Red Potato & Shrimp Appetizers

Stuffed-potato appetizers are hearty bites that will leave your family craving seconds instead of the main course. Bake red potatoes until the insides are soft, then cut them in half and gently scoop out the potato. Mix it with bacon bits, tartar sauce or creamy dressing and pieces of boiled shrimp, then put the mixture back into the potato skin. Serve with a cheesy dipping sauce or a creamy dip for extra "yum" factor. Or, fill the hollowed baked potatoes with cocktail sauce instead to make a bowl. Serve potatoes with three to five peel-and-eat shrimp hanging over the bowl's edge.

If you prefer your appetizers cold, a salad may be the way to go. Chopped red potatoes mixed with sour cream, chives, crumbled cheese and chopped boiled shrimp makes an excellent and flavorful predinner salad. Try mixing the sour cream with a dip mix for even more zest. For a lighter salad, combine skinless baked red potatoes in a bowl with sliced onion and tomato and shrimp. Toss them with olive oil and basil and serve. If you want a more traditional salad, chop the red potatoes into tiny chunks, and then parboil them lightly while you steam the shrimp. Serve the potatoes and shrimp over a bed of spinach with a creamy dressing enhanced with a squeeze of lime. This salad is an explosion of several delicious flavors that will definitely whet your family's appetite.

Soup can help curb your family's appetite and ensure they eat less when you serve the main course. Use dissolved chicken bouillon cubes or dry seasoning mix, milk and cooked red potatoes for the base, then add chopped veggies, butter and flour and cook until the potatoes turn slightly mushy. Once the shrimp finish boiling, chop them up and mix into the soup. It's an excellent appetizer or first course to pique your family's hunger. If you want a thinner soup, go for spicy tomato soup with red potatoes and shrimp. All you need are two quarts of tomato juice combined with water, chili powder, paprika and all the chopped veggies you want. Add the cooked potatoes and shrimp about five minutes before the soup finishes cooking, and then serve it with warm, crusty French bread for dipping.

Please any kid with these quick pan-fried treats. For each eater, boil three to five shrimp. Brush with olive oil and lightly coat in whole-wheat bread crumbs, then pan-sear briefly. Pair them with a small "bouquet" of red potato fries so that both the shrimp and the fries fit neatly into a small bowl. Red potatoes are small, so the fries will be fat, stubby little things that your kids will love to dip in ketchup or ranch dressing.