Finger Foods: New Year's Eve or any other occasion

The New Year's Eve spread.

My friend Kelly threw a New Year's Eve party with a delicious finger foods spread. Kelly gets a lot of her recipe ideas off of Pinterest, of which she is a mega fan. One cool touch was that she positioned tea light candles among the food which gave it a really inviting, beautiful effect. Some of her easy but hearty recipes are below to use for your next party.

Caprese dip--  

-3 diced tomatoes (try to get all the juice and seeds out), 

-about 4 tablespoons of chopped basil, 

-and 16 oz. of Mozzarella, cubed. 

Combine the ingredients, bake in the oven for 15 minutes on 375, and then broil for another 2 minutes. 

Kelly notes that this dish HAS to be served warm...if you serve the dish at a party where guests are coming at various points during the evening, it's helpful to have a heating element underneath it to keep the cheese soft. Otherwise a perfectly delicious cheesy dish can become a bit of a pain because you'll have to keep reheating it. 

Pesto crescent rolls--again, she says, another simple dish.  

-simply spoon pre-made pesto sauce onto Crescent Rolls 

-roll them up 

-baked as directed on the tube. 

Easy. 

She also made some super tasty meatballs (not shown above unfortunately)-- Kelly says these are crazy simple.  She says that all it takes is throwing a bag of frozen turkey meatballs, a jar of grape jelly, and a 12oz. jar of chili sauce into a Crock Pot and letting it go until they are simmering, saucy, and ready to eat. She invested in a Crock Pot (only $20!) for the party - thank meaty goodness she did.

Look for Kelly's upcoming recipes for mini Strawberry Short Cake Sugar Cookies and Champagne Punch.  (You're already ready for New Year's Eve again, aren't you?)

Kelly owns a company called Belles&Beaux, through which she makes great baby's and children's clothes, burp cloths, blankets, beau ties, etc. Email me or leave a comment for more information and to get in touch with her.