10-Minute Thanksgiving Appetizer and Snack Recipes

Marinating olives in aromatic herbs and a touch of lemon zest is an ideal way to enhance their flavor. Throughout the Mediterranean, bowls of them are routinely set out as appetizers or as a simple lunch with bread and perhaps some cheese or fruit. While a selection of olives of varying sizes, colors and cures is the most interesting, you can also simply use the one or two kinds most readily available.

These sweet and savory bites are like a cheese course in a bite.

Dried herbs and crushed garlic dress up your favorite olives.

Popcorn and chopped sweetened dried cranberries are tossed together and drizzled with white chocolate.

When you need an easy, make-ahead hors d'oeuvre, just toss olives with dried oregano and garlic.

Rolling goat cheese in dried cranberries and pecans makes a festive hors d'oeuvre. Serve with crackers and a glass of port.

Stir cranberries and apricots into reduced-fat cream cheese for a touch of sweetness. Spread on whole-grain crackers for a quick snack.

These shrimp appetizers are simple yet full of flavor. Just top melba toasts with a bit of cream cheese, a cooked shrimp and dollop of pepper jelly. Look for pepper jelly near other jellies and jams--it has a tiny bit of heat that gives these some extra pizzazz!

Delicious, easy, inexpensive; serve as a sandwich filling or an hors d'oeuvre with whole-grain crackers or triangles of rye bread.