Festive Bites for a Cozy New Year’s Eve

Are you looking for some easy and delicious finger foods to serve on New Year’s Eve? Here are my recipes for spinach-artichoke bites and easy bruschetta bites, along with a couple of other suggestions for munchies you can serve.

This year we are having a super low-key New Year’s Eve…well, most years we do but don’t tell anyone OK!! I really like hanging out at home for New Year’s…that way I can wear my jammies!

When my boys were younger we started the tradition of making a bunch of different appetizers and then letting them eat at the coffee table while watching a movie.

Fast forward a few years…they are older and hang out with their friends on New Year’s Eve (not their lame-o parents!!) So it’s just my husband and myself now.

By the time NYE rolls around I’m pretty burnt out from all the holiday work and festivities and want to keep things as easy-peasy as I can for myself.

Let me show you a couple of quick and easy appetizers that we love!!

Spinach Artichoke Bites

These bite-sized appetizers are yummy…and so quick to throw together!

Defrost the spinach first. To get rid of all the extra water I wrap the spinach in a dish towel and squeeze out all the water...seriously, where does it all come from!!

Then I chopped up the artichoke hearts.

I added the spinach, artichoke hearts, minced garlic, and parmesan cheese in a large bowl and mixed them together.

The last step was adding the softened cream cheese and mozzarella and really stirring it until the cream cheese was combined throughout the mixture.

Putting the Bites Together

Making these shells is incredibly easy!

1. Prepare the Dough: Start by opening a can of Pillsbury seamless crescent rolls and unrolling them onto a large cutting board. Gently roll over the dough with a rolling pin to slightly flatten and even it out.
2. Cut and Shape: To fill a 24-count mini muffin pan, cut the dough into 2-inch squares. A pizza cutter works perfectly for this – simply roll it over the dough to quickly slice it. Place one piece of dough into each opening of the muffin pan and press it down gently to form the shell.
3. Fill and Bake: Add a scoop of the prepared spinach mixture to each shell. Top with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 minutes, or until the crescent shells begin to turn golden brown.
4. Serve: Let the spinach-artichoke bites cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!”

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Easy Bruschetta Bites

These bruschetta bites are sooo easy and super tasty. Plus you can grab everything at Trader Joe’s.

ingredients:

• Fresh Baguette Loaf
• Prepared Bruschetta Sauce
• Shredded Mozzarella
• Melted Butter (for brushing on baguette pieces)

Instructions:

1. Slice the baguette loaf diagonally into ½ inch wide pieces.
2. Arrange on a large cookie sheet in single layer; brush both sides lightly with butter.
3. Bake in a 375° oven for 5 minutes then turn the slices and bake for another 5 minutes
4. Remove pan from oven and spoon bruschetta over baguette slices, sprinkle tops with shredded mozzarella and return to the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
5. Serve while warm.

I cut the baguette diagonally down the loaf (I’m left-handed so I do everything crooked anyway!!) and made the slices roughly ½ inch thick.

I melted a couple of tablespoons of butter and used a silicone brush to coat both sides of the bread with butter.

Bake the baguette slices in a preheated 375°F oven for 5 minutes. Flip them over and bake for another 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and generously top each baguette slice with bruschetta sauce. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Return the pan to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Remove from the oven and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped basil. Serve immediately while the bruschetta bites are still warm and crispy

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A couple of the snacks I put out for my New Year’s spread are premade.

If you haven’t tried the Everything but the Bagel nuts from Trader Joe’s….oh my gosh, go get a bag!! They are the perfect savory snack!!

The last easy appetizer I am putting out for our New Year’s Eve snacks is chickpea salad (A local New England brand Joseph’s....it’s so good if your grocery store carries it!!) served with pita chips.

If my sons were going to be around I would also make my Buffalo Chicken Dip for New Year’s Eve…it’s their absolute favorite!

Setting Up My New Year’s Table

Keeping with our yearly New Year’s tradition I wanted to set up our little New Year’s celebration in the living room.

For a fun table cover, I threw down a faux fur throw over my coffee table.

I put the warm spinach artichoke bites and bruschettas on an oblong serving tray…pretty but not fancy.

I found a little set of Happy New Year’s gear at Walmart…my husband won’t wear the little hat but I’m a sucker for this stuff…and the party horns!!

Did you know you can buy little 4 packs of single-serve champagne bottles?? They are so cute!! Perfect for a midnight toast or a total lightweight like me who has half a glass of champagne and gets tipsy!!

A couple of fun balloons and streamers made my table party-ready…even if it was a pajama party!! The balloons were from Walmart and already had the confetti pieces inside…so pretty.

Are you team clean up every inch of Christmas the day after or team wait until New Year’s?? I’m always so curious about what everyone does!! I usually start putting things away the day after but like to leave a tree up in the living room to enjoy for one more week.

Well, thank you for joining me for our little New Year’s Eve celebration! Wishing you all the best for the upcoming year!!

For more ideas for celebrating check out Easy Ideas for Hosting New Year’s Eve at Home.

Happy New Year!

Jennifer