Get festive with these New Year’s Eve Food ideas

Recently, I was talking with a neighbor about a dilemma she was having for New Year’s Eve: her and her friends need some sort of dinner, but nobody wants to cook and their group is too big for a restaurant reservation.

I’m guessing this could be quite a common issue, so I figured I would put together a board of New Year’s Eve appetizers that eats more like a light dinner, with cheese AND charcuterie AND seafood AND sweet treats AND even a simple homemade appetizer, if you want. 

While this board of New Year’s Eve finger food looks pretty epic, it actually consists of one item I made, a few things I heated up in the oven, and 98% stuff I bought at the store.

This post will give you a ton of ideas to put together the New Year’s appetizers spread of your dreams. The board pictured here is for a big crowd, but if your gathering is a little smaller, just cut it down to a few of your favorite things.

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There used to be a restaurant chain here in the Midwest called Max & Erma’s that had delicious chicken tortilla soup. It was creamy, lightly spicy and so comforting on a cold day.

Sadly, I think the chain mostly went out of business a few years ago, and the only one still around is at the airport, I think.

This Crockpot Taco Soup is inspired by, but quite a bit different than that restaurant soup. My version is a little lighter (less creamy) and uses ground beef instead of chicken.

Unlike many other crock pot soup recipes out there, this one doesn’t just have a dull, one-note flavor. Deeply browned ground beef, tomatoes, two types of beans, green chiles and lots of seasoning give this soup layers of comforting flavor.

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Ever wonder what to make with Leftover Mashed Potatoes? Here is the answer!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, but with a gathering of just five people, we’re often stuck with quite a bit of leftovers after the big meal.

While you can simply reheat leftover mashed potatoes and drizzle them with homemade gravy a second time around, my favorite way to serve leftover mashed potatoes is this Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole.

Make this, and you’ll use up 4 cups of mashed potatoes, so this might be the only leftover recipe you need (or, you can easily make a half batch of this if you have less leftovers).

It’s loaded with all the good stuff, like bacon, cheese, sour cream and two kinds of onions, and topped with crushed cheese crackers for good measure.

“This recipe is a winner! Easy to improvise if needed. I made it yesterday and it turned out to be melt in your mouth, delicious and memorable. Absolutely perfect way to use up leftovers!”

—Melinda

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These Halloween Snacks are perfect for spooky season

While it used to be that my husband was the biggest Halloween fan I’d ever met, and I was just along for the ride, somewhere along the way, I really started enjoying it all, too.

I’ve gotten into it so much that I’ve even started specializing in Halloween recipes, and this blog has become quite a popular hub for spooky snacks!

If you’re hosting or attending a Halloween party this year, or you just want to serve a big plate of delicious but kind of creepy snacks for dinner before trick-or-treating, the Halloween food ideas I’m sharing below have you covered!

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These Egg Muffin Cups are the best make-ahead morning meal!

When it comes to weekday breakfast, prepping ahead is key for my family. We love anything that’s grab-and-go to get some nourishment on groggy mornings.

We turn to these Breakfast Muffins several times a month. They can be made in advance, kept in the freezer for a month, and reheated in a flash.

They’re delicious and nutritious, because they can be packed with all kinds of vegetables!

“This was a positively delicious recipe.  It is so healthy and worth every minute of putting it together.”

—Donna

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Easy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

You may remember this technique from my potato salad with bacon, and it works just as well with pasta salads of all kinds as it does with potato salad.

This pickle pasta salad uses a technique I’ve been relying on for years – dividing the dressing in half and adding it at two different stages.

Have you ever stirred together your pasta and dressing, refrigerated your salad, and then wondered why all of your dressing has disappeared? Sometimes it seems so dry after you get it back out of the fridge, right?

With this technique, you toss freshly cooked pasta with half of the dressing, then chill the salad to allow the pasta to absorb all of that flavorful dressing.

Then, once it’s chilled, just before serving, you add the rest of the dressing and toss again.

This technique ensures that the pasta is seasoned by absorbing some of the dressing, but there’s also more dressing for the surface of the pasta. It also won’t be a gloppy mayo-laden mess from accidentally over-dressing. It’s just a perfectly dressed pasta salad.

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I’ll admit it – I’m not really a football fan. If I go to some sort of tailgate or game watching party, I’m 100% there for the food. You’ll find me lingering around the fajita bar or the healthy buffalo chicken dip and I’m not ashamed of it!

Everybody seems to have their own game day food traditions and fun charcuterie board ideas, but I think we can all agree that cheese, pretzels and nuts are a must, along with a variety of other sweet and salty nibbles.

I don’t really think game day is the time for an elegant wine and cheese board (although I’ve seen tailgates with fancy smoked salmon platters and individual charcuterie cups set up by caterers!).

But personally, I like to think more along the lines of a beer charcuterie board. It’s as easy as corralling a few kinds of cheese and some other snackies onto a nice board.

Plastic trays in team colors aren’t really my style, but I found some fun little decorative toothpicks to keep my Football Charcuterie Board festive.

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I’m bringing you an oldie but a goodie today. Kind of like my orange ginger chicken, this is a recipe I’ve been making my family for many years, and I’m not even sure of the “origins” of it.

I think one time I just had a half of a jar of pimentos in the fridge left over after making pimento cheese dip that I wanted to use up, to be honest.

Like my taco mac and cheese, it’s a super creamy stovetop mac and cheese. It has the sharp cheesy flavor of Monterey Jack and white cheddar, and is seasoned with “ranch” herbs like dill and chives.

And then a generous spoonful of pimentos are added for extra flavor. I hope you love this Pimento Mac and Cheese recipe as much as my family does! It’s one of my favorite side dishes for ribs.

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Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board Ideas for your holiday spread

Coming up with fun charcuterie board ideas is something about my job that I simply never tire of. I’ve already done everything from a Halloween charcuterie board to an Easter charcuterie board to a huge platter of Valentine’s snacks, but I’m not nearly out of new boards to create.

While many of my existing ideas, including jarcuterie and the wine and cheese board (and even my butter board) are already quite perfect for Thanksgiving appetizers, I wanted to create a fall charcuterie board that was truly specific to this holiday.

Below, I’ll walk you through how I shop for and build this lovely Thanksgiving charcuterie board. I guarantee you it’s easier than it looks!

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While you generally won’t find me going out to a fancy restaurant for a pre fixe dinner on Valentine’s Day, I still like to mark the occasion in some way at home.

Sometimes I’ll make a special Valentine’s Day dinner of lasagna cottage cheese or my crab-stuffed salmon recipe but other years, it’s just easy Valentine’s dessert shooters after a takeout pizza.

And sometimes I’ll just feel like snacking with fun charcuterie board ideas and following it up with some chocolate creme brulee.

You all know I love an epic snack board, as I’ve already shared everything from my wine and cheese board to a spooky Halloween charcuterie board to a fall-themed Thanksgiving charcuterie board.

Whether you’re hosting a Galentine’s party for the girls, or having a cozy night in with your sweetie, why not put together a Valentine’s Day snack platter of your own this year? I’ll explain it all, including the best way to make heart shaped food, below.

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