Mrs Crunch saves the day with a seasonal selection of Christmas party foods and recipes to make your own

RAISE your spirits with a spread of party food. Christmas isn’t Christmas without a plate piled high. And it’s quick, easy and light on the washing up.

Pick from this seasonal selection, and make your own with the recipes below from Morrisons.com.

Cool for kids

KEEP children happy with nibbles they will love, served on festive paper plates.

Morrisons nine cheese and bacon loaded shells, 252g, are £2.50 or buy three packs of Morrisons party food for the price of two.

Tesco’s 16 nacho chicken bites from the frozen range are £2 or buy any three for £5.

Save 20p on Sainsbury’s bacon and macaroni cheese bites, now £1.60 for 12.

Iceland’s 12 chicken Christmas trees are a pine choice for £1.

Asda’s seasoned potato wedges are a firm favourite, down from 90p to 84p.

Showstoppers

Morrisons The Best 12 dim sum selection, 252g, is £4 or snap up the Morrisons three-for-two party food deal.

At M&S you can buy four for the price of three across the party food collection, including the battered mini sausages chip shop style with curry sauce, £5.

Waitrose 12 Brie and Cranberry Tartlets are £7 or buy one and get another party food item for half price.

Say cheese to the Co-op’s Garlic & Parsley Sharing Bread with Camembert, 290g, £4.

Lidl’s Deluxe 8 prawn bao buns with sriracha mayo sauce offer a bit of escapism, £2.99.

Morrisons Belgian Chocolate and Salted Caramel Tartlets, £4 or buy two for £7, make a stunning dessert.

Sharing is Caring

KEEP coming back for more with these crowd-pleasing platters. Serve them on a cake stand with tomatoes, celery and grapes for a stand-out spread.

For seasonal spice, Morrisons 50-piece bumper Indian selection, 914g, is £6 or buy three for the price of two.

For a swell deal, try Tesco’s American inspired selection, 390g for £3 or buy any three for the price of two.

Enjoy Sainsbury’s 60-piece chicken selection pack for £5.50.

If you prefer prawns, Iceland has a 30-piece crispy king prawn platter, 420g for £5.

Put Asda’s antipasti sharing platter centre stage, £3.50.

Lidl’s Deluxe Mexican vegan selection is a great option for non-meat-eaters, £2.99.

Family favourites

FOR family finger food, look no further than this festive selection. Add colour with crunchy carrot sticks, cucumber spears and sliced peppers.

Nibble on Sainsbury’s 10 filo prawns, down to £1.60.

Morrisons The Best 12-pack of mini pies is £4 or buy three for two.

Morrisons The Best vegetable tempura nests – crowned the best veggie canapé for Christmas in a blind TV taste test – are £4, or three for price of two.

Waitrose nine mini beef wellingtons are £8, and part of the store’s buy one, get another half price deal.

Lidl’s Deluxe stonebaked pizza twists – camembert & red onion with cranberry sauce or turkey, ham & brie with cranberry sauce – pack a festive punch.

Buy three for £7 on selected deli items at M&S including 20 dinky Posh Dogs, 260g, £2.50.

Cranberry popcorn

Make this twist on the home movie snack of champions

ADD cranberries to this popcorn for added sweetness. Mixed with sea salt, it makes a great taste.

Serves four

Prep time: 5min.

Cooking time: 5 min.

YOU NEED:

1 cup popcorn kernels
½ tbsp almond butter
1 handful dried cranberries
75ml vegetable oil
1 sprinkle sea salt

METHOD: Add the vegetable oil to a large pot.

Cover and put on a medium-high heat for two minutes until the oil is at cooking/popping temperature. Add the popcorn kernels and cover – you will hear the kernels popping as they cook, so no need to remove the lid.

Wait 60/90 seconds, shaking the pot occasionally until the popping slows down.

After about two minutes, take off the heat and remove the lid. This lets the steam out and keeps the popcorn crisp.

Immediately add the almond butter and cranberries, and sprinkle with sea salt.

Toss in the pan until fully coated, then eat and enjoy.

Crunchy cauliflower cheese bites

Make now, freeze, eat as the perfect Xmas snack

THESE tasty cauliflower cheese bites can be made in advance and frozen, so ideal for a busy Christmas.

Serves four

Prep time: 20min.

Cooking time: 15min.

1 cauliflower, divided into small florets
50g butter
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
75g plain flour
2 eggs
50g grated Cheddar
4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
1 litre vegetable oil

METHOD: Cook the florets in lightly salted water for 3-5 minutes, until al dente. Drain well.

Place the water, butter and mustard in a pan and heat until the butter has melted and the liquid is bubbling.

Remove from the heat and quickly add the flour – beat well until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Cool for five minutes, then beat in the eggs one at a time until it’s thick and glossy.

Fold in the cheese, spring onions and cooked cauliflower.

Heat the oil in a deep fat fryer or a large deep pan to 190C.