]

Hey all! I"m having small party of 6 guests Monday night. I'd like to have a few appetizers & wine for the guests. I'm on a VERY tight budget.

My sister is bringing chips & dip.
I plan on doing veggies & dip with any leftovers being incorperated into my meal plan for the week.

I have to buy 1 bottle of red wine (already have 1 of white)
I will purchase 2 2liters of soda - regular & diet

I would like to have some kind of dip like buffalo or spinach with crostini. Alternately I'm thinking of doing a semi-bruschetta crostini.

Any ideas/recipes that are extremely budget-friendly would be helpful! I"m having a birthday party at the end of the month &most of my entertainment budget is going to that! Thanks in advance!!

[snshijuptr]

For the red wine I reccomend Gallo Hearty Burgundy. It comes in the large size and is wonderful for drinking. I also love to cook with it.

[GREENBACK]

Tell everyone you're on a really tight budget and have them bring a small appetizer of their own. I always thought that was more fun anyway.

[cyclone1]

Carrots and some ranch dip!

[rob62521]

I made a dip of cream cheese, a little olive oil, and cut up carrots, celery and green onions very small. If you have some regular bread, cut it into bite size pieces and saute in some olive oil until it gets "toasted". The "dip" is kind of thick so it should go a long way and the bread is delicious because of the olive oil.

[whitestripe]

cheap dip ideas:
hommous (chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini & spices)
tzatziki (yoghurt, mint, grated cucumber & spices)
pumpkin & bean (cannelini beans, roasted pumpkin, coriander & spices)

I usually make parmesan twists whenever we have a party, you get a sheet of puff pastry, brush it with olive oil, sprinkle with dried rosemary & parmesan, then slice in thin strips, twist a few times and lay on a greased tray and bake until golden, just as the guests arrive. cheap but yum.

bowls of wedges are also surprisingly popular at parties - you can make them yourself and use different spice combinations to create more modern flavours, or just buy cheap bags of already prepared wedges for convenience. we usually accompany these with saucers of sour cream, chilli sauce, balsamic vinegar & pesto.