It’s not necessary to have a full meal for  holiday party or get-together; you can serve a number of small bites, dips and spreads that your guests will still enjoy. And most hors d’oeurvres can be made ahead in advance, enabling you to spend more quality time with your guests. You also don’t have to spend a lot of money to make them!

Here’s a few serving tips from food stylist Janice Stahl:

• Keep the hors d’oeuvres simple: They should be not only bite-size, but easy to pick up-and make.
• Think outside the box-Use classic recipes, but change the presentation; for example, circular tea sandwiches, star-shaped fruit or square pizza bites that are sure to be tasty and fun to look at.
• Presentation is everything-To add special interest, serve from vases, champagne glasses or appetizer cups for bite-sized snacks and dip.

From Chef Michelle of the ALDI Test Kitchen, here’s a recipe for:

Pistachio Lemon Truffles

Ingredients

• 1 and one-fourth cups pistachios, shelled
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 4 ounces plain goat cheese
• Three-fourths cup dried mixed berries, chopped
• One-half teaspoon iodized salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped lemon zest
• Pinch of ground black pepper

Roughly chop the pistachios; place them in a bowl. With electric mixer, cream together the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Scoop tablespoon-size balls of the cheese mixture and roll them in the pistachios to coat. To serve, sprinkle a platter with the remaining pistachios and place the truffles on top. Serve with crackers.

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour to chill

Cook time: 30 minutes, also 1 hour to chill

Makes servings of: 24 truffles

For more info and entertaining ideas and suggestions, go to http://www.aldi.us

The new energy standards for water heaters will cost you more when a replacement’s needed, but they’ll save enough in energy costs that they’ll make up the price difference in a very short time (and the new standards are eco-friendly: there will be reduced demands on resources and lower greenhouse gas emissions). With most heaters, the manufacturers (customers will not have to replace nonconforming heaters until a new one’s needed) will be able to achieve these standards with little trouble.

According to the U.S. Energy Department, the changes will save $63 billion in energy costs over 30 years.
The challenge lies with larger heaters, however; the required changes could increase water heater costs (and complicate some installations) by hundreds of dollars.

From the first National Appliance Energy Conservation Act in 1987, the U.S. government has set minimum efficiency standards for common household appliances, periodically raising those standards to promote improvements. The latest water heater standards means that most newly manufactured gas, oil and electric tank heaters will have to use less energy to heat the same amount of water; this also applies to tankless water heaters, but most already meet this standard.

So just how much will you pay? It depends; the most popular types of water heaters-40 gallon gas water heaters and 50 gallon gas and electric ones will have the least change. For these heaters, the new standards can most likely be accomplished by tweaking combustion, adding insulation or both.

The U.S. Energy Department estimate the cost of buying and installing a 40 gallon gas water heater by $92 and a 50 gallon electric one by $120, on average. Consumers should be able to recoup the extra savings cost within two years and 2.3 years. And the changes may make these heaters a couple of inches wider or taller, or increase both dimensions.
For most consumers, the size differences won´t be a problem; but if the heater´s installed in a tight, small spot, there may not be enough space to access a bigger model, said Mike Foraker, president of Jennings Heating and Cooling (Akron, OH). That would mean even more expense, due to required venting or structural changes or relocating the heater to another place.

Marianne DiMascio, Appliance Standards Awareness Project outreach director, disagrees; she noted that there´s plenty of choices among the new water heaters, so there should be one that will fit for not only a small space, but for anywhere.
Larger gas heaters will use condensing technology; larger electric heaters will use heat-pump technology (Energy Dept. estimates the large gas heaters will increase by $805 and the large electric ones by $974, on average).

Due to the upcoming changes, some consumers are replacing their old water heaters now, said Foraker ( even after the deadline, you can still buy the old standard heaters, but only until the supply lasts).

Additional Info

Don’t forget to remove any window air conditioners you may have for the winter. If they’re not removable, seal them with tape or caulking; then cover them with an airtight, insulated jacket. Have forced-air systems? Move the furniture away from the vents to enable better air flow throughout the home.
Check the weatherstripping around the doors and windows; make adjustments if needed. Installing extra installation can also help reduce energy consumption.

Did You Know That….

Water heating accounts for 18 percent of a typical home’s energy costs.

Sources: “Fall to-do List” by MetroServices-The (Sunday) Vindicator, September 13, 2015 and “Misplaced fears”-Akron Beacon Journal (TNS)-The (Sunday) Vindicator, April 19, 2015